Hill Top Primary Academy

Adults in Year 4: Mrs Naylor,Mrs Noble,Mr Fellender and Mrs Bulbulia

Information for the start of the year:
Homework will be set when appropriate.

When set, Literacy homework - Monday (to be returned the following Monday)
When set, Maths homework - Friday, this will usually be MyMaths (occasionally a written activity) and should be completed by the following Friday

Children are required to read 3 times a week. Please sign and date your child's reading record book each time they read. Reading records will be checked every Friday.
Occasional topic homework may also be set.

PE: Swimming is on Wednesday morning. If your child has long hair then they must use a swimming cap. Boys swim shorts must not be longer than knee length.
All children need an outdoor and indoor PE kit as detailed in the school prospectus.

Information for class and school events will be sent out via our class page, the school website and the School Jotter app. Please ensure school has your up to date email and telephone number.

Learning from home.......

As we find ourselves in this interesting position of learning from home, we thought we would upload your work as we go along, so you can see what your friends have been up to.

ISLAND LIFE

The Big Picture

Geographers and explorers estimate that there are over one million islands on earth. They range hugely in size, location, habitat and climate, but all are surrounded by water. As one in six people live on an island, let’s explore what some islands are like across the globe!

In Geography, we’ll be finding out:

• About different islands we know about
• Learning about new islands and comparing with existing knowledge
• About where different islands are located in the world and finding them on maps
• About the geographical features on different islands
• About the features of a river
• How to use a compass and map
• How to use 4 figure grid references
• About how different islands are formed
• About an island in detail

The children were asked to imagine they were on a desert island. To get you in the island zone try listening to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz1BosPBGlo

They had to discuus what it might be like, what challenges they would face.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgd17B4IeKo – YouTube hosts this video of ‘Rain & Thunder with Ocean Waves Sounds’.

Then suddenly,they were shipwrecked – everyone was stranded on a deserted island!

What do you think you might need to survive on the island?

Would any of these objects be useful and how might you use them?

Matches

Knife

Metal

water container

Plastic sheet

Fishing line hook

This might help you decide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lnPimlBnk4 – YouTube hosts this video, which provides tips for surviving on a desert island.

Finally, you are allowed to bring just one object to the island, something that represents you or something that you enjoy. There is no power supply on the island, so electrical items will not work unless they are battery powered, and then the batteries will run out. Describe what object they would bring, and why.

WATCH THIS SPACE TO SEE HOW YEAR 4 SURVIVE ON A DESERTED ISLAND..........

This week in PSHCE, we had to make a poster or send in photographs, of things that have been keeping us happy during home learning.

Here are some of the many fun home learning activities we have been up to.

The Nature Of Life

Summer 1 2020

The Big Picture 

From frogspawn to frogs, from caterpillars to butterflies and from seeds to plants, all living things grow and change, feed and reproduce. But how does life begin for living things and what effect does the environment have?

In Science, we’ll be finding out:

• About animal, plant and human life cycles
• About local food chains and webs
• How living things grow and change
• How living things are grouped
• About animal and plant adaptations
• About the differences between living and non-living things

In Technology, we’ll be finding out:

• How to make a bird nesting box

The seven signs of life

How do we know when something is alive? Scientists look for the seven signs of life that most living things demonstrate – these are called the ‘life processes’:

1. Feeding

All living things need food for energy, growth and repair.

Wild animals need to work hard to find enough food to survive, while at the same time avoiding predators who want to eat them! Life is easier for humans - we can buy or grow all the food we need. Plants are different to both animals and people because they can make their own food through photosynthesis. They do this by using energy from the Sun to create food in the form of sugars and by absorbing water and nutrients from the soil.

All food chains start with a producer, usually a plant that can make its own food using the Sun’s energy. Animals are consumers in the food chain because they eat other animals or plants to survive. Without plants, animals and people could not exist.

A food chain follows a single path but a food web is more complex, with interconnected pathways.

TURN IT UP!

The big idea:

Sound and light is all around us – from the sound of thunder and the flash of lightning in a storm, to a mobile phone ringing and flashing when someone calls us, to the billions of different sounds and lights leaping into life on the TV when we switch it on. In this unit, we are going to explore the many sounds and lights that are part of our everyday lives.

In Science, we’ll be finding out:
How sounds are made
How to change sounds
How sounds travel to the ear
About the volume of sounds
About sound and noise
Where light comes from
How shadows are formed

In Technology, we’ll be finding out:
How to make panpipes

In Music, we’ll be finding out:
How to play a simple tune on the recorder

In International, we’ll be finding out:
About music in different cultures and countries
About the harmful effects of light pollution

Drama in Year 4.  We had a drama workshop based on David Walliams book, Billionaire Boy.  Everyone was actively engaged in the sessions and lots of fun was had. (Click on the image to enlarge)

We have a new playground resources, called "Scrap Shed".  Ask your child to tell you about it.  We had fun learning how to use it.

The Big Idea

Atoms and molecules

Everything in our Universe is made up of tiny particles called atoms, including the Earth itself and everything that exists: the air we breathe, our bodies, plants, animals, materials, objects, etc. Atoms are much too small to see – an average atom is one millionth of a millimetre across. There are about 112 different types of atoms, known as the chemical elements. Atoms don’t usually exist on their own; they join up with atoms of other elements to make molecules. The way that molecules are arranged and interact with each other determines the properties of a material. Atoms are made up of even smaller particles known as sub-atomic particles.

States of matter

Materials can generally exist in three states – solid, liquid, and gas.

Solid – a material that has a fixed shape and volume, e.g. if you put a solid into a container it will not change shape

Liquid – a material that has a fixed volume but can change shape, e.g. if you pour liquid into a container it will take the shape of the container

Gas – a material that can change in shape and volume, e.g. if you put gas into a container it will take the shape of the container and fill it

In Science, we’ll be finding out:
About solids, liquids and gases
How we can change milk into a solid
How some materials change when heated or cooled
What happens when butter is heated
About the behaviour of gases in liquids
Which solids will dissolve in a liquid
About the science of making milkshakes

In Technology, we’ll be finding out:
How to design and make a hand whisk

In International, we’ll be finding out:
Alternatives to cow's milk

Changing materials vocabulary

Boiling point – water boils at 100 degrees Celsius

Condensing – when a gas changes into a liquid

Dissolving – when a substance breaks up into tiny pieces in a liquid

Evaporating – when a liquid changes into a gas

Freezing – when a liquid is cooled and changes into a solid

Freezing point – water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius

Gas – a material that flows to fill a space

Insulator – a material that does not allow heat/cold to pass through

Insoluble – a substance that will not dissolve in water

Irreversible change – a permanent or chemical change

Liquid – a material that flows and takes the shape of the bottom of a container

Melting – when a solid is heated and changes into a liquid

Molecules – these consist of one or more atoms

Particles – a general term for sub-atomic particles, atoms and molecules

Reversible change – a change that can be reversed to get back the original materials

Solid – a material that stays the same shape

Solidify – when a liquid changes into a solid

Soluble – a substance that will dissolve in water

Solution – a mixture that contains a dissolved material

Suspension - a mixture that contains a dispersed substance

Water vapour – when water boils it changes into water vapour

During our entry point we played a game called solids, liquids and gases.  We also investigated milk in the Knowledge Harvest.

We worked in groups to change a liquid (milk) into a solid (butter). We shook the milk vigorously for a long time! When it changed to butter, we tried it on some crackers!

They Made A Difference 

The Big Idea

Some people have made such a big difference in the world that their influence on our lives can still be felt today. From scientists to sports people, from politicians to musicians, from all backgrounds, countries, races and religions there are people whose ideas or achievements have singled them out from others

In History, we’ll be finding out:
About world leaders from the past
How to make a timeline
How leaders in the past compare to leaders today
About significant scientists from the past
About primary and secondary sources of information
In Society, we’ll be finding out:
About people who fought for the rights of others
In Art, we’ll be finding out:
How artists can influence the way we look at the world
About the work of an important sculptor
How to paint a portrait of someone significant to us
In Music, we’ll be finding out:
About well-known musicians from the host and home countries
How we can compose our own music in a similar style
Why some music/musicians are significant
In International, we’ll be finding out:
How the World Wide Web has connected countries
About people who are significant on a global level

We ended our 'They Made a Difference' Topic with a dressing up day.

Everyone looked fabulous! Can you work out who we are?

Today we acted out a play about Florence Nightingale's time in Scutari hospital, during the Crimean War.

Today we placed significant people from the past on a timeline.

Our RE work is titled "What is the most important part of the Nativity story to Christians".  Today we made Christingles and learnt about the different significance of each of the parts.

Bright Sparks

Electricity is an energy that flows along wires in our homes, schools, offices, towns and cities to power lights, televisions, computers, cars and trains, and hundreds of other things that we use every day. Let's find out what we can do with electricity.

In Science, we’ll be finding out:

• Which common appliances run on electricity
• How to make an electrical circuit
• Which materials allow electricity to pass through them
• What happens when we change a circuit
• How to build bigger circuits
• About magnetism and electricity
• About using electricity as heat
• How to keep safe around electricity

In Technology, we’ll be finding out:

• How to make a house with lighting and a door buzzer

In History, we’ll be finding out:

• About the history of the electric light bulb

In International, we’ll be finding out:

• How we produce electricity in our country
• Why saving electricity is good for the planet.  

Topic Glossary:

Battery – a container that stores electrical energy
Charge – to increase the power in something
Component – a part of an electrical circuit
Conductor – a material that allows electricity to flow through it
Contact – the metal part that can be connected to a circuit
Current – a flow of electricity in a circuit
Current electricity – electricity that flows through wires

The Big Idea
Humans are special. Unlike other animals, we can adapt and learn new skills in order to survive, which is exactly what our ancestors did in the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages.

In History, we’ll be finding out:
How fossils are made and what we can learn from them
What our earliest ancestors might have looked like
How our ancestors were able to survive
How to use archaeological evidence to find out about a prehistoric hunter
Where our ancestors settled and how they lived
How we can learn about the past by investigating a Stone Age village
What life was like during the Bronze Age and Iron Ages

In Art, we’ll be finding out:
How to create our own prehistoric cave paintings
How to make and decorate pottery, based on one of the periods we have explored

In Technology we’ll be finding out:
About the types of foods that the first farmers would have grown
How we can update the dishes that the early settlers may have eaten
In International, we’ll be finding out:
How we can work together to learn new skills and achieve our goals

Scavengers and Settlers Vocabulary: These are some of the words we have used so far.Can you think of anymore to add to the list?

Pre historic

Pre history

Iron Age

Bronze Age

Stone Age

Fossils

Scavengers

Settlers

Ancestors

Entry Point: We made shelters and fires, to imagine what it would have been like, to live in the Stone Age.

Meet your ancestors!

This is Lucy, she is over 3 million years old. She was about 20 when she died (she fell out of a tree, ouch!) and roughly 1m tall.  We had to draw what we thought our ancestors might have looked like.  Do you recognise anyone in your family!

We had a fantastic end to our Scavengers and Settlers topic when we spent the day with our Stone Age visitor. We looked at lots of artefacts, drew cave paintings and played Stone Age games with our parents. What a great day!

The Big Idea

Our brain is special because we can use it to learn lots of new and different things every day, enabling us to gain the knowledge, skills and understanding that we will need to become successful adults. By finding out more about how we learn, and how we can improve the way that we learn, we will be better equipped for meeting the many challenges ahead of us.

In this unit, we’ll be finding out:

• How different people learn
• About the importance of practice when learning a skill
• How the brain works
• How to make connections between our learning
• How we can share our learning with others
• Why it is important to learn from other children and cultures around the world
• How positive thinking can help us to succeed
• How to look after our brain
• How to design a school for learning

When they learn children will be:

• Investigating
• Thinking
• Reflecting
• Researching
• Teaching
• Observing
• Assessing
• Presenting

Brainwaves Vocabulary:

Knowledge – internet, books, interviews, talks, slideshows, DVDs, newspapers, artefacts, documentaries, paintings, quizzes, tests.

Skills – doing it, practice, modelling, assessment rubrics, workshops, sports clubs, tutoring.

Understanding – reflecting, debate, role-play, teaching others, solving puzzles, challenges, exit point celebrations.

Growth Mindsets

Neurons

Connections

Transmit

Electrical

Chemical

Signals

Memory

Positive and negative emotions

Thank you, to everyone who was able to attend our Brainwaves topic, this morning.  We hope you enjoyed viewing your child's work and had fun skipping or hula hooping!

We had to think about how we could teach someone a new skill.  We decided that, lots of practice was a good way to start!

Tuesday 17th September.

Today we were lucky enough to to have a go at "Diving". The coaches were looking at our gymnastic abilities.  It was lots of fun, especially when of the coaches did a back flip!