We are a hardworking and enthusiastic class of 24 pupils!
Our class teacher is Mrs Peverall and we are supported by Mrs Harvey.
We are also taught by Mrs Kidd and Mrs Harvey two afternoons per week.
Our Curriculum
Over the course of the year, the children in Year 4 will be exploring a range of topics. We will link our English novels to the different topics as well as our Art and Design and Technology work.
Our topics this year will include:
- The Romans
- The Egyptians
- The Birth of the Railway
- Sound
- Life in Italy and Rome (past and present day)
- Rivers and the water cycle
- Settlements – physical and human geography
- Electricity
- States of Matter
- Living things
- Animals and Humans
- Digestive system and teeth
You can find out more about our learning by visiting Our Curriculum page.
Class Newsletters
- Class Letter – Year 4 Autumn Term 1
- Year 4 – Spring Term 1 Newsletter
- Year 4 – Spring 2 Newsletter
- Year 4 – Summer 1 Newsletter
Homework
The children are given a focus spelling rule and times tables every week for a test at the end of the week.
Spring Term Homework Update!
Throughout the school, the children are given a project based homework task to complete each half term. The tasks will link directly to our topic work in class and allow the children more freedom of choice in their work. The children will be awarded merits for completing a variety of tasks and be given a chance to share their homework every week with the class.
The children will still be expected to complete reading at home and develop their basic maths skills through learning their tables and basic number facts.
Homework will now be set at the start of a half term and the children are asked to return their completed work every Thursday to share with the class.
The children in Year 4 show great enthusiasm towards their homework! Photographs of our newest homework will be added soon!
Our Learning
English
Our English work has focused on the Ancient Roman period through our reading of ‘Wanted’ by Kate Thompson. The children are enjoying reading about a boy who has an unfortunate meeting with a roman slave. As part of our writing, the children have researched what life was like for the slaves in Ancient Rome and have presented this in a non-chronological report!
Spring Term
Our English work will link with our History topic of the Egyptians. We will be developing our vocabulary linked to the Egyptians through the use of poetry and a variety of writing tasks. We will be reading ‘There is a Pharaoh in our bath’ by Jeremy Strong. The children will learn about life in the Ancient Egyptian times and compare their life to ours.
Summer Term
Our English work will focus on the classic novel ‘The Railway Children.’ This will link to our History topic where the children will learn about the history of the railway and the impact this had on our local area. The children will learn about the Edwardian times to develop a clear understanding of our novel and the situations the children within the novel find themselves in. We will develop our understanding of SPaG and make links to our extended writing.
Maths
Year 4 are enjoying their newly introduced active maths lessons! We have tried to ‘get active’ in maths at least once per week since returning to school! The children enjoy the fun games and activities alongside developing and consolidating their maths skills.
Take a look at some photographs of the children in Year 4 enjoying Maths of the Day activities as part of our learning.
Year 4 also enjoyed their workshop as part of our whole school ‘Problem Solving Day’. They worked well as a team to use their mathematical skills to solve the different problems.
Summer Term
Over the course of the term, Year 4 will develop their shape, space and measurement skills as well as consolidating their number skills.
We will continue to develop our reasoning and problem solving skills alongside active maths lessons. The children will be given the opportunity to link their maths skills to real life contexts to develop their understanding of the importance of maths skills.
The children have enjoyed making the most of the sunshine to complete different maths investigations outside. We have explored the perimeter of real life objects and places around school alongside developing our team work skills. We have explored converting cm to metres and vice versa.
The Romans & European Countries and Cities
The children are exploring this topic with Mrs Kidd and we have linked the work to our English work through our novel ‘Wanted!’ The children are currently learning about the location of different countries in the world and developing their map work skills. They are focusing on Italy and Rome as this links directly to our Romans topic.
As part of our Roman work, the children are learning about invaders and settlers, thinking about why Britain was such a sought after country.
The Egyptians
The children have enjoyed learning about the Egyptians, comparing their life to our lives. The children developed their Egyptian vocabulary through our poetry work and produced numerous pieces of writing linked to the Egyptian times. In art, the children have explored hieroglyphics and produced some excellent art work which is displayed in school. The children enjoyed learning about the gruesome process of mummification and finding out the most disgusting parts to share with the class!
Music
The children are enjoying weekly music lessons with Mrs Glover from the music service. They are learning new songs which they can sing in the playground as well as developing their recorder skills. The children are improving their recorder skills every week and in turn learning how to read music.
SMSC
We have been thinking about the Invictus Games and the barriers which people overcome to compete. The children have shown a great attitude and awareness of the importance of these games in the fight for equality for all. The children designed posters for the games and explained why they have chosen the different parts of the poster linked to the aims of the games.
Year 4 have been learning about the PANTS rules in line with the recommendations from the NSPCC. The children have enjoyed learning the ‘Pantosaurus’ song to remind them how to keep safe and what to do if they feel they need help. They have thought about who they trust and designed their own ‘Pants’ to be displayed in school.
FISCH Team
Year 4 have been given the opportunity to work with the FISCH team on a weekly basis during the summer term. The children will be learning about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and the impact exercise has on our bodies and also our overall health.
Science
We have enjoyed learning about Sound and Electricity so far this year.
As part of our sound work, we explored different ways to make sounds and how to change the sound produced by different instruments.
We enjoyed designing and making our own sound proof boxes. We planned which materials to use to insulate the sound and then tested them using a smoke detector. Some of our boxes were more successful than others!
As part of our Science we focused on developing our investigation skills through the use of microscope! Some of us had never seen a microscope before so we had a brilliant time learning how to use them! We used the microscope to compare the appearance of objects using the natural eye in comparison to a microscope. We were all amazed at the difference in the appearance of the sand and flour!
During the Spring term, the children learnt about classifying animals and plants based on their features. The children enjoyed making classification keys as well as learning about the different features of each animal.
The summer term allows the children in Year 4 to learn more about animals and humans. The children will begin by learning about food chains and the importance of each element of the chain, moving on to different type of teeth we have and the purpose of those teeth! Following this, we will then explore the digestive system linked to healthy eating.
The children have been working together to find out more about the herbivores, omnivores and carnivores which we can find in different habitats around the world.
Physical Education
Year 4 enjoyed working with a cricket coach to develop their skills. The children developed their bowling skills as well as the skill to hit the ball with the cricket bat and not be scared of it!
Trips and Visits
As part of our work, we enjoyed a visit from a history expert who transported us back to the Roman times and allowed us to experience a day in the life a various Roman people.
We had a brilliant time! Take a look at our photographs below.
The Oriental Museum
As part of our topic, we visited the Oriental Museum in Durham. The children had a fantastic day and developed their understanding of Egyptian life. They were given the opportunity to handle artefacts, see a genuine mummy and act out the process of mummification!
