Hello Year 4,

 I know it's been a very strange year for us all, but I just wanted to thank you for being the most fabulous Year 4 class! I have loved teaching you all this year and you have made me very proud. I will put up a folder of fun summer holiday activities for you to have a go at should you wish to do so. 

  I hope you all have the most amazing Summer and enjoy making lots of memories. We will see you in school on Wednesday 26th August.

 Take care and stay safe,

      Miss Banks

Year 4 Spring 2 Curriculum Information

As we begin the new term, we will begin reading an exciting book from Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner Katherine Rundell. This fantastic novel is about a group of children who must survive in the Amazon after their plane crashes.

Fred, Con, Lila, and Max are on their way back to England from Manaus when the plane they’re on crashes and the pilot dies upon landing. For days they survive alone, until Fred finds a map that leads them to a ruined city, and to a secret.

 We will use this exciting novel to explore our Grove school value; teamwork. We will look at how the characters of the novel demonstrate teamwork and how we show teamwork in our school. 

 Children will get the exciting opportunity to produce a newspaper article based on this book and towards the end of the term they will use their imagination to create an extension of a chapter from the novel. Our big question this term is: Can we achieve the impossible?

In Geography this term, children will explore the Amazon rainforest and its climate. They will use Google Maps in ICT to locate the Amazon rainforest and explore the Amazon river.

Linking in with this topic, children will get the opportunity to produce some exciting artwork to add to our topic display. Each child will get to research and choose animals that habitat in the Amazon rainforest. Children will then use their arts and craft skills to sew their chosen animal and produce a final piece.

Year 4 Spring 1 Curriculum information

As we begin the New Year in Spring 1, we will be rewinding to 1914 and reading Shackleton`s Amazing Antarctic Adventure, ‘Trapped by the Ice’. This extraordinary book explores and follows Sir Ernest Shackleton’s quest to become the first person to cross the Southern Polar Cap. What he encounters is a sea of ice that crushes his ship, The Endurance. This strands Shackleton and his crew in one of the harshest regions on the planet. It will take two hard years for Shackleton to lead his men across the frigid ice pack, through hundreds of miles of treacherous seas and up and over a series of mountain ranges to reach help.

Miraculous but true, this book is one of the most amazing survival stories on record, dashingly told by Michael McCurdy.

 Children will look at what else was happening in the world during 1914.They will explore what life was like and other significant events that took place around the world as Shackleton made his journey. We will look at our own journey that we make in life and the path we choose to take.

In class, as part of our PSHE we will be looking at how this book highlights sheer determination and courage as well as understanding the importance of teamwork. Children will get the opportunity to demonstrate further their understanding of our school value, resilience. They will look at what makes a good leader and how we can stay motivated and focused in times of difficulty. Children will learn what motivates them to do well and how they can always achieve their best.

 We will also read another inspirational text ‘Little People, Big Dreams’. This book explores the amazing life of Amelia Earhart. We will discover the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists. All of the people have achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream.

In Geography, we will map out Shackleton’s journey starting from South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic Ocean and explore what happened to the ship as it entered the ice pack of the Weddell Sea. We will also explore the Antarctica climate and freezing temperatures that the crew had to endure, as well as looking at the roughest seas they had to encounter.

 To support our understanding of where Antarctica is, we will use Google Maps in ICT to explore the region. We will also look at detailed information about other geographical regions and sites around the world. We will map out various journeys and look at how this can help us to see aerial and satellite views of many fascinating places.

 As part of the children’s artwork this term, they will get to create their very own polar art. The children will get the opportunity to look at the Antarctic setting and produce an exciting piece of artwork that shows this along with the animals that habitat here.

 Our Science topic this term excitingly links to our Antartica topic theme. We will explore living things and their habitats. We will look at the Antartican environment and explore how animals survive in such temperatures with limited food. We will understand how environments can change and this can sometimes pose a danger to living things. We will also look at how people, the weather and the environment can affect living things and explore the ongoing relevant issue of global warming.

Year 4 Autumn 2 Curriculum Information

Our topic in Year 4 this half term is Vikings. As part of this topic we will be reading a book called ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ by Ted Hughes.  The story is about Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III who is the son of a Viking chief. Someday he is supposed to lead the tribe, but he seems to lack the qualities of a good leader. Hiccup is a small, skinny boy, not a brawny hero the Vikings want. Nobody takes him seriously, not even his father, Stoick the Vast, and other boys bully him. His chance to prove himself worthy comes on the day of initiation when 19 Viking boys go on a dragon hunt. Each must capture a young dragon, raise it and training it.

As we explore the book we will be thinking about some of the key themes highlighted in the story. We will be asking what it takes to be a good leader is and how it is important that we build on our self-esteem to be successful. We will be looking at how people have similarities and difference but focus on the fact that we are all able to build our sense of self and confidence and how we can help others become more confident as individuals.

We will be looking at ways that archaeologists build up a picture of the past and how the past have played such a significant role for the way we live our lives today. We will be looking at why we speak English as a result of the many invasions across the country. We will be asking ourselves if Viking were really vicious and explore their way of life.

As part of our Geography work, we will be locating key cities of Viking invasions and the impact this has had on the country. We will be looking at atlases to locate areas of invasion.

Year 4 Autumn 1 Curriculum Information

In Year 4 our first exciting topic is all about Robots. As part of this topic we will be reading a book called ‘Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes.  The story is part science fiction with elements of a fairy tale. The Iron Man tells a fabulous story about a huge robot who appears from out of nowhere. As the Iron Man crashes onto the beach in many shattered pieces. He is discovered by a boy called Hogarth.

As we explore the book we will be thinking about some of the key themes highlighted in the story. We will be asking what a good friend is and how we can build good friendships with others. We will be looking at how people have similarities and difference but focus on the fact that we are all unique.

We will be looking at ways in which Robots do jobs that people used to do and toys that we play with. The jobs of a robot has changed dramatically since 1954, when George Devol invented the first programmable Robot. How have the toys we play with changed over the last 100 years? Thinking about futuristic toys and what they could look like. As a class, we will look at a number of famous inventors such as Fusajiro Yamauchi, Alexander Graham Bell and Joseph Priestley.

For this half term, in P.E. we will be exploring and building on our gymnastics and dance skills, sequencing and choreographing our own Robotic dance.

As part of our Geography work, we will be locating key countries where Robots are being made, taking into account Japan’s influence on Robotics. How could Robots influence our future?