2024/25
History
Learning Experience 7 - Stone Age to Iron Age
In History this term, we will think back to prehistoric times to understand what life was like in the Stone, Bronze and Iron Age. We will kickstart our experience with a school trip to Kent Life to take part in a Stone Age workshop. We will look at the types of settlements, food and tools at the time. Looking at how the use of trading bronze and iron changed the lives of these early humans.
Spanish
In Spanish, we have been learning basic phrases and greetings.
We played a game to consolidate our Spanish colours.
RE
Learning Experience 6 - Christianity
This term we are exploring Christianity by delving into three big questions: What do Christians believe about God? (Believing), Why do Christians pray? (Expressing), and What does it mean to be a Christian today? (Living). We’ll begin with fingertip knowledge before generating our own ‘big’ questions to deepen our thinking. We will look at a variety of Christian artefacts, Christian beliefs and practices. We’ll also compare the experiences and beliefs of different Christians, discovering the many similarities but celebrating uniqueness.
We had a visit from the Head Pastor at the 'The Triumph of Grace Ministry'. She spoke to us about her Christian beliefs, why she prays and what Christianity means to her.
DT
Learning Experience 5 - Cooking
DT this term is all about food! We’ll begin by exploring where our food comes from, understanding how it’s imported and processed before it reaches our plates. With this knowledge, we’ll plan our method for creating a delicious ratatouille dish. Then, we’ll visit Newline Secondary School to put our plan into action. Using bridge and claw cutting techniques, we’ll carefully prepare our vegetables while following a simple recipe. As we cook, we’ll keep our target audience (our parents) in mind, ensuring our dish is both delicious and visually appealing. Finally, we’ll invite our parents to taste and evaluate our creations.
Virtual Author Visit with Gregg James.
Sycamore Trees had an exciting virtual visit from author and Radio 1 presenter Gregg James! During the session, he read from one of his books, and we brought the story to life through our own illustrations.
Attendance reward
Sycamore Trees have won 3 gold attendance medals this term! As part of our reward, we enjoyed an arts and Crafts session, building the Iron Man from our class text and getting crafty with nature!
Computing
Learning Experience 4 - Ebooks
Ebooks Knowledge organiser
In Computing, children will be learning how to use the app Keynote to create their very own Ebooks! They will develop a range of software skills, including adding and formatting text, inserting images, and creating hyperlinks to make their presentations more interactive. By the end of the experience, children will have the opportunity to showcase their creativity and new digital skills by presenting to the class.
Check out some of our Ebooks below!
PSHE
Learning Experience 3 - Internet Safety and Harm
Internet Safety Knowledge Organiser
Children will begin this experience by looking at the many benefits of the internet, like learning new things and connecting with friends, while also discussing why it’s important to limit screen time for our health and well-being. We’ll dive into how to spot fake news, and learn why we should think carefully before sharing personal information online. Finally, we will discuss how to develop smart and safe online habits by responding to different online scenarios.
Geography
Learning Experience 2 - Country Comparison
Country Comparison Knowledge Organiser
We will begin this topic by developing our atlas skills, learning how to read a variety of maps and locate places around the world. We will then look at physical and human features within our local environment (Maidstone) and then apply this knowledge to London and other areas within Europe. Using Google Maps, we will locate a variety of landmarks in London. Finally, we will compare the UK to Italy focusing on Rome. We will look at the population, transport, food etc.
Our River Cruise Trip!
To support our Geography learning and skills, we went on a river cruise along the river Medway. During the trip, we completed fieldwork by spotting physical features like riverside landscapes, as well as human features such as bridges and buildings.
Atlas skills
Next, we identified physical and human features within our local environment and highlighted these on a map of Maidstone. Then we used GoogleMaps to locate other physical and human features across the UK.
Map skills
Next, we focused in on the capital city of London. We used our knowledge of physical and human features and map skills to locate landmarks across London. We then researched facts about them.
We looked at countries in Europe, completing a scavenger hunt to research facts and locate different countries. We then, focused on Italy, and its capital city - Rome. We used our knowledge of landmarks and map skills to 'build Rome' in our classroom! We used google maps to locate these accurately around the River Tiber. Finally, to finish our topic we compared Rome to London.
Science
Learning Experience 1 - Forces
We are starting Year 4 by diving into the exciting world of forces! Sycamore Trees will learn about the different types of forces like gravity, friction and magnetism. Through a variety of experiments, we will discover how forces make things move and stop and why they are so important in our world. We will begin by investigating what magnets attract and repel and classifying materials based on their magnetic properties. We will then explore how friction on different surfaces can slow things down. Finally, we will look at gravity, investigating how this invisible force pulls things back to the ground and the types of friction (air resistance and water resistance) that effects this.
Are all metals magnetic?
We have been learning about magnetism. Through exploration, we found that only metals were magnetic. We then investigated this further discovering that metals like copper and aluminum are not magnetic, while objects made of iron, such as paperclips and nails, are!
How do different surfaces affect the amount of force needed?
We used force meters to measure the amount of friction created by each surface.
Air resistance
What affects the rate a paper helicopter falls?
We learnt about gravity and air resistance by making our own paper helicopters. We observed how air resistance slowed down the helicopter as gravity pulled them to the ground. We also learnt that changing variables such as the weight, shape and size of the 'blades' can affect the amount of air resistance and rate it falls.
Water resistance
How does changing the shape of an object affect the rate it sinks?
We investigated a different type of friction (water resistance) by observing the rate each shape sank to the bottom. We kept the water, mass of the blu-tac and height the same, changing only the shape. We found the flat shape sank to the bottom the slowest because it had a larger surface area which created more water resistance against gravity.
