Welcome to Year 4
My name is Mr Price, I am the Year 4 teacher. I have worked in schools for over 10 years and was lucky enough to become a fully qualified teacher in 2020. I see the world as an open book where anything is possible and have endeavored to try as many new and exciting opportunities as I can such as: travelling to different countries, seeing different cultures, driving a steam locomotive, playing and coaching rugby and working as a chef at Walt Disney World, hopefully I get many more chances to come. My more recent adventure has been becoming a father to my little girl Lydia and family is one of the most precious treasures in life.
Reading – Reading is a great passion and I ask if parents can regularly read with their children to help support their ability and understanding of what they read. In addition to this reading books are made available online with Collins Ebook Library.
Homework – This will be set on a Friday at 4pm to be completed for the following Thursday. During this time the children will be asked to complete work set on Spelling, English, Maths and Music with a great push on learning all our times tables.
P.E. – Our Physical Education this year will mostly consist of swimming, however we will often be given the opportunity to participate in other activities so kits will need to be brought in on Mondays and taken home Fridays to return the following week.
If you ever have any further questions please feel free to ask.
Mr Price
Autumn Term
Roman Britain
English:
The children will begin the term by looking at the origin story of ‘Romulus and Remus’ and the focus will be writing a short story closely looking at settings and descriptions. Following this, a more topic linked piece of work by writing instructions about how to become a Roman Solider. The children will also look at advertisements and complete an advert to become a Roman soldier and write letters to apply for the role. Finally, the children will focus on an action story, a losing tale. During our Pathways to Read sessions we shall be looking at ‘A World Full of Animal Stories’ where we look at all the unique myths and legends throughout the world. We will then move onto ‘The Train to Impossible Places’.
Maths:
We begin the term by building on the children’s knowledge and understanding of place value and in particular, their ability to reason and problem solve around the topic area. During this unit, the children will also continue to write in Roman Numerals to develop their understanding of this skill. Next we will look at addition and subtraction with four digit numbers and we will learn how to choose the most appropriate strategy for a calculation both with and without an exchange. We will also explore effective ways to estimate and develop the ability to check answers accurately. Together we will consolidate our ability to multiply and divide by 10 and 100, recap 3, 4 and 8 times tables and learn the 6, 7 and 9 times tables ready for the Multiplication Tables Check. Each week the children will build and challenge their arithmetic skills allowing them to calculate quicker in their heads.
Science:
Our first science focus will be on living things and their habitats. Children will investigate how living things can be grouped in a variety of ways – exploring and using classification keys to help group, identify and name a variety of living things. We will also work to recognise that environments can pose dangers to living things. Our second focus will be learning about states of matter and exploring how materials can change state in solids, liquids, and gases. We will pay particular attention to the water cycle, including evaporation and condensation.
Music:
Year 4 children play their own brass instrument with the Love Music Trust. They will come in and provide taught sessions weekly and expectations are that the children practice at home. The year will end with the children ‘Playing with The Halle’, parents are invited to this event. We shall also have opportunities throughout the year to join with other classes and the whole school to sing with our celebrations.
Modern Foreign Language:
Building on their prior learning, the children will begin to develop their ability to hold simple conversations. We will also explore language patterns using song and rhyme. We will be looking at and discussing ‘Our Travels’ how we travel about, where we travel to and further develop our ability to communicate in French.
Art/Design and Technology:
During art lessons the children will look at the work of William Turner; this includes looking at observational drawings, mixing different tones of colours with watercolours and adapting his paintings. DT will see the children investigating different types of bread; the children will evaluate current products before designing and making their own.
Geography:
Using maps and atlases, the children will locate the Roman Empire, looking at why the Romans choose to settle in the areas they did based on geographical knowledge. We will also compare how these areas have changed over time and explore what these places are like as holiday destinations.
History:
Our journey through time sees us exploring what life was like during Roman times and how it affected Britain, from Caesar’s first attempted invasion in 55-54 BC toBoudicca and the British resistance, the children will use historical enquiry to discover why this period was such an important part of Britain’s heritage.
Computing:
This term we will be using and combining a variety of software to observe and record different weather types.We will develop understanding of opportunities offered by the World Wide Web for communication and collaboration. Internet safely will be a priority throughout the year and keeping ourselves safe on line.
PSHE:
This term we will be looking at two topics. The first of these will be ‘Being me in my world’, here we will look at who we are individually and how we fit into the modern world. The second topic we will be looking at ‘Celebrating Difference’, here we will be looking at respect for similarities and differences, anti-bullying and being unique.
World Religions:
In our World Religions work we will be looking at beliefs, what they are? Why they are important? As well as looking at what we believe. We will then be going on to look at what the differences between religion and belief is as well as those who choose not to believe in anything. We shall also be celebrating as a whole school and looking at the Harvest Festival as well as our lead up to Christmas.
P.E:
Our P.E. for this term will be based on swimming and developing our skills of being able to stay safe in and around water.
Homework: Homework will continue to be set on Google Classroom. You will find password details in your child’s planner for them to gain access any online platform that we use. Children will be given English and Maths homework on a Friday to be completed by the following Wednesday. The children must be practicing their times tables daily on TT Rockstars. By the end of year 4 the children are expected to know all of the tables up to 12 x 12 and will take the DFE Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) in June.
Spring Term
CHINA
English:
We start the New Year by beginning a new text ‘Firework Makers Daughter’. We will write a tale of quest and a tale of fear. Children will continue to improve their sentence work, handwriting and developing their love for writing. There will also be an opportunity for children to complete a small poetry unit too.
Through our Pathways to Reading sessions, we will discuss and record words and phrases that the author uses to engage and impact on the reader, make predictions based on details and information that the children have deduced, and identify where the author has made precise word choices for impact and effect. We will transfer these skills into our own writing.
Our narrative writing will explore the themes of both adventure and tales of fear, from which we will focus on the use of fronted adverbials, speech punctuation and the use of noun phrases, expanded by adding modified adjectives and prepositional phrases.
The non-fiction units on explanation texts, chronological and non-chronological reports will link closely to our topic this term.
Maths:
We begin this term looking at multiplication and division units, where the children will consolidate their prior knowledge of multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100 before moving on to using facts from the 6,7 9,11, and 12 times tables in order to both multiply and divide. We will also learn how to multiply both 2 and 3 digit numbers by a single digit, learn about factor pairs, understand and use written methods and solve correspondence problems. The children will continue to develop their ability to quickly recall and derive times table facts for all of the tables up to 12 x 12. This will help with the Times Table Test all year 4 children will take later on in this academic year. A meeting about this will be held this year for your questions to be answered.
After, we will be moving onto measurement, paying particular attention to length and perimeter. The children will learn to calculate the perimeter of both rectangles and rectilinear shapes. They will find missing measurements and calculate from diagrams without grids. Finally, we will start to look at fractions.
Science:
We begin the spring term by learning about the digestive system and how our bodies function. The children will also learn about our teeth and their role, as well as how they are affected by decay.
The second half term the children will begin learning about electricity, circuits and electrical components. The children will develop their understanding of what electricity is used for and how to identify common appliances before creating their own circuits.
Music:
The children have been making good progress with their instrument lessons. This term, the children will develop their ability to read standard notation and play with greater clarity and expression, with the teachers from Love Music Trust. Please remember they need to practise during the week at home to make the most progress. Music lessons take place on a Thursday so children need their instrument in.
Art/Design and Technology:
During this term we will be looking at some of the beautiful artwork that has been created within Ancient China. This will include lots of hands–on and creative activities for the children to do and will allow the children an opportunity to recreate pieces of historical artwork in a variety of ways. The children will be using clay to make plates and then decorating them with beautiful willow patterns. The children will also be developing their knowledge of Chinese writing and create their own scrolls.
Wider Curriculum (History/Geography):
This term we will begin to learn about Ancient China and The Shang Dynasty. The children will start to investigate when events happened and where they fit into the history of the country. We will explore the how civilisation was different back then and how this is significant in today’s world. The children will be able to locate China on a map and find out about what the country is like as a place and how it has been developed. The children will learn about the Great wall of China.
Computing:
The children will be starting to learn about how to work collaboratively both online and on shared documents. We will be looking at how this links to Google Classroom and how this is one way of working with others online. The children will also begin to explore the use of email, how to create slides, and how to handle data within spreadsheets.
PSHE:
As we embark on a new year, the children will be encouraged to think about goals and ambitions that they want to set for themselves. The children will also learn about making informed choices and how they can have both positive and negative consequences. From this, they will explore the term ‘balanced lifestyle’. We will continue to encourage the children to be respectful and responsible citizens.
World Religions:
This term we focus on celebration and what different people across the world celebrate and how they show their celebrations. This will include Passover and Eid. As well as this we will be discussing what non-religious people believe and celebrate.
P.E:
Our PE day this term will be swimming lessons at Congleton Pool supported by staff at the pool and from the school. Please send your children into school with their swimming kits each Wednesday morning. School kits need to be brought in each Monday for any opportunity to have a P.E. lesson. Kits are a Marlfields named tracksuit or Marlfields named logo t-shirt, black shorts and sensible footwear.
French:
The children will continue to develop their ability to hold simple conversation. We will also explore language patterns using song and rhyme. This term we will be looking at items of clothing, the colours of the items and the parts of the body where they are worn.
Homework:
Spellings and times tables should be practiced daily for 10 minutes. Spellings will be set online via Google Classroom every Friday ready to be practiced over the weekend in preparation for the following week. Maths and English homework will be set on Friday with the expectation that it will be completed by the following Thursday. English/topic themed homework will be set via Google Classroom, please let me know if you need any help logging in. Maths homework will continue to be set on My Maths. Times tables will be tested regularly. The children are expected to complete their weekly Times Table Rock stars practice sessions.
Summer Term
EUROPE
English:
This term begins with a launch into our Europe topic taking inspiration from the text ‘Miranda the Explorer’ and the children will write a ‘losing tale’. The children will build on their descriptive writing, using fronted adverbials, broadening their use of punctuation and varying their vocabulary by using thesauruses. For our non-fiction units we will move onto non fiction texts on advertisments about Europe to link to our topic and create News Reports about Miranda’s journey. Our final fiction written work will be a wishing tale, building on suspense.
Through our punctuation and grammar sessions, the children will know and use apostrophes correctly for possession, ensuring they write in Standard English, writing noun phrases with modifying adjectives, nouns and prepositional phrases.
Through our Pathways to Reading sessions, we will discuss and record words and phrases that the author uses to engage and impact on the reader, make predictions based on details and information that the children have deduced, and identify where the author has made precise word choices for impact and effect.
Maths:
This term we will be looking at The unit we will cover will be fractions. The children will learn about tenths, hundredths, equivalent fractions and how to simplify fractions to make them easier to work with.
Following fractions the children we move onto decimals, the children will understand how to divide 1 digit and 2 digit numbers by 10 and 100 and complete calculations resulting in a decimal answer.
We will then move onto the unit ‘Area’; the children will understand what area is and how to calculate the area of different shapes.
The children will finish the year by covering topics such as money, time, statistics and geometry with a key focus on angles and 2D shapes.
The children will continue to develop their ability to quickly recall and derive times table facts for all of the tables up to 12 x 12. This will help with the Multiplication check that all of the year 4 children will undertake during this term.
Science:
At the start of our Summer Term we will continue with our electricity topic. The children will be able to construct a simple circuit, identify whether or not a lamp will light in a simple series circuit and what elements it needs. The children will also recognise that a switch opens and closes a circuit and will associate this with common appliances.
The second part of the term we will move onto sound. The children will explore making sounds with a range of objects, explore how string telephones work and explore how you can alter the pitch or volume of objects. The children will measure sounds over different distances and measure sounds through different insulation materials.
Music:
The children have been making great progress with their music lessons with Love Music Trust; they are fantastic with their instruments and keen musicians. This term, the children will develop their ability to read standard notation and play with greater clarity and expression. The children will have the opportunity to play at the Halle. Please remember that they need to have their instrument in school each Thursday.
Art/Design and Technology:
There will be a focus on creating pieces linked to our topic, exploring and investigating the world’s most famous buildings, thinking about what makes a building aesthetically pleasing and how architectural styles change over time. There will be plenty of hands –on and creative activities for the children to do too and the opportunity to recreate famous buildings in a variety of ways. The children will look at key designers such as Sir Christopher Wren.
Topic (Wider Curriculum):
This term our topic is Europe which is more Geography based. We will use the text ‘Miranda the Explorer’ as a hook for our topic and we will begin with the UK, looking at how Great Britain is formed, the British Isles and name and locate some of the main islands that surround the UK. We will then move onto the broader world and locate the world’s continents, with a key focus on Europe; this will include learning about climate zones, biomes, vegetation bells, rivers and mountains. We will move onto comparing counties in Europe and learning about the flags of different countries.
Computing:
The children will cover two units this term in Computing following the scheme of work called ‘Kapow’. At first, the children will use coding through scratch for a range of purposes as well as comuptational thinking.
PSHE:
We will continue to learn alongside My Happy Minds and Skills Builder developing our essential skills, which will not only influence our choices within lessons but also with life out of school. The children will learn about making informed decisions where money is concerned, how to maintain a balanced lifestyle and caring for themselves as they continue to grow and develop.
World Religions:
During our final topics for the year the children will be learning about what it means to be ‘good’ as well as how being good can help others around us. As an extenstion on how to help other we will expand our understanding on how to help the planet.
French:
P.E:
Our PE day this term will be swimming lessons at Biddulph Pool supported by Mr Rowe and Mrs Milroy. Please send your children into school dressed beach ready and in their school tracksuit should they have one. School kits are a Marlfields name tracksuit or Marlfields named logo t-shirt, black shorts and sensible footwear. In some weeks a further lesson may be given in PE but we will let you know if this is happening.
Homework:
Spellings and times tables should be practiced daily for 10 minutes. Spellings will be set online via Google Classroom every Friday ready to be practiced over the weekend in preparation for the following week. Maths and English homework will be set on Friday with the expectation that it will be completed by the following Thursday. English/topic themed homework will be set via Google Classroom, please let me know if you need any help logging in. Maths homework will continue to be set on My Maths. Times tables will be tested regularly. The children are expected to complete their weekly Times Table Rock stars practice sessions.