firstfederation
Class visit to the Tamar Bridge
We had an interesting visit to the Tamar Bridge Visitors' Centre where we met an old friend - Isambard Kingdom Brunel! There was a lot of good information about the history of the bridge and how it was constructed. We also enjoyed the interactive activities such as dressing up, using the CCTV cameras and building different types of bridges. The weather wasn't great but we still managed a walk along the footpath by the side of the bridge and got outside for a bit of sketching too!
I. K. Brunel visits Herons
What a fantastic day! We have had a visit from Isambard Kingdom Brunel (from Blast from the Past) who told us a lot of facts and information about his life, his work and his legacy.
The children listened really well, learned a lot and had many interesting questions. Then everybody took part in a quiz about Brunel's creations - it was amazing to see how much they had all remembered and got quite competitive!
Later, the children took part in a bridge building workshop. Creations were made from paper or card but then had to be strengthened. We tested the bridges by adding trains and weights. It was a lot of fun!
After lunch, the children played a "Brunel" board game in groups. There were lots of facts to read along the way and everyone enjoyed the game. We finished the day by looking at a number of Victorian artefacts and had to write down what we thought they were used for. Much to the amusement of the adults, what the children thought was a "soup bowl" turned out to be a chamber pot! The children certainly found it interesting to discover what life was like in Victorian times.
A big thank you to Mr. Chapman for coming in and inspiring us today.
Propellers - A lesson by Oliver 17.05.19
We were really lucky to have a visit from Oliver's Dad today! He brought some propellers and a model boat to show us. This links with our learning on Isambard Kingdom Brunel that we will start next week! Oliver became the class teacher and told us all lots of information about the propellers, how they work and how the model boat was made. There were lots of interesting questions and facts! Thank you, Oliver! And thank you to Dad too!
Sketching Aveton Gifford bridge 17.05.19
On Friday, we went for a walk through Aveton Gifford so that we could sketch Aveton Gifford bridge. Our focus was to try to use the correct proportions and add detail later on. The view of the bridge was great - thank you to Mrs. Young and her super knowledge of the local area! The children's sketches were fantastic and we had a lovely morning!
Building bridges 16.05.19
Today we were engineers! Our challenge was to make a bridge to cross a river. We had to make it out of newspaper and work in teams to create the strongest bridge possible. We used prior knowledge about different arches and triangles to help us with designing ideas. Rolling, twisting and layering helped us to strengthen our designs. Later in the day, we tested their strength by placing weights on them to see which were the strongest.
Summer Term spellings (all weeks)
Summer term curriculum overview
Summer term letter to parents
Space Odyssey Visit
To one small step for man, one giant leap for Herons Class...
On Friday, we had a visit from Space Odyssey. It was a very exciting afternoon! We got to go inside the space dome where we learned a lot about life on a space station, astronauts and space history. After this, we were taken on a tour of the planets and stars and looked at their sizes in relation to our sun and the earth. It was really amazing to learn that there are other stars in our galaxy which are 6 billion times larger than our own sun! Finally, we looked at the phases of the moon and some of the constellations in the night sky. So in one hour, we traveled millions of miles and made lots of discoveries along the way.
Paignton Zoo visit March 2019
What an exciting day at Paignton Zoo! We had a super time and got to see lots of animals, some relating to our Rainforest topic and some some extra ones too. Some of the highlights of the day were the giraffes and elephants, the rhinos, the cockroaches in the Reptile house, the red panda and, of course, the wobbly bridge (which was so much fun that we had to go on it twice)!
Thank you to the children for their great behaviour, and thank you to staff and parent helpers who supported our visit.
World Book Day 2019
We had a really lovely day on World Book Day. Everyone came in wearing a costume to represent a favourite book character. Clearly a lot of thought and effort had gone into the children's outfits. During the day, we had a story-sharing assembly and later Herons Class read The Great Kapok Tree, which links with our Rainforest theme this term. The children listened very well and demonstrated a good understanding of the book's messages about why rainforests are important to us all. They each wrote a super book review, some of which are on display in the classroom.
Messy Maths Week!
What a fun week! We have learned a lot about geometric shapes through some outdoor, messy (muddy) activities. Herons Class have been naming 2D polygons, focusing particularly on quadrilaterals and triangles, and learning about the properties that these shapes have. We have created some shape art using natural materials to stain fabric, created shapes with sticks and identified symmetry in nature. These activities have also helped us to use some of our core learning skills - perseverance, collaboration, noticing and absorption to name a few!
Tidying up the school environment
Saving the world one playground at a time! This afternoon, Herons Class and Swans class went out into the school grounds to clean up the environment. In 20 minutes, we collected a big bag of rubbish - mainly plastics - from around the playground and forest school area. The children were really observant, noticing even the smallest pieces of litter. Well done everyone!
Creating comic strips
In Herons Class, we have been creating our own comic strips. We have planned out our stories collaboratively, which had to be linked to the rainforest. Then we used "Storyframethat" to bring our comics to life! We have had to drag and drop backgrounds, characters and other objects into each frame; rotate and resize objects accordingly; and add text boxes and speech bubbles. Many of the children also learned about why it is important to save your work regularly! During our lessons, we have also discussed the importance of logging off when you have been using things such as apps, email or programs such as Seesaw.
Forest School
Herons Class have been taking part in Forest School with Mrs. Harding on a Monday afternoon. This term our learning has been focused around the theme of "Play" which links with our playground development. We have been developing some ideas about ways to use our outdoor space whilst enjoying the mud and fresh air!
Spring Term Spellings (all weeks given)
Spring term overview
Spring term letter to parents
Useful information for Herons:
PE is every Wednesday - please bring your kit.
Spelling homework is set every Friday. Please complete at least 5 good quality sentences which are due in by the following Wednesday.
There is also a project-based homework linked to our topic on rainforests. You can choose how to present this! This is due in by half term.
Weekly spellings are tested on Friday morning. The common exception words are tested termly.
If you have any questions, please come and ask.
Welcome to The Herons' Class Page!
Year 4
Class teachers Mrs Becky Everitt (Mon-Tuesday) & Mrs Louise Sewell (Wednesday-Friday).
Mrs Keren Young Learning Support Assistant.
Welcome to Heron Class - Autumn Term 2018
Our topic this term is Ancient Egyptians!
Welcome to Heron Class - Summer Term 1 2018
Our new topic is 'Save Our Seas' with a geography/environmental focus
Exeter Chiefs visit as part of a greater depth writing project
Writing Poetry about Plastic Pollution
20.04.18 - River Walk Clean Up
Summer 1 Homework and Letters
Welcome to Herons! Spring Term 2018
This term our topic is 'African Adventure'. Please scroll down to see some of the learning we have been doing.
The Lion King Performance!
Spring 1 Spellings and Times Tables
Practising our Times Tables
Making 3D Shapes from Nets
Herons' Forest School Session
Year 4/5 Maths Investigation
Investigating Friction!
Music with Mr Wilkes!
Rounding to the nearest 10,100 and 1000!
Apple Pressing!
Harvest Festival in Church
Learning about Harvest
Coding with Miss Drabwell
We have been finding 10,100 and 1000 more or less than a number!
Working across Years 2,3,4 - supporting each other with writing!
The Fibonacci Sequence - We have been learning about patterns in numbers!
PSHE - Talking about our feelings
British Values - Learning about Democracy - 'Should Goldilocks have been punished?'
Welcome back to school after the lovely summer holidays. We hope you are all refreshed and are ready for learning. We can't wait to start our new topic Kings and Queens!
Our river walk to Batham Beach
Our 'Young Spirit' Forest Expedition Residential Trip
Setting the butterflies free
On an African Safari at Paignton Zoo
Practising our dictionary skills
Learning about 'Time' with Key Stage 1
Learning about lines of latitude and longitude
"How does the heart work?"
Our Forest School afternoon with Miss Drabwell - making fire!
Our trip to Morwellham Quay
Learning about Victorian and contemporary toys
Herons have been learning about Victorian toys and comparing them to the toys of today. The children looked at pictures of some of toys and had to work in teams to decide whether they were authentic or modern day toys. They also looked at the materials used to make them, presenting their findings back to the rest of the class
To understand that a skeleton is needed for support, protection and movement
'Fantastic Mr Fox'
In Herons the children have started a new Literacy unit about Roald Dahl's 'Fantastic Mr Fox'. They have been familiarising themselves with the story, using drama to get to know the characters, focusing on expression and the projection of their voices.
'Fantastic Mr Fox'!
