Year 4 News 2022-2023
Alternative Beach School
Wet weather did not stop the enjoyment of 'Beach School' learning today!
The science room became Costa del Avalon as the children constructed floatable rafts and working in teams, devised ways to build a weatherproof shelter. Unfortunately, a little sea spray managed to find its way through the shelter, causing many squeals!
The children also modelled stages of the water cycle using shaving foam to represent clouds and blue food colouring as precipitation. They all really impressed Miss. Robertson with their knowledge of the water cycle, which they remembered from their science topic earlier this year.
Thank you Mrs. Gardner for such a fun lesson, super fun was had by all.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Eureka! Science and Discovery
Year 4 had a fabulous day visiting the Eureka! Science and Discovery Centre in Wallasey. There were many opportunities throughout the day to explore and interact with exhibits which gave age-related information relevant to the topics covered in the classroom.
The first area of the exhibit was the Human Body, and the pupils had a wonderful time exploring activities from pedalling on a bike to identify the muscles that they used to looking at what happens to the food that we eat, which related to their Digestive System topic from earlier in the year.
Second was the home section, where pupils were able to apply their knowledge of electricity to a range of exhibits and interactive games. A favourite of the children’s was learning about how to reduce energy consumption by turning down the heating and switching off appliances when they are not being used etc. by interacting with a phone delivering messages and responding by switching parts of the display on and off.
After lunch, the pupils explored the Nature exhibit and loved climbing the Tree Frame and taking time to reflect on the beauty of nature in the nest relaxation zone, complete with bean bags. They also got to learn about wind power and sustainable energy, which links well to their current topic of helping to save the Earth’s habitats.
All the pupils’ behaviour was exemplary while they were on their trip and they were real ambassadors for Avalon School while they were away. Well done Year 4!
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Beach School
Wet weather did not stop the enjoyment of 'Beach School' learning today!
The science room became Costa del Avalon as the children constructed floatable rafts and working in teams, devised ways to build a weatherproof shelter. Unfortunately, a little sea spray managed to find its way through the shelter, causing many squeals!
The children also modelled stages of the water cycle using shaving foam to represent clouds and blue food colouring as precipitation. They all really impressed Miss. Robertson with their knowledge of the water cycle, which they remembered from their science topic earlier this year.
Thank you Mrs. Gardner for such a fun lesson, super fun was had by all.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Collecting Vocabulary
Year 4 used a range of English skills today when creating a character description of the mischievous Ananse from their class text African Tales. The children used a thesaurus to collect ambitious vocabulary to use in their writing which has helped them to not only learn new words but become more fluent in the alphabet.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Mental Health Awareness Week
This week, Year 4 have been taking part in a variety of activities to commemorate Mental Health Awareness Week. This has included a mindful activity every morning this week as their start of the day activity as they arrived at school.
Today, local artist Mark Swan visited Avalon and held a watercolour painting workshop for the children. The children were taught all about colour blending techniques and after a demonstration from Mark, they had the opportunity to create their own painting. The children enjoyed having the time to relax, unwind and reflect as they painted which is just one of the ways they have discovered that creativity can promote positive mental health.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Coronation Celebrations
Year 4 have had a fantastic day taking part in celebrations for the King’s Coronation.
They began the day creating a book mark to keep and took part in some coronation themed maths. Then the children participated in a whole school assembly learning about what will happen during the coronation and how important an event it is.
The children then enjoyed a wonderful picnic lunch including cakes, biscuits, sausage rolls and sandwiches.
Year 4 then joined with Year 3 after lunch to play Coronation Corners in the playground and it got very competitive!
Back in the classroom, they made a magnificent mess and created a wonderful crown using collage materials. We also received a lovely visit from Mrs Callaway who presented the children with a special commemorative pin for the children to wear on their blazer, and Mrs Probert who has treated us all to a slice of Coronation Cake.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Classifying Living Things in Science
So far, the children have investigated what makes a living thing and concluded that all living things can move, breathe, react, eat, reproduce, grow and get rid of waste.
This week, the children went on a school trip to Caldy Woods to identify living things in their locl environment. They were able to find a huge variety of living things including bluebells, trees, gorse, worms, spiders, birds and even a squirrel!
They made excellent observations and drew diagrams to demonstrate this. Back in the classroom, the children compared the characteristics of the living things to identify how to classify them into groups. They came up with some brilliant suggestions of groups including plants, animals, insects, things that live underground and things that fly.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Place Value
In their math's lessons this week, Year 4 have been learning the place value of a 4-digit number. The children have enjoyed using a variety of techniques to round numbers up or down to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000. This has included using a numberline to visualise which number it is closest to and then applying that knowledge to a different representation using ICT in a cross - curricular lesson.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Historical Figures of Significance
As part of their History lesson, year 4 were given the opportunity to research about either somebody who had made history or a member in their family who had done something instrumental which had impacted on their family or others.
All of the children engaged wholeheartedly with the task and submitted their findings in various captivating formats which they then took turns to present to the whole of year 4. Following the presentations, the posters etc were displayed within the class to enable each child to read the information and achieve the challenge of finding out three historical facts that they did not know prior to the activity.
The topic has given the children the chance to not only learn about interesting people in the world who have made history but to also learn more about the impression that their own family members have been able to make on others, including - Neil Armstong, Beth Tweddle, Alexander the Great, Rosa Parks, Hellen Keller, Noel Godfrey Chavasse, Thomas Eddison, Amelia Earhart, Walt Disney, Christopher Columbus and family members - John Stuart Maculay, Barry Scott, Albert Goodwin, Thomas William Brady. Great work Year 4.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Chester Zoo
Year 4 had a wonderful visit to Chester Zoo as part of our rainforest topic. This video captures some of their excitement, joy and interest in all the amazing animals we saw. The experience really enhanced their knowledge and understanding, and made them even more passionate in our mission to ‘Save the rainforest!’
Yummy Breakfast Well Deserved at Hickory's!
Well Done Year 4!
Congratulations to each child in year 4 for their great behaviour which has led them to receive a super reward.
Excellent behaviour and good manners from each individual throughout the term has resulted in the whole class receiving their "Hickory's Breakfast Award".
Many thanks to Phil and the team at Hickory's Steakhouse for hosting and providing such delicious pancakes. Keep it up Year 4!
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
A Jam Packed Week in Support of the Red Nose Charity
Year 4 have engaged in various fun activities in the quest to raise funds and awareness for the Red Nose Charity.
Dressed in red to mark the occasion - whilst not forgetting green to celebrate St. Patrick's day - the children participated in several whole school competitions, competing against each other class.
The first was a quiz that had the children guessing the smell; trying to guess the person pictured behind a red nose;, counting as many visible red objects within one minute. Another competition had children from each class guessing the amount of pasta in a jar which led to great speculation of whether it would be hundreds or thousands of pieces.
During achievement assembly prizes were given for the best extension illustration of the 'doodle drawing' and the Grand Finale of 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' between class winners took place to thunderous applause.
During outdoor play, all of the children had the opportunity to play 'Basketball', 'Beat the Goalie' or a skipping competition whilst hot chocolate and popcorn was served.
Thank you to everyone for the very generous contributions - please read the school newsletter for all of the results and the total amount raised for the charity.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Green is Good!
Year 4 have enjoyed our STEAM week. As the topic of the Rainforest developed the class have discussed the impact trees have within our environment. To enhance their learning, the children used a digital microscope to analyse the features of a leaf in greater detail. This allowed the children to make their own observations which included; "Dried leaves go prickly", "The leaves are nearly the same on both sides" and "they aren't covered in bugs!".
As the week came to an end, Year 4 were able to observe investigations carried out by each of the other year groups throughout the week.
Lots of fun and learning!
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
A marvellous time at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic!
Year 4 have visited the Liverpool Philarmonic yesterday to watch the Orchestra perform a 'Sensational Symphonic Time Machine' to develop their appreciation of a different genre of music.
The accomplished presenter, Alasdair Malloy led the children through various passages in time including the Era of the Dinosaurs, the Roman Empire and Ancient Egypt, explaining to them how the music being played supported the historical moments it was portraying; an accompanying Powerpoint slide of images further assisted the children link the music to the history.
As the concert came to its conclusion, the children were able to sing and sign the song 'Back in Time' using British Sign Language which they had previously practised and prepared for in school.
The concert was a tremendous success with each child having positive comments including how the music had given them a deeper understanding on the various historical elements and evoked feelings such as vitality and awe as well as an interest in the instruments used.
The children have each been given a postcard memento of the occasion which includes a QR code to scan which enables them to listen to the music performed at the concert as well as telling them about future concerts.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Finding the balance in P.E
Year 4 produced some excellent group balances in PE today.
Working in two separate teams, the children discussed how they could create a balance involving all seven children. The aim was to produce a group balance with children using various parts of their bodies and at different levels.
The children all confidently achieved excellent balanced compositions.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Celebrating World Book Day
Year 4 had a memorable and enjoyable celebration of World Book Day. The children had come to school in various fantasy costumes as part of 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' theme.
Various activities took place throughout the day including a shared reading activity with Year 2 and an abridged version of 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' performed by Another Place theatre company. Following the performance, the characters individually visited Year 4 for question and answers.
The children had an amazing day which has reinforced the importance and benefits of regular reading to them.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
School Council Reps Update Year 4
This week the School Council representatives from Year 4 updated the class on Avalon schools' achievements in this academic year to date.
So many events have been implemented and taken place such as: 'Macmillan coffee morning', 'So the Child May Learn', 'Tam O Shanters' Farm', 'Children in Need', 'Young Minds', 'School Parking', 'Anti-Bullying', 'Jackson's Wildlife Centre', ' Mental Wellbeing' and the representatives were able to competently discuss how each had been a success and the funds raised.
The representatives then continued to ask the class for their suggestions and opinions as to any changes they would like to see within school as well as other charities the children felt may benefit from Avalon's input and support. A discussion continued as to what activities could take place to successfully achieve the ideas and the representatives will now take these ideas to their weekly meeting.
Well done to the Year 4 School Council representatives for the commitment you have shown and maintain, in your role.
Fun Day Out at Chester Zoo
This week, Year 4 had an exciting visit to Chester Zoo to support their learning of The Rainforest.
The sun came out and the children were able to fully immerse themselves in the Monsoon Forest and explore the sights, sounds and smells that would be found in the jungle. Using what they had learnt within their English and Humanities lessons, the children had a further selection of interesting questions that were able to be answered by the very informative, friendly Chester Zoo staff.
The sun stayed shining and the adventure continued for year 4. Overcoming fears of the bat cave and sore feet, each child fully enjoyed their day visiting so many animals, remaining engaged throughout.
The children were a credit to the school, and a Zoo staff member commented on their great behaviour and good manners.
Well Done to year 4
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Life in 3D
Year 4 have been learning about the different 3-D shapes.
Using play dough, the children created solid shapes to help them study the properties and learn the correct terminology for those properties.
- Faces - the flat sides on a shape. A cuboid has two square faces and four rectangle faces .
- Edges - the lines where two faces meet. A triangular prism has nine edges.
- Vertices - the corners of a 3D object where two or more edges meet. A cube has eight vertices.
The shapes have been displayed in the class to allow each child to explore them and reinforce what they have been learning.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
What is the (DECIMAL) Point
Year 4 have had great fun learning exactly what the (DECIMAL) point is during their maths lessons!
The children took turns holding a decimal place value card to which a base number was added. After being asked to either multiply the number by 10 or 100 to make it greater or divide the number by 10 or 100 to make the number smaller, in their group, the children enthusiastically calculated if the number had to move to the left or the right of the decimal point and by how many places and to further understand when to add a zero as a place holder to acquire the correct answer.
Well done year 4, super team work!
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
The Power of Poems
Year 4 are learning about different types of poetry and have studied Kennings, Limericks and Haiku. The children have been taught the rules and patterns for each type, and they have used what they have learnt to compose their own poems. As the lesson developed, each child individually recited their poem to the rest of the class giving them the opportunity to become more confident when standing up and talking in front of others.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Celebrating Chinese New Year
As part of their PSHCEE lessons and learning, years 3 and 4 were delighted to have a surprise visitor this week! A parent of one of our children in Year 3 kindly came to school to talk to the children about Chinese New Year and explained how the biggest festival for Chinese people is celebrated.
The festival, which lasts for 15 days, traditionally begins with a monster being chased away by the bright colours and noisy fireworks. Following will be the ushering out of the old year and welcoming in the new year. Young people and children are given money in red and gold envelopes as a gesture of good luck and prosperity and families and friends will come together to share special meals which will include sweet dumplings, noodles, salad and other foods. Following dragon (lion) dances there will be gift exchange and fireworks and the festival will generally end with a lantern procession.
We also learnt that in Chinese tradition, each year is represented by one of 12 different animals, which feature in the Chinese zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig, this year being the year of the Rabbit and each child also learnt which animal year they were born into.
The children were fascinated by the facts they learnt and immensely enjoyed the activities, which included origami rabbits and Chinese writing.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
How to Stay Safe Around Electricity
The current topic for year 4 Science is 'Electricity'. This week Miss. Robertson has been teaching the children how to stay safe around electricity. Using ICT technology, the children had great fun using the 'switched on kids' site to interactively search a 'house' and find the dangers which can be caused from electrics around the home.
After collating their information, Year 4 created individual posters describing the knowledge they had learnt which will be displayed around the school.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
How to Build an Eco House
To support cross curricular learning, Year 4 have combined Computing with their English lessons. The children researched, and made notes, on the benefits of an eco house and the requirements to design and construct one.
Insulation, solar panels, renewable energy sources, eco-friendly building materials, rainwater systems and plant features on the roof as well as vegetable patches were all required.
As the lesson progressed, the children used their research to plan and write up a detailed non-chronological report emphasising what they each believed to be the most useful part of an eco home, and why.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Creating Winter Scenes in Art
Year 4 have been extremely creative during their Art lessons. 'Bleeding' tissue paper was water sprayed and used to fabricate a multi coloured paper. Once completed, the children designed a mixture of winter templates to use to cut out shapes on their coloured paper; snow was generated through paper shredding and each child used all of their collage to produce their own unique winter scene.
Each child has created a fabulous piece of artwork that they are excited to take home.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Year 4 'Sleep' On It!
In PSHCEE this week, along with the rest of the school, Year 4 have been learning about the importance of a good night's sleep, including having a good bedtime routine. The children went on a 'fact hunt' and discovered lots of important 'sleep' facts, such as, how, at their age, they need between 10 and 11 hours of sleep a night, that devices such as phones, tablets and x boxes should not be used at least one hour before bed and how a tidy room can also promote a good night's sleep! The children also discussed how not having enough sleep can leave them feeling tired, grumpy and not able to concentrate the next day. In addition, Dr Perry came in to speak to the whole school to reinforce the importance of a good bedtime routine and the effects of not having enough sleep on our physical and mental wellbeing.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Using the Correct Pronouns
This week in English, Year 4 have been learning how to identify, select and use the correct pronoun. The children have learnt that using the correct pronoun effectively creates flow and clarity of reading text and how a balance of nouns and pronouns keeps a reader on track with who is who and what is what etc.
The use of iPads to interactively explore Windsor Castle gave each child the opportunity to write their own article detailing their own observations using a mix of nouns and pronouns.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Our Different Teeth
Following their dental visit in October, this week in their Science lesson, Year 4 have been further developing their understanding of their teeth.
Using a mirror to examine their mouths, the children were able to locate exactly where the incisor, molar and canine teeth are and observed the different shapes of each of them and their individual function from how they break up large chunks of food to tearing and ripping up tougher food.
The children were fully engaged with the activity and have all vowed to clean their teeth at least twice a day!
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Experimenting with Watercolour
Throughout this half term's Art lessons, Year 4 have learnt how to paint with different watercolours. There was great interest when experimenting with the paints as the colours merged, leading to the appearance of various abstract shapes.
The children have been particularly proud of their star gazing work and their fire fly creations which have been displayed around the school.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Black History Month
To celebrate Black History Month, Year 4 have been learning about people who have made a significant contribution to the rest of the world in areas such as politics, the arts, law, entertainment, education and sport.
Following a lesson that explained how certain individuals had made history, the children chose who they would like to further investigate. Using laptops for their research, they were able to collate more detailed information to support the compilation of a poster.
Year 4 are extremely proud of their findings, how they have produced their work and its display within the school.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Music to My Ears
This week year 4 have been looking at the pentatonic scale. They have been composing their own tunes based on the 5 notes of the scale and performing them to the class … a little noisy but fun and effective !
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos.
Understanding Sound
Year 4 are learning about 'Sound' in their Science lessons.
To support their understanding of how pitch and volume can be altered, the children experimented with a selection of musical instruments, tapping, banging or shaking them.
As the lessons have progressed, they have been involved in an experiment to determine if sound will be louder or quieter. After constructing a paper cone with a wide and a narrow opening, the children took turns to make a sound through each opening of the cone whilst their friends listened to determine which sound was the loudest - the general consensus was that the narrow end pointing towards the ear made the sound be carried in the loudest form.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos!
Ancient Egypt
In History, Year 4 are currently learning about Ancient Egypt.
The children have learnt how to locate Egypt on a map, write their own name using the ancient Egyptian form of hieroglyphics and how drawings on tomb walls have allowed historians to understand the Ancient Egyptian beliefs and practices.
After analysing various pyramids such as the Step pyramid, Khafre's pyramid, Bent pyramid and Red pyramid, the children wrote up their observations and had the opportunity to create their own pyramid.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos!
The Importance of Physical Activity
Year 4 have been learning about the importance of physical activity in their PSHCEE lessons.
In a fun classroom activity, the children participated in a fact hunt - scouring the classroom to locate and research interesting facts about how various physical activity is a benefit to the body as well as the mind - an essential part of supporting their wellbeing and mental health.
At the end of the activity, each child had developed a greater understanding and awareness of the benefits of exercise and had an opportunity to share the new facts they had learnt with the rest of the class.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos!
Learning About Place Value
In our maths lessons, Year 4 are being taught the place value of numbers. The children are learning which column will change when we add or subtract multiples of Thousands (1000), Hundreds (100), Tens (10) and Ones (1).
The children have used dienes to support their learning as they faced some challenging calculations and all achieved super results. Well done year 4.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos!
Summer Fun!
Year 4 have returned to school after the summer holidays.
Throughout the summer, the children had kept their own personal journal of the exciting events that they had been involved in throughout and were keen to share their favourite moments with their school friends.
Confidently and enthusiastically, the children talked about their own summer events in great detail and the whole class were amazed at the array of interests that each other had been involved.
The endless list included; how people who work in Hamley's in London display the magnificent toys; riding ponies in the New Forest as well as competing in pony club competitions; swimming with dolphins; scary rides at Alton Towers; visiting interesting castles and learning about its history; taking part and having fantastic success in gymnastic competitions; holidays in different countries such as Scotland, Turkey, Wales, Portugal; attending birthday parties; meeting family members from other countries who we have not met before; eating ice cream, barbecues...... and challenging ourselves to read lots of different books!
Such a busy and extremely fun summer. Well done for sharing and listening Year 4.
See Year 4 Class Gallery for more photos!
Welcome back to school Year 4
