Hello Year 4! We hope that you had a fabulous half term break and enjoyed having lots of fun in the sun with your lovely families. The Year 4 Team have been having lots of fun too! Mrs Harrison has been growing her own spinach and is finally getting round to planting the M&S seedlings she collected at the beginning of lockdown! The Harrison family also have their very own Springwatch family of sparrows in their wall, it’s all very exciting! Mrs Harrison has also enjoyed long walks with her beautiful dog, Sadie.
The Graham family have been busy finding lots of different places to take bike rides and nature walks; it’s amazing how many beautiful places we have discovered on our doorstep! We have also enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen, Amelie’s latest creation was a pineapple and cinnamon upside down cake; it was delicious!
Meanwhile, Mr Nettleship has been busy developing his tennis skills and has also been on lots of adventurous walks in the sunny weather. He has also been very busy buying a house and is hoping to move in very soon!
Mrs Johnston and her family have been playing a lot of board games, their favourites are Yahtzee and Rumikub! They have also enjoyed so much swing ball and table tennis that their grass is wearing away! Two of Mrs Johnston’s sons have enjoyed sleeping in their tent and their guinea pigs have taken advantage of lots of extra cuddles over the last couple of months.
Mrs Marshall and her family enjoyed a lovely visit to Whitley Bay and spent time walking along the beach in the sun. They saw hundreds of pebble towers, known as cairns, which have been built by people on their daily walk since the start of lockdown.
Reading Tasks
Aim to read for at least 20 minutes each day.
This week we are having a poetry focus. Please watch some of the following poems, performed by the great Michael Rosen. Explore how he uses poetry to perform a narrative and how he experiments with his voice and his use of facial expression. Have a go at reading these aloud- can you perform one of his poems to your family? Let us know which poems you like best! https://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/poems-and-stories-about-my-family/
Alternatively, have a go at the following reading comprehension:
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/lks2-benjamin-zephaniah-differentiated-reading-comprehension-activity-t2-e-42016
Writing Tasks
Life is full of rules. Michael’s poem contains a few that begin with ‘don’t’. Children are always being told what to do. Now it’s your turn! Have a go at writing your own advice-poem of ‘do-rules’ and ‘don’t-rules’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oaq3gzswei0 https://www.poetryireland.ie/content/files/SchoolPoster_DontPutMustard.pdf
Writing activity 1 – Write a get-your-own-back poem of dos and don’ts for parents or brothers and sisters. You can either repeat ‘do’ or ‘don’t’ on each line, or divide their poem into two sections, one for ‘dos’ and one for ‘don’ts’. You can think about whether you want the ‘dos’ or the ‘don’ts’ to come first in your poem.
Writing activity 2 – Have a go at writing a poem of ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ designed to help a friend in an unusual situation: – they are made of glass – their hat is on fire – they are turned into a flea – they are sad – they are a snowman – they are an elephant in a supermarket – they are walking a tightrope.
• Can you think of any more imaginary situations that might need rules?
• Choose one of these situations and think about the advice you would give your friend. You could start by making a list of the advice you would give, and then turn this into a poem.
OR– have a go at some of these writing tasks.
– Listen to the poem entitled ‘What is Pink?’ by Christina Rossetti. Have a go at writing your own rhyming poem in the same style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbOLi0p9mWk
– Similes are often used in poetry – have a go at creating your own using the worksheet on this link. As a challenge, can you turn your similes into metaphors? https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t2-e-3239-ks2-inventing-new-similes-activity-sheet
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t2-or-402-code-cracking-for-beginners-experimenting-with-similes-and-metaphors-powerpoint
– Have a go at writing your own animal poem using similes and metaphors. First, makes notes about your animal; think about the appearance of your animal, its features, characteristics etc. Then turn your notes into a poem using similes and metaphors Look at the one below to help you.
– Have a go at look at the following website for individual lessons based on poetry: https://www.thenational.academy/online-classroom/year-4/english#subjects
– Scrabble Spellings: Choose 6 different words from the Year 3/4 spelling list. Write them out and find out what each word is worth. An example of this is attached below. Alternatively, play with someone in your family and see who can achieve the highest score by creating your own words.
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t2-m-41455-my-valuable-name-maths-letter-tiles-activity
Maths Tasks
Have a look at some of the fun games on the sites below. Don’t forget to use Times Tables Rockstar too – let’s see who can learn those table facts! https://www.transum.org/Software/SW/Starter_of_the_day/
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?a=activity13
https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/477/Multiplication-Tables-Check
For structured daily Maths lessons click on this link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/tags/z63tt39/year-4-and-p5-lessons/1
The White Rose worksheets can be accessed below:
Statistics!
Have a go at some of the problems below. Make sure you read the question!
You could have a go at creating your own bar chart or line graph. Here are some example that you could use or you could think of your own ideas:
- A line graph to show the temperature throughout the day.
- A bar chart to show how many times people can hop on one foot in your family.
- A bar chart to show how many pieces of fruit your family has eaten throughout the week.
Number of the week is 24!
This is not related to the staff in year 4 but is related to something that has happened over the past couple of days – think about what is above you!
- How could you show this number as a decimal?
- What happens if you multiply and divide this number by 10, 100 and 1000?
- I want to multiply this number by 8, 12 and 36. What are the answers? Remember to use your written methods.
- How many different multiple factors are in 24? e.g I know that 24 is a multiple of 6.
Science– Have a look at our solar system. Use this link to help you. https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/tg2-a-01-movement-of-the-planets-in-our-solar-system-animation
Could you research each planet and write 3 facts about them?
What is the difference between Earth and the rest of the planets?
This is also a free resource to learn about The Sun, Moon and Earth
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/au-t2-s-074-australia-sun-moon-and-earth-overview-differentiated-lesson-teaching-pack
Challenge: What would happen to Earth if there wasn’t a Sun?
What is the relationship between the Earth, Sun and Moon?
- Topic Tasks
- Look at the fabulous art work of Space artist, Peter Thorpe – can you create a picture in the same style? You could use paint, felt tips, pastels, collage, chalks etc. The choice is yours but please don’t forget to show us your masterpieces! http://peterthorpe.net/rockets
- Mix paints or pastels to create your own picture of the Solar System. Can you come up with your own mnemonic to help you to remember the order of the planets? e.g. My Very Excited Mother Just Served Us Noodles.
- Have a look at these websites for lots of fun Space art and craft ideas:
https://funfamilycrafts.com/category/craft-type/space-crafts/ https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-19414-space-craft-activity-pack - Can you make your own 3D Model of the Solar System? Watch this clip to help you get started:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UdEnBQAAzQ - First man on the moon: look into the history of the first man of the moon: look at who it was, which country they were from and what they discovered when on the moon. You could present this as a fact file or write a newspaper report.
- Timeline of space travel: – research space travel and events / discoveries that have happened over the years. Present your findings on a timeline.
- Descriptive writing: – think about what you might see in space? Design and describe a new alien that might be discovered on a different planet. Write a character profile to describe your alien: What does it look like? What does it do? What type of alien is it? What does it eat / like? Where does it live? etc. Don’t forget to begin your sentences in different ways and try and incorporate some similes and metaphors.
- ICT: Research information about famous astronauts and create a powerpoint presentation to display your findings or use Publisher to create a leaflet. Impress your grown ups with your fabulous IT skills!
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-2548418-amazing-astronauts-powerpoint
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t2-s-786-new-tim-peake-british-astronaut-resource-pack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhD8GFwy734
- Additional Activities:
- Literacy– create your own comic strip:
- https://www.storyboardthat.com/storyboard-creator
- Art – Draw with Rob https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBpgrJijMpk_pyp9uTbxLdg Painting, Collage and Printmaking. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zjgj7nb https://www.kitchentableclassroom.com/online-art-classes-for-kids/ https://www.youtube.com/user/ArtforKidsHub
- Geography – https://world-geography-games.com/
- PE– https://www.tbsport.uk/ Yoga is a wonderful way to keep your body and mind very healthy. Have a go at this cosmic yoga activity. It is based on Harry Potter so we think you will enjoy it quite a lot! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-BS87NTV5I&feature=emb_title
- Mr Nettleship has been working on his tennis skills.
- Create a spider diagram to show what skills you need to play tennis.
- What is Hand-eye coordination and why is that important in tennis as well as other sports?
- What are the similarities between tennis and badminton?
- How long can you keep a tennis ball in the air for?
- If you don’t have access to equipment you could always be creative for example, using a balloon and your hand or a paper ball and your hand!
PSHE
This has also just been released free online and there are some lovely short stories about hope. Which one is your favourite?
https://literacytrust.org.uk/family-zone/9-12/book-hopes
https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/talking-to-your-child-about-coronavirus/
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/newsbeat-52411394/coronavirus-dr-radha-s-five-mental-health-tips-for-
We hope you all have a fantastic week at home and that it is packed full of fun. Stay safe and continue to make us proud; we miss you all so much.
Love from the Year 4 Team xxxx