ARCHIVED Year 4 Blog 2024/25

 What a fantastic day!  This morning, Chloe (from the Wessex River Trust) came into school to deliver an interactive assembly to recap the features of a river as well as understanding what animals and vegetation can be found in the river. This was really important as the children needed to be able to identify these creatures later on in the day. Then , they visited The River Medina to dip in the river to find the different animals living in there as well as measuring the speed of the river and sketching a weir. 

 Year 4 revised weather vocabulary and the rhyming poem from last week. They then practiced saying sentences about the weather and temperature of French towns using a map, key and a given sentence structure, which they then used to write their own sentences.

 Today, the children began identifying the different features of a river. They began by watching  a journey down a river. Here they looked at the upper course and the source as well as waterfalls and how the river runs quickly. Next, they looked at the middle course, where there can be tributaries, meanders and the water runs more slowly. Finally, the lower course, where there are often estuaries and the mouth. They are all ready for their fieldwork next week. 

  In our RE workshop today we learnt about the worldview of Humanism. Humanists are people that believe they do not need religion to help them live good and happy lives and turn to science for answers. They don't believe in any God, have a religious book or sacred place, consequently there are no set ways in which to mark special occasions or even World Humanist Day itself. There may be events like picnics, conferences, parties or even protests to mark the day but it would depend on each cultures preference.  To mark this day and as a reflection of all the festivals we have already learnt about this year, we worked in teams to design our own perfect celebration, thinking about the food, venue, activities, decorations and clothes we would want.   

 Y4 enjoyed linking their DT to what they have learnt in science. They created complete circuits that they will use when making their torch. Then they practiced making their own switch using paper clips, split pins, card and tin foil. They evaluated the switches and decided which materials they would use in their final make.

 This week the children leant about the Water Cycle. Using knowledge from their Science lessons the children were able to recap the different stages: condensation, evaporation, precipitation and run off. The children began to use their knowledge to help them understand that there is no new water added to the cycle, ever!  The children then debated what would happen if there was no evaporation. 

 Year 4 started a new topic: Quel temps fait -il? They listened to a song, and learnt the new vocabulary with actions. They looked at a map of France and identified different types of weather by looking at a key. They then wrote the weather phrases next to the correct image.