In science we are investigating habitats and food chains. A habitat is a natural environment where plants and animals live. It provides water, food and shelter for the living thing it supports.
We discussed habitats around the world and then investigated the micro-habitats in the school grounds.
We used pooters, magnifying glasses and identification sheets to discover the plants and animals all around us.
In our literacy unit, balanced arguments, we are debating the issue of zoos and deciding whether they are cruel or a valuable way to conserve endangered animals. To help make this decision, we visited Dudley Zoo to study the type of enclosures they use and find out about their work in conservation.
We were able to make observations about the treatment of animals as well as find out more about endangered animals around the world and their natural habitats.
Luckily, the weather was sunny and, apart from a few tired feet, everyone had a great day. Highlights included feeding nectar to the lorikeets, listening to howler monkeys and watching the endangered Humboldt penguins being fed.
Year 4 had a problem to solve in science this week. How could we make the light bulb light up? With only a battery, a bulb and two wires, we had to investigate how to make light. We discovered that it was important how we connected the battery and that the wires had to make a complete circuit. Next week, we are going to take this investigation further. Is there anything else we could use instead of a battery to make the bulb light up?
In World Book Week, we read Paw Prints in the Snow by Sally Grindley and based all of our literacy work around this book. We looked at the WWF website and researched other endangered animals to create a fact file. We then wrote a persuasive piece to try and persuade our class mates to adopt an animal. We are going to have a class vote to decide the winning animal. Watch this space to find out more!
At the end of the week, on World Book Day, we were lucky enough to meet Sally and learn a little more about how she creates her wonderful books.
Science week was very mysterious in Year 4. Mrs Harris discovered a frozen hand and asked Year 4 for help. Where had it come from? How could we return it to the Arctic without it melting?
After brainstorming ideas, we investigated the properties of materials to find which would insulate our hand and stop it from thawing. Our fair test showed which materials worked well and helped us to design an insulated delivery system for our frozen hand.
In Year 4 this week we have been practising our debating skills as part of our topic on the blue abyss. We began by researching the coral reef and reading ‘Where the forest meets the sea’. This gave us lots of ideas about why it would be exciting to visit the Great Barrier Reef but also why a hotel might be a bad idea,
We sorted facts and opinions into two sides of an argument- those for building a new hotel, the Aquis Resort, and those against. We then split into 2 groups, presented our side of the argument and tried to persuade the other side to change their mind.
It was a very heated debate and we showed how good we are at making our point and giving evidence.
On Monday, Year 4 were lucky enough to take part in an exciting poetry workshop led by Language Alive. We imagined ourselves in the future, in 2020, when the president has made outrageous laws, including making poetry illegal. We worked in role as undercover newspaper reporters to infiltrate the poet’s gang and find out his plan. In our role, we learnt the poetry rules and used them to make our own poems. We made up new words to describe ordinary objects, used our feet to feel the beat and had great fun thinking of new ways to describe a spider. It was a fantastic afternoon and it has inspired us to work on our own poems and songs this week.
