Author: Mrs Freeman

Over the last few weeks, Year 4 have learnt that practicing good dental hygiene, flossing and brushing regularly, seeing a dentist for check-ups and cleanings, go a long way toward keeping our teeth and gums in good health. But, hygiene is not the only factor in your dental health. What we eat and drink can cause damage to our teeth.

Everything we put in our mouths has to get past our teeth and gums, and therefore impacts their health. We have spent some time looking at smoothie recipes, with ingredients, that do not harm our teeth. There are many that have healing and strengthening qualities.

 Great For A Beautiful, Bright Smile
3 apples (kill bacteria to make your smile whiter and brighter)  
2 kiwis
1 avocado (contains calcium for strong teeth) and 1 orange
A few mint leaves for extra flavor (and fresh breath!)

 

We discussed that, not all smoothies are created equally. It is very easy to make a smoothie that is loaded with sugar, and while it may taste good, can contribute to tooth decay, cavities, gum disease, and an array of other health problems.

To find out more about sugars in food, the children studied a leaflet.

“I can’t believe how much sugar is in a can of coke!” stated Jasraj.

The children were fascinated to find out, that white, refined sugar is not the only source of sugar that you might be putting into your smoothies. Fruit juices are high in sugar. “I never realised that some fruit juices have so much sugar in them! I thought the ‘low sugar’ ones were OK!” commented Priya.

Honey and maple syrup, although natural and with other health benefits, are both sugars.

“Yogurts can also be very high in sugar, so read the labels before you choose one to put in your next smoothie recipe,” recommended Year 4.

“Not only do these sugary ingredients promote tooth decay, they add extra calories that you probably don’t need!” added Mrs Freeman.

Great For Strong Teeth                  
2 kiwis
1 cup of strawberries
1 and 1/2 cups of milk (contains calcium to make the teeth and bones strong)
2 tablespoons of mint (great for fresh breath!)
1 cup of crushed ice cubes

Great For Fighting Oral Bacteria And Strengthening The Teeth

1 cup of plain Greek yogurt (plenty of healthy bacteria known as probiotics to attack bad oral bacteria) and 1 cup of fruit of your choice (Strawberries, bananas, and blueberries are great options.) 1/4 cup of milk (calcium for strong teeth)

Question your child about this learning.

Can you describe the taste of the smoothie?

Which ingredient is full of calcium?

True or false?   Apples help to kill bacteria to make your smile whiter and brighter?

Why did we chooses to drink the smoothies through paper straws?

What are the oral health benefits of mint?

Year 4 have been learning to tell the time. By the end of the school year, the age related expectations require children to be able to:

• read, write and convert time between analogue and digital 12- and 24-hour clocks
• solve problems involving converting from hours to minutes; minutes to seconds; years to months; weeks to days

 

Yesterday, the class focused on seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, centuries and a millennium. We converted different units of time and solved a few problems. We would like to encourage the children to practise telling the time as often as possible. Test your child on questions such as:

How many seconds in 4 minutes?

How many hours in 5 days?

Which months of the year have 30 days?

Which is the longest amount of time?  360 minutes or 5 hours

Harry takes part in a sponsored silence.
He says, “If I am silent for five hours at 10p per minute, I will raise 50 pounds.”
Do you agree with Harry? Explain why.

Sally is 7 years and 2 months old. Macey is 85 months old. Who is the oldest? Explain your answer.

True or false

3 days is >than 72 hours

2 and a half years =29 months

11 weeks 4 days <10 weeks 14 day

To help with this learning, the class rehearsed a poem that involved knuckles!
Make a fist.
If the month is on a knuckle, it has 31 days. Otherwise is has 30 or less days.
Starting with the 1st knuckle as January,
The space between knuckles as February,
2nd Knuckle is March… etc.
Once you get to the fourth knuckle, July, start over at the first knuckle for August.

Below is an activity that was completed in class. It is a short RIC starter that was used within a maths lesson.  RIC stands for Retrieve, Interpret and Choice. These activities require children to read, watch, observe or listen to a stimulus and then answer some questions.

LO: RIC

True or false? There are 4 months that each have 30 days.
How many months have 31 days?
Why has the creator chosen to use an image with this rhyme?

 

Last week, the children were asked to get creative with their homework and show what they know about teeth.

Yet again, the class produced some outstanding pieces of homework. It is always an absolute pleasure to see such amazing creations. It is clear that, the children have thought through their work and spent time reflecting on their learning.  Well done Year 4!

 

This week, Year 4 have begun to investigate the effects of acid on our teeth.

Sugar creates a sticky substance, called plaque, which can build on your teeth and become a home for bacteria. And guess what that bacteria does? It produces acids which act directly on your teeth, slowly eating them away.

What is tooth decay?

Bacteria in the mouth feed on sugars from foods and drinks. These bacteria produce acid, which damages the outer surface of the tooth (the enamel). Saliva helps to repair this damage, but if over time there is more damage than repair, it leaves a cavity or ‘hole’ in the tooth.

 

To begin with, we discussed what it was we wanted to find out. The children were able to generate some scientific questions. This project focuses on two different dental hygiene issues: stains and decay.

What equipment will we need?

I wonder if we should use different liquids?

How will we know that the shell has been damaged?

Teeth are made from minerals.  These minerals will begin to dissolve if exposed to acid.  We decided to use hard boiled eggs as a substitute for teeth. This may seem like an unlikely pairing for an experiment, but eggshells make a realistic model of dental enamel.

Next, we chose a scientific enquiry to help us to answer our questions.

Let’s put the eggs into the liquids and look at them at the end of the day.

“I wonder if we will see any changes straight away?

Maybe we should leave them for a week.”

We could observe the eggs every few days and record any changes.

The class decided that an ‘observation over time‘ would be the best way to get some information about tooth decay in a very visual way.

Make it a fair test

To make this a fair test, the children recorded what needed to stay the same and what could change.

Then, it was time to make some predictions.
What do you think will happen to each egg? Why?

I think the egg in the water won’t look any different.

The coke will stain the egg.

The shell will disintegrate in the vinegar.

I predict that the sugar free juice will weaken the eggshell.

The outside will become sticky and change colour

Five eggs have been placed in different liquids: coke, vinegar, low sugar juice, water and milk.  The children will observe and record any changes every couple of days.                                                  

Stay posted to find out our results.

 

 

 

Every half term, our Living and Learning statements begin with a manners focus and this time we are looking at table manners.
Year 4 discussed different scenarios and how we would show good table manners. Following this we read a poem related to our focus.

The Goops

by Gillette Burgess

The Goops they lick their fingers
And the Goops they lick their knives:
They spill their broth on the tablecloth
Oh, they lead disgusting lives!
The Goops they talk while eating,
And loud and fast they chew;
And that is why I’m glad that I
Am not a Goop, are you?

We discussed the language in the poem and compared ‘old fashioned‘ manners to (what are considered to be) ‘good table manners’ today. 

The children completed a RIC activity about the poem.

Reading with R.I.C
R – Retrieve (Example: Find 3 different ways the Goops demonstrated bad table manners.)
I – Interpret (Example: What could ‘broth‘ be?)
C – Choice (Example: Why did the author choose to end the poem with a question?)

If you would like to know more about RIC reading, see the link below.

http://www.mrspteach.com/2015/08/ric-reading-lesson-starters.html

Earlier in the week, Year 4 started their new topic all about teeth.

For the next 3 weeks the children will learn that humans have 2 sets of teeth, and that teeth can be classified into different groups. We will study the locations and various functions of the incisors, canines and molars.

To begin with, we discussed what our bodies need to stay healthy. The children looked closely at ‘The Eatwell Plate‘ and we compared the sizes of the different sections.

 

Following this, Year 4 were given mirrors to examine their own teeth.

My teeth are all different sizes.

Why are some teeth pointy?

How do your teeth stay strong?

I think my teeth look very healthy.

Next, using an angled dental mirror, the class examined each others teeth. This was carried out hygienically by cleaning the mirrors and not using the same one on more than one person.

Wow! I can see right to the back.

The back teeth are a different shape to the front ones.

Do different teeth have different jobs?

What does our tongue do?

Finally, to finish off our examinations, we enjoyed a little role play.

 

 

What is body image?
Body image describes our idea of how our body looks and how we think it is perceived by others. This can include our thoughts and feelings about our height, weight, shape, skin, colour and our appearance.

During our Living and Learning session this week, Year 4 discussed connections between advertising and body image.

We thought about how advertising can be creative and filled with ideas that come alive with drama, excitement and humour. However, this commercial messaging can have a negative impact on how we see ourselves.

Should we compare ourselves to what we see in advertisements?

No because we are all different.

No one looks the same.

It is important that pupils are media literate to help them to better understand advertising and its influences on sensitive subjects such as body image

Each week, the latest edition of the ‘First News’ newspaper is enjoyed by lots of classes across school.  This child friendly paper is a great resource for exploring UK and international news stories.

The paper covers politics to entertainment, sports to science and everything in between.  Year 4 regularly enjoy reading the latest stories. This valuable resource provides the children with an accessible way to understand the world. It enriches their wordly knowledge, encourages curiosity and builds confidence in sharing ideas and opinions.

This week , Year 4 shared an article that linked well to out Living and Learning focus: body image.

A young girl from Norfolk, featured in a stunning photo exhibition about a rare skin condition.

She said: “I know I look different to other children but my birthmark has never really bothered me, it’s just a small part of who I am.

The photo series, called, How Do You C Me Now?, promotes the message ‘love the skin you’re in’ and is a  celebration of difference. The children had discussions with each other about this story. Following that, we all shared our thoughts together. 

She has a beautiful face.

It doesn’t matter what you look like. It is ‘what’s inside’ that is important.

We shouldn’t make judgements.

We then discussed possible reasons for the girl in the picture to want to take part in an exibition.

To show people that body image shouldn’t be something to be ashamed of.

She is brave and wants to celebrate differences.

Maybe she has been bullied about the way she looks.

The girl isn’t worried about how she looks. More people should be aware.

She may have to deal with negative comments from strangers or children at school.

She isn’t embarrassed about looking different. She wants to celebrate it.

 

 

 

A huge well done to all the children for their recent production ‘Fee Fi Fo Fum.’

We have had many compliments regarding the performance.

The children’s production last night was fantastic, I laughed so hard. I cannot believe how they knew all those songs by heart, just goes to show they are like sponges at that age!

This was possibly the best show I have seen at Moortown.

We loved the jokes.

All the cast looked like their were having such a great time!

Songs were fantastic.

Many thanks for helping us out with the costumes and well done to the staff for sorting all the props.