Once again we ran out of time to fit in all the lessons that I had planned. Still, we did manage to get a terrific amount of learning done and I think we had a little bit of fun as well.
On Monday I taught the children how to use branching databases to sort animals into different categories. Despite the occasional software bug, most children managed to complete the task, and some super science vocabulary was used.
Monday was also memorable because we gained a new member of the team, flock, pack, tribe etc (more of this later). Anyway, I am so pleased that Niah has joined us. Just like our other newest member Skye, she is wonderfully friendly, and keen to learn.
Now that Y6 have completed their SATs, they have more freedom to do some of their roles in school. This week, we were fortunate to get the help of some Y6 writing mentors. They worked brilliantly to support Y4 in writing recounts of when Wilbur escapes from the barn in the story of Charlotte’s Web. Almost everyone produced some excellent work, by varying sentence openers, punctuating correctly and by using quality vocabulary. Faizan’s writing was particularly impressive, in quality and in presentation.
The children have been having great success when learning how to add, subtract and find fractions of numbers. Aisha has been incredibly keen to learn about this area of Maths and has asked me almost everyday whether we can do some more work about fractions. Although we have now moved on to a new topic, the excitement seems to have remained. Today and yesterday we learned about the amazing properties of a right angle isosceles triangle. On Thursday the children used rulers and scissors to create a model of one from a rectangle of card. To put it diplomatically, I was quite surprised to discover how much the children still have to learn about using a ruler to measure. I may have been a little too ambitious when deciding to teach them how to mark out a straight line by scoring with scissors. Hopefully the wounds on my fingers won’t leave scars.
Anyway, the work on shape and geometry continued today with a lesson that is almost 2500 years old. No, I’m not quite that old so I wasn’t actually the first one to teach it! Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher ‘proved’ that all knowledge was recollection and a teacher just had to ask the right questions to make the student ‘remember’. Perhaps he was right, but I think my class might want to change the quote to ‘all knowledge is revelation’.
We were outside, looking at the square flagstones when I asked Niah how to create a right angled isosceles triangle using a single click line. Her suggestion produced the correct answer. When I asked how the properties of this type of triangle might help us to measure the height of tree without climbing it there was quite a pause followed by a fantastic moment of learning and revelation for many children. After breath was regained, the children used the school grounds to prove the power of geometry, measuring the height of objects that they couldn’t possible climb. By finding a 45 degree diagonal line from the top of an object to the ground, the children were able to measure the length of a lateral line to find the height of the vertical line. Getting a 45 degree eye-line took quite a bit of flexibility.
Shams inspired us to make some stars of hope this week. We used protractors and rulers to draw stars and decorate them with messages of love and hope for the victims of recent terrorist attacks.
Homework: a worksheet about collective nouns for English. Please help your child to complete the task using dictionaries, encyclopedias or the internet. Our spelling focus for this week is ‘cc’ words. The words to learn are accelerate, accent, accept, access, accident, eccentric and success. Our maths focus is CGP books p.30 – 31, adding and subtracting fractions. 12x table facts seem a little rusty so we’ll be having a test on Friday.
Learners of the Week are Leo and Niah. This week’s PE lessons reminded me about how much Leo contributes to our class. During our games of cricket he showed the same qualities he does in class – huge enthusiasm, great participation and a desire for success. My other choice is Niah. How could it be anyone else? Her attitude, her effort and her kindness would be enough, but today during Golden Time she reminded me of just how important it is to let children have some time to simply play. This afternoon, my class put away their iPads, had games of football and cricket, played ‘schools’ and rediscovered the dressing-up box. Thank you Niah. It didn’t take long for you to become ACE.
Have a great weekend everyone
Homework for the holiday: mental arithmetic books, grammar worksheets, Sumdog challenges, Lexia targets and Reading Eggpress assignments. Please encourage your child to keep practicing times tables. By now, all Y4 children should know all multiplication facts up to 12 x 12. I have also sent home a sheet for your child to design an invention that uses computer technology for a positive and useful purpose.
Learners of the Week have been chosen by Daniel. He spoke to me after lunch today and nominated Aisha because “she makes us laugh at playtime and her attitude in lessons is spot on”. Daniel’s second suggestion was Eric because “his behaviour is a good example to everyone”.
I’m happy to go along with his advice but I need to add one more name: Daniel. How can I overlook someone who knows that he gives every ounce of effort every single week, and then displays such humility by recognising only the achievements of others?
On Thursday my class held a minute’s silence impeccably. We sat spread out on the mound behind the MUGA. Though the birds continued to sing, every single child was completely silent, lost in their thoughts and prayers. Later in the evening Isaac posted this comment on the Google Classroom, “Dear God, please make all the people who died in Manchester live a happy life in Heaven, and may all the injured be healed. Please take good care of Sorrell.”
Well done to all those children from my class who took part in the triathlon at John Smeaton Leisure Centre this week. Unsurprisingly, they all looked very tired when they returned to school. Whilst the triathletes were away, I taught the rest of Y4 ‘photoshop’, coding and iMovie skills so that they could produce animations, movies and Scratch games based on a running, swimming and cycling competition. Paarshva and Karam worked really well together and I could tell how good their Scratch game was by the way in which Karam couldn’t help yelling with excitement!
Today was our last lesson with the cricket coach. He told the children that he couldn’t believe that they were the same class that he had first met only six weeks ago. I completely agree with him. Everyone was so keen to take part and there were superb displays of batting. Aisha played like she was Ben Stokes, Adwaya’s and Matthew’s technique was ‘textbook’, Maisie played a very clever and effective innings, and Paarshva, Kai and Niall hit the ball to the moon.
Recounts of our day with the Blah Blah Blah theatre company were written today as well as recounts of the time at the triathlon. Leo, Matthew, Olivia, Sithika, Paarshva, Shams, Charlie and Melika gave me everything they could but I have to give Adwaya a special mention. He showed resilience and determination when I put him in the ‘pit’ and asked him to raise the quality of his writing. Although he found the challenge difficult, of course he succeeded.
It was a good feeling to finish off a difficult week by celebrating the life of Sir David Attenborough, one of my heroes. I was amazed that the children had never heard of him and it was wonderful to be able to teach them about a man who has done more than anyone to protect this fragile blue planet.
Keep cool and have a peaceful holiday.
The first thing you need to know is that it is our Class Assembly on Wednesday. Please attend if you able and bring earplugs if you have some. We’ll be showing off some of the musical instruments that we been making out of junk materials and we’ll be sharing some of the secrets of the science of sound. I would like to thank Shams, Isaac and Leo for helping to plan and organise our Assembly. They can take the credit if it turns out to be a triumph, and I’ll take the blame if it’s a disaster.
Learning about creation stories has really interested Y4. We’ve heard about what Jewish, Christian and Muslim people believe, and we’ve also heard what scientists say. My pupils were amazed but also pleased to see that there is so much agreement amongst such difference. Don’t be surprised if your child asks you for some answers though. My head is still spinning from the questions that were asked by Matthew, Leo and Daniel as well as many others.
Brilliant progress from Melika and Aisha with spelling this week plus both of them have been at the top of the Sumdog leaderboard for the number of questions answered.
Learners of the Week are Niall and Ashley. Niall has put lots of effort into his writing recently and he has shown similar focus and concentration in all subjects this week. Ashley has been a massive help to me this week. Not only have I been able to rely on him getting on with his work sensibly, he has looked for extra responsibilities and opportunities to make my job easier. I love it when my boys step up and show such maturity, determination and kindness. Congratulations gentlemen.
Oh, that’s reminded me. Mrs. Carter tells me that I am the luckiest teacher in school because I have Daniel and Leo in my class. She was wowed by their ability to create a ‘green screen’ video which was used in the Y3 Assembly but what impressed her most of all was their manners, patience and positive attitude. This did not surprise me at all but pleased me a lot. Congratulations gentlemen, again.
Homework: Maths division and multiplication facts plus English book page 28 + 29 (past tense with ‘have’).
Next week: Maths Week, Internet Safety Week, Assembly Week, last week before the holiday. There’s so much to remember I’m feeling weak.
Have a good weekend.
If you’d like to know what science sounds like, I can tell you. It sounds like gasps of amazement, joyful laughter, screams of shock and excitement, and the noise of brains whirring.
On Tuesday, Sam the Sound of Science man came to visit Y4.
At first it was just another day at school but not for long. As everyone settled down for another day of work Mr. Moore revealed that we would be doing a Sound workshop. Maisie
Today we had a visitor who came into school and his name was Sam. He was on a mission to teach us all about sound. Ashley
For a few minutes he was explaining how sound is made by vibrations, and that day I learned that everything that makes a sound is caused by a vibration. The fun part was when he did some awesome experiments. I was even involved in one. Like Mr. Moore says, ‘involve me and I learn’. Niall
Sam, the visitor, showed the classes some very, very interesting experiments. Despite all the sitting around, he made sure that everybody in the room was fully involved. Sam left us with a lot of knowledge on sound and how we can make musical instruments out of junk that we usually just throw away! It was an unforgettable experience. Daniel
Homework for this week: maths worksheet (find the factors), 12 x table plus English workbook page 84 and 85 (the ‘shun’ sound).
I’m encouraged by how many children are trying to learn their spellings but I think we can do better: 25 tests, 200 words written,162 written correctly. 8 out of 8 this week for Sophie, Shams, Daniel, Melika, Paarshva and Leo.
Learners of the Week in 4DM are Ibran and Daniel. Ibran’s enthusiasm during the Sound workshop was infectious. It was obvious that he enjoyed every moment and learned a great deal. Daniel’s attitude and effort with work impresses me every day but this week two other teachers have reminded me about how lucky I am that he’s in my class.
It would be great if anyone could bring into school any spare planks of wood, lengths of copper or plastic pipe, cardboard boxes, tins and large empty water bottles. Bicycle inner tubes, chopsticks, fishing line and bouncy balls would be welcome too. Next week we hope to make some musical instruments out of junk materials so we can create a ‘rubbish’ orchestra.
On that note …
Have a good weekend.
Our Science them for this half term is electricity. I decided it would feel like cheating if we used a battery to light a bulb so my class managed to make our own electricity instead. It was a ‘wow’ moment but the downside is that the classroom still smells of vinegar.
Learning to write computer code is a very important part of the curriculum. It encourages creativity, problem solving and logical reasoning. Faizan was struck by a moment of genius thinking when we were programming with Scratch at Allerton High School on Thursday. In only a few seconds he worked out how to change the code in his game to make it into a multiplayer game.
One of my favourite days of the year is Takeover Day. Today I was assisted by four extra Mr Moores; Leo, Laila, Oscar and Ismail. They were absolutely brilliant, way better than me and also less expensive than me. Please don’t tell Mrs Stott! Leo and Laila helped Chayse and Aliyah to produce their best handwriting ever, and they also captured lots of great video clips and photographs throughout the day. In the afternoon session Ismail and Oscar challenged the class to solve programming puzzles using the CargoBot app on the iPads. It was a tough task but the mini Mr Moores were really helpful, patient and encouraging. They also helped to mark the homework and worked with some children to review and correct errors in their work. I’m looking forward to hearing about how all the other children in my class who took over the roles of staff got on today. I’ve already heard great reports about Paarshva (Mr Spink) who was hugged by his pupils at the end of the day.
I have to say a special thanks to Leo though. He was not only a great teacher/colleague; his Mr Moore costume was absolutely magnificent too. I know he’s been Learner of the Week already this term but I’m going to choose him again. My other choice is Melika. I cannot believe how much more confident she has become in such a short space of time. Due to her constant hard work she is making progress in all areas and what pleases me most of all is that she seems really happy. She’s worked out that by listening carefully, trying hard and behaving brilliantly she is guaranteed a great year in Y4.
Homework: both pages on prepositions in the English books plus Maths addition worksheets. Well done to Shams for always doing more than is asked. I also want to thank Aisha for bringing her iPad to school to make sure that she could use Lexia at home. Mr Magnall and I were delighted to be able to help.
Have a great weekend.
Mr Moore (the real one)
Hopefully your children have found school quite interesting this week. On Monday we used the fire pit to see what happens when materials are heated. Although the children had made popcorn before, I’m sure that this was a new experience for all of them.
Thank you to those parents who were able to attend the meeting on Wednesday night. It was very useful and I enjoyed our conversations and I’m sure that we’ll have a good year together. If you were unable to attend don’t worry, you can contact me with any questions or concerns either after school or via email. Your child should have brought home our newsletter and the Y4 expectations booklet which will give you information about what we will be learning this year.
Please ask your child what they learned from our History lesson this week. I’m a little worried that they had way too much fun applying some amazing computing skills and didn’t focus on why the Roman Emperor Claudius invaded Britain.
Homework for this week: English p5, Maths p6 and spellings. Your child should also complete the Olympic Maths sheet that they are currently working on.
It is our Class Assembly on Wednesday 9:00am. I hope that many parents and relatives will be able to attend. We will be sharing our plans to achieve the Archbishop of York’s Young Leaders Award.
Learner of the Week is Daniel. His attitude and effort has been unmatched this week though I have to say that Leo and Shams are showing that they will be making next week’s choice much harder. I’m always very proud when my pupils are complimented by other teachers so you can imagine how I felt when Mr Magnall told me how much he enjoyed working with Daniel this week. I already knew about his wonderful manners, his attitude and language skills, but I didn’t know that he could be an expert cameraman.
Oh, I nearly forgot. Today we visited the Colosseum, Pantheon, The Barrier reef, the Moon, Angel Falls, the Grand Canyon, the North Pole and San Diego zoo. We didn’t even leave the classroom.
Have a good weekend
Hurray! The countdown to Christmas has started. We have opened the first 4 doors of our Advent calendar and we are busy learning the carols for the Christmas Service at St John’s Church.
Although we’ve been in quite a festive mood we’ve still been working really hard.
Thank you, or ‘gracias’ to Mrs Howard for teaching us about the Spanish names for the parts of the face and body. I know that I am learning a lot but I need to practise my Spanish much more. Please remember to test me now and again.
Well done to everyone for making me so proud in our Assembly on Wednesday. I think everyone played their part really well. I hope your families were impressed by how much you have learned and what you have achieved so far this year.
I was very pleased with the effort that so many children put into their Big Write this week. We combined our Science knowledge and English skills to produce ‘diary of a water droplet’. Megan produced her best writing so far this year, as did Domantas, Rayah Alina, Keshaun and Alex.
Today in our Big Write task, we wrote non-chronological reports about a sport. Stella, Amir, Domantas and Keshaun impressed me with how hard they concentrated. I know I will enjoy reading their work this weekend.
In our Maths lessons this week we have been learning about fractions. Why not do a bit of extra work to help you move along the Learning Line. We need to see more children showing that they want to take the ‘hero’s journey’. From next week I will be asking children to earn at least 500 points a week on their Mathletics account. I am convinced that regular online practise can help to make a huge impact on progress. He has earned over 5000 points this year and it has helped him to become the most confident mathematician in his group. Mrs Carter and I are very impressed by his effort and commitment to learning.
Thank you to everyone who took part in the Science lesson this week. I smiled and laughed the whole way through it. The challenge was to make an electrical fan which could make a flag flutter or a feather fly. We had a lot of fun whilst adding to our scientific knowledge about circuits. Alex, Zain and Alina were a superb team. They worked cooperatively, respected each others’ ideas and opinions, and all contributed to the task.
Remember your PE kit next week. We have to work outside so you need to be warm. Miss Wright loved seeing Malakhi’s attitude, effort and ability in our lesson this week. Thank you for making her so happy Malakhi. You’ve earned yourself 5 dojos / house points. Do you know that cricket is my favourite sport? I’m looking forward to bowling to you next Thursday.
Bad news about the Roman Road project. Mr Walker has turned down our scheme – he already has plans for our outdoor area. He has told me that Jed is going to cover the marshy area with flagstones so I think we’re going to have to abandon this mission. Jed has kindly said that we can help him and it won’t stop us from using our pizza oven at our Christmas party even if we have to swim to it. Anyway, I’m sure we can still do some excavations, metal detecting and at least make some miniature Roman Roads next week.
The title of Stars of the Week goes to Hadya and Alex. In our recent reading tests Hadya showed that all that extra effort has been worthwhile – she has made huge progress, Alex always impresses in Maths lessons but his English and Science work has also been of the highest quality this week. Well done to both of you. I am glad to be your teacher.
Have a great weekend.
Happy Birthday Laila.
Be good, be safe and be here on Monday.
Today we tried to cook popcorn by using a candle. It didn’t go quite as well as it could’ve done. The positive view would be that nobody burned themselves and we didn’t set light to the school.
Thank you Rayah for your encouragement but I think that I have to accept that we won’t get rich with our ‘popcorn by candlelight’ business. In the end we had to rely on electricity to get the job done. Still, it was a lot of fun trying.
I think we found out plenty of important things though. Ben proved that he is a very able scientist. He has great knowledge but more importantly, he has plenty of questions.
You’ve got me thinking like a scientist Ben. Perhaps we just need a bigger candle or possibly a blowtorch. May be we could use a flamethrower or hire a helpful dragon. Hmmm …I’ll see what I can do.
I’m looking forward to next week. Hope you are too.
Be good, be safe and be here on Monday.