Year 4 Writing Activities - Natural Curriculum

Word Buster

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After the problem has been introduced, talk with a partner about the capitalised mathematical words. What do they mean, and how do they relate to the problem?

Natural Curriculum’s Top Tips:

Use the following sentence stems:

“This word means…”

“It is important to know this because …”

Show active listening by developing what your partner says and kindly correcting any errors.
Think about what you want to say before you say it.
Speak at a volume that just your partner can hear.

Learning Power

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Use an arrow to place yourself on a learning power continuum. Explain to your talk partner, group or class why you placed yourself at this point, identifying what went well and what could be improved.

Example:

“My learning power this lesson was 60%. I helped my partner understand the problem and wasn’t afraid to make a mistake. I could have changed my strategy sooner as I was unable to complete the challenge.”

Natural Curriculum’s Top Tips:

Use the following Rs to structure your explanation: resilience, resourcefulness, relationships and risk-taking.
When discussing with your partner, speak at a volume that only they can hear.
When reporting back to the class, speak clearly and loudly enough for everyone to hear.

First Steps

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Do you need further help understanding the problem?

Will you ask for a mathematical resource to help solve the problem?

Will you choose a known problem-solving strategy such as trial and error, working backwards or working systematically?

First Steps

Use the following sentence stems to explain to your partner what you intend to do first in your quest to find a solution to the problem.

“The first thing that I will do is …”

“The reason that I will do this is …”

Natural Curriculum’s Top Tips:

Think about what you want to say before you say it.
Speak at a volume that just your partner can hear.

Be an active listener by building on your partner’s idea, politely disagreeing with a reason or asking for further clarification if something isn’t clear.
Use precise mathematical vocabulary where possible (multiply, divide, negative numbers, symmetry etc.).

Maths in Context

Mathematics is everywhere in nature, even where we are not expecting it!

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Having watched the video clip, discuss with your talk partner anything that you heard or saw that was connected to maths.

Natural Curriculum’s Top Tips:

Use the following sentence stems:

“I noticed that…”

“I think this links to maths because…”

Be an active listener by building on a partner’s idea or politely disagreeing, giving a reason.
Use precise mathematical vocabulary, where possible (multiply, divide, negative numbers, symmetry etc.).

Voice From The Wild

You are now in a position to speak with passion and emotion as the plant, animal or aspect of the natural world featured in the lesson.

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Give a 30-second to1-minute talk to either your partner, group or class explaining why your life matters and how humans must do more to protect you and your home.

Natural Curriculum Top Tips:

Structure your speech with the following sentence stems:

“I am the …”

” I matter because …”

“Humans must …”

Use hand gestures and facial expressions to express emotions such as sadness.
Maintain eye contact with your audience.
Pause before or after important points to let them sink in and create drama.

Repair and Share

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Once you have read the sentences or text, work with a partner to agree on any improvements that could be made. Once you’ve discussed and agreed on these changes, be ready to clearly share them with the class.

Natural Curriculum’s Top Tips:

Use the following sentence stem: “We believe text cohesion would be improved if …”
When discussing with your partner, speak at a volume that only they can hear.
When reporting back to the class, speak clearly and loudly enough for everyone to hear.
Use grammar and punctuation vocabulary accurately when explaining improvements.

Be The Judge

You’ve learned fascinating facts about a plant, animal or part of the natural world. Now it’s time to step into the role of a judge!

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Give a 30-second to 1-minute speech to your partner or class, explaining why you’ve chosen this species as the Species of the Year.

Natural Curriculum’s Top Tips:

Vary your speed and volume to keep your audience interested.

Speak clearly, confidently, and with authority – you’re the judge!

Use superlatives like greatest, most important, or most impressive to emphasise your reasons.

Express Yourself!

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Take turns with your talk partner to read each sentence aloud. Focus on making the speech part expressive by using the punctuation and the actions in the reporting clause to guide your delivery.

Natural Curriculum’s Top Tips:

Stay calm for the reporting clause: Read it in a steady voice to clearly separate it from the speech.

Speak Like An Expert

Throughout the lesson, you will have learnt lots of fascinating facts about an animal, plant or aspect of the natural world. You are now in a position to speak like an expert!

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Give a 30-second to 1-minute talk to either your partner, group or class about the animal, plant or environmental issue that featured throughout the lesson.

Natural Curriculum Top Tips:

Speak with enthusiasm abut your subject to show that you are passionate. This could involve changing the pitch of your voice and emphasising key words.

Guess My word

Talking about and rehearsing vocabulary before you use it should improve your writing.

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With a talk partner, take turns to select one of the words from the Word Wall that you intend to use in your sentence and describe it. You must not say the word or a similar sounding word. Your talk partner should be able to quickly identify the word!

Natural Curriculum Top Tips:

Speak at a volume that only your partner can hear.
Maintain eye contact with your audience.
Try to speak confidently, avoiding hesitation and the use of filler words like “um”, “uh”, “like”, or “you know”.
Use hand gestures while speaking to add layers of meaning.

Detective Partnered Talk

Now that you’ve read the scintillating sentences, its time to do some detective work, develop your oracy skills and show your understanding of the lesson’s learning objective.

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Once your teacher has explained what you must identify, take turns to articulate your answer with your partner, using the following sentence stems:

Partner A: In the first sentence, …

Partner B: In the second sentence, …

Natural Curriculum’s Top Tips:

- - Think about what you want to say before you say it.
  - Speak at a volume that just your partner can hear.
  - Use grammar and punctuation vocabulary accurately.
  - Listen actively, politely correcting any mistakes your partner has made.

Hands Down Class Discussion

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Your teacher will pose a critical thinking question at the end of the film clip. You can speak freely without raising your hand, responding to each other’s ideas.

Natural Curriculum’s Top Tips:

- - Take turns and listen carefully. (No interruptions!)
  - Be respectful of all ideas, politely challenging those that are different to your own.
  - Speak at a volume that the whole class can hear.
  - Maintain eye contact with your audience.

golden mole

tiger

hippo and barbel fish

widowbird

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