Year 4 Summer 1 Curriculum Information

Are you ready for a summer term of learning? We will be reading ‘Pax’ by Sara Pennypacker. In this novel, Pax and Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter rescued him as a kit. But one day the unimaginable happens: Peter's dad enlists in the military and makes him return the fox to the wild. At his grandfather's house, three hundred miles away from home, Peter knows he isn't where he should be - with Pax. He strikes out on his own despite the encroaching war, spurred by love, loyalty, and grief, to be reunited with his fox. Meanwhile Pax, steadfastly waiting for his boy, embarks on adventures and discoveries of his own. This compelling story ties into our PSHE topic, ‘relationships’, examining the complexities of different relationships, as well as the concepts of love and loss.

We shall also be exploring ‘Beegu’ by Alexis Deacon. Beegu is not supposed to be on Earth. She is lost. She is a friendly little creature, but the Earth People don't seem very welcoming at all. However, so far, she has only met the BIG ones. The little ones are a different matter . . .This beautiful picture book explores being lost but brave in the unknown.

In English we shall be looking at the traditional tale of ‘The Princess and the Pea’. As readers, we are taught not to judge people based on their appearances, as can be seen when a shabby-looking princess passes a test orchestrated by the queen! I wonder what the test will be?

In class, we will be learning about London and the southeast for Geography! Exploring this, so we can answer our BIG question: What makes London a great capital city? Naming and locating counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features (including hills, mountains, coasts, and rivers), and land-use patterns; and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time!

In Maths, we will continue developing our Times Tables knowledge and focusing on place value, to aid our ability to tackle problem solving and reasoning questions. In addition to this, we will be developing our fluency with fractions, decimals, and percentages.

In Science, we will be learning about SOUND. We shall identify how sounds are made, associating some of them with something vibrating, recognise that vibrations from sounds travel through a medium to the ear. But also find patterns between the pitch of a sound and features of the object that produced it. All whilst, thinking about our pitch perfect BIG question - What is sound and how do we hear?

In History, we shall be learning about the Stuarts, thinking about our BIG question: Why do we remember certain events of the Stuart period? Focusing on chronological knowledge beyond 1066 and looking at fundamental British. The children will also, use a range of sources to interpret the cause and consequence of significant events, such as the English Civil War, The Gunpowder Plot and the Great Fire of London, as well as analysing the influence of significant people including Oliver Cromwell and Sir Christopher Wren.

In Music, we will be continuing our guitar lessons every Tuesday, focusing on performing and playing collaboratively. We will also be attending the Leicestershire Make Music Festival 2024 at De Montfort Hall!

Meanwhile, in RE we will be returning to work on Judaism, and examining how Jewish people can show commitment to God. Finally, In PE we will be developing our ball skills, teamwork and agility in rounders and athletics.

Please keep a look out on Class Dojo for photos of our learning, information, and updates. We have lots more exciting experiences planned for this half-term such as a Shakespeare day, Art days and many more!

Year 4 Spring 2 Curriculum Information

This term we will be reading ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’ by Onjali Q. Rauf. This is a compassionate story about a boy that joins a school as a refugee from Syria, based on the author’s own personal experiences of working with refugees in London. The novel focuses on friendship, hope and the importance of kindness – linking with our school values and PSHE topic, ‘Healthy me’.

In English, we shall be looking at the narrative ‘Float’ by Daniel Miyares. This is a thoughtful picture book about a boy and his paper boat. It's a rainy, gloomy day and he decides to head out to play in the water with his paper boat. We will be submerging ourselves in the story to develop our own narrative-writing skills. The narrative compliments our new science topic ‘The Water cycle’, where we shall be delving into states of matter, thinking about our Big Question: ‘How does the water cycle recycle?’

In history we are continuing our studies into Roman Civilisation, thinking about the Big Question – ‘Can conflict ever lead to peace?’ We will be exploring the Roman Empire, building on our knowledge of Julius Caesar, the Punic wars, and the ultimate fall of the Roman Empire.

In PE, we will be developing skills in teamwork, ball control and agility in hockey and netball. Whilst some children take part in our outdoor PGL residential, others will undertake an Outdoor Adventures Activity afternoon alongside some pupils from Year 6. This gives the children the opportunity to get outside, have an adventure and work on their physical skills. It also encourages the children to develop their problem-solving skills whilst working in small teams and acquiring new leadership skills.

In maths we will be continuing to focus on Division, Fractions and Decimals, with a massive focus on times tables before our upcoming MTC in June.

In geography this half term we will be moving west across Europe by focusing on Northern Ireland, looking at landmarks such as the Giant’s Causeway, The Marble Arch Caves and thinking about our Big Question – ‘What are the physical and human features of Northern Ireland?’

In computing, we will be developing our programming knowledge by looking at patterns and algorithms.

In Modern Foreign Languages, we will be developing our conversational skills and looking at how to talk about where we live in French.

In RE, we will be once again returning to Christianity by making links between the story of Noah and how Christians live in school and the wider world. We shall also look at Jesus and the Easter story, examining the Big Question: ‘What is it like for someone to follow God?’

In Music, we will be continuing our weekly singing assemblies, and we will also be starting our guitar lessons every Tuesday!

In DT, we will have a full two days designing and constructing when we look at fastenings and cross stitching by creating our own book sleeves.

Additionally, to reinforce our promotion of reading, we will be celebrating World Book Day on the 7^th March. On the same day, we will also be taking part in an art

workshop entitled ‘Taking Flight’, and on the 21^st March we are participating in a poetry workshop. As this is only a small insight into what we will be learning in class, please keep a look out on Class Dojo for photos of our learning, information, and updates. 

Thank you for your continuous support.

Year 4 Spring 1 Curriculum Information

Welcome back Year 4, I hope you had a lovely Christmas and New year. Let’s tell you all about the new and exciting things we will be learning about this half term!

This term we will be having another interactive assembly by the Library Services team, this time all about Shakespeare, building upon our class novel – the thrilling ‘Julius Caesar’. In his play Shakespeare tells the story of the conspiracy against Caesar, his assassination, and the great defeat of his conspirators. This tragic tale will focus on hardships, friendships, and the betrayal of others. Thus, encouraging the acceptance and help from others to reach your goals – which links in with our school values and Personal, Social and health Education topic, ‘Dreams and Goals’. A second book we shall explore is ‘Dreams of Freedom’. This book is a celebration of champions of freedom throughout history, and introduces children to the importance of human rights, freedom, and the history of these concepts. It also has a collection of words from Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Anne Frank, Malala Yousafzai, and many more!

Marching into Maths – we will be working hard to continue developing our times tables knowledge, and build on our work from this term by focusing on fractions and decimals.

In English we shall be looking at the wonderful world of our own microbiome – looking at how microbes help us stay healthy. This ties in nicely to our new science topic ‘The Human body’, where we shall be delving into cells, nutrients, teeth, digestion, and even creating our own science experiments to develop our understanding. We will be thinking about our Big Question: Why and how should we look after our bodies?

Now we have finished our swimming lessons, in PE we will be starting gymnastics and outdoor adventurous activities, complimented by our three-day residential trip at PGL. We will be developing character muscles of courage, resilience, perseverance and teamwork as we try new things and work together to overcome problems and take sensible risks.

In history we will be thinking about the question: Why does Pompeii hold the richest source of archaeological evidence in ancient Rome? We are exploring life in Ancient Rome, looking at the monarchy, the Roman Empire, and the sort of life Roman people lived. We will be able to use our new library artefacts to handle and bring our history lessons to life! These include pottery and an Ancient Rome project box, as well as building on our topics from last term on Ancient Greece and Mediterranean Europe.

In geography we will be travelling east and looking at Eastern Europe, asking: How do physical features differ across different locations?

In music this term we will be continuing our weekly singing assemblies and looking at some new songs as part of unit: Compose with your friends.

In Art, we have a two hour ‘Take flight’ art session with the library service, which will get the children’s creativity flowing, ready for our Art Days on Design.

Now this is just a whistle stop tour so please keep a look out on Class Dojo for photos of our learning, information, and updates. We will keep you updated along our learning journey.

Thank you for your continuous support.

Year 4 Autumn 2 Curriculum Information

I’s time for a new and exciting half term! This half-term we will be reading the spectacular ‘Oliver Twist’ by the marvellous Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist is a young, innocent boy who runs away from the brutality of the workhouse, only to find himself taken in by a gang of thieves. The devilish Fagin runs the show alongside his violent side kick, Bill Sikes, and the irreplaceable Artful Dodger. Rescued from London’s dingiest and darkest dens, but then forced to help in a violent burglary, Oliver’s chances of survival are slim and his chances of happiness is almost nil. Will he survive? This novel will focus on hardships, friendships, and the understanding of others. Thus, encouraging compassion, teamwork, and acceptance of each other – which links in with our Personal, Social and Health Education topic, ‘Celebrating Differences’. We have completed our unit on Judaism for now in R.E., and we now move on to looking at the nativity story as part of Christianity – just in time for Christmas!

In English we shall be looking at the remarkable story of ‘The Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes. This story includes a gigantic metal robot who appears out of nowhere, crashing onto the beach and shattering into many parts. He is discovered by a young boy called Hogarth, who becomes his friend. The Iron Man proceeds to devour farm machinery, until the farmers rise up against him and threaten to bring in the army. Hogarth comes to his rescue and suggests that the monster should be left in peace to feed from the scrap metal yard. But is the Iron Man the only strange creature to visit Earth?

We will be continuing our focus on swimming this term in P.E., and we are lucky enough to have a special guest teaching us cricket every Friday morning!

In maths we will continue developing our timetables knowledge, looking at multiplication and division, as well as geometry.

In science, we will be learning all about electricity, and thinking about our BIG QUESTION: How do we make a light shine? This will include circuits, switches, and lots of electrifying fun, including creating our own circuits using batteries, wires and bulbs.

We will also be continuing our Ancient Greece topic in History, looking at Greek art, architecture, legacies, and the Olympic games. In Geography, we will look at Mediterranean Europe and be asking, ‘How has it impacted Britain?’.

Following the success of our Art Days last half-term, we have two Design Technology days where we will be designing and constructing a pavilion as part of our topic on Structure. We are also lucky to be having a Creative Learning Session all about unearthing the past through Roman Archaeology in November! We have lots of exciting experiences planned for this half-term, so please keep a look out on Class Dojo and WEDUC for photos of our learning, information, and updates.

Year 4 Autumn 1 Curriculum Information

Are you ready for a new year and lots of learning this half-term? We will be reading, the ‘The Wolf Wilder’ by Katherine Rundell, as our adventurous class story. We will delve into the novel, starting with Feodora and her mother who live in the snowbound wood of Russia, in a house full of food and fireplaces. But down the road, in a ruined chapel, lives a pack of wolves. We will learn later that Fedora’s mother is a wolf wilder, and Feo is in training to become one too. This means they teach tamed animals to be wild again – fighting, running, fending for themselves and being wary of humans. This thrilling tale will find Feo running for her life, trying to escape the Russian Army who threatens her very existence. What follows is a story of revolution and adventure, encouraging all to stand up for what you love and of course, wolves. Thus, encouraging compassion, teamwork, and acceptance of each other – which links in with our Personal, Social and health Education topic, ‘Being Me in My World’.

In English we shall be looking at the great myth ‘Theseus and the Minotaur’ – we will meet kings, a ravenous beast, and a brave boy. According to legend, King Minos ruled Athens and forced the people to deliver children every nine years to keep the beast’s hunger at bay. We will be unpicking the rich vocabulary from this novel to use in our narrative writing. Who will win, beast or boy? 

We are lucky enough to be going swimming this term as part of our PE curriculum, as well as developing fundamental skills such as agility, balance, coordination and speed.

In Geography, we will be learning about Spatial sense. We will be identifying and locating tropics on a globe, looking at scales and grid references to help us. We will also be using our map reading skills to identify where we live and look at our local area - perhaps you already know some famous facts about Melton Mowbray... cheese and pork pies come to my mind!

In Maths, we will continue developing our Times-Tables knowledge and focusing on place value and how this can aid our problem solving and reasoning skills. In addition to this, we will be developing our fluency with written Addition and Subtraction methods.

In Science, we will be learning about the classification of Plants and Animals, developing our grouping skills and looking at different classes of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

We will also be looking at Judaism in Religious Education, and thinking about beliefs and practices and the relationship Jews have with God. Meanwhile, in Computing we will be looking at collaborative learning using Google, where pupils will access their learning through laptops. Music this term will be looking at musical structures and listening to some fantastic tracks – we may even have a go at playing some of the pieces!

Please keep a look out on Class Dojo for photos of our learning, information, and updates. We have lots more exciting experiences planned for this half-term such as Roald Dahl Day, our curriculum Art Day and many more.