This week has been SCIENCE WEEK in Year 4. We have done science every day and it's been brilliant! We did lots of experiments using our very own electrical circuits and we have been discussing plastic pollution too. Well done to those children who are investigating plastic waste at home - don't forget to bring your booklet back next Friday so that we can discuss the results.

Here are some of our budding scientists in action.

4JP

We had lots of fun experimenting with switches. We thought carefully about how to make a simple, but effective switch that we could use in our circuits to turn our bulbs on and off. We then made a design.

Everyone was successful! We have saved our switches to use with our circuits when we make lighthouses next week. It means we will be able to turn our lights on and off.

We also investigated materials which we thought might be insulators or conductors. We tested them out by making a break in the circuit and then we added the material to see if it would bridge the circuit and let the electricity flow through.

We predicted most of the insulators and conductors but most of us were genuinely surprised when we found out that water was a conductor. We also found out that the graphite in our pencils is a conductor. Who knew?

We then wrote up our experiments and our findings like true scientists. Look at this beautifully recorded work.

4JD

We have been learning all about plastic pollution as part of science week in 4JD. This has also been linked to our year group homework. We found out about how some areas of the UK are affected by the North Atlantic gyre, which results in the accumulation of floating plastic, particularly in Bristol and on The Isle of Arran.

 

4CW

We had lots of fun designing our switches in pairs.  We found out that the switch breaks the circuit when it is open and when it is all connected the electricity can flow around the circuit.  We were given paper clips, split pins, drawing pins, card and tape then we had to work out how to create the switch ourselves.  We then drew our designs in our books. There were times when the electricity didn't seem to flow around our circuits and the bulb did not light up.  We had to work hard to work out why this might be.  We found that the problems were mainly because our cell may have been the wrong way round in it's holder or our bulbs were not screwed in far enough.

And finally.....

Your teachers have been busy sorting out the final details for our Scarborough trip next Wednesday. This is a reminder to set your alarms early. You need to be in school for 7.30am.

We are really looking forward to taking you all to the seaside and we are hoping the sun will shine for us!