Year 4 -Ellis
Library visit
It was a cold but beautiful walk to the library on Tuesday. Once there, we were given a talk by one of the librarians who explained the way the books are organised. We were told how we could find particular books of interest to us, as well as finding new books to try. She also informed us of the various activities that happen at the library. We had some time to browse and select a book to borrow before using the self service machine to check out.
Forest School
We began the year with Forest School. After refreshing our memories with the safety aspects of working in our outdoor environment, we made fires, bows and arrows, created dens and cooked up a storm in the outdoor kitchen!
During our second Forest School lesson, we celebrated Chinese New Year, balanced on the slack-lines, had great fun sledging down the hill, made frozen food in the kitchen and explored making patterns and writing on different frosty surfaces.
It Snowed!
We were lucky enough to be able to enjoy the snow at school. We explored different ways to make snowmen and worked together to create them.
Design Technology - Egyptian Style!
We designed and made jewellery related to the Egyptian Gods. We thought carefully about our design and the colours that we would use to ensure it was as attractive, to the Gods, as possible.
Following on from this, we looked at some examples of Egyptian collars. Then we learned about the cross-stitch technique and how to apply applique. We designed our own collar based on an Egyptian theme, chose a relevant template, then developed our own design. Using our template, we carefully cut out the fabric. We followed our design using cross-stitch and added applique.
Shaduf
In outdoor learning, we were tasked with designing and building our own shaduf. These were used by the Ancient Egyptians to transport water. We had to listen carefully to each others’ ideas and support one another in the construction.
Tutankhamun
We have been archaeologists, discovering the tomb of Tutankhamun. We had to crawl through the entrance and once inside we could see some of the artefacts found within his tomb. Next, working in groups we drew the items that we had seen.
Friday reading
We venture under the tables for reading on a Friday afternoon, Mr Hinkley takes the register from under his desk!
Maths games and TT rockstars
Science
Here are some photographs from our science eggs-periment! We were investigating the effect of various things on our teeth using eggs because the shells are very similar. We covered the eggs in milk, vinegar, orange juice, cola and water before writing down our predictions about what might happen. The eggs were left in the classroom for a few days. Finally we were able to take them out of their liquids and see what had happened to them!
Sistrums
These are Egyptian musical instruments that we made using sticks and bottle tops. We decorated them with colourful wool.
P.E
During P.E we have been completing circuits. We have worked hard to improve our fitness levels and observe the impact on our bodies.
Outdoor Learning
We have been busy weeding the beds ready for next year’s crops. Some of the weeds were so large it took lots of determination and teamwork to uproot them! We were lucky enough to find some bugs. We observed them carefully then gently put them back into their habitat. We also spent time carefully making poppies for Remembrance Day.
Topic
As part of our Ancient Egypt topic, we worked in groups to research and create timelines.
Maths
In maths, we have been practising our 3, 4 and 6 times tables. We have used our tables knowledge to complete Times Tables Rockstar tests and to challenge our opponent during fun, maths games.
Forest School
During Forest School, we learned all about orienteering. We learned how to use the compass on our map to navigate around the school site, how to use a punch and how to read the key which helped us to create sentences linked to the Ancient Egyptians. We worked really hard and had lots of fun!
ProKick Day Friday 4th November
Well done year 4 for competing in the ProKick challenge! There was such a wonderful atmosphere in the hall as the children took it in turns to kick the ball into the goal as fast as they could!
The Fitzwilliam Museum
On Friday 21st October, we went on our trip to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. We spent some time in the armoury, studying the various weapons and armour on display, before sketching our favourite pieces in our sketchbooks. We visited one of the art galleries, where we looked closely at art work by many famous artists including Monet, Picasso and Cezanne. We were also lucky enough to see the recent painting of The Prince and Princess of Wales!
After lunch, we explored the Egyptian collection with the help of Jackie, a very knowledgeable guide at the museum. It was a wonderful opportunity to see Egyptian artefacts up close, we even saw a real Mummy!
An enjoyable day for all, the children all behaved impeccably and were great representatives for Middlefield.
Art
We have continued our exploration of cave art, creating negative and positive handprints using appropriate earthy tones. We also made our own paintbrushes using natural resources and had a go at using mud to re-create cave paintings on the stone slabs during our outside learning.
Design Technology
We learned what ‘eating seasonally’ means as well as the benefits of eating different coloured fruit and vegetables. We then had the opportunity to plan, prepare and cook our own vegetable tarts.
Music
This half term, we have learned about the origin of Rock and Roll music. We have learnt how to hand jive and how to sing Rock Around the Clock. We listened specifically to the walking baseline, before performing the piece as a whole class using glockenspiels.
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Outdoor Learning
We have been busy making apple juice in outdoor learning. We carefully chopped and pressed the apples before tasting the delicious juice. We made lots of observations about the colour and taste of the juice in comparison to the apple juice we have had before. We noticed that the colour of our apple juice was very dark and it didn’t taste as watery as shop bought apple juice. Some of us found it very sweet, others thought it was rather sour but we all enjoyed making it!
Trust sports event 19.10.22
We walked to Winhills to participate in the Year 4 Trust Event. We took part in netball, dodgeball and football. We aimed high and worked hard as a team throughout the morning. Our fabulous sportsmanship was even commented upon by members of staff from another school! We were proud of ourselves for coming third especially as there were only two points separating first and third place.
Green Day
On Monday 26th September, we held our second Green Day at Middlefield. We joined Miss Jarvis outside to plant seed bombs in the forest area, we can't wait to see the wild flowers bloom next year! Our class contributed to a whole school green heart of leaves.
We took part in a whole school toy swap which was great fun, everyone seemed pleased with their swaps. We also talked about recycling and came up with some of our own creations using recyclable items. We also looked at ways we can reduce food waste.
Prehistoric Art
Last week in the Ice Zone, we began to explore prehistoric art. We have had a go at creating our own cave paintings using pastels and charcoal, drawing animals that are native to Britain. During our outside Ice Zone learning, we enjoyed hunting for natural paints so we could make our work as authentic as possible. We found quite a selection of resources to use and surprised ourselves with the range of colours we found!
Welcome to Year 4 - Ellis Class.
Welcome to Ellis Class! As you may know, we have changed the names of the classes this year to inspirational people who have shown us that being the best you can be is important. We are named after Rose Ayling-Ellis, a truly inspirational lady.
This page will give you an insight into what Year 4 are learning this year. The curriculum is packed with fun, learning and opportunities for the children in Year 4 to develop, grow and flourish!
I look forward to working with the children and their families this year.
Mr Hinkley