WJS Class 4

Rock Around the Flock

2009-12-07T22:43:00.001Z

The Year 4 children have been rehearsing for the Christmas production. We hope that parents will enjoy our Shepherd's Nativity on December 14th, 2009.

A short preview of our singing. Enjoy!

Memories of World War Two

2009-07-10T13:39:00.002+01:00

These are some of the memories which were shared yesterday between grand parents and year 4 children.

Mr Evans told me that he was 3 years old when the war started and he lived on a farm but they didn’t have an Anderson shelter so they had to go down to the public shelter. He also told me that he a baby gas mask. Mrs Fitzpatrick told me that during the war she had a hoop, marbles and peg dolls. She was 9 when the war ended. By Alice T

Mr Evans said that the ration books only had a certain amount of food. He missed his fish and chips! By Ella B

Mr Evans told us his favourite toys were his marbles and a game called ‘nearest to the wall’ – you had to flip your cigarette card nearest the wall to see who won. By Bethany W

Mr Evans told me that his dad worked and his mum didn’t so his mum would look after him. He told me that he did not have an Anderson shelter so went in the streets with more Anderson shelters with concrete on the top and bricks on the side. Mr Evans stayed in Plymouth all though the war. He told me that he wore and gas mask and he felt scared. He said he’d never seen a bomb but he heard lots of bombs around him. He said that after the war all the people in Plymouth celebrated and had a long table full of food. By Preston B

Mr and Mrs Austin said that they were babies but Mr Austin told me that his dad broke his arm. He was walking in the garden back to the house when he heard the air raid siren and looked up in the sky and saw air craft up there. So he ran to the Anderson shelter and the air craft dropped a bomb and it flew through his house. Mr Austin’s dad had lots of bruises and cuts but when he fell down the steps to the Anderson shelter he broke his arm. By Rebecca B

When I spoke to Mrs Fitzpatrick she told me all about life up in Scotland during the war and that she lived near a prisoner of War camp and that one of the German soldiers made her a ring out of a copper coin. Mrs Fitzpatrick also told me that when she came to Plymouth she was sat on a fold up bed with her sister, brother and a cousin, a fire bomb went off outside and they all rushed to the window except her and she got trapped in the bed. By Caitlin L

Mrs Fitzpatrick told me the scariest things was getting into the Anderson shelter because it was dark and cramped. By Alice S

Mr Marlton told us about all the laughs they used to have. One of the funny stories was when he was in the Anderson shelter and a German blew up the carrots he had planted a few days ago and all the bits came flying through the blackout curtains, hitting all of them! By Josh E

Mrs Davey and her family moved to Paignton to stay away from the bombing – they were safe there but the still went out for the air raids. By Libby U

See more memories from the children in Class 3

Memories of my Nan by Daniel O

2009-07-10T11:45:00.004+01:00

When my nan was evacuated, she was evacuated to Maidstone in Kent. The whole school went with her and their teachers. She was 9 and her brother was 6. Their host family were sort of nice. One lady was very religious and every Sunday my nan had to stand in the sqaure and sing. My nan had to clean out the chickens and serve the food! The worst bit of the war she said was being away for so long - and the school was bombed so they had to go to a new school three miles away and had to walk. She said that her mum came to see them every 2 or 3 weeks. Her dad was abroad in the army. She was evacuated for 3 years and they were in the air raid shelter every night. When she was 11 she was running to the shelter one time with her brother, they both got in and a bomb went off in the house and her mum was blown to the shelter.

War time memories by Dawn Oaten

2009-07-09T21:30:00.003+01:00

Dawn Oaten sent these memories in with her grandson, Ben, today for our World War Two Day. We hope she doesn't mind that we have shared them here.

My mother told me a story which happened during the Second World War when I was a baby. I was in my carrycot waiting to be fed with a gas mask at the ready. We lived with my grandmother in Stoke Village which was very near the dockyard. There was heavy bombing all around us because the Germans were trying to get their number one target - the dockyard. On one particular morning the siren went off warning everyone that air raids were about to happen. We all dashed to the air raid shelter at the end of the road. Some houses had shelters in their gardens, underground. We had just got inside when my mother realised that she had left my bottle in the kitchen. She dashed back and no sooner had returned safely with the milk when the house we lived in took a direct hit. We moved to Whitsands for a few months and lived in a two bedroom chalet with eleven other people. It was a safer place to be despite the overcrowding! When the bombers flew back to Germany across the English Channel any unused bombs would be dropped into the sea which you could see from the cliffs at Whitsands. We were eventually evacuated to Bude. Three families shared a house on the sea front. Sometimes the Germans would sink a ship in the Atlantic Ocean and the cargo would be washed ashore. Food was in short supply so when tins of corned beef and bananas were found on the beach, the local people ate well and would hide the food under the floor boards so they wouldn't go hungry. Sweets also were a rare treat....... but that's another story!

World War Two Day 2009

2009-07-09T21:10:00.009+01:00

Today the year 4 children enjoyed another fantastic World War Two day sharing experiences of grand parents. The relationship between the children and the older generation was of mutual respect. The children asked pertinent and thoughtful questions, listening with great interest to the responses. As it is 70 years since the start of the war we are seeing decreasing numbers of relatives with these experiences so are grateful to all those who came today. The children are certainly fortunate to be able to share these memories before it is too late!

Look at our evacuee children talking to grandparents in the photos below.

The day was further enhanced by photos, artefacts and the expertise of Rob and Roly from Plymouth CityMuseum. The children used "thinking skills" to investigate various helmets from the Home Front as well as studying photographs of Plymouth to explore the effects of the war locally.

We really have to say a great big thank you to all our visitors who made our day so special. Without them this day would not be viable. The staff and pupils therefore extend huge thanks to Mr Evans, Mr & Mrs Austin, Mrs Fitzpatrick, Mr & Mrs Buet, Mrs Davey and Mr & Mrs Marlton.

The afternoon ended with a VE party! The children sampled war time fayre of spam or jam sandwiches, scones and blancmange and jelly accompanied by dandelion and burdock, cream soda and cloudy lemonade. Some war time music set the mood.

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List Poetry

2009-06-26T14:17:00.003+01:00

After a great Healthy School Week, Class 4 have returned to poetry and experimenting with form. We have been creating list poems. A list poem is one of the oldest forms of poetry. The same word or words or class of words start each line. Each line is different, so that the lines create a different effect on their own.
'The Door' attributed to a Czech poet Miroslav Hulob translated by Ian Milner and George Theiner

The Door by Class 4

Go and open the door

Maybe outside there's a

planet or a solar system

a rocket,

or a sun.

Go and open the door

Maybe children playing

Maybe you'll see a house

or a room,

or a photograph

of a family.

Go and open the door

Even if there's only a shadow

even if there's

a cold breeze

even if

nothing is there,

go and open the door.

At least

there'll be

a draught

Friend

If you'd be my friend

I'd paint myself gold

live in a hold,

ride up to space

eat toothpaste,

stay up all night

have a fright,

share my last sweet

have nothing to eat,

and smile without end

if you'd be my friend.

Joe W-C. and Max W.

Friend

If you'd be my friend,

I'd paint myself cream

live in a dream,

call myself Fred

never go to bed,

swear at my dad

always be bad,

live a good life

swallow a knife,

and smile without end

if you'd be my friend

Darcy Toms and Josh Evans

War List Poem

2009-06-25T10:53:00.003+01:00

As part of our cross curricular work this term we have used our World War Two study to give us ideas for writing a list poem in Literacy. We read people's memories and newspaper extracts of the blitz, highlighting words and phrases that we liked. We then arranged these into a list poem about war.

Under a bomber's moon
night was fresh and clear
silence was shattered
louder and louder
the crack of bursting shells
flares that seem to hang in the sky
bombs which set the city ablaze
rushing and crackling of fire
the noise of the blitz was terrifying
Crisscrosing searchlights in the midnight sky
Under a bomber's moon

Healthy Week

2009-06-15T14:09:00.006+01:00

Despite the rain at 9am this morning, nothing could dampen the spirits of Class 4 as they began their Healthy week timetable.

Today the children have begun their multi- skills activities, learnt a simple dance with the "Putting on the Ritz" team, as well as a competition with the dance mats, rounding the day of by considering what makes a good friend. Victory won the overall Dance Mats competition for Class 4!

These were the qualities that we thought made a good friend: friendly, caring, thoughtful, playful, cheerful, pleasant, trustworthy, kind, reliable, generous, funny, good humoured, helpful

Here are somec photos of today's activities, including multi-skills, Putting on the Ritz and the dance mats competition.

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Putting on the Ritz

I really enjoyed Putting on the Ritz because it was fun to learn the routine - Alice
I enjoyed the multi-skills - it was fun - Preston
The Dance mats were fun - they were fast and some of us just ended up stepping on any mat! - Darcy
I really enjoyed the multi-skills because I realised that I was good at the activities - Joe

Tanka Verse

2009-06-11T09:28:00.004+01:00

This week year 4 have been looking at poetry again. We have written some list poems but today have been using powerful imagery to create Tanka. A ‘Tanka’ is a Japanese style of verse that dates back to the 5th Century. They traditionally contain 5 lines and 31 syllables in a 5-7-5-7-7 fixed syllable pattern.

We wrote this as a class

Snow capped volcano
Towering emerald trees
Candyfloss like clouds
Shimmering saphire water
Relaxed by the ocean waves

The white winged cranes fly
In the stell grey sky above
Tiny balls of snow
Cover the long brown branches
Makes me feel happy inside

by Darcy

Saphire deep water
Towering emerald trees
Candyfloss like clouds
Gigantic bulging mountain
Relaxed by the icy waves
by Bethany

Toby's Story

2009-03-13T06:35:00.001Z

This afternoon the Year 4 children were treated to an 'exhibition' of break dancing from a very special guest. Helen Taylor from Plymouth's EMAS service returned for the second of our sessions on Asylum Seekers and Refugees. The children were able to learn the very real plight of asylum seekers through the eloquent story of Tobiasz Gorniak, a Polish gypsy who came to Britain at the age of 14. Attacked in his own country for being a 'gypsy' his mother made the hard decision to move her family to the UK, rather than find one of her sons dead from the beatings that were frequent. Toby himself was attacked after a shopping trip for his mother and ended up in hospital. Arriving in Britain wasn't easy - they didn't speak English and on his first day at school he was asked to produce his homework! Support was given by EMAS and through special English lessons Toby is now fluent not only in Polish and English, but Gypsy, German and Czech. Prejudice was evident even here in Plymouth but Toby's talent for break dancing, which he had learnt on the streets of Poland with his friends, meant that he could draw attention to his talent rather than any difference. Luckily for Toby many people wanted to help him and he is now in the run up to opening his own Dancing School. He currently teaches dance to over 600 children across East Cornwall and Plymouth.

Kate H was extremely eloquent in being able to describe the difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee, making the clear defintition that a refugee is someone who was an asylum seeker but has been told they can stay. It took five years for Toby's family to be told they could stay here! The quote of the day has to go to Matthew M

It doesn't matter who you are.

How true!

Toby reminded the children that it is OK to have perceptions but you should always keep an open mind. Year 4 have certainly shown a real maturity in their thoughts and discussions around this topic. Let's hope they will challenge prejudice and welcome differences in their lives.

Here is a video highlighting some of our afternoon with Toby!

Part One

and Part 2

See more of Toby on O2 It's Your Community - Street Factory and on the BBC website

EMAS support PHSME Refugee sessions

2009-03-10T16:30:00.001Z

This afternoon the Year 4 children have considered the plight of Asylum Seekers with the expert guidance of Helen Taylor from Plymouth's Ethnic and Minority Achievement Service. In her 10 years working with the service Helen has worked with over 600 children and their families, supporting them as Asylum Seekers and Refugees.

The children were challenged to think about what it would feel like have to make snap judgements about what to leave or take behind if they had to suddenly leave their homes. They considered what events might conspire to cause this and talked about war, being forced to leave, being homeless, having no water through drought and having too much water in times of flood.

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The video demonstrates some of the activities the children undertook and the challenges they faced.

An Asylum Seeker is anyone who asks to stay in another country because it is dangerous for them to go back where they came from.
A Refugee is someone who has been told that they can stay in the country where they have sought asylum (this can often be a lengthy process full of government forms and investigations)

While a person is an asylum seeker they receive just £39.34 per week to live on. They will be found a safe place to live which may often be in a shared house with people who do not speak the same language. They are not allowed to work but are entitled to NHS medical care and free English lessons.

How would you feel if you were an asylum seeker?

Later this week we will hear first hand experiences of a refugee from Plymouth.

Korky Paul

2009-02-27T15:37:00.001Z

Over the last couple of days the children have been exploring the books and illustrations of Korky Paul. Today Korky Paul share with us how to create our own illustrations and the children all designed their own .....Osaurus. You can see the fantastic efforts of Year 4 below.

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Scratch

2009-02-25T12:07:00.001Z

Today we have started using Scratch. You can download this free program by clicking on the icon. There is a short form to fill out but the download is FREE! Have fun! be creative!

World Wide Week Logo Design

2009-02-14T17:01:00.001Z

Before we began our World Wide Week the children were challenged to design a LOGO which would highlight the Global dimensions of Woodford's curriculum and how we show respect for the 'earth and all its people'.
These are the winning designs! Well done everyone!

Passport Control

2009-02-14T16:57:00.001Z

We ended our World Wide Week with a flight across the continents from North America to Africa and Asia. From Mexico to The Gambia, China and Japan. Look at the wonderful things we saw on our journey. Well done everyone!

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Global Art Day

2009-01-30T11:54:00.003Z

What a fantastic day we have had today! The children, parents, staff and governors have in year 4 have enjoyed a great day of Global Art undertaking a range of art projects based on the art of other cultures.
Mendhi
Mendhi is when a Hindu bride uses henna to paint beautiful designs on her hands. Henna is a dye which will stain the skin. The children looked at Mendhi patterns before designing their own.

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Silk Painting and Batik
Silk painting uses a combination of colour and resist techniques to embellish woven cloth of silk and cotton that came from India and China. Batik uses the tradtional wax resist while gutta is used to in more modern examples. Today the children used both techniques to create some amazing silk pictures.

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African masks
Masks in Africa have great cultural and traditional significance. They are used during celebrations, initiations, crop harvesting, war preparation, peace and trouble times. Today masks were made of the children's own faces using modroc and then decorated using traditional African masks for inspiration.

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Adrinka
In Ghana Adrinka cloth is decorated with adinkra symbols that represent popular proverbs and sayings, record historical events, express particular attitudes or behaviour related to depicted figures, or concepts uniquely related to abstract shapes. Children printed Adrinka symbols onto cloth and canvas today.

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Dreamtime
The land owns us; we don’t own the land. The land owns us; we don’t own the land.We are part of the land. From the time we are children we learn the songs and stories about the land. For thousands of years, these songs and stories have been part of the people’s oral tradition and beliefs.

According to Aboriginal belief, all life as it is known today can be tracked to the Dreamtime or the era of Creation. The events of this distant time have been passed down in the oral tradition of folklore and are still enacted in ceremonies that include dance in mime. The animals of Australia seem to be at the center of all Aboriginal art. The children created their own dreamtine art using pastels and tradtional dreamtime animals and symbols.

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Earth from the Air

The images of Yann Arthus Betrand and our forthcoming World Wide Week provided the inspiration for our collage and mixed media images of China, Japan, Africa and Mexico.

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Maori Totem

The Maori people of New Zealand construct a form of totem to celebrate their ancestors. The totem is a person's Guardian Spirit. The totem is a symbol of a Tribe, Group, Clan, or Family, similar to a Coat of Arms. The totem may also represent an individual. Often, it will represent an animal, a plant, an object of nature, a natural phenomenon, or creatures and beings from tales and legends. The children modelled their Maori Totems from cardboard tubes, newspaper and modroc using traditional Maori designs.

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Thank you to all the parents who helped during the day! We hoped you enjoyed yourself as much as the children. The children's work is amazing!!!

YOU! (a simile poem)

2009-01-09T14:57:00.006Z

Today we have read a simile poem called ‘You’ from the Igbo dialect in Nigeria. The poet has used similes for each part of the body of an elephant for example he wrote

You!
Your ears are like fans for blowing fire.

In groups we have tried to write our own animal simile poems. We have written one here. Can you guess what animal it is?

You!
Your tail is like a victorian whip.

You!
Your face is like a mysterious African mask.
You!
Your mouth is like a mouse's hole.
You!
Your belly is like white jelly.
You!
Your claws are like a vampire's fangs.
You!
Your legs are like a blurry photo.

You!

Your spots are like a soldier's camouflage uniform.

If you can guess leave your answer as a comment!

Alphabet Poem of Similes

2009-01-08T09:43:00.008Z

In Literacy Year 4 have been exploring poetry. We have been focussing on the images that writers can create when they use similes. We have written an alphabet poem of similes. We hope you like the images we have created.

As, As, As

as angelic as a sleeping child

as bouncy as a spring lamb

as cold as ice

as dazzling as a diamond

as exciting as a football match

as fast as a fish

as green as grass

as hairy as a bear

as icy as a snowball

as jolly as a snowman

as a kind as a grandma

as lively as a lion

as many as a thousand

as noisy as a rockstar

as orange as the sun

as pink as pig

as quick as a cheetah

as runny as blood

(as rosy as cheeks)

as stripy as a tiger

as tiny as a tea leaf

as unhelpful as an annoying brother

as vicious as a lie

as white as snow

as x-rayed as a patient

as yummy as chocolate

as zestful as a lemon

We hope you enjoyed!!

Baboushka

2008-12-18T16:32:00.000Z

The children of Year 4 performed Baboushka to an appreciative audience of friends and family on 15th December. Despite the usual last minute jitters in rehearsals all the children rose to the occasion and gave a magnificent performance. Well done to all the children and staff involved.

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The characters and songs can be seen on the programme below.

Publish at Scribd or explore others: baboushka

Thanks from Mrs Hardie

2008-11-18T10:29:00.001Z

Dear Class 4
I was delighted this morning when the post arrived and I found your wonderful card. It was lovely to have all your good wishes. I am missing you all but know that you are in the most capable hands of Mr Tomlinson. I am looking forward to seeing what you have achieved using inkscape this term, especially your Baboushka dolls. I have now started some physiotherapy and accupuncture to help me get better and hope this will enable me to get back to school soon. Continue to work hard....to the best of your abilities.
Much love from
Mrs Hardie

Ancient Rome in 3D

2008-11-14T19:22:00.001Z

David Kinane, in his latest post Ancient Rome in 3-D, so what?, has highlighted an exciting new development in Google Earth. It is the addition of a new layer in the Gallery layers called Ancient Rome.

You need to make sure that in the layers selection you select 3D Buildings and from the Gallery, select Ancient Rome. Have fun exploring and think how we might develop our own 3D world!

Tutpup Champion

2008-11-14T18:00:00.002Z

This week's TUTPUP champion for Class 4 is BrownDog609

Tutpup Champion

2008-10-19T11:13:00.001+01:00

This week's TUTPUP champion for Class 4 is OrangeFox94

Plymouth City Museum brings Rome to Woodford

2008-10-18T15:08:00.000+01:00

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Circus Plymptonium

2008-10-18T15:00:00.001+01:00

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Chariots of fire!

2008-10-18T14:57:00.000+01:00

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Bonjour........Au revoir!

2008-10-01T22:11:00.003+01:00

Class 4 have been pratising their French greetings today. Watch the short video below and listen to their language skills. Do you know what they are saying?

Bonjour!

Je m'appelle...... Comment tu t'appelles,

Ca va? Ca va bien! Ca va pas!

Au revoir!

Roman Day

2008-09-11T12:38:00.003+01:00

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Tutpup Challenge

2008-07-24T10:33:00.001+01:00

Every pupil is challenged to become the Tutpup Champion of the school! Tutpup is a great way to practise and reinforce your maths and spelling skills. You need to sign up with the details provided by your teacher and then keep playing! You play against other players who could be anywhere in the world!