Learning in Year 4 - English and Geography

This term in Year 4, we’ve been diving into the wonderful world of narrative writing! In Week 2, we wrote stories about a Magic Key that unlocked incredible adventures, followed by a Magical Book in Week 3 that transported their characters to new worlds. This week, we’re exploring the mystery of a Treasure Island, where hidden secrets and discoveries await. In each story we have been focusing on creating sizzling starts to hook our readers. We have used onomatopoeia to bring sounds to life, rhetorical questions to spark curiosity, actions and settings to paint a vivid picture of where the adventure begins.

Here is an example of a sizzling start that I did in my narrative:

‘Where should we go next?’ Jimmie Gimmie Goblin asked. ‘Let’s get Taco Bell and get fried chicken!’ cried Timmy Tiramisu turtle. ‘That sounds gnarly!’ Carrot Barrot Parrot added.

As they walked into the store they all got shivers down their spine. ‘Oops forgot to turn the heating on!’ cried the owner. She was a fancy frog who had feathers as accessories and loads of jewels. By Celeste 4C

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“Boom!” went the thunder clouds.

“There’s a storm coming in,” said Miss Rose. She had taken her students on an excursion to the Zoo when their bus broke down.

“I can see an old house on the top of the hill,” said Mark. The windows were boarded up and the front door was broken. The paint was peeling and there were weeds everywhere.

“I am not going in there!” yelled Luna. “We have to,” said their teacher.

So the group walked nervously up the dusty old driveway to the haunted house. They could never have imagined what was going to happen next… by Olivia 4B

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The soft, squishy couch lay quietly under her paws. She watched out of the window at the damp road and pawed at the sunlight peeking through the trees. She hoped that the red, rusty truck would turn the corner and come home to her soon. She finally heard the car door slam. 'Lucy', a voice shouts. Lucy's owner had returned. By Violet 4A

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In Geography, Year 4 has been learning about different countries in the continents of South America and Africa. I have chosen Mauritius which is an island off the Eastern coast of Mozambique. I chose Mauritius because my Grandpa is from Mauritius and I was curious to learn more about it.

Some interesting facts that I have learnt about Mauritius so far are:

The national languages of Mauritius are French, English and Creole
They drive on the left side of the road
Mauritius has a hot, tropical climate with a diverse, rich landscape including white, sandy beaches and volcanic mountains. The average temperature is 29 degrees!
It is a famous holiday destination, and it takes over 17 hours to fly there from Melbourne
Mauritius is the only island that used to have Dodos and pink pigeons. Sadly, both types of birds are now extinct. By Maisie 4B

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The country I have chosen is South Africa. I chose it because I thought it would be an interesting country and I didn’t know much about it before. I have been reading a lot about it and researching information for my Geography PowerPoint project. I have discovered some interesting facts about South Africa. They are:

South Africa has three Capital Cities and 12 official languages. The most common language spoken is Zulu. To say hello in Zulu, you say ‘Sawubona’ (sow-bon)
The currency of South Africa is the ‘rand’. 11.29 South African rand is equivalent to one Australian dollar
Some famous people from South Africa are Elon Musk, J.R.R. Tolkein (author of
Lord of the Rings) and Hollywood movie actress, Charlize Theron. By Harry G 4B

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I also chose to research South Africa. South Africa is approximately 10,000kms away from Australia. South Africa is one of the largest countries in Africa, ranking 9th overall with an area of 1,220,813 km². Can you name the “big five” native animals to South Africa? They are the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo. Other native animals are cheetahs, giraffes, zebras and hippos. By Kayne F 4A

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For my geography project I chose to research the country of Uruguay. Here is a fun fact about Uruguay that I chose to include: Did you know that Uruguay is the second smallest country in size in South America? It is roughly 11,880 kilometres away from Australia and it takes 23 hours and 34 minutes by plane to travel there from Melbourne Airport!

By Billy L 4C

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I’ve been learning about Brazil. Here are 5 facts about Brazil:

Brazil has the largest land and population in South America
Brazil is the 5th biggest country in the world.
Brazil’s population is 218.8 million which is 193.1million more than Australia
Did you know this is how you say hello in Portuguese “ola”
Brazil has won the world cup 5 times in soccer
By Frank J 4A

Prep 2026 Transition