Y4 London 2018
Welcome to the 2018-19 Reading Gladiators challenges. Let the reading begin!
There are schools in this group:
- Just Imagine
- Eastbury Primary School
- Beam County Primary School
- Southwood Primary School
- Hallsville Primary School
- St Matthias School
- Archbishop Sumner C of E Primary School
- Avonmore Primary School
- Scott Wilkie Primary School
- Carlton Primary School
- Fox Primary School
- Cubitt Town Junior School
- La Fontaine Academy
- Linton Mead Primary School
- Keir Hardie Primary School
- Rosetta Primary School
- St Paul with St Luke C of E Primary School
- Lathom Junior School
- Brampton Primary School – Newham
- St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Uxbridge
- Cherry Lane Primary School
- Whitchurch Primary School & Nursery, Stanmore






















Updates
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Feast after Battle Victory
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Celebrating
Thank you so much for the fab collection of books from Abi Elphinstone. We are all so excited to read them.
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Submission by St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Uxbridge
Battle Scene
The Reading Gladiators focused on the first paragraph of chapter thirty four (Eska). They re-wrote the paragraph in their own words then decided to act it out. They then added the Narnia Battle Song and used a video of the Northern Lights as their backdrop. The Gladiators adored this challenge!
Comments
13th May 2019, 3:59pmA very well thought out mini-challenge entry St Mary's. You look completely immersed in the battle in your film!13th May 2019, 6:05pmThank you! The Gladiators and I loved this challenge. The music really enthused the children and was really effective with the writing. -
Winning Prizes
WoW we are so proud to have won the latest mini challenge! Thank you for the fantastic books and yummy mini eggs!
Comments
20th Mar 2019, 12:05pmI can't think of a better combination than books and chocolate! Well done. -
Look who joined our group today!!
Our Reading Gladiators we’re honoured to have Joshua Seigal join them today for some book talk.
Comments
15th Mar 2019, 4:23pmLucky Gladiators! I'm sure Joshua was super impressed with their booktalk! Did you tell him you'd been reading about farting angels?!16th Mar 2019, 7:31pmHa ha, we definitely should have told him about farting angels 😂 He would have loved that. Think he'll definitely be reading The Ice Garden and maybe having a go at writing a children's novel.26th Mar 2019, 10:39amI look forward to that landing on my desk! -
Scott Wilkie – Mini Challenge ‘Darkness’
We have explored the theme of darkness. Here is a piece of work surrounding that idea.
Comments
16th Feb 2019, 4:53pmWhat a powerful image. It looks as though the character in the middle is imprisoned by a wall of coal or darkness. The images around the ourside feel quite ghostly. -
Scott Wilkie- Mini challenge ‘Darkness’
Another piece representing darkness and working in the mines…
Comments
16th Feb 2019, 4:51pmThese smudgy images really remind me of coal dust. (I et your hands were covered in charcoal after you'd made this picture) -
Submission by St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Uxbridge
Lost Magic
Each child chose one of their favourite poems to be included in the anthology. They have really enjoyed reading the poems and listening to Brian Mose perform some of his poems online. They have thoroughly enjoyed illustrating some of their favourite poems too.
Comments
15th Feb 2019, 2:01pmBeautifully presented poems and lovely to see PIC Collage being used too. -
Submission by Eastbury Primary School
Brian Moses Anthology
We really enjoyed putting together this collection. We voted for our favourite poems giving our reasons and then thought about how to categorise them. Reading Gladiator Samir came up with the idea of grouping them to be read over the course of a day. We are so pleased with our selection that we want to share it with the rest of the school during our up-coming Poetry Recitation Week.
Comments
12th Feb 2019, 4:26pmWhat a brilliant idea to have a day of Brian Moses poetry! I hope other schools do this too. -
Submission by La Fontaine Academy
La Fontaine Lost Magic Challenge
Our Y4 Reading Gladiators have enjoyed reading poetry. They have compiled their favourite poems by Brian Moses into a Lost Magic Anthology.
Comments
12th Feb 2019, 11:29amA lovely anthology La Fontaine gladiators. I hope you will be sharing it with your class. -
Snow Beard
Comments
9th Feb 2019, 4:39pmIs that a snow beard? Or did you find some treasure hidden in that lump of snow and ice? -
Snow Time
Comments
9th Feb 2019, 4:40pmIt's a mini snow person! -
More fun in the snow!
Comments
9th Feb 2019, 4:38pmNo Gloves! I'm felling cold just looking at the picture.Hope you had fun in the snow. -
Snow inspired vocabulary catch.
Comments
9th Feb 2019, 4:32pmGreat to see you enjoying the snow before writing about it. I bet the experience led to some great writing!11th Feb 2019, 9:58amFor a challenging and brilliant fantasy story involving lots and lots of snow - try The Snow Merchant by Sam Gayton - a brilliant stepping stone to Pullman's Northern Lights Trilogy. -
Snow
Getting inspired to write poems about snow.
Comments
9th Feb 2019, 4:31pmYou had proper snow! We missed it here in Essex. I bet you wrote some great poems. -
Scott Wilkie – Town is by the sea
Being blindfolded was scary for some as we couldn’t navigate our way around. The sounds we heard were frightening and we felt like crawling was our safest way to get around.
Comments
21st Jan 2019, 8:18pmIt's interesting how removing one of our senses makes us move differently. Do you think you would get used to it after a while? -
Ghosts of the Underground
This is one of our favourite poems from the Lost Magic collection. Here’s an entry from Algesa’s reading journal about the poem.
Comments
21st Jan 2019, 9:01pmHave you ever travelled on the London Underground? It can be very atmospheric when you are going through tunnels or going deep down on the escalators. Thank you for sharing your favourite poem with us. -
Submission by Eastbury Primary School
Darkness Artwork
Our Year 4 Reading Gladiators discussed the theme of darkness.
This is what it means to us:
The answer to a riddle
Scary but peaceful at the same time
Anxious loneliness
Fear and isolation
Sadness and depression
Sleepy restfulnessComments
11th Jan 2019, 9:52amSuper work Eastbury. I love the fact that you can look at your artwork from different angles - and see something new. It looks like you had great fun creating it too. -
Submission by Eastbury Primary School
Wed Wabbit Poem
Our Gladiators worked hard each taking a section of the story to turn into a poem. We had to help each other and even use the king's rhyming cheat once or twice!
Comments
14th Dec 2018, 3:07pmThis is fantastic Eastbury and using the King's rhyming is not cheating at all - he is part of the story too. We love it! -
Submission by Lathom Junior School
Wed Wabbit
We have written a four verse poem to summarise the story of Wed Wabbit.
Comments
14th Dec 2018, 3:04pmSuper stuff here Lathom. You have recounted the story very well with some super vocabulary and imagery too! -
Submission by St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Uxbridge
The End of Wed Wabbit’s Weign
THE GROUP HAVE WRITTEN FOUR VERSES TO RECAP THE STORY IN THE STYLE OF THE WIMBLEY WOOS. WE HAD A GREAT TIME TALKING TOGETHER AND EDITING AND RE-EDITING UNTIL WE WERE HAPPY WITH OUR POEM. WE THEN TYPED UP EACH VERSE IN A DIFFERENT COLOUR TO MATCH THE WIMBLEY WOOS AND TO REFLECT DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE STORY.
Comments
14th Dec 2018, 2:43pmI can see you have carefully considered each word in your poem and full marks for using the Wimbley colours to present your verse. -
Role on the Wall
Comments
9th Dec 2018, 5:33pmwhat I like about this is the way you are using the role on the wall to help you think and talk about the way that the main character, Fidge, develops. It's always lovely to see you working so thoughtfully together. -
Role on the wall
The group loved adding to the role on the wall weekly and seeing how Fidge softened as a character as the story developed.
Comments
7th Dec 2018, 5:00pmIt's so important to revisit the role on the wall - it really supports understanding of character development. Fidge is such an interesting character. I'd love to meet her. -
Scott Wilkie: Wed Wabbit
We have really been enjoying reading ‘Wed Wabbit’. Here is a look at one of our character profiles/comparisons.
Comments
7th Dec 2018, 11:01amYes Fidge is self doubting isn't she and isn't it great that Graham does learn to be brave with a little help from his new friends. Great work! -
Proud winners
Eastbury were delighted to receive the fantastic prizes for winning our mini challenge! Thank you reading gladiators.
Comments
13th Nov 2018, 12:59pmWell done everyone. we look forward to seeing more of your creative work. -
Submission by Eastbury Primary School
Eastbury’s Y4 mini challenge: A World of Pure Imagination
We really enjoyed drawing 'from the soul' and letting our imagination flow with this mini challenge. We hope Ms Monteverdi would have liked our work!
Comments
6th Nov 2018, 1:39pmJust Imagine comment: Hello Eastbury Gladiators. we loveed your artwork. You filled every space of the paper and showed that you can work together as a team to create something very beautiful, which shows different aspects of the imagination. Thank you for sharing the pictures that show how you created your masterpiece. This is what the famous scientist Albert Einstein said about the imagination: Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. Do you agree?6th Nov 2018, 9:27pmSt. Mary's Uxbridge Gladiators love your submission. It's really eye catching and captures the mood of the book perfectly. We think Ms Monteverdi would love your work. Your smiles say it all!13th Nov 2018, 11:39amEastbury Gladiators want to say a huge thank you to St Mary’s Uxbridge for their comment! It meant a lot to us and made us feel proud. We also loved Einstein’s quote that Nikki shared with us. Samir in our group said he agrees: “logic will get you the basics for a normal life but creativity brings the joy and excitement!”13th Nov 2018, 11:46amYou have some wise Gladiators at Eastbury! -
Submission by St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Uxbridge
A World of Pure Imagination
Each member of the group made one piece of artwork (future self, imaginary friend etc...) Everyone helped to paint the rainbow then the children displayed their work on it. The children thoroughly enjoyed this activity especially exploring the idea of their future selves.
Comments
6th Nov 2018, 5:24pmJust Imagine comment: we are pleased that you enjoyed thinking about the possibility of your future selves. It's good to see your individual pieces which are pulled together by the unifying rainbow of hope. Well done St Mary's Gladiators.6th Nov 2018, 9:34pmThank you Nikki. The children chose the rainbow idea themselves and as they painted we listened to 'A World of Pure Imagination' (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory version) as they painted. Bliss!6th Nov 2018, 10:42pmWhat a super idea to listen to a music track to aid concentration and provide inspiration. -
Submission by Lathom Junior School
A World of Pure Imagination
A collage of our imagination using pencils, oil pastels and felt-tips. Mrs Monteverdi would be proud!
Comments
6th Nov 2018, 2:37pmJust Imagine comment: This frieze makes a very bold statement. We were left wondering what you would like to lecture in when you are older?6th Nov 2018, 9:31pmSt. Mary's Gladiators love your take on this competition. Your final piece is very much like a Matisse piece of art. Well done!12th Nov 2018, 3:55pmThank you for your lovely comments. The Year 4 Reading Gladiator would like to be a lecturer in medicine.23rd Nov 2018, 1:11amWorhty aspirations indeed We look forward to hearing more from them soon.23rd Nov 2018, 1:11amWorthy aspirations indeed We look forward to hearing more from them soon. -
Scott Wilkie: looking at Angelino
We have started thinking about Angelino’s character in more detail…
Comments
18th Oct 2018, 5:31pmThis made me smile! I like the drawings that you have used to accompany the things that you have noticed about Angelino. Do all angels grow by eating custard? Thank you for sharing with us.24th Oct 2018, 1:54pmThe Angelino effect goes beyond the pages of the book - into your heads Scott Wilkie Gladiators and back out again via your lovely work, making us smile here in Essex. What a powerful angel he is. -
Scott Wilkie: Drama and Role play
Today we got in a role as the characters from the story. We really enjoyed ourselves and we may even practice at home!
Comments
18th Oct 2018, 5:28pmHi Scott Wilkie Gladiators. How lovely to see you enjoying your reading corner. A great place to practice your Readers Theatre. Will you read it to other children in your class when you have practiced? I am sure they would like to hear more aout the book. I might even encourage some of them to read it.24th Oct 2018, 1:28pmI do hope you had fun with the North Eastern dialect! And I have always wondered what Angelino would sound like!
Comments