Subjects taught this term

RE:

The Come and See topics for RE in Autumn 2 are ‘Called’ and ‘Rejoice and Gather’. The children will be encouraged to reflect on what it means to be ‘Called’ by God to share his word with the world. They will look at Biblical examples of those who have been called to serve God, and will think about how they can serve in their lives too. Later in the half-term, children will be celebrating Christmas and learning about the traditions involved during the Advent season.

English:

In Year 4 children will enjoy reading a wide variety of texts and will learn to write in a wide range of genres. We aim to instil in our pupils a love for reading and writing, confidence, stamina and creative, independent thinking.

Key texts covered: Here We Are, Varjak Paw, The Tin Forest, Voices in the Park and Charlotte’s Web.

Writing genres: playscripts, diary writing, letter writing, newspaper reports, chronological and non-chronological reports, narrative prose, poetry composition and performance.

Reading:

We aim to continue the school-wide “Destination Reader” programme, in which daily lessons are taught to explicitly study each of the necessary skills for reading and comprehension of texts. Pupils also learn about each of the learning behaviours required for reading and will discuss texts with their partners and small groups. Children will also continue to answer “Big Picture” questions as a written comprehension skill that they need to master in preparation for Years 5 & 6.

Key skills: prediction, questioning, clarifying, summarising, inferring, evaluating and making connections.

Grammar:

Grammar is taught alongside the teaching of writing.

Key skills include using: conjunctions, adverbs, prepositions, fronted adverbials, punctuating direct speech and possessive and contractive apostrophes.

Spelling:

Spellings are taught via a weekly list of words which are introduced to pupils in class, then set as activities on the Spelling Shed website.

Maths:

In year 4, we will continue to use the White Rose scheme of learning which aims to provide pupils with key mathematical skills and knowledge using a mastery approach. The autumn term is a focus on fundamental skills for year 4 as well as recapping on the key learning that may have been missed in Year 3.  Using the CPA (concrete, pictorial, abstract) approach ALL children are encouraged to use equipment and visual representations in maths lessons and to learn conceptual and procedural variation to tackle problem solving and reasoning questions.

November is Barvember! In this month there is a daily focus on mastering the Singapore bar-model methods for solving problems.

Key skills include: Number work to 10,000, formal, informal and mental addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Science

This Autumn half-term we will begin studying the topic will be “Rocks”.

Children will develop an understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that will help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them. They will be equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future. We will achieve this through practical investigations – working scientifically – as well as knowledge-based lessons.

Computing:

Children will use PCs and iPads to develop their computing skills. E-safety is taught explicitly and is at the heart of all computing lessons. Alongside this, pupils are expected to use technology responsibly.

Pupils will build on skills and topics taught in Year 3:  to use computing to communicate, problem solve, research and code.

History

In year 4 we will be studying “The Roman Republic” through a scheme of learning developed by the Haringey Education Partnership. Discrete history lessons will allow pupils to regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance. They will learn to construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information. They will begin to understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.

PE

Year 4s take part in an LFA coach-led PE lesson every Thursday afternoon as well as a teacher-led PE session on Wednesdays. Sports coaches will focus on games and team sports such as: football, tennis, cricket and athletics. Year 4 teachers will take sessions of gymnastics and dance.

Art & Design

Art and design focuses on; Roman Art, including mosaics, using a variety of media including chalk, pastels and water-colours. In addition to weekly lessons, we try to incorporate art and creativity into as many other curriculum subjects as possible. For example, the Varjak Paw book allows us to explore abstract and illustration techniques.

Year 4 autumn curriculum map