Welcome to Year 4 

from

Mrs Ord and Miss Bratton 

Our email address is: year4@kingsleyschool.org.uk 

This is checked regularly however, if you need to speak to a member of staff as a matter of urgency, please either speak to a member of the leadership team on the gate on a morning or ring the school office.

If you require any additional information regarding our curriculum, please do not hesitate to contact your child's class teacher or a member of the Leadership Team.

As part of our PE curriculum, the children in year 4 go swimming every week. We go on a Friday morning so remember those swimming kits!

Book Swap

We've had some more visitors to the book swap area. Don't forget to sign consent for the year so you can swap old books for free at the book swap area. 

Science-Digestive System

We used some household items to recreate the digestion of food in our bodies. This was incredibly messy and disgusting but we had so much fun! 

Literacy -  Unlikely Hero short story

We had lots of fun acting out our short stories with our partners. Some of us were confident enough to share them with the class! 

Science - Animals including Humans

Today we began our new topic by looking at our teeth and their functions. We explored how different teeth have different jobs by eating different types of food (carrots, bread and sweets) and observing which teeth they moved to using mirrors. 

Children in Need 2024

Harvey visited the book swap area.

Remembrance Day

We stood for our 2 minute silence and reflected on the sacrifice and bravery of those that have served our country. Then, we wrote words we associate with Remembrance Day onto poppies and coloured them in. 

Literacy 

We used the RSC strategies to explore the meaning of words and how they look on a person. For example, brave, cowardly,swift and afraid.

Frankie enjoyed a visit to the book swap area!

We thoroughly enjoyed our George's Marvellous Medicine unit of writing. Here are some examples of our work.

Science

We created animal fact files linked to our science topic - All living things. 

A Spooky Inspire!

We made Halloween themed portraits and coloured our own trick or treat bags.

Reading for Pleasure

We are so lucky to have access to an amazing book swap area, that children can use as frequently as they wish. Here is George making his FIRST EVER visit in year 4!

History

We created non chronological reports to explain life in Roman times versus life in modern Italy. We also retold the story of Romulus and Remus

History

In History we have been writing a retell of the story of Romulus and Remus. To help us with our writing we completed a sequencing activity as a table. 

Computing

We explored how external networks are linked. We looked at how the switch and router direct messages between networks. We 'received' some messages from external networks and decided whether to accept or reject them.

Project Evolve - Online Identities

In our Project Evolve session this week we completed a 'Guess Who' style task. In the previous session the children had designed their own avatars which represented who they perceived themselves to be. The children then walked around the room and tried to guess who each avatar belonged to. 

History

We used books from the key stage 2 library to research life in Roman times

Inspire

We made cards for a lady at a local care home who is turning 103!

RSHE

We created anti bullying posters 

Computing

In computing we have been learning about networks. We discussed how an internal network works and the use of a network switch. We sent messages within our internal network e.g. from 2@school to 4@school. 

Summerhill Visit

Some of the year 4 children went to Summerhill Country Park for an orienteering and den building activity. They had an awesome day!

Maths

We used number lines to support our understanding of rounding.

Literacy

Into the hot seat...

We had Grandma and George from George's Marvellous Medicine with us and we interviewed them to get to know them a little bit more.

Science

We looked at habitats and listed animals and plants that lived there and how they are adapted to survive in that habitat.

Maths

We are using practical resources to show the place value of 4 digit numbers.

Science - All living things

In Science we started our new topic by looking at the acronym MRS GREN. We had a great discussion about the different things living things can do e.g. move, breathe and grow. We then sorted a selection of animals into different groups e.g. animals that live on the land, animals that live underwater, mammals, insects, etc. To end our lesson, we used question stems to ask questions about our new topic e.g. 'Why do monkeys eat bananas?'. 

Inspire

For our first inspire we had board games, colouring and dodgeball. 

We completed a team building activity to save Fred the Worm. We had some rules to follow: We could not touch anything with our hands, only paper clips, we could not damage Fred, his boat or the life jacket and Fred could not fall in the water. We had lots of fun! 

History

In history we have started our topic- The Romans. In our first lesson we listened to the legend of Romulus and Remus and how they founded the city of Rome. We then asked questions and made inferences about the Romans.

A wet daily mile meant we got to have the stacking cups out. We loved it!

Library Time

Every year group, in key stage 2, has one day per week that children can choose to go to the library at playtime. Here we are enjoying our first library time!

23/24 academic year

Beach Trip

On Friday, all of Year 4 went to Seaton Carew beach for our school trip. Whilst there, we played mini golf, made sand sculptures, ate fish and chips and some children even went in the sea for their Swim Safe training. We had such a lovely day and everyone involved thoroughly enjoyed it! 

Music-pentatonic scale

We learned about the pentatonic scale and played instruments using the pentatonic scale (C,G,A,D,E)

PSHE

In PSHE we completed our HeartStart training on how to help someone who is choking. The children created a dichotomous key to help them decide on which course of action to take depending on if the individual choking could respond.

DT

In DT we have been looking at levers and linkages. We were tasked with creating a lever which could be used in the children's book 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. Although it was tricky, we persevered and created some fantastic designs. 

Science

In Science we have been looking at the digestive system. We made our own digestive system using tights, plastic cups, zip lock bags and food/drink. Each item used represented a different part of the digestive system e.g. the tights represented the small intestines. Although it was messy, we had a lot of fun! 

Literacy - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Today we were Oompa Loompas! We had so much fun pretending to be Oompa Loompas in the dangerous Oompa Loompa land. 

Dogs Trust Visit

Today we had a visit from Suzie who works for Dog Trust. She led two workshops in which we discussed when it is appropriate to approach a dog, how to ask for permission and how to approach a dog safely. We enjoyed engaging in some role play - particularly Matilda who was our in-house Bulldog!

Literacy 

In our Literacy lesson today we took part in a game of 'word class pong' as a table. It was difficult trying to get the ball into the cup however, we had lots of fun and discussed different word classes whilst playing! 

History

In History we have been learning about the Anglo-Saxons. Today we looked at the beliefs of the Anglo-Saxons and how they were converted to Christianity. We then discussed how our lives would be impacted now if the Anglo-Saxons had chosen not to follow Christianity. As a table, we then looked at artefacts found at the Sutton Hoo burial site and discussed what they may have been used for. 

Literacy - The Tempest

As part of our partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the classes across school have been asked to create a short piece of writing based on William Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'. In Year 4, we engaged in some of the RSC's recommended activities and created our own scene based on the extract we had read and the words/phrases/rhetorical questions we came up with when we created a thought shower as a table.

Art

In Art we created a sculpture of our important items using modelling clay. We really enjoyed it and can't wait to attempt to recreate them using sand! 

Literacy

Our new unit in Literacy is based on the short film 'The Dragon Slayer'. Our end goal for the unit is to create a non-chronological report all about dragons! So far, we have individually researched and collected information about our own, mythical dragon. As a class, we have created word mats focusing on the key areas of our report; appearance, behaviour, habitat and diet. 

Check out some of our fantastic non-chronological reports about dragons!

Music

In Music we have been listening to 'Somebody to love' by Queen. We discussed the term 'body percussion' and practised using different parts of our body to keep the beat.

History visit

Today we had a visit from Paul. He brought in VR headsets for us to experience life as a Roman. We were able to visit the Colosseum to see gladiators fight, have a tour around a Roman villa and witness what everyday life was like for the Romans. We had so much fun and learnt some new, interesting facts!

Online Safety

Today we created our own emojis. These would be sent to a friend/family member, in a message, if they had experienced something unkind online or had been coerced into revealing personal information e.g. date of birth or passwords. The idea was that the emojis would help our friend/family member feel supported and loved. 

DT

In DT we are creating a distress signal that could be used on an expedition to an icy desert. We discussed possible dangers and how we would raise an alarm if we were in a difficult situation. We then designed our own distress signal as a table. 

World Book Day 2024

Science - Electricity

In Science, we have started our new topic 'Electricity'. For our first lesson we recapped the symbols which represent the different components of a circuit. We also modelled the energy transfer model for a simple electrical circuit. The children could recall the energy transfer model from our previous Science topics and knew that the yellow cubes represent energy! 

Art

In art we have been exploring different types of paint, using different tools to paint with.

Science - Living Things

In our Science lessons we have been focusing on the term 'biodiversity'. As a class, we discussed the term and how human factors contribute to changing levels of biodiversity. The children then had the opportunity to investigate what species we have in our school grounds. We also used a dichotomous key to correctly categorise different species based on different features e.g. do they have wings?

PSHE

We have started our new topic 'Going for Goals'. As a starter activity, we were each given one half of a famous duo e.g. Ant and Dec and were challenged to find our partner without speaking. We thoroughly enjoyed this task. However, we did think it was challenging and could discuss what factors made the task difficult and those that would make it easier. We then spoke about challenges we face and things we can and cannot change regarding these challenges. 

Literacy

In Literacy we have been reading 'Arthur and the Golden Rope' by Joe Todd Stanton. Today we created freeze frames which depicted the section of the book where the Wolf attacks the town. We then discussed our thoughts and feelings as each of the characters. Next week, we are going to use these emotions to help us write a diary entry as one of the characters. 

Science

In Science we have begun our new topic - Living Things and their Habitats. We started the topic by discussing keywords such as 'habitat', 'carnivore', 'prey' and 'herbivore'. We then identified and grouped a variety of animals based on their different features e.g. whether they are a bird or an insect. 

Inspire

In our 'Inspire' time on Friday the children had the opportunity to take part in some mindfulness. They really enjoyed getting comfortable with a blanket and pillow and listening to relaxing music. 

Geography

In Geography we have been practising our compass skills. We were challenged to use a compass to correctly locate cones with a corresponding letter. Although it was difficult, we remembered the phrase 'Never Eat Shredded Wheat' to help us. 

Computing

In Computing, we have been looking at data collection. As part of an investigation, we chose 6 areas across school to compare their levels of brightness, temperature and volume. We then chose one specific area and created a hypothesis. Miss Bratton's class chose nursery and had different ideas on when it would be loudest. We discovered it was the loudest at 9am! 

PSHE

In PSHE, we have been looking at healthy eating and exercise. As a class, we mind-mapped different worries we may have about exercise. We then used these ideas to write letters in the style of an 'Agony Aunt'.

Mr Skippy!

On Monday, we had a visit from Gail from The Skipping School. We had lots of fun learning the different skipping skills such as double bounce, single bounce, keep the pot boiling and run in, run out. The children were fantastic and showed great resilience when some of the skills were difficult! 

Art - Local History Week

In Local History Week we have been looking at the bombardment of Hartlepool during World War One. In Art, we produced a sketch of a home showing the impact of the bombardment and after it had been renovated. 

Noah, Willis and Oliver wanted to share their festive headwear! 

DT

In DT we created our Italian antipasto platter. We used the bridge and claw techniques to chop different meats, fruit and vegetables. We even used peelers to peel cucumbers to create our own Christmas trees! Afterwards, we tucked in and enjoyed our platter whilst watching a Christmas film. 

Science

In Science we looked at the question 'How do clouds form?'. We discussed the formation of clouds using key, scientific terminology e.g. evaporation, condensation and precipitation. We then tested, using mirrors,  how condensation occurs when hot air meets a cold surface. Miss Bratton introduced us to the water cycle song which we had lots of fun learning!  

Science

In Science we have started our new topic 'States of Matter'. We discussed the different properties of each of the three states of matter and then sorted different materials. We realised that some materials could go in more than one section e.g. ice. The children then acted as the particles in each of the states of matter. 

Literacy

In Literacy we have been reading 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. We have looked at how characters can have a head, heart and speaking voice and how these different voices impact characters' actions. We looked at the different relationships between characters and how they change throughout the story. 

Maths

In Maths we have been learning our 6, 7 and 9 times tables. We thoroughly enjoyed playing a game which involved us rolling a dice to create a multiplication question e.g. 6 x 4. 

We got to use the stacking cups as it was raining during daily mile time. Look at the concentration! 

Children in need 2023

Art

In Art we have been looking at Leonardo da Vinci's 'Vitruvian Man'. We tested the hypothesis, 'The length of a man's outspread arms is equal to his height'. We discovered that this is in fact true! 

Science

We tested a variety of materials and rated how well they absorbed sound on a scale of 0-5. We are going to use our findings to design a pair of ear defenders.

Inspire

During our 'Inspire' time on Friday, some of the children chose to learn British Sign Language with Mr Evans. The children had a great time and could all sign their name by the end of the session! 

Judo Taster

We were very lucky to have a judo taster session from Glynn Fidgeon. We had an amazing time and will be coming home with information about his sessions outside of school.

Science

We have continued to explore sound. We explored the question does distance affect the sounds we hear? We also looked at vibrations and how these change pitch.

We carried out an experiment and measured sound using decibels. The air-horn was VERY loud.

History

In History we had the opportunity to explore real life Roman artefacts. We looked at a helmet and sandals which were worn by Roman soldiers, jewellery, knucklebones, Roman coins and a sponge which the Romans used when they went to the toilet! 

DT

In DT we have been looking at Italian food. We completed a guided reading session focusing on traditional Italian foods before researching 'anti-pasti'. In future DT lessons we will be making, tasting and evaluating our own anti-pasti platter. 

Science

We made a little video to explain how sound travels and is heard.

Computing

We have been learning about the internet and how external networks connect, using routers. We had a map of networks and followed routes to get from one to another and saw that sometimes there was more than one route to a network.

E-Safety 

In our weekly assembly, this week, we explored situations in daily life and online that may make us unsafe and ways to deal with this. One of our activities was reflecting on words we associate with the word safe and we created a word cloud ​​​​​​

French

We've been practising French greetings 

Computing

We had a practical activity looking at internal and external networks and how messages are sent. It was quite complicated and children playing the role of the switch were very busy! Children demonstrated an excellent understanding of the role of the router and the switch. We also discussed that many home routers play the role of both switch and router 🤯

Science

We are continuing to explore sound and how we hear. We used cups and string to make 'telephones'. We realised that when the string was tense the sound travelled better. We explored through the door and found when the string had something pressing on it the sound waves were interrupted. We are looking forward to learning more.

Literacy

In Literacy we are reading the book 'George's Marvellous Medicine' by Roald Dahl. We completed a hot seating activity in which we pretended to be either George or Grandma. Following this, we produced a class mind map with adjectives to describe the characters' appearance, personality, movements and voice. From our shared mind map we produced some fantastic, descriptive sentences to describe Grandma. 

History

In History we have started our topic - The Romans. In our first lesson we listened to the legend of Romulus and Remus and how they founded the city of Rome. We then used questions stems to ask questions regarding what we want to know about the Romans. 

Science

​​​​​​We started our first science topic of the year with an exploration lesson looking at how sound is created. We used rice on drums to see the vibrations that the sounds create. We tried different objects in balloons and discussed why and how they create different pitches and volumes and tested out our theories.