Reading the newspaper is a great way to start the day!
Every Thursday, the children collect the paper as they come into class and settle down to read. Following this, we always share some of the articles that have been of particular interest. This week, we enjoyed articles about plastic pollution and ocean awareness. These linked well to our current studies about the environment.
Year 4 are going to be learning about the impact plastic is having in our oceans. How does it get there? What harm does it do to the marine life?
What can we do to help?
Plastic is really useful and we use it every day.
But what happens after we throw it away is causing a big problem for our planet. There are lots of easy ways you can cut down your single-use plastic, but what should you do with the plastic that you can’t avoid? Ecobricks are an ethical way of using up the plastic that can’t be recycled and won’t break down.
Today, the children have set up an Ecobrick station in the classroom.
What is an ecobrick?
An ecobrick is a building block made entirely from unrecyclable plastic. It’s created by filling a plastic bottle with clean, dry plastic until it’s packed tightly and can be used as a building block.
Ecobricks can be used in all sorts of sustainable building projects, which makes them a great way to dispose of plastic waste that would otherwise end up in landfill, and potentially, the ocean.
To find out more follow the link below.
https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/news/news-archive/2019/what-is-an-ecobrick
A few more pictures from our recent trip to Whitby.
What a great day we had learning in an outdoor and natural environment!
As we approached the coastal town of Whitby, the children enjoyed some spectacular views. In school, we have been studying the human and physical geographical features of Whitby so it was a real treat to see them for real!
The Yorkshire Beach School were our hosts for the day. The children were encouraged to develop curiosity skills and ask questions about their findings in the natural world.
The class worked in teams, leading and taking part in discussion and problem solving activities. They were given the freedom to explore and be creative in an ever-changing environment, connecting with nature physically and emotionally.
Shelter building
Shelter building is an excellent way to learn vital team building skills whilst using natural materials found at the beach. The children loved creating their own den and testing out its ability to survive the elements.
Rock pooling
Rock pooling is a fantastic way to explore all the crustaceans hidden below the high tide marks. After grabbing our nets, bucket and identifying cards, we began our searches.
Beach sculptures
Year 4 had great fun being artists; creating amazing sculptures on the beach using the natural resources that surrounded them.
Team building
The children took park in a variety of challenging and exciting team building games; from transporting stones between their knees to filling a tube with water whilst blocking any leaks.
Throughout our day trip to Whitby, we are proud to say that all the children were well behaved, polite and a pleasure to escort to the coast.
Today, the whole school were invited to watch some of our talented musicians in action. Year 4 showcased their skills on the ukulele. Having learnt a few simple chords and some basic strumming patterns, the children confidently played some popular tunes for us to enjoy. 
Across the year groups, we have a selection of children who are learning to play the guitar. This group of musicians also demonstrated their skills.
Well done all!
Today, Year 4 took part in a Money Sense workshop. The children were asked to plan and organise a party.
Learning objectives:
• Identify what makes a good birthday party
• Plan and organise a party by making
decisions about what to include within
a set budget
• Identify costs and show an understanding
of value for money
For this lesson, we were joined by a volunteer from a bank. After hearing about her role, the children were able to ask our visitor some questions.
What’s it like working in a bank?
Do you need to be good at communicating with people?
How did you get into banking?
Why do people use banks?
Can people come to you for advice about money?
How is the bank, and its workers kept safe?
Year 4 worked in groups through a sequence of tasks. 
Firstly, they discussed some questions.
How can birthday parties be different?
How can they be similar?
What might people do at a birthday party?
What is the best birthday party you have
been to? Why was it so good?
Have you been to a party you didn’t enjoy?
Why didn’t you enjoy it?
Then, the class were encouraged to consider: 
Who will you organise a party for? Why did
you choose this child?
What type of party might they like? Why do
you think that?
What ideas do you have for a great party?
Why would these things make it a
great party?
Following this, how will we plan the birthday party?
When the groups had agreed a theme for their chosen child’s birthday party, they then needed to decide what will happen at their party and what they will need to provide to make it a success. Decisions were made as a group and roles were delegated.
What would you like to happen
at this party? Why?
What costs might be involved when organising this party?
How many people will you invite and how will you invite them? What is the cheapest way to do this? Why do you think that?
What will you give people to eat and
drink? Why?
Where could you buy the food and drink?
How will you know the best prices for the
items you need?
Where will you buy the cake? Will this provide
the best value? How do you know?
What type of entertainment will you provide?
How much will this cost? Could you have provided this entertainment any cheaper?
Using a price list activity sheet, each person had to fully cost the aspect of the party they were responsible for. As they were to be competing with the other groups, the children had to budget well to provide the best-value party. 
Finally, each group presented their work to the rest of the class. All the groups were under the given budget. Throughout this lesson, it was great to see some superb teamwork and lots of the children challenging themselves with the various mathematical calculations.
As we begin our next topic (Extreme Earth), Year 4 studied the layers that make up planet Earth. Then, we boarded an underground explorer and ventured deep below our feet. The children were fascinated by just how much goes on beneath us. Using a peach, we compared the internal structure of both the earth and the fruit. 
Following this, we went on to compare Leeds with the coastal town of Whitby. Using an atlas, map or globe, the children were asked to locate both places.
Remembering some prior learning, the class used some basic OS map symbols and the eight points of a compass to find and describe the whereabouts of each location.
I found the river that runs through Whitby. It is called the river Esk and runs for 45km. – Albie.
Albie was given the challenge to find the start and end points of the river. He tracked the flow of the river using Google Maps and commented on some of the geographical features alongside the water. Well done, Albie!
We discussed industries in both locations and Year 4 were able to confidently described aspects of human geography (eg land use, types of settlement) and physical geography (eg rivers and mountains, coastlines).
In preparation for our ‘Money’ themed week, Year 4 used their session today to discuss the importance of money. Lots of the children were able to recognise the reasons as to why we need money.
We need money to live.
Money is earnt.
When you are older, you need to pay your bills.
Saving money is important.
You can buy nice things.
It is good to see how much different things cost.
Money is not just cash.
Following this, we then thought about whether or not money makes people happy.
I think lots of money would make you happy.
What if you have money but no family or friends?
Money can help to make people happy because they might not worry about it.
Money can’t buy happiness.
Earning money might make some people feel happy because they have worked for it.
Well done, Year 4! Some very mature suggestions here.
Our ‘Money’ themed week begins on Monday 20th May.
Well, what a great few days we’ve had! 
Taking Year 4 on their residential was an absolute pleasure. All the children made the most of this opportunity and it was great to see them pushing themselves beyond their own ‘comfort zones.’
The main objectives of this visit were to develop teamwork and independence. The children most certainly achieved these! It was lovely to witness the support they offered to each other and their teamwork skills were outstanding. The class followed instructions, used super manners and were very respectful to their environment and all the adults alike. Herd Farm staff commented on the positive attitudes and determination shown by the children throughout their stay.
On behalf of all the Moortown staff that attended our visit, thank you Year 4 for making this a trip to remember. We had lots of laughs and you were all a credit to yourselves, your families and, of course, our school!
Well done Year 4!
Many thanks to all the staff that made our visit possible and more importantly ‘entertaining!’
Mrs Freeman, Mrs Weekes, Mrs Charlesworth, Mrs Pearson, Mr Wilks and Mr Owen.
Below, are some photos for your to enjoy with your children. Next week, we will be doing some feedback, about Herd Farm, and this will be added to our class news page.
Last week, during a reading lesson, the children were asked to use their retrieval and inference skills to answer questions about this poem.
I made a new password
That no one could guess. Which words rhyme with secure?
It’s long and confusing How many symbols does the password contain?
And truly a mess. Is the password easy to remember?
It has random letters Could a person work out the password?
and numbers galore, What is the problem in the poem?
with dozens of symbols Find and copy a part of the text that makes you laugh.
and spaces and more.
My password is perfect,
completely secure,
and no one will break it;
of that I am sure.
It’s flawless and fool proof.
I don’t have a doubt.
But, whoops! I forgot it
and now I’m locked out.
–Kenn Nesbitt
Following this, we discussed how having a secure password helps you protect your personal information.
Albie stated that: “Passwords should be something personal to you and easy to remember, but difficult for someone else to figure out.”
“It could be a special word or phrase, name of your favorite character, movie, food or song,” added Hifza.
The class thought about tips for creating safe passwords.
“Have a mixture of symbols, numbers, lowercase and uppercase letters,” recommended Daisy.