Year 4 presented a very thoughtful assembly to the rest of Key Stage 2, explaining all about the Islamic festival of Eid and why it is so important to the Muslim religion. Our pupils introduced the character of Ibrahim. We told the story of the challenge that Allah set him involving the sacrifice of his son. We explained the outcome of this story, and how it led to Muslims sacrificing a lamb or a goat each year.

The religious significance of this was also looked at. We learnt how Muslim communities can grow stronger by sharing together in this activity. With many of our pupils in the school coming from a Muslim background, we were able to draw upon some rich knowledge about how modern day Muslims celebrate Eid in the UK today. You can listen to some of the thoughts in the podcast below.

Year 4 have been exploring more about the fascinating character of the Jabberwocky. He first appears in Alice in Wonderland, as well as a number of poems based upon his actions. Year 4 have been reading these, and then gaining inspiration for our own literacy work.

We have been looking at how to write a balanced news report, and how this might differ from any other form of writing. Using the Jabberwocky as our main news feature, Year 4 have written a news account based on the poems. We then used out ICT time to publish these in a newspaper style, thinking about headlines, paragraphs and where to put pictures.

Year 4 have been demonstrating some terrific teamwork during our recent P.E. sessions. Working in small groups, each team balanced together on one of the school gym benches. We then asked the teams to re-order themselves as quickly as possible, based around a number of different sorting criteria. These included height, age and hair length.

The idea behind the activity was to work together as a team, and most importantly not to fall off the bench. We quickly learnt that all members of the team need to work together for this to be a success. You can watch a short video demonstrating this above.

Year 4 have been demonstrating some terrific teamwork during our recent P.E. sessions. Working in small groups, each team balanced together on one of the school gym benches. We then asked the teams to re-order themselves as quickly as possible, based around a number of different sorting criteria. These included height, age and hair length.

The idea behind the activity was to work together as a team, and most importantly not to fall off the bench. We quickly learnt that all members of the team need to work together for this to be a success. You can watch a short video demonstrating this above.

We have been continuing our study of the Romans in Year 4. The children have been looking at what type of clothing the Romans wore, and why it suited their lifestyle and needs. We have all designed and made a selection of Roman style sandals. We asked Year 4 to think about how the design could be improved for modern day living.

Our study of Romans in Britain has focussed on the life of Boudicia. We have been trying to find out what type of character she was, and what inspired her to become a Roman leader. Working in small groups, Year 4 have brainstormed a series of questions that we would like to have asked Boudica. We have tried to imagine what it must have felt like to be the Roman Emperor of Britain, and what challenges you might face.

We have been continuing our study of the Romans in Year 4. The children have been looking at what type of clothing the Romans wore, and why it suited their lifestyle and needs. We have all designed and made a selection of Roman style sandals. We asked Year 4 to think about how the design could be improved for modern day living.

Our study of Romans in Britain has focussed on the life of Boudicia. We have been trying to find out what type of character she was, and what inspired her to become a Roman leader. Working in small groups, Year 4 have brainstormed a series of questions that we would like to have asked Boudica. We have tried to imagine what it must have felt like to be the Roman Emperor of Britain, and what challenges you might face.

As part of our ongoing Roman topic, Year 4 had a fascinating day out exploring the Roman villa at Lulllingstone. We started off our explorations by first of all looking at the ancient site and comparing it with what we see around us in London. We encouraged the children to think about why the Romans might have built a settlement at Lullingstone. We agreed that the nearby river would have helped the Romans with their transport needs.

After lunch in the Roman village, Year 4 then played a game of Roman invaders. Some unlucky Year 4 Celts fell victim to the Michael Faraday Roman Empire!

We have been continuing this work back in the classroom, examining various Roman artefacts and looking at traditional Roman costumes. The children have also been designing their own Roman mosaics.

We have started the new term in Year 4 at Michael Faraday with a new science topic. We will be learning all about skeletons and bones over the coming weeks. We introduced this topic by thinking about how many bones we thought might be inside our own bodies. Most of the pupils were surprised to find out that the typical human adult contains 206 bones!

Working in small groups, we drew around the outline of the body of a class friend. We then went about the task of labeling up the main bones around the body. We have been trying to think what it might be like without any bones – humans would be like a bowl of jelly! You can find out more about our early science observations in the podcast below.