Year 4 have thoroughly enjoyed their Geography topic this half term, all about mountains. They have learnt about how the structure of the Earth affects its features. Using pieces of paper, they demonstrated how the Earth’s tectonic plates can move in different ways to create mountains and volcanoes, and cause earthquakes. Before learning about the four different types of mountain, the children took part in a practical demonstration of how each type is formed. They used large sheets of paper to demonstrate the formation of fold mountains, which result from tectonic plates moving towards each other. They broke up KitKat fingers to show how fault-block mountains are formed by the cracking of the Earth’s crust. A balloon was inflated under a piece of fabric to show how dome mountains are formed by the Earth’s liquid mantle pushing up the Earth’s crust. Finally, the most anticipated demonstration was an erupting volcano! The children have then described the formation and features of these mountains, researched the Haiti earthquake, and studied the structure and stages in the life of a volcano. The children have been particularly engaged in learning about this topic, and already had lots of knowledge of their own.
