Welcome to Year 4
Our Year 4 pupils enjoy learning more about a number of different periods in our history. The Year 4 curriculum covers a range of topics including A Tale of Two Mills, People Who Created Change, Contrasting Localities and The Romans Invade. Our year begins with a fantastic visit to Saltaire where we learn about our local Victorian history and later in the year, we also visit a local town, Ilkley, which we compare with our local area of Heaton.
Our learning is driven by a range of high-quality texts, such as The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Our Year 4 pupils also have a fantastic opportunity to learn how to swim and be safe in water, in a pool on our own playground during the Autumn Term.
Main Text
The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit
Topic: A Tale of Two Mills
Our Year 4 pupils begin the year with a topic based on the Victorian history of our local area. We take a trip to Oxenhope where we get on a steam train to travel to Keighley. We then get on an electric train to travel to the village of Saltaire. Here, we explore the village and learn about how Sir Titus Salt created an entire village for his workers. We write suspense stories about characters who are warned not to do something, but do not listen to the advice they are given! In Art, we learn how to sketch Victorian architecture and then design and sketch our own Victorian house which we colour with water colour pencils.
Science
In Science, we learn about sound. We learn about how sound travels, the difference between pitch and volume and how the human voice is made with our vocal cords.
Main Text
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Topic: People Who Created Change
Our learning this half term is inspired by people in history who, through their actions and perseverance, have created significant change for others. We focus on the stories of the Bristol Bus Boycott and the Sari Strikers. Through this work we aim to inspire children to use their own voice to impact upon the world in a positive way. We study a picture book version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and then write stories about characters with a personality flaw.
Science
In Science, we learn about electricity. Children build circuits to light a bulb and also add switches to control the flow of electricity. Children then add these circuits to a lantern they make in Design Technology. The half term culminates in a magical lantern walk in our woodland after school where we celebrate all of our learning with you, our families.
Main Text
Tell Me a Dragon by Jackie Morri
Topic: Dragonory
Our learning in Spring 1 is inspired by dragons! These mythical beasts are the characters in the stories we write about overcoming monsters during our Literacy lessons. Our Art and ICT lessons link closely with our Literacy. In Art, children enjoy learning how to sketch different dragon features. They then sketch the dragon from their stories and colour them in water colour paint. These dragons then become the focal point of an IMovie the children create in our ICT lessons which includes a voice over written and spoken by the children themselves. Our focus faith in Year 4 is Sikhism and the pupils are always inspired by our visit to a Sikh Gurdwara where we learn more about the practices of the Sikh faith, and in particular the significance of the 5 Ks.
Science
In our Science lessons, we learn about states of matter and the water cycle. Children learn that all material is made up of particles. They explore how solids, liquids and gases are structured and how they behave. The children participate in a number of experiments and make observations about how one state of matter can be changed into another. This learning is then applied to the study of the water cycle.
Main Text
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Topic: Animals and their habitats
This half term begins with a fantastic visit from ZooLab who bring a range of animals from different animal groups into school to meet the children. The children love being able to touch and hold the animals and have all of their questions about these fascinating creatures answered by a real animal expert. Our writing is inspired by James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. We write stories featuring the characters from this famous novel and include some of the animals we meet from ZooLab too. Our Art also focuses on animals. Children learn how to sketch a squirrel and then colour it using oil pastels. We then apply these skills to drawing other animals.
Science
In our Science lessons, we learn about animal habitats and food chains. To support this learning, the children enjoy a fantastic exploration in our woodland where they discover the different micro habitats within this setting.
Main Text
Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne
Topic: Contrasting Localitie
The Summer term begins with a fantastic visit to Ilkley where the children explore the moorland habitat and the different amenities in the town. We finish our visit with a picnic in the local park and play in the playground. When we return to school our Geography work focuses on comparing Ilkley with our local area of Heaton. Children compare the land use and facilities of each location and write a discussion text about where would be best to visit for a day out. Our focus text this half term is Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne. During this unit, we practise writing a meeting tale from a different character’s point of view. In Art, we explore the medium of collage. The children sketch themselves and use different collaging techniques to ‘colour’ their sketch.
Science
In Science, we learn about the digestive system and our teeth. The children discover what happens to food once it enters our mouths and the journey it takes through our bodies. We also learn about the features and functions of the different types of teeth.
Main Text
Escape from Pompeii by Christina Balit
Topic: The Romans Invade
Our final half term in Year 4 has a History focus based upon the Roman period. Our main text is Escape from Pompeii by Christian Balti and from this we write action-packed, emotive tales of fear from the point of view of a Celtic tribesman whose village is being invaded. Children also write persuasive adverts to encourage people to sign up and join the Roman Army. We fully immerse ourselves in the lives and times of the Romans and even hold our own battle reenactment on the school field! All of our learning is captured in the stunning Book Arts which we create using a range of presentation and lettering techniques. A definite highlight of this half term is the Year 4 assembly where we invite our families into school to share all of our learning through singing, acting and verse!