Summer Term in Year 4 - Half termly letter
English
This half term, we will be studying “I was a Rat” by Philip Pullman. This is a story based on Cinderella with a twist. The children shall be writing news reports, persuasive letters and diary entries based on the story. We shall focus on the rich vocabulary used throughout the text and continue to develop our punctuation and grammar knowledge alongside our writing.
Maths
This half term we will explore statistics. Interpret and present discrete and continuous data using appropriate graphical methods, including bar charts and time graphs. We will interpret data and create a variety of graphs (including bar charts and time graphs). We will also explore problem solving involving graphs. We will also revisit areas and perimeters in greater detail.
Science
In science, we will be studying ‘Animals including humans.’ We will learn about how herbivores, omnivores and carnivores are different from each other, understand the importance of teeth, explain how we digest food and look at different food chains. We shall also develop our investigative skills through experiments to find out what different drinks do to our teeth.
Computing
Pupils will learn how to effectively use the internet to search for information online. We will focus on how to find the answer to specific questions, how to find trustworthy sites and what to do when we cannot find the answers we are looking for.
Topic
Our half term question will be: How do rivers and cities impact upon one another? We will gain historical knowledge about rivers and an understanding of how this affects us today. We will learn about the human and physical characteristics of the UK. We will also learn to read and plot co-ordinates on maps to find rivers and cities in the UK. We will see how rivers are important for the architecture of cities. Through RE, we will explore how religions have been influenced by rivers and the significance they hold on them. We also visit carry out fieldwork at Teddington Lock where we will be able to observe and map the features of the river, as well as conduct scientific experiments to learn more about the River Thames.
Art/DT
Our art and DT will be linked to our topic this term. We will look at artists who have been inspired by rivers and have a go at making our own paintings using watercolours. We will also build a bridge to cross a river.
PSHE
We will be providing sex and relationship education, using the Chris Winter Project materials. If you would like to find out more about the project, you can look on the website: https://cwpresources.co.uk/resources/sre_pri/ The focus in Year 4 is: Growing Up. Following the Heartstart First Aid programme, we will also learn how to help someone who is choking.
Spanish
What’s the weather like? In this unit children learn more phrases about the weather and how to say the temperature (including with negative numbers). Aesop’s fable El Viento y el Sol (‘The Wind and the Sun’) is used for text-based work. Children learn the names of some common articles of clothing and relate these to the weather. They learn to say the date.
PE
PE will be taught by class teachers this half term.
4B will be focusing on athletics on the build-up for sports day, cricket and rounders skills.
4G will be focusing on athletics on the build-up for sports day, dance and rounders skills.
Music
In music, we will be returning to use Charanga to explore new musical knowledge. The children will use their voices and instruments like glockenspiels to learn how to read music and alter their performance of a piece.
RE
The focus for RE throughout the summer term is Sikhism. We will continue to make links between aspects of Sikhism and our own beliefs and practices.
Trips and Special Events
4B will be staying overnight on the Golden Hinde on the 6th and 7th June.
4G will be visit Teddington Lock on 18th June. 4B will visit on 19th June.
Art week will be 1st July – 5th July.
Sports day – 10th July
Reminders
Spelling and Times Tables Tests will continue each Friday. Please continue to read regularly with your children and support them with times tables and Mathletics.