Reading and viewing

Testing the shade cloth Our class wanted to find out whether a shade cloth helped the soil stay damp. We filled two identical trays with the same amount of soil and water. We put them side by side outside. One tray was covered by shade cloth; the other was uncovered. We checked both trays at three o'clock each afternoon. Monday: covered soil damp; uncovered soil damp. Tuesday: covered soil damp; uncovered soil slightly damp. Wednesday: covered soil slightly damp; uncovered soil dry. We concluded that, in our three-day trial, the covered soil stayed damp longer. We want to repeat the trial in different weather before making a general claim.

Make a seed label You need a clean, dry ice-cream stick, a pencil and a waterproof pen. Ask an adult to check that the stick has no splinters. 1. Write the plant's name lightly in pencil near the top of the stick. 2. Check the spelling against the seed packet. Correct any mistakes now. 3. Trace over the name with waterproof pen. 4. Wait until the ink is dry, then push the blank end into the soil beside the seeds. If you are labelling several rows, finish one label before beginning the next. This helps you match each label to the correct packet. Keep the writing above the soil so that it remains easy to read.

A quieter lunchtime choice Dear Student Council, Please turn the unused corner beside the library into a quiet lunchtime space. Students who enjoy reading or drawing sometimes struggle to find a calm place in the busy playground. Two benches and a box of drawing boards would give them somewhere to settle. Some students worry that a quiet space will take away a place to run. However, the corner is already too narrow for running games. The large oval would remain open for active play. Could we try the quiet space for two weeks and ask students whether it helps? A trial would let us improve the idea before spending money on more equipment. Yours sincerely, Amir, Year 4

Tuesday's rehearsal I thought I knew every line of our play. At rehearsal, I spoke before Jo had finished, skipped a whole sentence and forgot to turn towards the audience. Our teacher asked us to try the scene again, more slowly. This time I listened for Jo's final word. I took a breath before answering. The pause felt enormous to me, but our teacher said it helped the audience understand the change of speaker. At home I was going to practise the speech ten times without stopping. Now I have a different plan: Mum will read Jo's part, and I will practise listening as well as speaking. Knowing my own lines is only part of the job.

Subject: Changes to Friday's garden visit Hello Year 4, Our visit to the community garden will still take place on Friday. However, we will leave school at 10:00 am instead of 9:30 am because the gardener has a morning delivery. Bring a hat, a water bottle and a packed lunch. You will not need a gardening tool; the garden will supply tools for our activity. Wear closed shoes. If heavy rain is forecast on Thursday afternoon, we will send another message to families and hold the planting activity in our classroom instead. Please do not assume the visit is cancelled just because it is cloudy. We expect to return to school by 1:30 pm. Ms Tran

Museum website mock-up PAGE TITLE: River Town Museum TOP MENU: Visit | Collections | Learn | Contact Visit drop-down: Opening hours | Tickets | Getting here BREADCRUMB: Home > Learn > School workshops HEADING: Build a bridge workshop The workshop is for school groups in Years 3–6. Bookings are essential. UNDERLINED LINK: Download the teacher planning sheet BUTTON: Book a school workshop IMAGE CAPTION: Students test a model bridge with small weights. FOOTER: Accessibility | Site map This is a fictional page layout for reading practice. Its labels are not live links.