Year 4

Year 4 Curriculum Newsletter – Spring Term (first half)

Welcome back, Year 4! I hope you all had wonderful Christmases and spent time with loved ones over the festive period. On behalf of myself, Mrs. Bremerkamp and Mrs. Todd, I’d also like to thank you all for the generous gifts we received.

Without further ado, here is some information on the topics Year 4 will be covering this half term:

Literacy

Our focus this term will be suspense stories, using ‘Varjak Paw’ as our core text. Spelling, punctuation and grammar will be integrated within our Literacy units, as well as opportunities for drama, short-burst writing and reading comprehension.

Handwriting and Spelling – cursive handwriting practise and spelling lessons will take place twice a week. Spelling tests continue to be conducted every Thursday: please ensure that these are practised at home. The first box of spellings are to be learned by the spelling group – the second box is the main class list.

Should anybody misplace their half-termly spelling sheet or find that they are struggling with the list given, let me know as soon as possible – no excuses for not learning your spellings!

Numeracy

This half term’s maths focus is perimeter, followed by multiplication and division.

Times tables will feature heavily throughout the year – our focus this half term is a revision of the 8 times tables. Having a secure knowledge of these is fundamental to speeding up the calculation process and underpinning much of the work that goes on in class. I therefore encourage you to work with your child to practise and improve speed and recall as much as possible. A times table test will continue to take place every Thursday.

Children will continue to complete their maths homework using the home learning and school assessment tool, IXL. This homework is weekly and based on what the pupils have been learning that week. The number of problems and skills to be practised will be set by myself, along with a minimum pass mark of 80. It is expected that you supervise your child’s use of IXL, as completion of maths homework will be monitored.

Individual login and password details for IXL were distributed at the start of the year. It is advised that you keep these somewhere safe, but please let me know if they have been misplaced at any point!

Science

In Science, Year 4 will be learning about sound: exploring what creates a sound; comparing the pitch and loudness of sounds; understanding how distance affects sound; and planning their own fair test investigation.

RE

This half term’s R.E unit is ‘How did belief in God affect the actions of people in the Old Testament?’ The children will read Bible stories, examine art and take part in drama to understand how these people’s stories continue to impact Christians today.

PSHE

As a class, we will participate in Jigsaw PSHE unit ‘Dreams and Goals’.  We will all be encouraged to be supportive, considerate and understanding towards each other’s views.

Geography

This half term, Year 4 will use maps, atlases, globes and digital computer mapping to locate countries and extreme weather. Year 4 will also use this year’s ‘Beast from the East’ to understand how the rising temperature of the Earth, due to global warming, is contributing to more unpredictable, extreme weather.

Art

Our skills focus this half term will be painting. Our community project on recycling will also help the children create a sustainable structure at school using eco-bricks.

PE

This half term, Year 4’s PE focus on a Tuesday is Gymnastics (taught by Mrs Grabham) and swimming on a Thursday. Please make sure your child brings in the correct kit on the given day.

Home Learning

If your child does not have access to online tools for learning at home, please let me know so that I can make provisions for this during the school week. I thank you in advance for your support in this.

I look forward to a very productive and enjoyable term, not to mention New Year! As always, if you have any concerns or queries, please do not hesitate to come and speak to me, or alternatively, make an appointment to see me with the office.

Warm Regards,

Miss Carroll

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