Welcome to Year 4!

Hi everyone,

What a fantastic start to Year 4 we have had.

The children have taken everything in their stride, it’s as though we haven’t been apart! I’m so proud of them, with the fantastic attitudes towards school and learning, I’m sure we are in for a good year.

Our first topic is ‘Indiana Jones and The Pharaoh’s Curse!’ – The topic planning map is attached if anyone would like to check out what is coming up.

Mr Mathieson.

[embeddoc url=”https://birdwellyear4.edublogs.org/files/2020/09/Planning-map.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

I have a dream!

As you are aware, Martin Luther King, Jr. played a key role in the American civil rights movement.

This was not easy for Martin Luther King, Jr. as he was arrested and even his house was bombed! Pretty severe for a bloke wanting to change the world for the better.

In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. helped to organise the famous “March on Washington”. Over 250,000 people attended this march in an effort to show the importance of civil rights legislation. Some of the issues the march hoped to accomplish included an end to segregation in public schools, protection from police abuse, and to get laws passed that would prevent discrimination in employment.

It was at this march where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. This speech has become one of the most famous speeches in history. The March on Washington was a great success. The Civil Rights Act was passed a year later in 1964.

Below is a video of the famous speech.

Here are a few questions to think about. You could discuss them with an adult in your home.

  • What did you notice about the way he spoke?
  • Discuss the message – What was he talking about?
  • What was his vision for the future?
  • Has this happened?
  • Was this fair for Martin Luther King, Jr. to want as a right?

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. played a key role in the American civil rights movement from the mid 1950s until his assassination in 1968. Martin Luther King, Jr. is considered one of the greatest public speakers of modern times and his speeches still inspire many to this day.

I would like you to present as much information on Martin Luther King, Jr. as you can. You could record yourself speaking, create a PowerPoint or Word document, you could also present it as a word-map or fact file, it is your choice!

Below are some helpful resources to get you started on Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Click this link to open a Martin Luther King, Jr. biography

Tomorrow, we will be looking at the famous – I have a dream! 

Unit 3: World-Changers!

In this unit we are going to learn about people who wanted to change the world for the better, through their strong beliefs.

Now, you would like to think that you would be forgiven for thinking that trying to change the world for the better would make you very popular! No, these people had to endure violence, threats and even prison to make the changes they believed in!

In America (1960s), unprivileged or uneducated people had to pass a test in order to vote. The tests were mainly administered to black voters. The tests were almost impossible to pass and had the intent to disenfranchise black voters.

Below is an example of a test, The Louisiana Literacy Test and to be honest, it doesn’t test your literacy skills at all! Have a go at the test and see how you get on…

You have 10 minutes to complete it!

Once you have completed the test, you could test an adult, brother or sister.

You could also create your own test and upload it to the blog for your classmates to have a go at or you could administer it on an adult at home.

Click the download link to download the Louisiana Literacy Test.

Remember to let us know how you get on and what you think to the Louisiana Literacy Test. Do you think it’s a fair test? How did you feel sitting the test?

[embeddoc url=”https://birdwellyear3.edublogs.org/files/2020/07/The-State-of-Louisiana-test-1.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

Here are the possible answers to the Louisiana test.

Topic challenge: Weapon making

This week’s topic challenge is to create your own Stone Age weapon! Below is a brilliant video covering the Stone Age era, can you pick out any important information about the weapons?

During the Stone Age, people used sharpened sticks for hunting and protection purposes, they were vital for survival in the Stone Age. They were also used to hunt certain animals like wolves, foxes, bears, deer, hyena and much more.

Check out the weapons that have already been made… maybe you could do something similar?

Cave Art Comes Alive! | Stone age activities, Stone age tools ...Stone Age Tools – Hillside Primary School | Baddeley Green ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You could design your Stone Age weapon on paper first, labelling the key parts of it. Next, you could manufacture the weapon by using cardboard, sticks, string, rocks or any other household items – just get your parents permission first!

I’m looking forward to seeing them!

 

Art competition

Good morning everyone, the work you have done on the art competition is fabulous. You have obviously spent a great deal of time working on these to create these images. I am so impressed and it has been an utter delight for myself and the rest of the staff to see these. They are so bright, colourful and detailed and using lots of different medium.

There have been so many to look through so it has been very challenging indeed to make a final decision. Well done to everyone who took part, however, there can only be one winner and that is Toby in Y4 for his lovely and accurate drawing of Mrs Buckley.

Thank you once again to everyone who took part and had a go, it has been so lovely to see your art work.

Mr Bailey

The enchanted hot chocolate

Today we drank something that we haven’t tasted before. It was something very sweet, foamy and creamy. It warmed us right down to our toes. It was the most delicious hot chocolate ever! We also ate something very sweet with a light centre; the best Turkish delight!

Little to our knowledge the hot chocolate was enchanted by the Queen… now we must get the chocolate out of the water!

Stayed tuned to see what happens…

Year 4 Radio Stars!!!

Well, we’ve had so much fun today! We became… RADIO STARS! Gareth, from Dearne FM, interviewed us regarding our favourite sweets, ideal birthday party and much more!

We will be featuring as Dearne FM’s class of the week!

Make sure to listen out for us, week commencing 3rd June at 8:20am (Monday, Wednesday and Friday).

Dragon Eye Artwork!

We have been creating some amazing artwork in year 4!

As our topic is based all around dragons, we have been looking at the amazing details in dragons eyes and the colours and textures around the eyes.

We created our own dragon eyes out of clay and we used acrylic paints to recreate the bright colours of dragons skin!

Take a look at some of the amazing examples!

EYES EVERYWHERE!!!

This week, we have started our new topic, How to Train Your Dragon. Check out our beautiful artwork! Make sure you pop in to have a look!

Mummification

We have been learning about the mummification process.

We had some hot dogs in the classroom! Unfortunately, we couldn’t eat them so we decided to mummify them instead!

We can’t wait to see what happens.

 

Check out how good we are at Spanish!