Samuel Lucas JMI School

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. Both classrooms for Year 4 can access the KS2 playground via the main entrance to the new school building.

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

Pine Class

Mrs Farnell is the teacher for Pine Class.

Larch Class

Miss Shepherd is the class teachers for Larch Class.

Year 4 Summer Term 2021

Summer Term 2

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

  • I understand that some of my personal characteristics come from my parents and this happens from the joining of their egg and sperm.
  • I understand the internal and external changes and male and female body goes through during puberty.
  • I can correctly label the internal and external parts of the male and female bodies that are necessary for making a baby.
  • I can describe how a girl’s body changes in order for her to be able to have babies when she is an adult and that menstruation is a natural part of this.
  • I know how the circle of change works and can apply it to changes I want to make in my life. I can identify changes that have been and may continue to be outside of my control and that I learn to accept.
  • I can identify what I am looking forward to when I move to a new class.

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

Vocabulary will include: personal, unique, characteristics, parents, sperm, egg/ovum, penis, testicles, vagina/vulva, womb/uterus, ovaries, making love, having sex, sexual intercourse, fertilise, conception, puberty, menstruation, periods, seasons, change, control, change, acceptance, excited, nervous, anxious, happy.

Summer Term 1

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

  • Recognise situations which can cause jealousy in relationships and understand how friendships change, how to make new friends and manage when I fall out with friends.
  • Identify someone I love and express why they are special to me. I know how to show love and appreciation to people and animals that are special to me.
  • Talk about someone I know that I no longer see.
  • I understand what having a boyfriend or a girlfriend might mean and that it is a relationship for when I am older.

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

Vocabulary will include: relationship, close, jealousy, emotions, positive, negative, loss, shock, disbelief, denial, anger, guilt, despair, relief, acceptance, depression, memento, loss, negotiate, compromise, loyalty, betrayal, empathy, boyfriend, girlfriend, attraction, pressure, personal.

Year 4 Spring Term 2021

Spring Term 2

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

As the children have now returned from the recent lockdown we will adjust the Jigsaw program so that their ongoing needs will be met. We will no longer be looking at the use of alcohol and drugs this term, but please be assured that this topic will be covered in full during your child’s Healthy Me puzzle next year.

Spring Term 1

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, entreprise, review, positive attitude, success, celebrate.

Year 4 Autumn Term 2020

Autumn Term 2

In PSHE & RSE theme for the Autumn Term 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.

Autumn Term 1

Welcome to Larch and Pine! Year 4 have made a fantastic start to their new school year in the autumn term. This year Mrs Farnell and Miss Shepherd will be teaching the classes, assisted by Miss Villarreal and Mrs Frend.

In English we are going to be writing descriptive story settings based on the book ‘The Night Box’ by Louise Greig and later on in the term we will be improving our written vocabulary through narrative poetry. We will be broadening our experience of reading non-chronological reports and then writing our own related to festivals of light. As well as these genres, we will be improving our spelling and handwriting. We will have reading sessions every day in school which should be consolidated and enriched by reading daily at home.

In Maths we will be focussing 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 the formal written methods. 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 measurement as well as finding the perimeter of a shape.

In Computing we will be focussing on coding and learning about online safety.   In Science, we will have fun investigating sound and making our own instruments and then after half term we will be learning about electricity. In geography, we will be looking at maps and making sure we understand how to use them correctly.

In History we are going to be looking at great inventors and ranking which inventions we think are the most significant. This links to our D&T topic where we will designing and making our own night light – very exciting! In art we will be developing our collaging skills and working with textiles with weaving. The art lessons will be focussing on the painting Umbrellas by Renoir.

In PSHE & RSE theme for the Autumn Term 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

We are looking forward to a great year ahead!

Year 4 Spring Term 2020

Year 4 can look forward to some exciting learning during the New Year and the spring term! Our theme is “Ruthless Romans” and we are going to be finding out about how the Romans conquered so much land and much more. From looking at Italy and understanding volcanoes in Geography to creating our own pop-up books in D&T, the learning opportunities during this term will be endless! We will be looking at myths and legends in English and writing our own legend about how Rome was founded. We will also be writing a persuasive piece of writing and study the book Leon and the Place Between by Grahame Baker-Smith.

In Science, we will be learning about what makes a healthy mind and body as well as the details of the digestive system.   In Computing, Year 4 are going to be using Scratch to understand variables and random variables and learning how to use Lightbox and code on that.

In PSHE & RSE theme for the Spring Term 1 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 2 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 2019

Year 4 have made a fantastic start to their new school year in the autumn term. Welcome to Larch and Pine! This year Mrs Farnell and Miss Painter will be teaching the classes, assisted by Mrs Frend, Miss Villarreal and Mr Allan.

In English we are going to be improving our written vocabulary, through narrative poetry, and later on in the term, through descriptive story settings based on the book ‘The Night Box’ by Louise Greig. We will be broadening our experience of reading non-chronological reports and then writing our own related to festivals of light. As well as these genres, we will be improving our spelling and handwriting. We will have reading sessions every day in school which should be consolidated and enriched by reading daily at home.

In Maths we will be focussing 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 the formal written methods. 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 measurement as well as finding the perimeter of a shape.

We will learn a wide range of skills in Computing, including coding in Scratch, creating blogs and how to research effectively using the internet.   In Science, we will have fun investigating sound and making our own instruments. In geography we will be looking at maps and making sure we understand how to use them correctly. Through our PE lessons, we will practise and improve our tag rugby skills and improve our swimming stamina and technique during lessons at Hitchin swimming pool.

In history we are going to be looking at great inventors and ranking which inventions we think are the most significant. This links to our D&T topic where we will designing and making our own ArtBot – very exciting! In art we will be developing our sketching skills and looking at the artist Anni Albers. We are also very excited about our trip to Kingswood later in the year – a great way to build our Year 4 team and develop our collaboration and communication skills.

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

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

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, á 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 á 2 and solve missing number problems e.g. 3 x ? = 48á2. 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 ¾ 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

Samuel Lucas JMI School

Gaping Lane, Hitchin, Hertfordshire. SG5 2JQ | Tel : 01462 456737 | admin@samlucas.herts.sch.uk | Headteacher : Tracy Thomas