Year Four

Information regarding Multipication Test 2020

Welcome to Year 4!

English

In English we have started to look at the book 'James and the giant peach'. In Reading we are going to read through the chapters and answer comprehension and inference questions every day, as well as complete different follow-up reading activities E.g. Read through chapter x and identify all the similes the author has used to describe the Y character or Imagine you are Z character and you want to persuade as many people as possible to do ... . Design a poster.

Writing is based on the same book. We have started to look at the characters in the book and to identify the techniques used by the author (Roald Dahl) to describe them. Next we are going to:

write a profile about a character in the book
infer characters' feelings

By the end of this unit we are going to draft, edit, redraft and act out Play Scripts based on our book James and the giant peach. So we are going to

understand how to build tension in a piece of writing
discuss the features of Play Scripts
write a play script conversation between two characters
convert part of the story into a play script
edit and improve writing
perform a play script
feed back to other people performances
take feedback on board and update play scripts

Other writing activities that could be completed linked to this book are:

Write a newspaper report about what happened to James' parents.
Write James' diary entry for one of his days at his aunts' house.
Look at the use of rhyming within the songs in the story.
Write a new story involving the old man who gives James the 'tiny green things'. Where does he come from? How does he make them? Who might he give them to next and what might happen to them?
Write a recipe / set of instructions to teach someone how to make the 'tiny green things'.
Write an alternative version of the story where James didn't trip and spill the bag. What happened to him instead?
Write a new story with the opening paragraph? 'Something is about to happen, he told himself. Something peculiar is about to happen at any moment'.
At the end of Chapter 9, James discovers the hole in the giant peach. Write a set of 'for' and 'against' arguments for going inside the hole. What would you do?
Imagine that you discovered a life-size insect. How would you feel? Could you write a new story about what might happen?
Write a diary entry from one of the aunts' point of view on the day that the peach rolls away from their garden.
Can you find different types of punctuation in the story? When / why are they used?
Why has the author used ellipses when the peach is carried up into the air by the seagulls?
Write a story about the Cloud-Men that James and the insects’ sea on their journey.
Listen to the audiobook version of the story. Could you record your own audio version of part of the book?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKOK7ibWAJc&list=PL69asmJeyfbM2evjLz8chviwiMHgf8MAr
Watch the trailer for the film. Could you create a book trailer? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70lI61Wh2Dk

Use the audio version of the book https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKOK7ibWAJc&list=PL69asmJeyfbM2evjLz8chviwiMHgf8MAr to remind yourself of the events of the story so that you are able to complete the activities.

Cross curriculum activities linked to our book James and the giant peach

Maths

Measure the height / circumference of a normal peach. What might the height and circumference of the giant peach be?
How much would tickets to see the giant peach be? How much might it cost for a family of four? How much would it be if they brought a camera?
Find out how many legs different types of centipedes really have. Can you find pictures of different centipedes and count the legs?

Science

Find out how fruit and vegetables grow. Make a poster to teach people how to grow their own fruit and vegetables.
Find out about the insects in the story. What do they look like? What special features / abilities do they have? What do they eat? Can you make a food chain that includes one / some of them?
What forces are involved when the peach starts to roll down the hill. Can you plan and carry out an investigation to find different types of surfaces that might make it roll more quickly / slowly?
Why do things float? Can you investigate different objects (including a peach) to find out if they float or sink?
How do real insects help us? Use the information in Chapter 25 to help you.

Computing

Make a poster to encourage people to come and see the giant peach.
Plan and record a video news report for an American TV station about the arrival of a giant peach in New York.
Can you make a stop-motion animation based on a part of the film? Watch these animation tests from the film version for inspiration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=qqAxnDKvLBE&feature=emb_title

Art

Create a timeline showing the main events of the story.
Draw the view that James has out of his window and Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker's house.
Use paint to mix the colours of the giant peach's skin ('a rich buttery yellow with patches of brilliant pink and red').
Design the tickets that were used for people visiting the giant peach.
Draw pictures of the giant peach in the garden in the day and at night time.
Draw a picture of the inside of James' home at the end of the story.

Music

Can you sing some of the songs in the story? Can you compose a tune for them?

Geography

Draw a map showing the locations used in the story.
Can you draw a map showing the peach's journey?
Look on a map and find some locations that could be used for a new film version of the book. What would be a suitable location for Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker's house?
In the story, Cloud-Men make different types of weather. Can you find out how rain / hailstones / rainbows are really made?

Please remember the following for every week at school:

PE is on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Ensure that your child has both an indoor and outdoor PE kit every day at school. They should be bought in on a Monday and taken home every Friday as circumstances may change and PE could be on a different day of the week.

· Read every day with your child at home.

· Diaries are checked on every week (the day could be different) and records of reading are noted.

· Violin lessons are on a Wednesday.

· Now that the weather is getting warmer please ensure your child brings a water bottle to school.

More information and ideas for learning to follow

Mrs Burghelea

Activity Ideas:

Spring

Research about teeth and digestion

Design a Viking shield

Useful Websites:

English