Welcome to Year 4!

Meet The Team

4J - Miss Jan is the class teacher, Miss Kolka and Mrs Caswell are the teaching assistants.  

4AS - Mrs Akhter and Mrs Symes are the class teachers, and Miss Petch is the teaching assistant.

Mrs Rio is the Year 3 and 4 phase leader.

Spring Term

English

This term, we will be reading ‘Arthur and the Golden Rope’, a fiction book by Joe Todd-Stanton and ‘Atlas of Adventure’, a non-fiction book, which we will study in depth to produce writing for different purposes. In addition, pupils will regularly practise their handwriting and will be expected to present their work as neatly as they can, using cursive, joined-up font.

During Guided Reading lessons, we will study: ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ by Michael Morpurgo and ‘The Girl Who Stole an Elephant’ by Nizrana Farook.  Whole-class and group reading will focus on developing fluency and comprehension skills and children will be encouraged to read aloud in class and will hear adults reading.

It is vital that pupils read at home each day, and we ask parents to spend time reading with their child before signing their home reading diary.  Pupils will read independently on a daily basis, and complete Accelerated Reader quizzes.

Maths

We will begin the term by continuing with our learning about multiplication and division. We will then move onto length and perimeter of shapes including  rectangles, rectilinear shapes and polygons. During the second half of the term, we will be learning about fractions, starting with thinking about whole numbers then moving onto mixed numbers, improper fractions and equivalent fractions. Lastly, we will learn about decimals. We will represent tenths as decimals and hundredths.

Science

Our topic is States of Matter. The children will explore solids, liquids and gases and research their properties. They will carry out investigations involving states of matter and learn about reversible and irreversible changes. 

History

This term, we will consider the question: ‘How hard was it to invade and settle in Britain?’. We will investigate the Roman invasion, before moving on to look at how, where and why the Anglo-Saxons arrived here and the reasons they decided to stay. In studying how we know about these historical periods, we will examine what was discovered at Sutton Hoo.

Geography

We are looking forward to studying the question: ‘Why are rainforests important to us?’ after half term.  We will be developing an understanding of biomes, ecosystems and tropics, mapping features of the Amazon rainforest and learning about its layers, investigating how communities use the Amazon’s resources and discussing the global human impact on the region.

Art & DT

Autumn A: Art— Light and Dark

We will be focusing on paint and mixed media. We will learn about tints and shades, create a composition and explore how colour can be used to show light and dark and three dimensions.

Autumn B: D&T— Textiles: Fastenings

We will be designing a personalised book sleeve, starting with a template then measuring, marking and cutting fabric accurately. Children will stitch the sleeve and incorporate a fastening to the final product.

PSHE

The children will be learning about positive and healthy relationships. They will explore diversity and learn about the importance of respecting the differences and similarities between people.

French

This term, the children will learn about the vocabulary of objects and everything involved in the classroom.

R.E

Our big question this term is: ‘Why are sacred texts and holy books so important?’

Music

In Music, the children will continue learning how to play simple music, including three blind mice on a cornet. We will then move on to learning about scales, including the pentatonic.

PE

This term, the children will be practising their skills within gymnastics. They will also be continuing their swimming lessons at the Leisure Centre.

Autumn Term

English

This term we will be studying the following books: The Tin Forest by Helen Ward; The Pebble in my Pocket by Meredith Hooper; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis and Leon and the Place Between by Angela McAllister. We will be practising various writing skills based around these books, such as character descriptions, diary entries, informal letter and poems, as well as engaging in drama. Grammar, spelling and punctuation will also be embedded in these lessons. Pupils will practise their handwriting regularly and will be expected to present their work as neatly as they can, following cursive, joined up font.

Pupils will read independently on a daily basis and complete Accelerated Reader quizzes. Guided Reading sessions will involve whole-class and group reading and will be linked to these books: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Adventures of Odysseus.

It is vital that pupils read at home each day, and we ask parents to spend time reading with their child before signing their home reading diary.

Maths

This term we will be focusing on place value, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, perimeter and area. We will be using a variety of resources, such as base 10 and counters, to consolidate children's understanding. We will also be practising our Times Tables on a daily basis; this term we will be focusing on 3, 6, 9 and 12 times tables.

Science

This term, we will be studying Sound and Electricity. The children will explore how our ears work, learn about different pitch and volume, and carry out many investigations to understand the medium of sound. During the second half term, the children will be studying Electricity. They will be learning about famous scientists, how to stay safe when using electricity, as well as using equipment to complete a circuit with a lightbulb. 

History

In History lessons, we will be learning about Ancient Greece. The children will start off developing their chronology skills and will create a timeline of key events related to themselves, and then link this to where the Ancient Greek civilisation is placed on a historical timeline. The children will learn about individual city states, Alexander the Great and the history of the Olympic Games. They will improve their researching skills and the study who the Ancient Greeks worshipped, the creation of their God or Goddess and many more interesting things. 

Geography

In Geography lessons, we will explore volcanoes. We will focus on why volcanoes happen, when they occur and why people live near volcanoes. We will also study the layers of the Earth and learn about how mountains are formed.

Art & DT

In the Autumn Term, we will be focusing on drawing skills. We will think about how prints form an important part of the creative process, how to make art using scissors and finally how to make and print designs.       

RE

This term, we will be learning about the world and its existence. The children will study the creation from the point of view of Christians, Hindus and Muslims, and will also explore the scientific explanations about the world.

PE

Our focus in Year 4 during the Autumn term is to develop our skills in a range of different ball-based games such as mini netball and tag rugby. The children will also be starting swimming lessons at the Leisure Centre. 

PSHE

During Autumn term, we will be exploring healthy lifestyles, growing and how to keep safe. PSHE lessons will be discussion based and allow the children to share their own ideas about a range of topics. They will focus on developing a positive wellbeing and setting high aspirations for themselves. 

French

The children will start the term by writing conversations using greetings. They will create their own superheroes, using je suis, j'ai and je peux and learn to place colours after the objects they describe.  They will practise asking about other families, and describe their own, learning how to say "my", what family members are called and how old they are, including revision of numbers up to 100!

Music

In the Autumn term, the children will continue learning to play cornets. They will also be working towards a nativity play. 

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Reading and phonics

When pupils start at Brushwood, their phonics ability will be tested. If they have some gaps in their knowledge, they will continue reading colour banded books and will have phonics interventions to close the gaps. If their knowledge is secure, they will begin on Accelerated Reader which begins testing and progressing comprehension skills. On this scheme, the children choose their own books, read in school and at home and then take an online quiz to test their understanding of the book. For both the colour banded books and then Accelerated Reader books, teachers regularly monitor the progress each child is making and move them up levels appropriately. We ask that pupils read at home each evening with an adult who can record and sign their reading logs. It is important that the children have their books and their reading logs in their bags every day too.

Times tables

It is important for the children to learn and practise their times tables. In school, we regularly practise the times tables introduced in year 3 (2x tables, 5x tables, 10x tables,4x tables, 8x tables, 3x tables and 6x tables). In Year 4, we begin by recapping the 3 and 6 times tables before moving on to learn new times tables (12x tables, 9x tables, 7x tables and 11x tables). It is important that children can count quickly (for example 2, 4, 6, 8) and answer questions (for example 4 x 2 = 8). To show a clear understanding of times tables, we teach the inverse too, using division (for example, 8 ÷ 2 = 4). Practising these at home is essential for children to become fluent with their times tables.