25/26 Spring Term 1 – Week 2 – Year 4

In Maths this week, we applied our understanding of multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100 to some problem solving activities and used the multiplying to help us scale up known facts for example 4 x 6 = 24 to help us work out 40 x 6 = 240. Then we used the skills to help us multiply 2 digit numbers by a 1 digit number. We started using an informal partitioning method in a part whole model to organise our calculating and then we moved onto setting it out into a more formal grid to multiply. In English we have been analysing the text Eleanor and the Crystal light and identifying the different structural and langauge features of it. We then looked at some of the characters from Arthur and the Golden Rope and wrote descriptions of them. In Science, we continued to identify that vibrations are needed to create a sound and we had fun putting a tunning fork into some water and seeing the water splash out. We also thought about what parts of different things vibrate in order to make the sound. On Tuesday, we learnt some more of the traditional Charleston dance moves and put them together to create simple routines which some of us performed for the class. In our Geography, we looked at where in the world there are the most earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and identified that they are near the tectonic plate edges. We also identified the Pacific Ring of Fire as the most active place in the world for earthquakes and volcanoes. In PSHE we thought about dares. We discussed what dares are and how to respond in different scenarios that involed someone being dared. For DT this week, we became hands on designers where we worked in groups to create the biggest and strongest sturcture using marshmallows and cocktail sticks. We had to think about the shape of the structure and ways that we could strengthen it to prevent it from collapsing. As with any design, our first ideas didn’t always work and we had to show resilience and perseverance to keep trying new ones. We looked at the story of the transfiguartion in RE and how this shows Christians that Jesus is the Son of God. We wrote in role as one of the disciples who was there to describe what we saw and how we felt. In French, we built on the French foods that we looked at last week and learnt some new vocabulary for different foods using a very catchy song. In Computing we investigated different commands that we could give a screen turtle in order to make it move and create shapes. We also learnt about the pen up, pen down and clear screen commands.