Autumn Term in Year 4 - Half termly letter
English
We start the year by focusing our English lessons around the book ‘Varjak Paw’. The students will be learning about how to accurately punctuate speech and write plays. We will also be improving our writing by including similes, alliteration, fronted adverbials and embedded clauses. Additionally, we will be developing reading comprehension skills in targeted Guided Reading lessons as well as working on the spelling and grammar curriculum for Year 4. There will be a weekly spelling test.
Maths
In mathematics, we will continue or mastery approach and will be focusing on number. We shall learn how to recognise the value of a digit within in a four digit number; learn to round to the closest 10, 100 and 1000; and how to order numbers from smallest to largest. We will be learning to count below 0 and about Roman numerals. We will then learn to add and subtract four digit numbers and how to use the inverse equation to check their work. Furthermore, the children will have weekly times tables tests as the expectation is that all children in Year 4 should have fluent recall of all the times tables up to 12 by the end of the year.
Science
Our science topic this half term is ‘sound’. We will begin by learning how sound waves travel through different mediums. We will then learn how sounds are made, recognise that vibrations travel to the ear, experiment with creating different pitches and volumes, and recognise sounds that get fainter as distance increases. The children will participate in investigations to test their new knowledge.
Computing
Children will become more familiar with e-safety and how to protect their privacy online. We will also be creating a comic strip using Publisher where children will learn how to add images, text and position additional features such as speech bubbles etc.
Topic
We will be studying the Romans. This topic will be spread over two terms. Our topic question is ‘What is the legacy of the Roman Empire?’ We will explore the creation of Rome, their influence on Britain today, including trade and architecture, lifestyle and the direct impact through their invasion of Britain. During the autumn term, we hope to run a Roman themed day where students will be immersed in the life in the Roman era.
Art/DT
We have produced artwork for our Class Charter and in our study of Roman architecture. We shall be creating mosaics based on artifacts we will be studying. We shall also create artwork from our English text, ‘Varjak Paw’.
PSHE
In PSHE, students held an election for their class representative in the Student Council. Later, we will be be exploring the stereotypes that we hold and we will challenge our own views. We will also be looking at the roles that we associate with different genders and how we can promote gender equality within our class and the school.
Spanish
Year 4 will continue with weekly Spanish lessons building on what they studied last year. This will include writing the date in Spanish/birthdays (Cuando es tu cumpleaños?), talking and writing about how they feel, (Como te sientes hoy?) and learning the vocabulary around weather and seasons.
Music
We shall be completing the vocal project this term, run by music specialists from Wandsworth Borough. To compliment this, we shall also be using a new program called Charanga, where students will be immersed in a new genre of music. Learning touched upon in Charanga is focused around one song: Mamma Mia for this half-term. We will: listen to and talk about the song Mamma Mia and other Abba songs; learn and/or build on our knowledge and understanding about the features of music through vocal warm-ups, learning to sing the song, composing and improvising; and work toward an in-class performance.
PE
PE will be taught by our sports coaches. 4B will be learning rugby and basketball and 4G will learn to play netball. After half term, this will reverse. Please make sure your child has a PE kit in school at all times and it can go home at half term.
RE
During our RE days, we shall be exploring Islam, including: language, dress, culture, gods and food associated with the Islamic faith.
Trips and Special Events
This half-term we will be doing a Roman-themed day in school. Students will dress in togas (from home) and live the day as a Roman.
We are planning to book a trip to Benjamin Franklin House to supplement our learning about sound with a look at the creation of the armonica.
During autumn, we will also take part in a mass singing rehearsal as part of the vocal project and a practice and concert with another local Wandsworth school.
Reminders
The vocal music project will be on Thursdays. Children need to be in promptly, as our session is first thing in the morning. There will also be a link sent home to practise the songs, including recordings and sheet music which you can print off at home. Thank you.