Joyous June - Learning in Action!

WOW Week - All Around the World!

June was off to a great start for Year 4 as it was our WOW Week! Since our topic for this term is ‘All Around the World’, we tried to explore different continents through the week. The week started with a focus on African artwork, the children made some fantastic African sunsets with attached silhouettes of jungle animals.

"I enjoyed colouring and all of the artwork!"

"I liked WOW Week because of the painting and when we were making the Chinese lanterns during our Asian art afternoon."

On Tuesday, the children went off on an adventure to Weston Super Mare! Fortunately, the weather remained dry while we were on the beach. The children got to explore the pier, contribute to a beach litter pick and, of course, we got to make some super sandcastles!

Wednesday saw the children travel to Antarctica. They were able to investigate how animals in Antarctica are able to stay warm using a ‘blubber glove’ experiment and the children really enjoyed making their own igloos from a number of sugar cubes! Of course, it would not be WOW Week without a camping trip! The children had great fun making bird feeders from natural materials (pine cones, vegetable lard and seeds), enjoying a singalong around the campfire and camping outdoors. Luckily, the rain waited until we had put the tents away the following morning before it made an appearance! 

"I enjoyed everything in WOW Week, it was amazing!"

Maths

This month, 4RD have been looking into shape, symmetry and different types of angles. As well as identifying acute, obtuse and right angles, the children have learned how to find the area and perimeter of a series of different shapes. The children have done well with remembering the different rules for finding these measurements of a shape and have found it challenging to draw their own shapes to a specific set of measurements sometimes!

More recently, we have been exploring different shapes, including a range of triangles (equilateral, isosceles and scalene) and quadrilaterals (square, rectangle, rhombus, parallelogram and trapezium).

Did you know... A polygon is a shap without any curved sides?

Creative Curriculum

Continuing on with our focus on local geography and important people from Coventry that have had a positive impact on a global scale, 4RD have learned about the merge between Jaguar and Land Rover.

   We looked at how both car companies began and how things have developed over time. 

Did you know… The first Land Rover was made in 1948 and was inspired by the American Jeep? The first Land Rover was made from aluminium as there was a shortage of steel after the Second World War.

English

Last month, we had started reading our new English text, Juana and Lucas. This month, we managed to finish the book and found out what happened to Juana – she managed to meet her all-time hero, Astroman! Based on Juana and Astroman’s individual adventures, the children have worked hard to create different pieces of writing, including a newspaper article and a short play script.

Before writing their play scripts, the children needed to understand the real purpose of a play script. We combined both classes together and worked in different groups to practice and perform different play scripts to understand more about the need for stage directions and expression. All of the teachers were certainly impressed with the children’s efforts and their teamwork.

Science

As well as their scientific investigation during WOW Week, looking at insulation and how animals stay warm in Antarctica, our scientific focus this half term has been electricity! This has been a great opportunity for the children to get involved with the practical elements of scientific learning and see for themselves how electricity works. Children have explored making simple circuits using batteries, wires and bulbs and have even tried adding more features into their circuits, including buzzers and switches.

"I liked when we made the light bulb turn on. We then tried doing it with a switch and it was really fun."

Walk the Mile

With the glorious sunshine upon us, 4RD have made the most of the lovely afternoons by getting out for the ‘Walk the Mile’ as often as possible. The children really enjoy getting an extra bit of exercise during school time. Usually, the children also ask for a race towards the end of the lap! We have also been able to combine this task with different learning opportunities. We have read books outside and have also walked the mile with our magpie books, thinking about different sense and elements that we could use to inspire our writing! Hopefully, the weather will continue to be dry and sunny so we can continue to get out and enjoy the fresh air!

PE and Engage! Tag Rugby

This half term, the children have been learning the rules and procedures of rounders. It is clear that the children have retained the different elements and features of the sport and they have really enjoyed being able to practice their throwing, catching and batting skills! We have mixed classes with 4KT on some occasions to increase the sense of competition and encourage the children to work together in different teams.

Earlier in the year, Year 4 were fortunate enough to have CV Life come into school for a series of Engage! Tag Rugby sessions. The children learned about the different values that underpin tag rugby (respect, teamwork, discipline, integrity and enjoyment) and Joseph Cash were invited to attend the Engage! Tag Rugby Awards Evening at the Ricoh Arena. A number of children were nominated for awards and were able to attend the evening. All ten of the children who attended made a superb effort with their smart attire for the evening, everyone received a medal and one child from 4RD was lucky enough to be one of three winners for one award that was open to a number of schools!

Check out the Joseph Cash Twitter page for photos and updates from the Awards Evening!