Year 4
Welcome to Year 4 and all of its wonderful and exciting opportunities for learning, inside and outside of the classroom. The year will include a variety of exciting topics such as the Romans and Rivers, while also giving your child a sound grounding in the core subjects of Maths, English and Science. The year will involve trips to the Roman York, swimming sessions and Martin Mere, with a selection of assemblies and visitors to enrich our already exciting curriculum.
We all look forward to seeing you every day. Please do not hesitate to contact school with any concerns or enquiries you may have!
Reading
We will be kicking off our school year, using a variety of good quality texts to engage and build your child's vocabulary. The texts that we will be using are shown below and link to our curriculum driver, 'animals ad their habitats.' There will be the opportunity to explore non-fiction texts around the theme of whales and other exciting creatures. Below are the excellent texts that we will be using, if you wish to explore them further then they can be found at the Chester Lane library or can be bought online.
'The Journey' - Refugee Narrative and Diary
Although the setting’s time and place are unspecified, the story of a widowed mother fleeing a war-torn homeland with her two children reverberates with the real-world experiences of contemporary Syrian refugees and others crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe. The family members have black hair and pale skin, and the mother takes advice from a friend who wears the hijab, though her own hair is uncovered. They travel by car, by bicycle, hidden in the backs of trucks, and on foot until they reach a wall, where a border guard prevents them from crossing. Here, expressive, posterlike art renders the guard a monstrously tall, red-bearded man who towers over the wall and sends the family back into the forest. In a heart-rending spread, facing pages depict the mother cradling her children on the verso as the child narrator confides, “In the darkness the noises of the forest scare me,” while on the recto the child continues, “But my mother is with us and she is never scared”—with a picture of the family in the same huddled pose but with the children now asleep and tears streaming from the mothers’ eyes. After a dangerous sea crossing, the family moves with hope toward a safer place, though there is no certain happily-ever-after resolution.
Spelling
This year we will continue to use Spellingframe tool to support our spelling. Each child will continue to have a login to practice the statutory Year 4 words. These Logins will be found in your child's reading journal. Each week we will practice our spellings using the Ipads and will then test ourselves on the Friday. You to can help your child practice at home, to give them the best chance of achieving their best practice every day. Below is the statutory Y3/4 word list. It is expected that your child will be able to read and spell each of these words before enter Year 5.
Y3/4 Statutory Spelling List - How many of these words can you spell?
MTC
Information and sample tests.
https://talkingtimestables.uk/y4_ks2_mtc_practice_tests_multiplication_tables_check.php
Decimals, Money, Time and Space, Shape and Measure.
Decimals are a huge part of the Year 4 curriculum and make up a significant proportion of our Summer term learning. Children will learn how to represent tenths and hundredths using decimal notation. They will also begin to understanding whole number by 10 and 100. As the term progresses, the class will use their decimal knowledge to solve problems involving time, money and shape.
States of Matter
Pupils will be taught:
- compare and group materials together, according to whether they are solids, liquids or gases
- observe that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled, and measure or research the temperature at which this happens in degrees Celsius (°C)
- identify the part played by evaporation and condensation in the water cycle and associate the rate of evaporation with temperature
The Water cycle and The Journey of a River
In this unit the children will learn about the formation and features of a river. Follow its journey to the sea and discover the role of the water cycle. Play a definition game, illustrate a glossary, create a collage, make an estuary nature reserve leaflet, learn about the 10 major world rivers and study the importance of water through a field trip to Martin Mere.
Sculpture and 3D aArt
Pupils will experience the below activities:
- Try drawing in an unfamiliar way and take risks in their work.
- Use familiar shapes to create simple 3D drawings and describe the shapes they use.
- Draw a simple design with consideration for how its shape could be cut from soap.
- Transfer a drawn idea successfully to a soap carving.
- Make informed choices about their use of tools.
- Successfully bend wire to follow a simple template, adding details for stability and aesthetics.
- Create a shadow sculpture using block lettering in the style of Sokari Douglas Camp.
- Show they are considering alternative ways to display their sculpture when photographing it.
- Explore different ways to join materials to create a 3D outcome, making considered choices about the placement of materials.
- Describe how their work has been influenced by the work of El Anatsui.
Cricket, Athletics and Rounders
Children will concentrate on the three summer sports above. Activities will include hurdles, long jump, throwing events, sprint relay and middle distance running.
PE is on Mondays and Fridays.
Reminder - Home reading is now being completed and logged using reading journals. This will be monitored and your child's book band will be changed each term following assessments. The expected standard in Year 4 is for your child to be a 'free reader', this means your child will read a book of their choice that challenges their comprehension skills. Please let me know if you have any issues with this. In addition, your child will read with an adult in school each week and this will be recorded using our reading journals. Reading is a key element of the GAIN award. We ask that your child reads atleast 3 times a week. This is the bare minimum!
A few reminders;
Spellings - spellings will be available to download. Please practice these daily. The children will practice the spellings and spelling rules through the week. They will be tested on their spellings each Friday using spelling frame.
Maths - Please continue to practice TTrockstars. Logins will be resent in the first few weeks of term. If you need a new login please let me know. Timestables are a massive part of Year 4 and require a great deal of practice.
Our priority is your child's happiness and well-being. Parents and carers, if you have any questions or concerns throughout the year, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at d.allinson@sthelens.org.uk.
Mr Allinson