Welcome to Year 4

Come and see what we have been learning about!

Year 4 Cultural Week – Africa

During Culture Week, Year 4 explored the rich and diverse continent of Africa, immersing ourselves in its vibrant cultures and traditions. One of the highlights was our traditional African drumming workshop, where we learned rhythmic patterns and sang traditional African songs. We were also fortunate to welcome parent helpers, who shared fascinating insights into African culture, including Somali clothing and traditional food. They even led a fantastic performance of dance and music, which we were excited to join in with. Throughout the week, we got creative and engaged in a range of activities: we painted stunning African animal silhouettes and decorated traditional Somali attire. In computing, we researched famous African figures and created informative fact sheets. In geography, we explored the similarities and differences between children’s lives in Africa and our own lives.

Geography

This half term, Year 4 have been learning about volcanoes. They have explored the different parts of a volcano, such as the crater, vent, magma chamber, lava, and ash cloud. They also studied the various types of volcanoes, including shield, stratovolcano, and cinder cone volcanoes, and learned how each type is formed. To help them understand how to stay safe in the event of a volcanic eruption, the children created informative leaflets. These leaflets include important safety tips, such as staying indoors during an eruption, having an emergency kit ready, following evacuation instructions, and protecting themselves from ash inhalation by wearing masks. The children worked hard to gather information and present it in a clear and helpful way.

Art

This half term in Art, Year 4 havebeen creating clay pots inspired by Roman pottery. We started by learning how to make coil shapes and practiced various techniques for joining them securely. We examined examples of Roman pottery, which inspired us to add our own creative designs to our pots. This project helped us improve our clay modeling skills while connecting with the history and artistry of Roman culture. We look forward to sharing our finished pots!

English

Year 4 have been learning about the Romans in History this half term and our texts in English have linked to this. We have been reading ‘Escape from Pompeii’, which tells of Tranio, an actor's son, and his friend Livia, the baker's daughter, as they witness the destruction of their beloved city.

We wrote narratives describing the escape and used our best descriptive language. We have been learning to use fronted adverbials and expanded noun phrases to improve our writing.