Our Learning

Year 4

Welcome to Year 4 at Samuel Lucas

The second year of Key Stage 2 (KS2). We have two Year 4 classes, Pine and Larch.

The second year of Key Stage 2 (KS2) sees your child develop further into the junior section of the school.

Pine Class

Miss Riste is the class teacher for Pine Class.

Larch Class

Mr Davies is the class teacher for Larch Class.

Year 4 Spring term 2024

In English we will start the year by reading the book ‘the lost thing’ and then write a play script based off of this. We will also explore the text ‘How to be a Viking’ and write a fact file about Vikings based on the book. We will write a short story based on ‘Esio Trot’ as well as exploring some poetry.

In Maths, we will continue developing our multiplication and division skills. We will learn how to multiply and divide numbers by 10 and 100 as well as learning formal written methods for multiplying and dividing 2 and 3 digit numbers. We will learn how to measure the length and perimeter of shapes. We will develop our fractions knowledge by learning about improper and equivalent fractions as well as how to add and subtract fractions. We will also be introduced to decimals for the first time, using our fractions knowledge to help us find tenths and hundredths as decimals.

In Computing, we will be start by learning how we can write for different audiences and then we will learn commands and constructs of the Logo programme to create letters and shapes.

In Science, we will start the term by exploring teeth and digestion. We will learn to describe the simple functions of the basic parts of the digestive system in humans, identify the different types of teeth in humans and their simple functions. In the second half term we will learn about living things and their habitats, exploring and using classification keys to help group, identify and name a variety of living things in their local and wider environment.

As Historians, we will be learning all about the Anglo Saxons and the Vikings, focusing on how they were able to settle in Britain.

As Geographers, we will be learning about landscapes. We will learn about weathering, rivers and mountains.

As religious learners, we will explore what faith looks like in today’s society.

As artists, we will explore the work of famous still life artists. We will then use our painting and collage skills to create our own still life artwork.

As designers, we will be exploring a range of moving picture books and then we will create our very own!

As physical learners, we will be going swimming. We will also develop our dance and tennis skills.

In PSHE, we will be covering the topics ‘dreams and goals’ and ‘healthy me’.

In PSHE & RSE theme for the Spring Term is “Dreams and Goals”.  In Year 4, our weekly sessions include:

  • Understanding what hopes and dreams are and how sometimes they might not come true
  • Knowing that positive experiences can help me overcome disappointment
  • Knowing how to make a new plan and goals that I can work hard to achieve

Every lesson has a social and emotional development learning intention which focusses on either how we communicate or our feelings.

Vocabulary will include: determination, perseverance, resilience, disappointment, plans, cope, hopes, dreams, self-belief, motivation, goal, cooperation, enterprise, review, positive attitude, success, celebrate.

In PSHE & RSE theme for the Spring Term is “Healthy Me”.  In Year 4, our weekly sessions include:

  • Recognise how different friendship groups are formed and how people take on different roles within the groups
  • Understand the facts about smoking and alcohol and its effects on health
  • Recognise when people are putting me under pressure and have a clear picture of what I think is right or wrong

Every lesson has a social and emotional development learning intention which focusses on either how we communicate or our feelings.

Vocabulary will include: friendships, emotions, healthy, relationships, assertive, follower, leader, smoking, peers, pressure, guilt, alcohol, liver, disease, anxiety, opinion, right, wrong.

Year 4 Autumn term 2023

Welcome to Year 4 Larch and Pine class!

In English we will start the year by reading the book ‘Leon and the place between’ and use it to inspire our love of reading and writing. As poets, we will then explore and write our own riddles and free verse poetry. We will also use our history topic of the Romans to help us explore Roman myths and write our own reports on the Romans.

In Maths, we will be focusing on place value with numbers up to 4 digits long. We will be looking at methods for fluently adding and subtracting mentally as well as using the formal written methods. Throughout the year, there will be a focus on times tables as by the end of year 4 all children are expected to know their tables up to 12 x 12. This will be addressed during lesson time and consolidated by regular practice at home. Later on in the term we will be looking at how to find the area of a shape.

In Computing, we will be focusing on coding and learning about online safety. We will also develop our spreadsheet knowledge by learning how to format cells and create graphs.

In Science, we will start the term by exploring sound, learning how we hear sounds and exploring how sound travels. In the second half term we will learn about electricity and how to create simple circuits.

In History, we are going to be learning all about the Romans! We will learn about the Roman Empire, roman leaders, gladiators, Roman art and Roman Britain.

In Geography, we are spending the term developing our map skills. We will learn about how the world is split in different ways (e.g. the equator, tropics, Prime Meridian, longitude and latitude).

In RE, we will be learning about Hinduism and we will explore what Hindu’s believe and how they worship.

In art, we will be developing our drawing skills by creating our very own poetry comics!

In DT, we will be using our food technology skills to help us explore and design a soup and bread meal.

In PE, we will start the term by developing our tag rugby and basketball skills. In the second half term, we will learning about bridges in gymnastics as well as up-skilling our hockey skills.

In PSHE, we will be covering the topics ‘being me in my world’ and ‘celebrating differences’.

In PSHE & RSE theme for the Autumn Term 1 is “Being Me in My World”.  In Year 4, our weekly sessions include:

  • Understanding our school community and the roles played by myself and others, including the school council
  • Understanding how my actions affect myself and others’ feelings
  • Understanding how democracy is used in groups, including our school to make decisions

Every lesson has a social and emotional development learning intention which focusses on either how we communicate or our feelings.

Vocabulary will include: included, excluded, valued, school community, responsibility, democracy, consequence, authority, contribution, UN convention.

In PSHE & RSE theme for the Autumn Term 2 is “Celebrating Difference”.  In Year 4, our weekly sessions include:

  • Understanding what influences me to make assumptions about people
  • To know what bullying is and how it can be difficult to spot but to know what I should do if I see bullying
  • Identify what is special about me and why I am unique

Every lesson has a social and emotional development learning intention which focusses on either how we communicate or our feelings.

Vocabulary will include: assumption, appearance, judgement, influence, attitude, deliberate, witness, bystander, cyber bullying, unique, special, impression

We are looking forward to a great year ahead!

 

Core Subjects

Click on a tab below to read detailed information about how and what is taught in English and maths for Year 4 children. For an overview of the other subjects taught please view the Year 4 Curriculum Overview document.

Year 4 English

Approach

In English lessons, children are taught speaking, listening, reading and writing skills through studying a variety of styles of writing (genres).  Teachers follow the Teaching Sequence for Writing, which means that children will firstly be taught to read and understand the text, then practise the skills of the style of writing (including grammar) and apply into their own writing.

The Primary National Curriculum statements will be taught through the modules below.

Y4  English Coverage

The Year 4 English curriculum consists of the following modules:

Term OneTerm TwoTerm Three
NarrativeTake one book 'The Night Box' Myths
Writing and performing a play
Story settings
A story/stories with a theme
Non-fictionReportPersuasionDiscussion
Explanation
PoetryVocabulary building
Narrative poetry
Vocabulary building
Structure – riddles
Vocabulary building
Take one poet – poetry appreciation

Curriculum Content:

Speaking and Listening

Children will be taught to discuss their learning and to develop speaking skills. They will become more familiar with and confident in, using language in a variety of situations, for a range of audiences and purposes. They will, for example:

  • develop their understanding of a subject through discussions, learning to give their opinions and listen to other view points
  • speak clearly and in different ways for drama, formal presentations and debate

Reading

This part of the curriculum is broken down into ‘word reading’ and ‘comprehension’.

In word reading children will be taught to read and understand the meaning of new words using the skills they have learned previously and building on learning in year 3.  Children will develop the fluency and stamina to read longer texts and the focus for the Year 4 learner is comprehension.  Children will be taught key skills to enable them to read, understand and enjoy a wide range of books. They will, for example:

  • Summarise the main ideas of a text
  • Justify their opinion of particular characters
  • Discuss ideas that are not obviously described in a text eg ‘Explain why the character may have felt like this.’
  • Note how the author chooses language to create a mood or atmosphere
  • Identify the structures or features of particular non- fiction texts

We are able to provide you with lists of age appropriate texts to support the learning:

  • Traditional Tales – Myths (quests)
  • The Firework Maker’s Daughter – Phillip Pullman
  • The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
  • The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis
  • Peter Pan in Scarlet – Geraldine McCaughrean
  • The Wooden Horse – Geraldine McCaughrean
  • Mission to marathon – Geoffrey Trease

Story settings

Stories set in imaginary worlds

  • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C S Lewis
  • The Dream Master – Theresa Breslin
  • Aquila (science-fiction) – Andrew Norriss
  • The Widow’s Broom – Chris Van Allsburg
  • Dragon’s Child – Jenny Nimmo
  • Seth and the Strangers – Jenny Nimmo

Set in other countries

  • Mamo on the mountain – Jane & Lewis Kurtz E.B. (Ethopia)
  • The true story of Balto – Natalie Staniford (Arctic)
  • Anna Hibiscus – Atinuke (Nigeria)
  • The Big Book of Betsey Biggalow – Malorie  Blackman (West Indies)
  • Sophie and the Albino Camel – Stephen Davies (Sahara Desert)
  • Elephant child – Mary Ellis (African savannah)
  • Grandpa’s Indian Summer – Jamila Gavin (India)
  • The Colour of Home – Mary Hoffman (Somalia)
  • A fistful of pearls and other tales from Iraq – Elizabeth Laird

Historical settings

  • Street Child – Berlie Doherty
  • Across the Roman Wall – Theresa Breslin
  • The Time Travelling Cat – Julia Jarman
  • The Roman Eagle – Julia Jarman
  • The Tudor Treasure – Julia Jarman
  • The Egyptian Goddess – Julia Jarman
  • The Aztec Sacrifice – Julia Jarman
  • The Viking Terror  – Julia Jarman
  • Roger’s War – Robert Swindells
  • Meet me by the steelmen – Teresa Tomlinson

A story/stories with a theme

  • The Angel of Nitshill Road (bullying) – Anne Fine
  • Secret Friends (bullying/peer pressure) – Elizabeth Laird
  • The Forbidden Game (bullying) – Malorie Blackman
  • The Widow’s Broom (prejudice – being different/misunderstood) – Chris Van Allsburg
  • Prosper’s Mountain (prejudice – being different/misunderstood) – Henrietta Branford
  • Rat heaven – Jeanne Willis (different points of view)
  • Voices in the Park – Anthony Browne (different points of view)
  • Dear Mrs LaRue; Letters from Obedience School (being misunderstood/different points of view) – Mark Teague
  • Big Ben – Rachel Anderson (disability)
  • Fred (bereavement) – Posy Simmonds

Writing

Writing is developed through teaching the following:

Spelling

Children should learn to spell new words correctly and have opportunities to practise spelling skills.  They will be taught spelling patterns and conventions, building on the spellings taught in Year 3.  They will continue to practise and use the words included in Appendix 1 of the National Curriculum for years 3 & 4.

Handwriting

This will continue to be taught, with the aim of increasing children’s consistency and fluency throughout their independent writing.

Composition (structure): This includes vocabulary, grammar and punctuation. To develop their composition skills, the children will be taught to

  • Plan, draft, compose, edit and evaluate their writing
  • Organise their writing into clear paragraphs
  • Use an increasing range of sentence structures
  • Expand sentences by adding detail
  • Write for a range of purposes and audiences as part of their work across the curriculum. In year 4 this will include (cross curricular example, schools to insert their own)

Grammar

Grammar will be taught throughout the writing process and teachers will follow the terms and concepts of Appendix 2 of the National Curriculum.

Should you wish for a more detailed explanation, please follow this link to the Primary National Curriculum document.

Year 4 Maths

Working mathematically

By the end of year 4, children will apply their understanding of maths to solve a wide variety of problems with more than one step and be expected to prove their thinking through pictures, jottings and conversations. They will continue to make connections between different areas of maths and ask their own questions, working in an organised way to find solutions which help them identify common patterns or any errors more easily.

Number

Counting and understanding numbers

Children will be very familiar with numbers that have up to 4 digits and will be able to order and compare by showing them in different ways such as on a tape measure or using hands-on resources.  Using their understanding of place value (how the value of each digit changes depending on its position in the number), children will be able to partition (break and make) numbers in different ways e.g. 2345 = 2000 and 300 and 40 and 5 but could also represent this as 1000 and 1000 and 200 and 100 and 40 and 5 or 2000 and 200 and 145.  They will work with numbers securely up to 10,000 and may begin to count beyond in 1s, 10s, 100s and 1000s.  They will use this to help them find 10, 100 or 1000 more or less than any given number.  They will multiply and divide whole numbers by 10 and 100 and understand that this changes the value of each digit rather than ‘just adding a 0’.  They will develop their understanding to decimal hundredths, comparing and ordering these using contexts such as money.  Children will also learn about the pattern to find any Roman numeral to 100.

Children will develop their expertise when counting forwards and backwards from 0 to include multiples of 6, 7, 9 and 25; decimals with up to 2 places and fractions. They will be able to fluently count in tenths, hundredths and simple fractions. They will develop their understanding of negative numbers through counting backwards through 0.  Children will be able to recognise and describe number patterns and relationships including multiples (e.g. 3, 6, 9, 12 are multiples of 3) and factor pairs (e.g. 1 and 12, 2 and 6, 3 and 4 are all factor pairs for 12) for known times tables.

Calculating

Children will develop various strategies for solving +, -, x, ÷ calculations mentally, using jottings when appropriate and for checking that their answers are sensible.  Children will be encouraged to share their methods with others to help them see which work best, are quickest and most accurate. Over the course of the year, children will become fluent in all multiplication and division facts up to 12 x 12 and apply these facts to other problems e.g. 232 x 7 = (200 x 7) + (30 x 7) + (2 x 7). Children will use the = sign to demonstrate equal value e.g. 3 x 8 = 48 ÷ 2 and solve missing number problems e.g. 3 x ? = 48÷2. They will explore patterns and rules for the times tables they learn and use pictures and objects to support their understanding.

Children will be required to solve problems accurately using the column addition and subtraction methods for numbers with up to 4-digits and explain how the methods work. They will use apparatus to secure their understanding of these. This will include addition and subtraction calculations with different numbers of digits (such as 1286 + 357); and numbers containing 0s (such as 8009 – 3231).  They will use formal written methods of short multiplication and short division for two and three digit numbers by a single digit.  Children who become very adept at these types of calculations will be stretched through problems such as those containing missing numbers so that they know when, if and why they need to use the methods.

Fractions including decimals

Children will develop their understanding of fractions by comparing to, or finding a part of, the whole. Through hands-on resources, pictures or jottings, such as a number line, children will add and subtract two fractions with the same denominator (e.g. 2/3 + 2/3). Children will solve problems involving fractions such as ‘find Ÿ of 20 litres’ using their knowledge of multiplication and division and through practical equipment. Children secure their understanding that fractions and decimals are different ways of expressing numbers and proportions.

Measurement

Children secure their understanding of place value and decimals to record measurements accurately. They use their understanding of multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000 to convert between different units of measure of length (km, m, cm, mm), weight (kg, g) and money (£ and p). Children will link their understanding of area to multiplication and describe how to find the perimeter of a rectangle quickly. Children will read and write the time accurately using analogue and digital clocks, including clocks with Roman numerals.  They will convert between units of time (hours, minutes and seconds). Children estimate, compare, calculate and solve a variety of problems involving all units of measurement.

Geometry

Children will extend their knowledge of shape to include more unusual quadrilaterals (four-sided shapes) and triangles. They will use increasingly more specific vocabulary such as parallelogram, rhombus and trapezium; scalene and isosceles. They refine their understanding of symmetry and solve problems where the shape is not displayed in its usual way (e.g. it might be on its side). Children find and name different angles and use this information to decide if a shape is regular or irregular. Children describe position and movement on a grid as coordinates and will plot points to draw 2D shapes.

Statistics

Children will complete, read and interpret information on bar charts; they will solve problems that involve finding information in charts, tables and graphs; including time graphs.

Year 4 Learning Blog