Year 4 Summer 2022-23
Exploring and Making Moving Parts
Within Design and Technology this term, we are exploring storybooks with moving parts with the hope of making our own as a class. Our first two lessons involved looking at a range of books and the mechanisms within them to allow parts to move and also having a go at making some of these mechanisms ourselves. We loved exploring how many different ways books move!
How do drinks affect our teeth?
Year 4 have set up an experiment to investigate the effect drinks have on our teeth. We carefully measured out 200ml of each liquid (milk, water, orange juice, cola and an energy drink) and poured it over a hard-boiled egg. After a week, we will check to see how the egg's shell has changed. We've used eggs as the shell will be affected in a similar way to how the enamel on our teeth would be.
Be Fit, Be Safe, Be Healthy Week
Seasonal Foods
During Summer Term, we are exploring seasonal foods in DT. Our first lesson involved looking at what it means for foods to be seasonal and discovering which fruits and vegetables are currently in season within the UK. We thought about the importance fruit and vegetables have within a healthy, balanced diet and we enjoyed sampling some different seasonal foods!
Digestive System
Within our Science lessons, we have been looking at the digestive system and the roles the different organs play in breaking down our food. To help us identify and recognise the different organs, we added them to a life-sized body and labelled them.
Tone and Texture
This term in Art we have started to explore the life and work of Vincent Van Gogh. We have looked closely at a range of his paintings and used these as a basis to develop our sketching and paint skills. By mixing primary and secondary colours with white and black, we learnt how to make different shades and tints for our paintings.
Aspirations Week
Galleries Visit
To help us raise money and donations for our pop-up café, 'Blackfell Pop 'N' Stop', we walked to the galleries to hand out letters to different business asking for support. While we were there, we explored how many different food services were available and how they differed from one another.
Aspirations Week
Food Preparation
In preparation for Blackfell Pop 'N' Stop, we used the knowledge from our food hygiene course to make all of our different afternoon tea items. We all worked together and had lots of fun getting everything ready!
Bowling Fun
Year 3 and 4 have had a fantastic day bowling. They used the money raised from Pop 'N' Stop and went for a game of bowling and lunch. They even had enough change to have some time in the arcade. Well done Year 3 and 4!
The Firework-Maker's Daughter
In literacy, we have started our new unit which is based on The Firework-Maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman. To help us understand the events in the story and explore character's emotions, we completed a range of drama activities to consider their thoughts and feelings. Some of the activities included hot seating, role play, thought tracking, freeze frames and conscience alley.
Creating Pages with Moving Parts
As our DT project is all about moving parts, we decided as a class to create our own version of the story 'Dear Zoo' by Rod Campbell. In pairs and small groups, we designed a page from the book and thought about which mechanisms we could use to make the page move. Then we had lots of fun getting creative and bringing them to life. We were all very impressed with our final outcomes!
Be Fit, Be Safe, Be Healthy Week
Sports Day
What a fantastic afternoon! Year 4 enjoyed taking part in a variety of races including a sprint, egg and spoon race, vortex throw, a skipping race, a dribble shoot and a standing long jump. They all showed a lot of determination and resilience and should be very proud of themselves. Well done to Willow who won the KS2 Sports Day 2023!
Recorders
We've had lots of fun learning our first note on the recorder this afternoon! Once we had had a few practices, we even manged to read some music notes and play a simple tune!
Aspirations Week
Planning and Research
Across Year 3 and 4, we have been looking at the different roles within the food industry and we've carried out some research learning about them all from farmers and fishermen to chefs and restaurant managers. We are looking forward to learning more and creating our own café!
Aspirations Week
Food Hygiene
Year 3 and 4 enjoyed a visit from Miss Clarke who told us all about Food Hygiene based on her experience working at Sainsburys. We learnt about the importance of washing our hands thoroughly and using different utensils and kitchen ware to avoid food contamination. At the end we completed a quiz to check what we had learnt. We all passed with flying colours and were awarded with certificates!
Aspirations Week
Blackfell Pop 'N' Stop
What an incredible effort from all of Year 3 and 4 to pull off such a successful pop-up café for their family and friends! Mrs Milne and Mrs Agar are incredibly proud of all your hard work and determination. You all came together brilliantly as a team and made an outstanding profit of £700! Thank you to everyone from across school and the Washington community who helped support the children with this mini business venture!
God Save The King!
To celebrate the coronation of King Charles III, Year 4 enjoyed completing a range of activities linked to the King himself and the upcoming coronation. We completed a maths code breaker and a reading comprehension which helped us learn about what we could expect to see across the bank holiday weekend. In the afternoon, we got creative and completed a British themed collage within the silhouette of King Charles! They turned out brilliant!
Be Fit, Be Safe, Be Healthy Week
Fencing
To kick-start Be Fit, Be Safe, Be Healthy Week, Year 4 took part in a fencing lesson by Keep Active. They learnt about the equipment they needed to wear and use, how to salute their opponent before a match and how to earn points against their opponent. We had lots of fun battling our peers whilst others watched on as referees. They took both roles very seriously making some very difficult decisions!
Be Fit, Be Safe, Be Healthy Week
Lifestyle and Fitness Team
Year 4 have been working with Anthony from Sunderland's Change for Life today. He spoke to us about how we can keep our bodies healthy be eating a a balanced diet, exercising, keeping ourselves clean, getting plenty of sleep and focusing on our mental health. We also looked at the amount of sugar in different foods we eat which was very surprising!
Discovery Museum
Year 3 and 4 have had a fantastic trip to the Discovery Museum where we enjoyed watching Professor Pumpernickel's Science Show! There were lots of impressive experiments and even some explosions too. In the afternoon, we spent some time exploring the museum and looking at displays and artefacts based on Joseph Swan, the local inventor we've been studying in History.
Aspirations Week
Fire Service
We loved our visit from Mr Clark and his fire engine. We learnt all about what the fire service do and how they support the community. We all enjoyed taking turns using the hose and sitting in the cabin. Thank you Mr Clark!
Aspirations Week
Taste Testing
In preparation of opening 'Blackfell Pop 'N' Stop', we tested a range of foods from breads, cheeses, scones and cakes to different flavoured juices. We wanted to investigate which items had the best flavours and worked well together. Everyone was very brave to try some new tastes and flavours.
Scramble
Year 4 took part in the Blackfell Scramble. There was a variety of activities for us to complete including vortex throw, walking through tyres, football shoot out, and our very favourite activity...the slip and slide! We got very wet and had lots of fun. Thank you to Year 6 for organising the event.
