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2020vision Merchants Connected ArchivesYear 4
9th December 2011
J4 have been investigating how the size of a parachute affect how long it takes to fall. The boys had great fun creating their own investigation and making their own parachutes.
11th November 2011
Junior 4 have been carrying out an experiment to find out which surface a car travels best on. We had great fun with the car which was having a few technical problems with direction but we got there in the end!!!
J4 are also learning all about friction in Science & carrying out many investigations. We created static and made Max's hair stand on end!!
30th September 2011
Junior 4 have been busy making clove scented pomanders. We are studying the Tudors and have been busy finding out what a pomander was used for. Do you know?
8th June 2011
All of the year 4 boys have been playing around with circuits - it's been electrifying!! We have, of course, talked about safety issues in relation to electricity.
Today we were making circuits with switches so that a lighthouse light could go on and off. We did rather well!!
10th March
Busy, busy, busy all the way in Year 4. We have had a lot to do and we've done it with a smile and a great amount of effort.
Our Maths has progressed onto calendars and time, our English has seen us writing biographies -and autobiographies - and our science topic has found us playing with a variety of solids and liquids.
Mrs White reports that the Y4 boys are coming close to completing their papier mache modelsand that they are now adding ears and colour to our lovely models. (Thanks for all of the newspapers! - HW). They are rightly pleased with their carefully sculpted and painted clay models, ( a few disasters sadly though with broken limbs).
In our History we have been looking at the Spanish Armada and Queen Elizabeth I. We will be moving onto the Stuarts in the next week - a very interesting period in history.
Geography has involved the teachers delving through bins to examine the sort of things that are thown away. It sounds gross but it turned out to be fascinating. They are now busy trying to tell people about the harmful effect of litter in our environment.
ICT has been good: we've looked at sitting correctly and placing fingers on the keyboard correctly. Good posture is good to learn at an early age. We are now working in teams to write newspapers - one week has gone by so far and they are SO enthusiastic.
In music there's been a lot of noise - we have had the drums out to look at rhythm. We've been doing a lot of singing too, with some fabulous results. There will be a CD of the two classes' efforts shortly.
J4W have been busy co-ordinating Red Nose Day and have been selling raffle tickets/making posters/general excitement building stuff. The cake sale is next week....can't wait!!
2nd February 2011
It seems that the days are passing by so quickly and we are getting through SO much work in Year 4. We have had a newbie join 4L this week (Louis) and he's one of the team already.
So what are we up to I hear you cry.....well...in Maths we have been doing fractions and have just started the dreaded decimals - but they weren't as bad as the boys thought that they were going to be and they are able to convert tenths to decimals a treat, Our English has been to do with persuasive writing and we have been persuading people to buy chocolate bars (some of us need very little persuasion I can tell you - PAW) and changing a travel brochure entry from the holiday from heaven to the holiday from hell. Now that WAS fun.
Our Science work has been looking at the ' i ' word...INSULATION. We have been keeping things warm, keeping things cold and looking at spoons to see which are the best conductors - and I don't mean bus ones (or an orchestra one either). We've been challenged to try to keep hot water bottles as warm as possible for as long as possible by wrapping it up in a variety of materials. Loads was learnt from that!
Our Geography has taken us to look at the school environment and we've been listening for noise pollution - there's a lot of that when the teachers get together at breaktimes. We are moving on to litter next...rummaging through bins doesn't sound too exciting but I'm sure we'll enjoy ourselves.
History has taken us beyond Henry VIII and Lady Jane Grey and up to the nasty Bloody Mary. She was a nasty piece of work and executed an awful lot of people. The boys like finding out about her and are eager to dray a picture of someone being burned at the stake - they are SUCH a morbid bunch.
They've been doing a lot of singing in Music - The Gypsy Rover was great but Yesterday will be even better. We are hoping to record it so that it can be played during assembly - we may even get some copies run off so that you can listen to their efforts at home. Watch this space... PSHE has been looking at Our Growing Bodies and Families - there have been some excellent discussions going on in those lessons. The boys are very good at talking things through sensibly and they get a lot out of the lessons.
We are looking forward to our Zulu Day this Friday - we are watching the performance in the morning and then doing a drum workshop in the afternoon. We are excited about it I can tell you (and we are making posters to persuade people to come to the show, although no-one else can come as we are full up, sorry...it's a good English task.
Well that's all of the ramblings for this time....does anyone read this stuff? If you do PLEASE let me know by emailing me, using the form below. Then I'll know if I'm just doing it for my own pleasure! Thanks for reading ....come back soon! Please use this form to send an email to Mr Wardle (Webmaster)
19th January 2011
Happy New Year to all of our avid readers! Things have been as busy as before for the boys in the Year 4 classes and we came back to school and got styraight down to some hard work.
At the end of last term we did some fabilous science experiments, looking at minibeasts. The boys thought up the experiments for themselves, set it all up and then looked at their results. Of course, things didn't all go to plan and they learnt so much from the things that went wrong. For example, some of the boys 'lost' their minibeasts as they escaped - a good thing to learn and something that they can improve upon when they next carry out a similar experiment (if they wanted to). We discussed about how things in science experiments don't always go to plan - that's how discoveries are made. They were amazed by this and we now have a whole bunch of 8 and 9 year olds who want to be scientists - how good is that?! This term we are moving onto the topic of 'Keeping Warm' and thermometers/hats/scarves etc will be strewn across the classroom by last thing on Wednesday. I wonder who we can wrap up in layers.....who do we need to keep the quietest...? Watch this space!
In English we have been looking at the genre of Fairy Stories. The boys are writing their own fairy stories, with goodies and baddies - and a bit of magic thrown in too.
Maths has been about money for the first week or so and we have now moved onto the dreaded fractions, although the lads haven't dreaded them in the slightest and are doing really very well.
Geography is looking at pollution and we are presently listening for noise pollution in and around our school. There is a surprising amount of peace and tranquility around the school, even with the building work going on oputside. It really doesn't affect us in the slightest. We will be looking at other types of pollution as the weeks progress.
Our History is still looking at the Tudors, this week looking at the boy king Edward VI. All interesting stuff.
Our ICT continues to look at using MS WORD as a tool and it is useful for some research research that we have started this week - the boys are copying and pasting from the internet into MS Word and then editing the text. We have looked at the importtant issues of copywrite and plaigarism and the boys have been introduced to bibliographies and are now writing their own for theim mini-topics.
There is probably plenty more that I could be writing about but that's enough to keep you going for now. There are some pictures around somewhere but Mr O has pinched my camera for his animation club so I'll pinch it back and get some on here when I get a minute.
24th November 2010
We had a great time at Speke Hall as part of our history work. Check out the full story by clicking here.
We are busy preparing for our Scrooge play and it will start getting a bit manic in the next week or so as the date gets nearer (have you bought your tickets??). The costumes are all coming together nicely and it promises to be good fun.
Meanwhile we are now on division in Maths, creating Tudor newspapers in ICT and starting to look at the Christmas Story in RE. In between this we have been cutting out stars and spirals for our tree in St Faith's - there will be a lot of glitter around by the end of the week...YUK!
16th November 2010
We had great fun outside looking for minibeasts as part of our Habitats topic in Science. We went out into the grounds, armed with specimen boxes and lolly sticks on our hunt for any type of life.
We were lucky - we found worms, spiders, woodlice, centipedes - and Doiminic even managed to get a wasp. After taking them back to class, drawing them, making notes about them and generally observing what they were like and projecting them onto the whiteboard using our class's visualiser, we returned them back to the wild where they came from. No-one was too keen on letting the wasp out though - Miss Hargreaves was the bravest of us all and did the deed, although she did break the specimen box while doing so. (Don't worry - we'll take it from here wages!).
It was such a great lesson - "The best ever!" was heard as the boys trotted up to lunch. That's what we like to hear.
11th November 2010
It's non- stop in Year 4. We've finished off our science topic about Moving and Growing and now we've moved on to Habitats. There should be a great minibeast hunt next week and, if all goes to plan, we will be able to examine it on the big screen in class. Now that should be good.
In English we have been writing non-chronological reports about keeping pets so, if you want to know how to look after a goldfish (or a lion in Dennis's case (!!??) have a look at their writing.
In Maths we have been looking at vertical multiplication and it's going really well, although some boys need to brush up on their times tables - you know who you are!!!
Next week we are off to Speke Hall to have a look at all things Tudor. That should be fun in the wind and the rain now, shouldn't it?!
Play rehearsals are going well and the boys have risen to the challenge well. The directors are full of praise, when they aren't shoving toast down their throats (sorry mrs R and Mrs W) and it promises to be really good. Tickets are now on sale so make sure you order some today.
12th October 2010
As part of their Geography topic, lookiing at Settlements, the boys in Yeat 4 have been looking at place names and seeing what they actually mean. Did you know that a place ending in 'by' probably has viking origins? Therefore Formby, Crosby and Whitby have some connection with the vikings ('by'being a farmstead).
The boys were fascinated and enjoyed their work on the internet, before moving on to look at maps of our local area.
8th October 2010
Year 4 had a great tiime out in our nature garden as part of our science work. We went out to see how many different different creatures we could find - and we found loads. Spiders, slugs...even some frogs, although we did find one big ugly one: it turned out to be Mr O'Shaughnessy who decided to see what all of the excitement was all about. Panic over!!
The boys recorded what they found on a sheet and decided if they were vertebrates or invertebrates, wrote some observations about what they found and drew a picture of the creature.
It was a great lesson and we hope that the animals didn't mind 33 8 and 9 year olds invading their space - it annoys me so I know how they feel!!
1st October 2010
Busy busy busy!! That's Year 4. We've been arranging cakes sales for Macmillan (and advertising it using our new-found ICT skills), finding out about Henry VII and learning all about adding and subtracting larger numbers.
In Science we were looking at skeletons and were able to look at Great Uncle Bert's foot (husband of the famous Great Auntie Ethel) under the visualiser. The toe joints were fabulous and we did some great diagrams.
Below is a gallery of us in action at the cake sale. It really was fun and we raised loads of cash. It's Harvest Festival next week and we are leading the assembly. We'll tell you all about it when we get a minute.
16th September 2010
The new Year 4 boys have really settled into the routine of work now that they are back in school, following the Summer holidays. We welcomed a number of new boys and they have all settled in really well. Mr Lyon's class now has 16 boys in and Mr Wardle's has 17.
Studies have started in earnest. In Maths, we have been looking at number sequences and numbers up to 10 000. Our English work has been varied and included ordering words, creative writing, involving Mrs Thomas and Mr Wardle walking around the classrooms wearing cowboy hats and a fez (don't ask!) and some interesting comprehension work. In Science we have been looking at skeletons, identifying key features of our own skeletons, including ribs, skull and the clavicle.
Our History has been good - The Tudors at the moment. We've been looking at - and trying to recreate - the Battle of Bosworth Field, where, as you no doubt know, Edward III was killed and the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII took the thrown of England. Geography has been settlements, looking at the reasons why town and villages are situated where they are.
In ICT the boys have been using Microsoft Word and have been changing fonts, size and colour of text - and playing with the Microsoft Assistant. Along with French, Music, Games and PE it's been a busy time.
Mr Wardle is away at Newlands for three days next week so Y4W will be looked after by Mrs Bonfante - and she can't wait!
21st May 2010
J4 have been busy making Papier Mache animals. They were pleased with their results and some escaped into the wild, although some of the boys were reluctant to let go of their creations.
5th March 2010
"In days of old, when knights were bold"
J4L have made Tudor knights helmets as part of their challenge lesson . The challenge lesson stretches the boys, making them think for themselves and puzzle out a solution to a given task. They just love it!
The work that they have been completing ties in nicely with their history lessons which is all about The Tudors.
Friday 29th January 2010
The Year 4 boys have been extending their learning on how to model with clay. Some boys have moved on to painting their figurines.
Tuesday 26th January
In J4 we have been creating some Limericks. Here is a selection of the work so far:
There was a young man called Valente
Who decided to collect money for Haiti
He worked through his break
And sold biscuit and cake
And made 50 quid which was plenty
By Valente Pearson J4M
There was a man from Peru
Who loved his cabbage and stew
But when it got cold
It got covered in mold
And then he spent 15 hours on the loo
By Michael Booth J4M
My sister loves Dancing on Ice
Every Sunday we watch it twice
But on BBC Two
Join the Top Gear crew
And see Jeremy not being nice!
By Harry Greaves J4M
We thought they were great!!!!
Tuesday 15th December
Connor Defty
Friday 16th October
The boys have been working on figurative art most successfully.
Wednesday 17th June 2009
Year 4 HAVE been busy...
Sebastian is enjoying his papier mache work.
...and so is Arav too!!
Wednesday 3rd June 2009
Patterdale was a resounding success, there is a lovely photographic display currently available for viewing outside the y4 classrooms and plenty of photos to access on the shared drive.
The Y4 boys are busy hunting for minibeasts in the wildlife garden, discovering how to separate a mixture of materials, using filtering, sieving and magnetic techniques, finding out about how Ancient Egyptians did things, we are approaching mummification and live volunteers will be required. Basically they are been kept active and busy in numerous ways...
...including separating a mixture of drawing pins, gravel, sand and water using filtering, magnets and sieves - good eh??
Friday 15th May 2009
J4 boys have been collecting rubbish for a week. They sorted it into different categories and placed it in the garden outside John Bebb House to see how long it takes to decompose. We wonder if it will all decompose or if some will remain there for a long time....only time will tell!
Wednesday 4th March 2009
J4W are all too competent about making circuits, shall I teach them about fuses and see what happens?
Friday 30th January 2009
Y4 Bread making was a success and we can't wait for the results! Thge bread is presently cooking in the ovens in our kitchens (Thank you Mrs Carlye and Mrs Graham for coming to help).
Harry had fun, looking at the photo....
Harry gets in a mess with the dough
Thursday 29th January 2009
On Wednesday 28th January J4M presented their class assembly called Guessathon. Mrs. Mitchell came up with the game show idea but it was the boys who chose their characters, researched independently and brought their own costumes and props. All boys were extremely confident and entertaining.
Mr. Blower, Deputy Head from the Boys' Senior School, attended the assembly and was blown away by their performance. The class worked really hard and enjoyed themselves.
Wednesday 21st January 2009
Y4 are learning about keeping warm in their science lessons. Sebastian helped illustrate the benefit of layers in keeping warm, not forgetting the layers of warm air, he had about 6 layers of clothing, two hats and some gloves. He looks remarkably happy and said he felt very comfy!
They've also been learning how to get in a bit of a tangle with string as they go about their creative tasks…..
Tuesday 9th December 2008
J4 boys have really enjoyed the finishing touches on their Christmas bags, a nice way to practice the technique of collage.
Congratulations to Patric and Arav who have completed the reading scheme and accompanying written exercises. They will now enjoy reading and discussing their own choice of book.
Friday 28th November
J4 have been looking at air resistance in science and making some lovely Christmas Trees with Mrs White. It's been a busy week with exams and all that so it was a nice way of finishing the week off . We're glad it's a long weekend!
Friday 14th November
Mrs White writes....
Year 4 have been busy making their own Pudsey bears, which they have kindly stuck all over my whiteboard!
Friday 10th October 2008
Y4W have rounded off a happy and hard working half term with their assembly. The boys were praised by many teachers for their presentation and really looked as if they were enjoying themselves too. Hopefully lots of lads will be busy packing Christmas boxes for this years appeal.
History has continued to be really popular, so many boys desperate to be beheaded or divorced by Henry V111, just so that they can wear one of the beautiful dresses….
Science is becoming more practical and we had paper aeroplanes flying all over the place, water resistance should be interesting…
WOW words are being stolen left right and centre, ask your son for more information on this.
Have a great holiday
Love Y4W
Friday 26th September 2008
Year 4W are busy settling into their new routine and getting to know their lovely teachers.History has been an immediate hit as the boys are competing to dress in the lovely costumes that have been provided as they learn about Henry VII and the start of the Tudor reign.
Some lovely display work has been produced supporting the science learning on skeletons, we now know that the ribs are not the hips and that backbones don’t carry on down the legs! We will be flexing our muscles next week….
The Japanese Drummers gave inspiration for some superb displays and practice in following instructions with our fan folding and paper folding to make Japanese ladies!
There are lots of extra activities for the boys to join in with and they are enjoying showing the ropes to the Year 3 lads.
Mrs White will be trying to encourage the braver souls to present J4W’s class assembly on Operation Christmas Child shortly - parents be ready to help please!
Daily homework and reading are a must, parents, please continue your support – it is greatly appreciated.
Tuesday 23rd September 2008
J4T have settled in very quickly and are enjoying the hard work. The boys have been very enthusiastic and eager to do challenging work, very pleased so far.
J4 are rightly pleased with their carefully sculpted and painted clay models, ( a few disasters sadly though with broken limbs). Work is continuing with the papier mache animals and the boys have a good understanding of form.
Thank you for all the newspaper, we have enough currently.
