Year 4

Autumn

Year 4 have had a fantastic start to the Autumn term. We started the term off with a bang, looking at our digestive systems through the use of tights, orange juice and crackers. As yoiu can imagine, it was very messy! The children loved creating their own representation of the digestive system and developed a really good understanding of it too!

After looking at our digestive system, we looked a bit more closely at our teeth and how important they were. We talked about the importance of brushing our teeth twice a day and thinking about the drinks and foods that we eat. In order to do this, the children have taken part in an investigation to see how different drinks effect our teeth. We used eggs to represent our teeth and then left them in different drinks (orange juice, coke, water) for a week. After a week, we took the eggs out and examined how they had been effected by looking at the inside of the tooth and the shell. The children were shocked to see that the egg in the orange juice had been damaged the most which didn't match their prediction of the coke. 

The definite highlight of this term has been Year 4’s trip to the Brighouse Hostel and Anker Wood. In a fun-filled couple of days of activities, the children had the chance to walk (in the very wet mud!) to St Mary’s Church in Merevale where they were able to learn about some of the history behind the church and look at the different things that are found in a church. As well as this, the children then walked into the woods where they were able to explore, looking for different shelters and making their own dens. The children loved being able to be hands-on and work together to create their dens. When back in the hostel, the children took the time to make their own dinners, creating pizzas and salads as a joint effort. 

The following day, all of the children visited Anker Wood where they explored different mazes, looked at different types of trees and were able to become one with nature. All of the children loved going into the mazes and working together to try to find their way out. The children of Year 4 have spoken so enthusiastically about their experiences and are using them to develop their understanding of the topics that they are studying further.

To link into the work that we have done about the digestive system, we started to learn about the places that our food comes from. As part of this, we learnt about organisations such as Fairtrade, Oxfam, Food Cycle and UNICEF and how they help less privileged people to get the food and other things that they need. 

The children have started swimming at Ladywood Leisure Centre. The children have loved returning to swimming lessons to continue to become more consfident with their swimming. We hope to get lots more children to their 25m badges!

At the start of Autumn 2, the children started learning about the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings. The children came into school with some fantastic holiday projects of Longboats they had constructed and lots of information that they had researched. 

We started the topic off by learning about different weapons that the Vikings and Anglo Saxons would have had. We then made our own examples of weapons from that era. The children loved working together to make their own shields and swords! The children have also had the chance to take part in drama to explore what it would have been like during the time of Viking invasions. 

For Remembrance Day, the children read a poem by a current soldier that is part of the British Army. The children had the chance to reflect on what life would be like as a soldier and the bravery that it would take to serve our country or any other country. After this, the children created their own poppy and thought of vocabulary that they would use to describe soldiers.

As part of Anti-Bullying Week, the children have been discussing the difference between being bullying and somebody doing something mean to you. The children have discussed different behaviours that bullies might show. Some of the children were very reflective when thinking about how we can ensure that bullying doesn't happen in our classes and the rest of the school. The children have used this to create their own advice to help us to remember what we can do if we feel as though we are being bullied or are concerned that someone else is.

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