ARCHIVED 2022-24 Year 4 Blog

 After learning about safety last week, we got our hands on the equipment this week! We learned the names of different components, as well as how to put them safely together into a simple, series circuit. We used: - batteries (cells) - light bulbs - buzzers - motors - switches - wires - crocodile clips We learned quite quickly that we needed the components to all be the correct way round, or else the circuit wouldn't work, and that this was because electricity could only flow around the circuit in one direction. We became very good at problem solving and created some brilliant working circuits! Some of use even began to test conductive materials, creating our own working switches!

 Today in Art year 5 have started a new topic looking at Illusions in Art. We have began looking at horizon  lines, vanishing points and construction lines. 

 In today’s computing lesson, Year 4 were introduced to a new programming language: Logo. In logo, we use text to control an on screen ‘turtle’. As the turtle moves it draws lines on the screen that we control using code. We really enjoyed trying to make our own pictures and exploring the commands. 

 Year 4 started their topic: Pocket money. They sang their number song and discussed what they spend their pocket money on. They then used  J’aime, Je n,aime pas, Je deteste and j’adore to give their opinions about different toys. They then wrote a sentence about the toys they liked and disliked. 

 This week we began to look at the different settlements in our local area and how these also differ as we reach London and other cities. There are no cities on the Isle of Wight, although they did apply to become a city  this year for the Queen’s Celebrations, sadly to no avail.  The children watched a video demonstrations the different features found in cities, towns and villages. However, a third of the way through the lesson they went to watch a road safety assembly with Mr Randini so we are looking forward to finishing the lesson next week. 

 Today we explored electrical safety, identifying risks and hazards, and discussing how we could remove or minimize the risk in these situations. Our target audience was EYFS and Year 1 - so we focused on ensuring our words were simple, using as many CVC words as possible, with clear pictures to support understanding.  Many children found it strange to be steering away from their normal 'cursive' handwriting, to much larger, un-joined text! But after a bit of warming up - they began to love it - producing some excellent and informative guides for our younger members of Gurnard!

 This week, we revisited our speed bounces and relays. We focussed on technique this week and discussed the importance of balance and rhythm with our jumping. Once the children worked out their personal rhythmic patterns, there were some exceptional scores.