This term, Kingfishers will be looking at the theme of 'Be Curious' in which we'll all consider questions about how the world works and look at ways to answer some of them. 

Welcome to Yr 4 Kingfishers

Kingfishers' class teacher is Mrs May. 

P.E days: 

P.E. and Dance is on Tuesday.

PE kits are required to be left in school from Monday to Friday. The kit consists of a white t-shirt, blue shorts and trainers/plimsolls. During winter months, it is suggested that children are provided with a tracksuit. All items of PE kit should be labelled with the child's name and class. 

Home Learning:

Home learning will be given out on a Friday to be handed in the following Wednesday. 

Team Leader:

Year 3 and 4 Teaching and Learning Lead: Miss Sarah Durnford

Key Stage 2 Lead: Mrs Leanne Foster

If there are any issues or concerns please feel free to come in and see the class teacher (Mrs May) or contact 

jmay@white-rock-primary.torbay.sch.uk or alternatively a team leader:

sdurnford@white-rock-primary.torbay.sch.uk

lfoster@white-rock-primary.torbay.sch.uk

Upcoming Events 

Academic Year 2017-2018

Continuing Curiosity

This week, Kingfishers have answered more of their curious questions as we have looked at the role of different teeth in the mouth. Amusingly, we tried to eat some apple, just using our front teeth and found that this wasn't an easy task! In Maths, we've consolidated our learning about identifying coordinates and discovered what it means to plot a polygon using them and how to describe a translation. 

Illustrating Sci-Fi Narratives

The class have learnt how to draw a picture in perspective this week and applied this to their Sci-Fi Narratives. When shown what they would be producing, some questioned whether or not they would be able to achieve it. However, step-by-step everyone as completed a picture in perspective.

Performing Poetry

Some of Kingfishers began looking at some Poetry this week in Guided Reading. In Year 4, they're set the target of performing with some expression. The whole class have been finishing off their exciting Sci Fi narratives in Literacy, learning about perimeter and area in Maths and preparing for their part in the Science Museum that took place on Thursday. 

Skills Build at South Devon College

This week we took a trip to South Devon College for their Skills Build day. Kingfishers got to have a go at plastering, brick laying, wiring a plug, tiling a roof and other such activities. It was a great learning experience as we found out what it was like to do various jobs and what was involved.

Making a Start on Science Fiction

This week we've started a new learning journey, with an overall aim to write a science fiction narrative. To get us started, we have used pastels to create a sci-fi setting and then had a go at describing both the setting for the story and the main character that may appear in it. Take a look at a few of our initial descriptions. 

This week we received an exciting letter from 10 Downing Street! This was a reply to the letters that we sent to Theresa May concerning plastic pollution in our oceans. We are always very proud of our writing and are overjoyed that we received such an amazing response. Have a look at the letter below.

Being Curious

This week, we've been curious! We've been curious about sound, about South America, all the rules around using possessive apostrophes... What a busy start!!

A Week of Multi-Culturalism

Well, this week we have been continuing our Maths unit, revisiting columnar method for addition and subtraction. We have been planning for our Indian myths, learning about Judaism, and mastering our dance and song for the learning celebration. As well as all of that, we went to Primley Woods, used our knowledge of compass directions and gained new knowledge about maps to help us in orienteering. We got muddy!! 

Team Work!

What an exciting time Kingfishers had this week! We went off to Parkfield where we used our team work skills to support each other in indoor climbing and to solve various problems given to each of the groups. The groups learnt how to communicate effectively and share ideas while taking on board the ideas of others. We raced! We raced again! And gradually, using the all the points put forward, we completed the task in a shorter time!

GRENVILLE HOUSE 2018

What an amazing time we have had at Grenville House! We have done orienteering, high ropes, climbing wall, solved problems by using our teamwork skills and we have even had a snowball fight and made snowmen and snow angels in the snow! The food has been delicious - we think the hot chocolate and the biscuits at night time were the best though! It has been wonderful to spend time together with our friends and to do and try things we have never done before. 

Busy Beginning to this Half Term

Kingfishers have only been back two days, but it's been a very busy two days. We've learnt an Indian legend and retold it to each other, and in some cases, the whole class. We've done an experiment to look at how oil spills affect sea creatures. The Junkman showed us how he's made musical instruments out of junk and enabled us to play music together, while in PSHE, we have explored food from different countries around the world. Wow, it's been busy!!

Exploring Our World

Kingfishers have spent time this week looking at various aspects of our world. We've learnt about invertebrates including insects, molluscs, annelids and even cnidarians (we've learnt how to say that word too!!). We've learnt about immigration and the countries that immigrants come from, into the UK. The class have continued learning about negative numbers in Maths, while at home, the children have been recycling single use plastic into helpful tools for every day life. 

Below zero??

This week we've completed our letters that we're sending off to Theresa May, asking her to do more to help solve the plastic pollution problem our world is facing in our oceans. Negative numbers are new on the scene in Maths, and we've played some whole class games to help develop our confidence in understanding numbers below zero. Kingfishers also started looking at their art and design project in which we're aiming to create large scale models of sea creatures out of recycled materials. This began with looking at Miro and his use of colour and shape in his art. 

Taking on Theresa May!

Kingfishers have tackled the 'ocean plastics' issue head on this week, using their emotive language and known facts about the situation to write to Theresa May. Not only are we trying to resolve the issue of plastics in the sea but have decided to use this problem to reduce the number of people having to live on the streets of the UK by suggesting ways the UK can build houses, using unwanted plastic. The class have also completed their unit on shape, and are able to identify different types of angles, lines of symmetry amongst other properties of shape. Our science has supported our Literacy, as we've looked at how we classify animals (vertebrates) into Mammals, Birds, Reptile, Amphibians, and Fish. 

Pupils against Plastic Pollution!!

Kingfishers have spent some of their time this week learning about the affects of man-made plastic on sea-life and as a result have become quite passionate about doing something about it. Recognising that all the hazardous plastic in the sea is a result of humans, we've looked at ways to prevent the need for more plastic to be created and ways that we could use plastic instread of needing to throw it away. The class have written letters from the perspective of a sea animal to human beings to get a sense of how they might persuade someone to change their actions. Our Guided Reading has supported this as we've looked at how waste and recycling is disposed of.

In Maths, we've focused our attention on properties of quadrilaterals and triangles, with an end-of-week focus on identifying angles. We've also used our knowledge of Maths gained last week to create some large scale Rangoli patterns. 

Newness!

It's a new year, and there's been a whole lot of newness going on in Kingfishers this week. A new time table (Dance/P.E. now both on Tuesday), a new seating plan and new learning partners. We've started a new learning journey of One World, One Heart. As part of that we've begun looking at a new science topic of sound, and doing so through learning about music and how it's created. Kingfishers have continued this musical theme into their Literacy as they write a review of an orchestral performance. In Maths, we've begun looking at a new topic of shape, and in particular lines of symmetry and how we can identify them. So much newness, and all in just 3 days - woah!!

What a busy week! 

Kingfishers have had such a busy week this week! We've been continuing to learn written method for multiplication, we've combined our understanding of the water cycle and our knowledge of European countries to beging writing a narrative about Walter, the water particle, and we've spent a considerable amount of time on design technology, building lanterns ready for the Paignton Lantern Parade. On top of that, Kingfishers joined the rest of Year 4 in a trip to Goodrington Methodist Church to take part in the Christmas Labyrinth through which they learnt about the story behind our Christmas celebrations.

Haiku, haiku, it's off to work we go!!

Haiku poems have featured a lot this week, as has the water cycle! Kingfishers are really beginning to grasp what occurs in the water cycle and the scientific processes it involves. This was demonstrated in their writing of Haiku poems where they were required to sum up the process in lines of 5 and 7 syllables. In Maths we've been looking at the distributive law (13 x 4 = 10 x 4 + 3 x 4) and have just begun applying that to the written method. The class have also done a great job of working together really well to solve some Maths problems. We've learnt about France as part of a french lesson, drawn in the style of Picasso, and learnt a bit more about Basketball. In addition to all of this, we've made time to practise singing and choreography for the Christmas Market being held on 9th December at White Rock.

Exploring the Water Cycle

Kingfishers have had an exciting week of exploring the water cycle and separate elements of it. We've acted the role of a water particle as it evaporates and condensates. In groups, the class have created rain in a jar and made a water cycle in a bag! In maths we've continued to discover mathematical laws relating to multiplication and division and how they can help us to solve calculations. On Tuesday we had a great learning celebration and were really pleased that so many family members came along - thank you!

A Week of Successful Completions

This week, Kingfishers have completed their writing up of a discussion about who had the easier voyage - Christopher Columbus in 1492 and Ellen MacArthur in 2005? In Maths, we've completed our unit on addition and subtraction. We've spent some time reflecting on our learning so far this term. We've completed an experiment looking at how waterproof different materials are and what makes a fair test. The class have discovered that all materials are made of particles and have had fun acting out the role of particles in solids, liquids and gases. From this, we've learnt about evaporation. In addition to all of this, as part of Anti-Bullying Week, we've considered what bullying is, how it feels to be bullied, and the impact our words can have on each other. We discovered that an apple that we were mean to looked fine on the outside but was bruised on the inside and realised that this is how it often is with people who are subjected to bullying. Kingfishers agreed that this was something we didn't want to see happen in the class.

A week of connections

Kingfishers have been connecting information and knowledge and places all week! In Literacy, we've been really focused on how we connect arguments about whether it was easier for Christopher Columbus or Ellen MacArthur to complete their voyages in 1492 and 2005. Connecting inverse operations has kept us busy in Maths - looking at how using inverse operations can help us find missing numbers. In Geography, we've looked at connecting start and end points for Christopher Columbus' and Ellen MacArthur's voyages, recognising where the two of them went along the way. A number of the class also attempted 128 spellings for a Spelling Bee competition and all did really well! 

Easy Sailing??

Who found had it easier - Christopher Columbus sailing in 1492 with 90 men and 3 ships and limited knowledge of where they were at any given point, or Ellen MacArthur who sailed around the world single-handedly but with a huge amount of technology to help her? That's what Kingfishers have been looking at this week in history and their literacy. Continuing on the sea based them, we've been learning to read line graphs about sea temperature and boat trips. Science, Art, P.E., dance and Music have also featured. Highlights of the week: A visit from our local fire-fighting heroes who showed us around their fire engine and answered numerous questions from the children, and of course, winning the Mathletics trophy - well done to all Kingfishers who contributed to this!!

Dance this half term

In Dance in Year 4, we have looked at traditional African dance positions and used ideas from these to create our own short dances in groups. We had to ensure that we had strong movements within our dances and included different levels.

Resilience in Editing and Perseverence with Word Problems!

Kingfishers have written, read and edited multiple times to learn the importance of proof-reading and checking our own writing. We recalled together in groups the beginning eight chapters of Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl and individually planned and began writing an alternative ending to the narrative. In Maths we've been continue to look at addition and subtraction and have been developing an understanding of how to know, when given a word problem, how to know which operation is necessary. Continents, countries, and oceans have been the content of Geography lessons. We've been learning in Art, P.E. Dance, ICT too - it's Go Go Go!!!

Nelson Mandela and Roald Dahl

Kingfishers have completed our Nelson Mandela diaries this week, and moved on to learning about a literary hero, Roald Dahl. In Geography we have looked at human and physical features of landscapes and applied this to our setting description in Literacy. In Maths, we've been practically learning about addition and subtraction and the importance of carrying across place value columns. On top of this, we've had a visit from Kevin Foster, MP and had the opportunity to ask him questions ahead of next week's Democracy Week. 

Macmillan Coffee Morning

It may have been in the afternoon, and there may have been no coffee in sight but we still managed to raise £281.39 for Macmillan Cancer Support. The children prepared cakes during the week, and through generous donations from family members there was a enough cake for everyone, and more! Thank you to everyone who came along on Friday afternoon to make it such a success!

Estimating and Calculating

We came to the end of our first unit in Maths, looking at using our understanding of rounding to help us estimate, particularly looking at amounts of money. We began our estimating by looking at where on number lines numbers might appear. 

Enlightened about Electricity

Kingfishers considered our heroes of electricity, and in particular, that of Thomas Edison. Considering other attempts at inventing the light bulb, we found out why Edison is the most well known of the light bulb inventors (it was cheaper and longest lasting!). We then had a go at building circuits in order to light up a light bulb.  

A busy week of 'hero-ology'!

Wow, what a busy week we've had in Kingfishers. We've been really focused on rounding to the nearest 100 and 1000 in Maths. In Science we've explored heroes of electricity who we all feel very thankful for, having considered the extent to which we're reliant on electricity and we've begun looking at electrical circuits. Having completed a non-chronological report about non-cape-wearing heroes, we've started to investigate the life of Nelson Mandela, in preparation to write a diary entry.