Year 4 News

Literacy

There has been a huge amount of writing happening in Year 4. Students were excited to receive letters from their new Year 2 BNPS pen pals. As part of the Daily 5 ‘Work on Writing’ students were keen to reply with brightly designed letters, answering questions and sharing what life is like in Year 4.

We are all very excited to build these special relationships through the art of letter writing.

Maths

Students have been engaged in applying and sharing different strategies to solve mathematic problems. It is always exciting to see students sharing these strategies together.

On Friday 18 March, the Year 4 students were presented with a maths challenge – to build a shelter. Each group were provided with 1 meter of masking tape, a newspaper and were told the classroom was their ‘jungle’ encouraging students to collaborate and problem solve in order to make a shelter that could fit each group member under and protect them from the wild elements of the Amazon.

The results were impressive and each student demonstrated the attributes of being a ‘risk taker’ and ‘communicator’. Well done Year 4!!

Inquiry

A large part of our new unit of inquiry requires students to write in a journal about their adventures and choices they face as they learn about their central idea: Communities evolve in response to many factors. Here are some samples of the fabulous writing that is happening in response to their adventures.

The light that once shone through the dense vegetation is now fading and dimming, so I think it is best if I go to sleep. Over there is a suitable tree due to the amount of leaves and branches towering over me. I lay my bag next to me and I start to doze off. Soon I am fast asleep.

Hannah P

I woke up, my head was throbbing painfully and my vision was blurred. I remember a plane, me laughing with my friends, then everything went black. When everything came into focus again I noted that a deep cut on my leg. Then that it was humid, wet and very green.

Written by Ella O

SURVIVOR – DAY 1

As I was in the plane I felt a sudden lurch, and the plane plummeted towards the ground. ‘Bang!’ The plane hit a branch and then, black. I was knocked out.

When I woke up I was on my back, it was damp on the ground. I was looking up towards a canopy of trees. I also saw my hand luggage, so I got up very slowly and painfully. Luckily the bag was on a branch very close to the ground, so I just jumped and grabbed it and pulled it down.

I decided to search for food because I was starving. After a couple of hours I came across some berries. One of them was on a bush and was bright red and smooth. The other one was on a tree and was purple, lumpy and furry. I chose to eat the purple ones. They were sweet and had juices inside it that hydrated me and gave me energy.

It was getting dark, so I found a dry spot and some sticks and made a shelter that was actually comfortable.

Klaus J

SURVIVOR – DAY 4

Dear Journal,

It has been a day. When I got up my phone had no battery in it, then I heard something. There was a hole in the inflatable pillow. I could feel the air coming out. I’m so upset! So to heal me, I ate my muesli bar, then I remembered that I had the best sleep last night and I had an amazing dream.

I heard some rumbling then I looked outside – there’s a storm coming! My mind races. What should I do? Should I stay in the shelter or should I go deeper into the jungle? I decide to leave my shelter. I grabbed my backpack and ventured in to the jungle. I began to feel thirsty, so I looked around for some water. I saw some clear water dripping from some leaves and I saw some muddy water. I made the worst decision ever… I drank the muddy water. I started to get stomach cramps. I laid down on a comfy tree and fell asleep. Goodnight.