Great job on the sponsored walk!

Well done, Water Aid walkers! We walked 4km on Mishref walking track and then relaxed in Mishref park, enjoying our lunch and ice creams. Already the sponsor money has started to roll in. This weekend, ask your sponsors politely for the money they have promised you, and bring it to me on Sunday. I will add it all up and we will see which Y4 class has raised the most. All the money will then go to Mr Melvin, and he will send it to the Water Aid charity where it will help save people's lives in other countries by providing clean water for them. All in all, a great day's work. Have a good weekend and I hope your feet are not sore!

Sponsored Walk for Water Aid tomorrow (Thursday)

Tomorrow we have the sponsored walk for Water Aid. Check list:
- Bring a hat.
- Bring a packed lunch and a bottle of water.
- Put sun screen on at home.
- Wear your PE kit and comfortable, sensible shoes for walking.
- Bring a sensible amount of money for an ice cream if you want one.

Come to school at the usual time for lining up at 8:00am. After registration we will go to assembly, and then we will board the buses to go to Mishref track. Following the walk we will go on the buses to Mishref park where we will eat our packed lunches and buy an ice cream if we want one. Finally we will return to school in time for part of the Arabic lesson and the remainder of the day's other lessons.

Science: different kinds of skeleton

This afternoon we learned about different kinds of skeleton. We already knew about bones. Animals with bones inside them have an endoskeleton. Some animals have hard shells on the outside. That is called an exoskeleton. Some animals, like slugs, have no bones or shells. They have a tube full of water inside them called a hydrostatic skeleton.

Maths: column subtraction

This morning we followed on from yesterday's work and practised column subtraction without expanding the numbers. On the board above I have written the steps that we followed. We all know this method of subtracting, but I hope that we now understand better how it works.

At home please do decimal revision sheet 63. It is quite easy. Enjoy doing your homework.

Literacy: evidence about characters

We had done a great job at home and found lots of evidence from the text. I did not have space in my table to put all the evidence that we had found, so I chose just a few bits. I put the line numbers so that anyone checking my work could easily find the evidence themselves. Well done, class 4H!

Literacy: looking at characters

This afternoon we looked again at Not Always A Perfect Place. We thought about the four characters: Olivia, her cousin Beatrice, the poor boy, and Mr Soames. We thought about the reasons why the writer had created those characters. Each character does an important job in the story. We wrote down information about the characters in the table you can see above. Your job at home is to find evidence for things we have written about the characters. Put the line number, and put what the evidence is, using your own words if you can. I have done the first one for you but you can put different evidence if you want to. There is lots to choose from. Enjoy reading the story again.

Maths: expanded subtraction

Today we looked at a written way of subtracting. We started by expanding the numbers into hundreds, tens and units. That made it easy to move numbers to other columns if we needed to. For example, in the tens column we had 10 (from the tens column in 911) subtract 80 (from the tens column). 10 is not enough to to subtract 80, so we have to take 100 from the hundreds column. 10 plus 100 is 110, and now only 800 is left in the hundreds column. It is easy to understand this method if you do it one step at a time. In fact, it works in the same way as the method of subtraction we all know already. This way, you can see how it works.

Maths: subtraction

We practised subtraction of near multiples of 10 using the method shown on the board. It is the method we used yesterday. Look carefully at it again. Everyone needs to be comfortable with this method. It is easy when you have done it a few times.

Homework is to revise last week's work on decimals using the sheet I gave you. Enjoy doing your homework.

Literacy: answers to comprehension questions

We checked our answers to the comprehension questions about Not Always A Perfect Place by Judy Waite. It is important to read carefully to find evidence for the answers. Remember that comprehension is all about proving that you have understood what you have read. It is not about getting answers from the pictures, or about trying to guess. Well done if you got question 4 right. Some of us wrote only about the boy's clothes, but the reason he looked like a pile of rags is the position he was lying in when the girls found him.

Literacy: reading a story from history

Today we read the story Not Always A Perfect Place by Judy Waite. You can find it on pages 4 to 7 of the fiction anthology. We read it silently to begin with, and then we all read through it together, discussing the hard words and talking about the characters. At home please finish the first 9 comprehension questions. I have done the first one as an example. There is no need to copy the questions. Just write complete sentences to answer.

Question 8 is quite hard. It means: When Beatrice asks Soames if children died in the factory, what does that tell you about the way she is thinking? Has she changed her mind about the boy?

Maths: subtraction

This morning we revised our subtraction skills. We focused on the method you can see on the board above. If you have a difficult subtraction to do, you can do it mentally by moving both numbers. They must both move in the same direction by the same amount. The difference stays the same, and it can make the subtraction a lot easier.

Art: drawing moving people

In our art lesson we drew a farmer walking across his field. We drew a basic skeleton, which is a bit like the skeletons we have studied in our Moving and Growing science unit. We added an outline to the skeleton (step B above) and then put in the rest of the details (step C). You can try the activity at home if you like. The website can be found here. There are other figures as well as the farmer. Have fun!

Topic: Food and Farming

This afternoon we did an online activity together, about making a balanced plate. That means selecting food from all the different food groups. You can try the activity at home by clicking here. Can you get all the foods into the right sections of the plate? Remember potatoes are full of starch, which is a source of energy.

Literacy and Maths today

We began the morning by doing our writing assessment. We had a class discussion first, to make sure we had plenty of persuasive ideas to use in our writing. We then wrote for 45 minutes. Later in the morning we did a mental maths exercise, which will be returned to you next week, along with the questions to review at home.

Literacy: persuasive writing

Over the last two weeks we have been practising writing balanced arguments. Tomorrow we will do an assessed piece of writing. We will write a balanced argument about an important issue. I will tell you tomorrow what the issue is. At home, please look back through your literacy book at the balanced arguments we have written about school uniform and homework. Remember that a good balanced argument must have:

• an introduction which says what the discussion is about, and asks questions to get the reader interested;


• a paragraph that gives all the arguments FOR whatever it is, with at least two sentences for each point;


• a paragraph that gives all the arguments AGAINST whatever it is, with at least two sentences for each point; and


• a conclusion, which asks the reader which side they are on, and may say which side you are on.

Try to use connectives like moreover, additionally, however, also.

Look back at our recent persuasive writing lessons on the class website to help you prepare. You can find them by scrolling down and looking on the right side of the blog page.

Maths: decimals

We continued our work on decimals today. We are good at converting tenths into decimals. We can count in decimals along a number line. We tried a challenging activity online, on the BBC Bitesize website. You can play it by clicking here. Converting percentages to decimals is really Year 6 work, but it is easy when you see the pattern. Enjoy having a try.

Science: comparing skeletons

Today we looked at pictures of the bones of different mammals. We noticed that all mammals have the same basic skeleton, even though the bones are different shapes and sizes. The skeleton of a horse is very similar to the skeleton of a cat, although of course the horse is much bigger.

Literacy: writing a balanced argument

Today we completed our balanced arguments about homework. My example is on the board above. I wrote mine in just under 10 minutes so it will not be as good as yours. However, I tried to remember some important points. I have written an introduction, a paragraph of points for, a paragraph of points against, and a conclusion. I have used connectives like additionally and moreover. I used a WOW word, consolidate, which means to make the learning solid so it sticks in your mind. I checked my spelling and punctuation.

Maths: using decimals

We practised using fractions, mixed numbers and decimals again today. Check out the example on the board above. There are two complete towers, so we put a big 2. The last tower has six parts out of 10, so we put 6 on the top and 10 on the bottom. Another way of writing the same thing is 2.3

Maths: using decimals

We practised converting tenths into decimal notation, as shown on the board above. We wrote our answers in both the fractions way and the decimal way. We noticed that number bonds to ten are helpful when we are doing decimals. We counted on a decimal number line and we also explored the hundredths column, which comes after the tenths column.

If you want to, you can practise the decimal sorting activity at home. Here it is.

Literacy: writing a balanced argument

We began our lesson with a class discussion about homework. We took turns to speak to the rest of the class, and we gave reasons for what we thought about whether homework is a good idea or not. Some of the points we thought of are written on the board above. Our next task, which we began in today's lesson, is to write a balanced argument about homework. Our balanced argument should have three paragraphs.

The first paragraph is the INTRODUCTION where we say what the discussion is about, and ask some interesting questions.

The second paragraph contains the points FOR homework. Each point should have at least two sentences. The first sentence says what the point is. The second sentence backs up the point, to make people see that it is a good point. Example: Homework helps us to learn better. If we revise what we have done in a lesson, in the peace and quiet of our home, the learning stays in our minds and we do not forget it so easily.

The third paragraph contains the points AGAINST homework. Again, each point should have at least two sentences. Example: Homework can sometimes confuse us. If we are practising a new way of doing something, the teacher is not there to help us at home, and when other people show us different ways of doing things it can make us feel unsure.

The last paragraph contains the CONCLUSION. Example: After thinking carefully about the points for and against homework, I conclude that I ..... (say which side you are on, and why).

We will finish our writing in class.

Literacy: reading comprehension

We went through our homework answers to the comprehension questions about Raman and the rocking horse. If we had read well, we could find the answers to the questions easily. The students who performed best were those who had:
- listened to instructions when the homework was set;
- answered in complete sentences with ALL the information needed;
- not copied blocks of writing from the text, and
- read carefully, more than once, before trying to answer.

Maths: how do we think we are doing?

We had a shorter maths lesson today because we had to change our library books after break. We stuck target sheets into our books. At home please read each sentence on the target sheets, and put a face in the box next to the sentence. If you can do what the sentence says really well, put a smiling face. If you can do it a bit but are not confident yet, put a face with a straight mouth. If you can't yet do it at all, put a sad face.

Literacy: writing a balanced argument

Today we completed our balanced argument about school uniform by writing the points against it. We tried to write two sentences for each point: one sentence to say what the point is, and the second to back it up. Example: School uniform makes it hard to play catchers. Everyone is wearing the same colours, so it is hard to remember who is in which team.

At home please do the comprehension exercise on page 12 of the JE2 book. Answer in complete sentences. Make sure your answers do not begin with because. Remember: a sari is a long, brightly coloured piece of clothing worn by women in India.

Science: how muscles work in pairs

This afternoon we looked at the bones and muscles of the arm. We saw that there are two large muscles in the arm that pull against each other. Muscles can only pull, not push. Check the board above to see how the biceps and triceps work together to bend and straighten the arm.

Maths: time problems

We spent two lessons on time problems today. One example can be seen on the board. There are lots of ways of doing it. One way is to add 30 to the minutes. If that makes the minutes more than 60, then we must make another whole hour, and subtract 60 from the minutes.

Maths: telling the time

We continued our work on telling the time. Many of us can tell the time very well, because we can follow the simple steps that we learned about yesterday. If you are still not sure, check yesterday's lesson again, here on the blog. The first and most important decision is whether it is TO or PAST. After that, everything else follows easily.

At home please do the digital times on sheet 74. Don't forget am and pm. Enjoy doing your homework.

Literacy: persuasive writing

Today we began to write our balanced arguments, in paragraphs, about school uniform. We began by writing the arguments FOR school uniform. We tried to write two sentences for each point in our argument. The first sentence says what the point is. The second sentence backs the point up and strengthens it. Check my example on the board above. Next time we will balance the argument by writing the points against, and the conclusion.

Don't forget your coins tomorrow (Tuesday)

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we have the Water Aid Coin Toss competition. Remember to bring plenty of coins in your envelope, ready to toss into the buckets in the hall tomorrow. One year group at a time will go to the hall. All the money, whether it lands in the buckets or not, will go to Water Aid. The year group that gets the most money in the buckets will be the winners.

What a terrific trip we had!

We had a super trip to Pizza Express this morning. We shaped our dough, added tomato sauce and decorated the pizza with cheese, mushrooms and olives. Here's how mine looked before it was cooked. We ate our pizzas and thought about everything we had learned.

Maths: telling the time

Today we did some work on TO and PAST. To be good at telling the time, follow these easy steps:

1. Decide if the minute hand is on the TO or PAST side of the clock.


2. If it is TO, count how many minutes TO the top of the clock. If it is PAST, count how many minutes PAST the top of the clock the minute hand is.


3. If it is TO, look which hour the hour hand is going TO. If it is PAST, look which hour the hour hand has gone PAST.

Check out the examples on the board shown above. You can practise time activities here.

Maths: writing times using am and pm

This morning we practised writing times in the digital way, using am and pm. Times before midday have am after the digits. Times after midday have pm after the digits. Examples: school starts at 8:00am and finishes at 2:30pm. Click here for a time website that you can practise on.

At home please do NHM page 86 question 1 only (parts a to i). Enjoy doing your homework and be sure to get it all right.

Topic: food from around the world

We completed our world maps in our topic books, and started to add types of food from different parts of the world. Our mapping skills are improving and we have a developing awareness of foods from different continents. Click here to find out where different foods are from. Tomorrow, on our trip, we will make another kind of food - pizza!

Literacy homework: both sides of an argument

At home please read pages 42 and 43 of the Literacy World book, all about the arguments for and against school uniform. Next week, in class, we will be writing a balanced argument for and against school uniform, so make sure you think about it carefully at home. You can also look again at the arguments we discussed in class this week, by clicking here.

Maths week: finishing our games and designing posters

Today we played our games, and designed posters during our art lesson to advertise them. I have made an example poster, shown on the board above. It has been a great week of guessing games, board games and other mathematical activities. We have improved our skills and had great fun at the same time.

We also tried the Towers of Hanoi game online. Click here to play the game at home.

Maths homework: tables

As I promised, here is the tables homework sheet. If you have lost your sheet you can print this one. Click on it to enlarge it to full size. Enjoy doing your homework.

Science: bones of the body

This afternoon we began our new science unit, entitled Moving and Growing. We know that bones and muscles are used to move our bodies around. We looked at a model skeleton and we named the important bones. We know that the thigh bone (femur) is the longest bone in the body. Later in the unit we will learn more about how muscles and bones work together.

Maths: towards finishing our board games

Some groups have finished their games and are ready to play them tomorrow. Others will need to put the finishing touches to their games tomorrow morning. Today we worked well in teams and our games are looking good.

We also had a race to choose the fastest and most accurate 4H student at times tables, to enter Mrs Campbell's special Maths Week Final. Well done Othman for being the fastest in 4H to get all the answers right.

At home, everyone please do the extra sheet of times tables questions I gave you. Perhaps you can time how long it took you to get all the answers correct.

Literacy: putting both sides of an argument

Well done everyone who thought of good points for and against school uniform. Some of the points we thought of are shown on the board above. We also looked at the textbooks, which had other points for and against school uniform. The textbooks used clever wordplay, like school uniform: great or gross? and dress to impress.

Literacy: persuasive writing

Today we looked at a written argument about children watching TV. One side of the argument said that TV is a good thing which helps children learn. The other side of the argument said that TV is a bad thing which takes up children's time and shows them unsuitable programmes. A good argument should always have two sides.

At home please look at what we wrote in our literacy books. You can also find it on the board above. Think about what would be written in an argument about school uniform. What reasons can you think of that school uniform is a GOOD thing? What reasons can you think of that school uniform is a BAD thing? There is no need to write anything. Make sure you have plenty of good ideas in your head ready for the next literacy lesson.

Maths: World Maths Day

In class we continued to prepare our maths games. We have almost finished the boards and questions now, and we will soon finish the boxes too. If you have dice at home, perhaps you could bring them tomorrow so you can try out your game when it is finished.

Remember World Maths Day starts today. All your online practice scores have been set to zero. Don't forget to go online using your login and play as many games as you can (maximum 50). Let's get as many NES students on the leader board as possible!

Maths Week

As it is Maths Week I don't have any whiteboards to put on the site today. We have been using our lesson time to work on our special Maths Week project, designing and making our own maths board games. While making the games we are also practising our literacy skills, discussing in our groups how to make the games, and writing the instructions and rules.

At home please practise your skills on the Maths Day website. Click here to get there. You have your own login and password.

Don't forget to bring 100 fils coins to school, so you can take part in the guessing game competitions at first break. All the money goes to Water Aid.

Maths: designing our own board games

As it is Maths Week we will be doing a special project in our maths lessons. We will be designing our own board games with maths questions in them. You can find out all about Maths Week by clicking here to see Mrs Campbell's slideshow that I showed in class this morning. When you get to the grey screen click File, then Download, then Open. It works best Internet Explorer, Firefox or Google Chrome. It will also open in Safari on an iPad but the format looks a little strange.

At home please think of five maths questions and write them, with their answers, in your maths book. Include shape and measurement questions as well as number questions. Tomorrow we will continue to design and make our board games.

Topic: Food and Farming

Today we started our new topic, on Food and Farming. We will be looking at foods from different parts of the world. In order to do that, we need to know where the continents of the world are. We started to draw a world map in our books. Map drawing is a useful skill.

We looked at two different ways of showing the continents on a flat map. Which one is right? Neither of them can be completely right, because the real world is a sphere, and a map is flat. The Peters Projection shows the areas of the continents well, although it changes the shapes quite a lot. The Mercator Projection shows the positions and shapes better, but the areas of the continents are not right.

Literacy: designing our own advertisements

We started by thinking again about the advertisements we studied before the February holiday. We looked at the different ways that words had been used cleverly in the advertisements. After that we thought of our own products to advertise. We thought of mobile phones, holiday destinations, training shoes, sports clothes, schools and lots of others. On the board above is an example of an advertisement we made together in class, as a piece of shared writing. The red labels show the techniques used in the advertisement.