Ireland Wood Primary School
Immerse, Inspire, Include

Pupils  »  Archive  »  Archive 2018-19  »  Year 4  »  Spring

Tropical World and Roundhay Park

On Monday 4th March, year 4 went to Tropical World and Roundhay Park. We did a workshop in Roundhay Park, comparing the native woodland of the UK to the tropical rainforest. We identified different species of plants and trees by looking at the clues from the leaves and twigs around. We even made some woodland animal art using natural materials around us! We also went on a tour of Tropical World, exploring the variety and diversity of wildlife that exists there. We learnt about protecting the rainforests and environmental concerns surrounding the future of the rainforest. We also got to see lots of fantastic exotic animals; from piranhas to slow loris!

Carnival Afternoon!

On Wednesday 13th February, we held a Carnival Afternoon. We all designed and made carnival masks, learnt some Samba dancing and learnt a Samba Groove on the Samba drums. We had a fantastic afternoon, finished off with a parade around the playground in our colourful outfits and masks. It was just a little chillier than it would be in Brazil!! Here are some pictures of 4P doing their Samba drumming workshop with Mrs Tilley.

Introduction
We have had a brilliant start to the Spring Term in year 4. We have settled into our learning and are progressing well throughout the curriculum.

Maths
This term we will be working on multiplication and division, measurement/area, fractions and decimals. The children are given weekly homework to support their learning in school. The main focus of our homework is learning their times tables fluently. This will help with lots of other areas of their maths learning in school.

English
We often link our writing and reading to our topics. The class text this term is 'The Explorer' by Katherine Rundell. Our whole class guided reading sessions guide the children through the story, develiping the key skills of word reading and in particular, comprehension.
In writing we are learning about writing for a range of different purposes:
  • Narrative writing - structuring and organising a story (A trip to Sugar Loaf Mountain - Rio de Janeiro)
  • Non-fiction writing - structuring and organising writing into paragraphs with structural devices (A Survival Guide for the rainforest)
Topic
Our Topic for the whole term is South America and Rainforests.
  • South America - Where in the world is it? What countries are in South America? Brazil - Amazon Rainforest to Rio de Janeiro comparison. What is a carnival?
  • Rainforests - What is it like in the rainforest? Climate? Location on a map? Which countries have rainforests? What species of living things exist in the rainforest? How similar/different is our native woodland compared to the rainforest?