To start the Spring Term on a creative note Year 4 pupils have embarked on a journey though Brazil and its rainforests. During this half term the girls have had the opportunity to explore different landmarks found across the country, research flowers of the rainforest and how they grow, and learn how to use PowerPoint to develop stunning informational slides about Brazil. The girls also enjoyed studying and recreating the artwork of Luis Murce, and taking time to practise for the upcoming Year 3 and Year 4 musical, Pirates of the Curry Bean.
Exploring Brazil
To begin the topic on Brazil our Year 4 pupils revised their atlas research skills and applied them to find important landmarks in and around Brazil, including major oceans, rivers, cities, and neighbouring countries. Some girls were able to find the lines of the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, and one star pupil even created a compass rose.
Shortly after studying the general topography of Brazil, the girls began research on its climate and looking at the effect of the country’s climate on the players of the World Cup. Needless to say, the group determined that the games played must have been uncomfortably hot!
Flower research
The Brazilian and Amazon rainforests are home to thousands of plant species. Considering this, Year 4 focused on the importance of flowers within the rainforest environment. First, the girls were reintroduced to the basic parts of a flower, and from there they learnt about more detailed parts of the flower such as the stamen, stigma, style, ovary, and ovule. Pupils created a drawing of their own flowers and labelled them accordingly.
Once they had demonstrated mastery of this information, the group took a trip to Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Here the girls were able to apply what they had learned about flowers while learning about the diversity of flowers found not only in the rainforest environment, but also in mountain and desert environments. During our trip to the gardens, the girls learnt about the anatomy of a plant seed and how different seeds can be planted – and even learnt about a seed that plants itself by drilling into the ground.
Over the next two weeks Year 4 girls will be creating flowers using craft materials, and they will be assessed on what they understand regarding the anatomy of a flower.
Luis Murce
Earlier this year the girls created volcano prints using cut polystyrene, and they have also had a go at drawing their favourite illustrations. This term Year 4 is focusing on their painting skills and mixing their own paint colours. The girls studied the work of famous Brazilian painter Luis Murce and, considering the bright colours and vibrant pictures he uses in his paintings, each girl chose her own inspiration from one of the pictures and worked to recreate the image in sketchbook form, then through painting.
The girls enjoyed analysing Luis Murce’s famous painting of two newlywed Brazilians and creating their own versions of the flowers and birds from this painting.
PowerPoints and Brazil
In Computer Science lessons this half term Year 4 has been learning about the different components of PowerPoint, and how to use these components appropriately. The girls have learned how to search for and download images (including animated images), sounds (including music) and video, as well as doing general text research. Through the use of different picture filters, animations, text editing software, and slide setups, each girl was able to create a stunning, informative slideshow about Brazil.
Pirates of the Curry Bean
In conjunction with our studies, Year 4 has been diligently preparing for the upcoming Year 3 and Year 4 play Pirates of the Curry Bean. The girls have been excitedly practising their lines, singing songs, and rehearsing their dance moves. The play will have funny moments throughout, as well as some more heartfelt plotlines. Many characters will delight, such as a silly Admiral who doesn’t know what a ship is, a pirate captain whose beard is bright pink, and a crew of mixed-up salty sailors. A large portion of the journey takes place between two ships, the Curry Bean, and the Crunchy Frog. Both ships will be on the hunt for famous buried treasure, and who knows, maybe the girls will find the treasure buried outside Brazil, on the imaginary island of Lumbago!