ARTISTIC ALPACAS (Year 4)
At the start of every academic year, each class meets their new teacher and as a team, they decide on what their class name is going to be for that year. We feel that giving the children collective ownership over their class name helps to foster a strong sense of belonging and pride in their team. This year, our Year 4 class are the...
Across the school year, Year 4 children enjoy a rich and varied curriculum that builds skills, knowledge, and confidence in lots of exciting ways. In Autumn 1, they dive into The Heart Scarab in reading and explore newspaper reports and historical storytelling in writing, including stepping into the shoes of Howard Carter. Their maths learning focuses on number, place value, addition, and subtraction. Science looks at animals including humans, while history explores how children’s lives have changed over time. They also begin Spanish with the topic “My Town,” develop computing skills as software developers, and enjoy PE through invasion games. Music encourages them to create and notate their own ideas. Families are invited into school for an Egyptian museum and mummification demonstration, bringing history to life.
In Autumn 2, reading moves to How to Train a Dragon, inspiring character descriptions, monologues, and alternative endings in writing. Maths continues with multiplication, division, and measuring length and perimeter. Science turns to sound, and geography focuses on where our food comes from, which ties in nicely with the Fair Trade coffee afternoon as the term’s parental engagement event. In Spanish, children learn weather vocabulary, and in computing they become toy designers. Art introduces tone, texture, and proportion through drawing, and PE continues with a second invasion games unit. Music explores singing and traditions, helping pupils develop rhythm and expression.
In Spring 1, the class reads Phileas’s Fortune and works on narrative settings and formal letters in writing. In maths, they continue multiplication and division and explore area. Science looks at states of matter, while history examines Britain after the Anglo-Saxon invasion. Spanish learning moves on to pets, and computing gives pupils the chance to become musicians using digital tools. PE shifts to net and wall games, and music encourages creativity through recycling-themed songs. Families are invited in once again—this time to see the children demonstrate pulleys and share their explanatory writing.
Spring 2 brings the engaging text The Day I Was Erased by Lisa Thompson, alongside descriptive settings, recounts, and critical analysis in writing. Maths focuses on fractions and decimals, and Science Week offers a special opportunity for hands‑on investigation. Geography asks the big question: “Why are rainforests important to us?” Spanish widens perspectives with the topic “The Wider World,” and computing introduces HTML editing. Children continue net and wall games in PE and explore musical contrasts in music. Parents join in for an electrical circuits and light‑bulb workshop, connecting learning across subjects.
In Summer 1, pupils enjoy The Boy with the Butterfly Mind as their reading focus. Writing includes stories from different cultures and instruction writing. Maths turns to money, time, and statistics, while science explores electricity. History shifts to the achievements of the Maya civilisation, and art takes a creative turn into “Fabric of Nature” within craft and design. Spanish covers daily routines, and computing focuses on co‑authoring projects. PE includes swimming and striking and fielding games, and music explores sound effects. Parents are invited to take part in a drawing workshop, celebrating creativity.
Finally, in Summer 2, reading continues with The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, and writing includes explanation texts and letters. Maths wraps up with geometry, including shapes, position, and direction. Science looks at living things, while geography examines rivers and how they are used. Spanish turns to leisure and free time, and computing moves to meteorology as pupils explore weather data. PE continues with swimming and striking and fielding, and music finishes the year with the joyful “Round and Round.” A special highlight of the term is the healthy snack workshop and picnic with parents, and the class also enjoys a trip to Dearne Valley.
