Year 4 Learning Updates 2024-25

Roman Workshop

On Thursday 5th December, year 4 took part in our Roman day. We were visited by a Roman soldier who provided lots of information about the Roman army and the life of a Roman soldier. He was also able to able to tell us stories about some of the famous Roman Emperors.

Each class attended a Roman soldier training session with swords and shields to practise their skills and tactics, ensuring they were ready for the battlefield. We also had some leisure time and were able to play some of the games that Romans would have played such as 5 lines, Ludus and 3 Men's Morris.

Later on, we became archaeologists, digging for artefacts and identifying what each object might have been used for. 

Term 2 - Perfect Pizza Making !

In the first week of Term 2, we have focused on Design & Technology, and in particular - food technology. As a year group, we researched where food and ingredients come from, designed a pizza, planned and prepared it before cooking it out on an open fire in Discovery Walk! This included opportunities to develop our chopping and grating skills as well as following a simple recipe to create our delicious pizza dough.

As you can imagine, the analysis (eating) stage of our project was the best!

Lego Wedo!

This week, year 4 have been putting their coding skills to the test using the Lego Wedo kits. This involved the careful construction of a Lego vehicle that included a motor. Children then used an app to connect their Lego device to a coding app in which they were able to create algorithms to make their vehicle move. They were then challenged to debug their algorithms where needed.

Term 1 - Roman Colosseums

To kick start our Roman history topic for this term, year 4 have been creating their own Roman colosseums. They were able to achieve eye-catching pieces of 3D art using pastilles, coloured card and fine-liners. Throughout terms 1 and 2 we will be exploring what the Romans brought to Britain.

Building a website

In Computing this week, Y4 have been creating a website on Google Sites about a South-Eastern county of their choice. They have learned how to create a page, copy and paste links and photos onto it and have gained a lot of knowledge about Kent, Essex, Sussex and more!

Safer Internet Day 2024

Thunberg class have been looking carefully at different situations today and looking at the impact that these can have on someone, whether they be positive or negative. Lots of examples were explored, such as influencers and how what they can say can have an impact on us, as well as being persuaded to click on certain links.

 

Who was Hokusai?

This week, Year 4 have been exploring the work of the Japanese artist Hokusai. He was responsible for this incredibly famous painting:

We have been looking at how this effect was created in the 19th century through printmaking. The classes have discovered more about the artist and will continue to explore his work across this term.

A Roman experience at Kent Life!

On the 1st December, Year 4 visited Kent Life to participate in a number of Roman workshops. Through these, they were able to experience what it was like to be a Roman Centurion and how they transformed Britain's architecture and plumbing. Year 4 had a great time during this practical experience!

A visit from the Dog's Trust.

On the 20th November, The Dog's Trust visited The Discovery School and gave us more information on the behaviour and physiology of our beloved pets. We learned how best to approach dogs, what they love to do and how they interact with one another. We also learned a bit more about the charity and what they do all across the country.

Violent Vesuvius!

As part of our Roman topic, in our English lessons, Year 4 have been reading Escape from Pompeii and learning about the tragic story behind it. Through the incredible images found in the book, we created a descriptive piece of writing and looked at incorporating similes and personification to actively engage the reader. Here are some examples of the fantastic work produced!

 

20 Years of Discovery!

The Discovery School is 20 years old! Year 4 enjoyed making hats this week and wore them proudly during our whole school picnic. Throughout the day, we learned more about the history of the school and even met some students who used to attend the school! WOW! Here's to another 20 amazing years!