Year 4
Autumn Term - Raider and Invaders
This term, the children will be learning about the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings.
They will be learning how and why the Vikings invaded Britain and the effect this had on Great Britain and how we can see these effects still today.
We will also learn about the differences between booth and their famous kings, as well as what life was like for people then. The children will also learn about the Norse beliefs and their stories.
English
In English, the children will study the text How to Train your Dragon by Cressida Cowell and will use this as a stimulus for writing.
This text is a story about a young Viking boy, who tries to pass his initiation test to become a member of his tribe. Children also study Nordic Mythology, and write their own Nordic Mythology story.
They will also be writing information texts about different aspects of Viking lives. As well as this, the children will read Aesop’s fables and discuss the moral lessons.
In their Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling sessions, the children will learn how to use conjunctions to express time or cause, use prepositions to express time and place, and use fronted adverbials.
They will also use apostrophes for contractions and possession, inverted commas for dialogue and commas to separate clauses.
Maths
In Maths, the children work on developing their formal written methods of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, as well as consolidating their mental recall of times tables facts.
The children continue to work on place value including using numbers with up to 4 digits and order and compare these numbers. Children build on their existing knowledge of addition and subtraction and learn the formal methods for this.
They will also learn about measurement; more specifically about length and perimeter.
Science
In the first term, children will be investigating electricity. This will include making a working electrical circuit and drawing using scientific diagrams. Children will also conduct an experiment on insulators and conductors of electricity.
In the second half of the term, children study the topic of sound, where they will build an understanding of the journey of sounds.
They will learn that sounds are made through vibrations, how these vibrations travel through different materials and they will label the ear.
Children will then conduct an experiment on high and low pitches. They will test different instruments to see how vibration affects a sound and how to alter a sound.
Geography
In Geography, the children develop their map skills when learning about the countries that make up Scandinavia including Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
They also study the map of countries the Vikings invaded.
History
In History, the children will travel back in time to the Viking ages and learn all about them as sailors, traders and invaders. They will also learn about the Viking’s beliefs and mythology.
The children will deepen their understanding of this topic with a trip to The Maritime Museum, where they will take part in a Viking Workshop.
Art
In art, the children will start the year by focussing on self-portraits.
They will also use water colours to depict a dragon of their own creation and use clay to recreate Viking artefacts that have been excavated over time.
DT
In DT this term, the children will use their knowledge from science having learnt about circuits and electricity, to create their own working light house.
They will firstly design their lighthouse, using mainly recycled materials that they will collect throughout the term and then build this.
They will have to think carefully about where to place their circuit so that it does not overbalance their tower and will need to design their lighthouse so it is easily seen at night.
Computing
In computing, children continue to develop their awareness of E-safety and learn all about how to stay safe online. They will build upon their programming and coding skills, by creating their own animations using Pivot.
Spring Term - Carnival
This term, the children will be learning about South America with a particular focus on the country Brazil.
They will learn about the environment there and how this affects the people that live there.
They will also learn about the Brazilian culture and learn their beliefs and myths.
English
In English, the children will be focusing on the text ‘Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson‘. This is an adventure story set in the late 19th century in Brazil. They will use this text as a stimulus for writing.
The children will also study persuasive writing techniques, where they will write an informal letter persuading someone living in rural Brazil to move to urban Brazil and a formal letter to the President of Justice in Brazil, persuading him to do more to help the Awa Tribe, who an indigenous tribe are living within the Amazon rainforest.
As well as this, the children will look at the features of non-chronological reports and focus on organising their writing into appropriate subheadings.
They will then write an information text on Brazil and an Amazonian animal of their choice.
Children will then look at traditional fairy-tales - with a twist! These twists may include a different perspective, modernisation or an unhappy ending.
They will look at Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes for inspiration and then write their own twisted fairy-tale.
In their Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling sessions, the children will learn how to use conjunctions to express time or cause, use prepositions to express time and place, and use fronted adverbials.
They will also use apostrophes for contractions and possession, inverted commas for dialogue and commas to separate clauses.
Maths
In Maths, the children work on developing their formal written methods of multiplication and division, as well as consolidating their mental recall of times tables facts.
Children build on their existing knowledge of fractions and learn how to find equivalent fractions, fractions of amounts, as well as adding and subtracting fractions.
This knowledge on fractions will put them in good stead for the decimal work that they will do thereafter, as the children will be learning what a decimal is and the correlation between a fraction and a decimal.
Science
This term, children will be investigating states of matter. This will include looking at the properties of solids, liquids and gasses.
Children will use the scientific method to explore the effects of heating and cooling different materials. However, will all materials melt and freeze at the same temperatures?
Children will also learn about the importance of independent, dependent and controlled variables when conducting an experiment on evaporation.
Children will then relate what they have learnt about changing states of matter to the water cycle, where they will learn about the continuous cycle of evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
Geography
In Geography, the children will further develop their map skills when learning about the countries that make up the continent of South America.
They will explore both Samba dance and music when learning about Carnival. They will experiment with new foods and flavours when cooking traditional South American cuisine.
Children will also learn all about the Amazon Rainforest, including the wide variety of animals and plants.
They will learn about the detrimental effects deforestation is creating and what we can do to make this better.
Art
In art, the children will explore different mediums to create pictures of Amazon animals.
They will use PVA to create an outline of their animal and will then carefully use oil pastels to represent the texture and shade of their creatures.
The children will also use inspiration from their favourite book character on World Book Day to create a garden gnome for our edible garden of their character from clay.
DT
During this term, the children will learn about seasonal food. We will also be cooking South American Empanadas, making a salad with food we have grown ourselves in the edible garden and making treats for various fundraising activities.
We will research different variations of each of these, design our own, make and evaluate.
Computing
In computing, the pupils use Spheros to test their ability to code instructions through a maze.
They also use Animate It to tell their own stories using stop animation.
Summer Term - It’s a Beautiful World
In our topic of ecology, children will learn about how we can better look after our environment and the devastating effects that are happening because we have not looked after it.
The children will also go on a trip to The Garden Museum where they will use fabric crayons to make their own eco-bags to reduce plastic waste.
English
In English, the children study the text Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol and use this as a stimulus for writing. This is a story about a young girl who enters an imaginary world and meets lots of strange characters.
This is a great opportunity for children to enjoy the language that Lewis Carrol uses and incorporate this into their own writing. Children will write letters and diary entries in the role of characters.
They will also use interesting adjectives, similes and metaphors to describe characters.
Children will also be using causal and contrasting conjunctions when studying balanced arguments, where they will discuss and research different views on questions such as ‘Should we wear school uniform?’ or ‘Are zoos prisons or sanctuaries?’
As well as this, the children will write non-chronological reports on endangered animals and their own school reports.
In their Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling sessions, the children will learn how to use conjunctions to express time or cause, use prepositions to express time and place, and use fronted adverbials. They will also use apostrophes for contractions and possession, inverted commas for dialogue and commas to separate clauses.
Maths
In Maths, the children will continue their learning on decimals. They will then learn about money, time and statistics.
They will continue to consolidate any learning done earlier this year as well each week.
They will then move onto geometry and will be learning the properties of shapes, as well as position and direction.
Science
This term, children will learn about living things and their habitats. This will include classifying animals, learning about how animals adapt to suit their environment as well as endangered animals.
To deepen their understanding of this, we will be learning about conservation and what we can do to aid this in our everyday lives.
Computing
In computing, the pupils use Scratch to create an Alice in Wonderland maze game where they learn to control a sprite through coding.
Art
In art, the children will explore different mediums to create a variety of different pieces.
Children will look at the meaning behind artwork with a message about looking after the environment and use this to influence their own poster.
Children will also create volcano drawings using oil pastels, as well as symmetry art.
Into University
In Year 4, children will start their programme with Into University which is a local organisation that encourages children to aspire to achieve a career and helps them understand the steps they need to get there.
DT
During this term, the children will look at different containers and design their own desk tidy.
They will then make them using junk modelling and strengthening it with Modroc.
Finally, they will evaluate their new desk tidies and think what they would change next time.
Curriculum
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