Autumn 1 2024
Year 4 Terns
Autumn 1 2024
English
Reading: We will use the texts 'Zombierella' by Joseph Coelho and 'Annie Lumsden, The Girl from the Sea' by David Almond to develop our reading and comprehension skills. We will discuss our understanding of the text and new vocabulary, retrieve and record information, identify main ideas and summarise these.
Writing: We will use the book 'Tar Beach' by Faith Ringgold to develop our writing skills. Children will explore the theme of ‘freedom’ and do so by creating their own poems. Once they have finished the story, children will receive a letter from the BBC asking them to write a script for the (hypothetical) upcoming movie version. Children will learn the various skills associated with script writing, writing dialogue and stage directions, including writing in present tense, using brackets, contractions and noun phrases. Children will finally publish an act from their script on BBC-headed paper.
Using the text 'Varmints' by Helen Ward, children will go on to plant the seeds and write instructions about the process, collecting subject-specific vocabulary as they go. They will dissect the flowers left behind, identifying and labelling the various parts and explaining their various roles in reproduction and pollination. Children will be given opportunities to describe flowers, write letters and make speeches to a secret society of gardeners who plan to change the world through the power of nature. This series of lessons culminates in children writing an explanation text about the life cycle of a plant with a clear structure.
Geography
This half term we will explore the question 'Why do some earthquakes cause more damage than others?' We will come to understand why it is that earthquakes only tend to occur in particular areas of the world as a consequence of the pattern and movement of the tectonic plates of the Earth's crust. We will initially investigate the causes and impact of one specific recent earthquake before looking widely at global patterns.
DT
Structures - Pavilions
We will explore pavilion structures, learning about what they are used for and investigate how to create strong and stable structures before designing and creating our own pavilions, complete with cladding.
Art
This term the children will develop their creativity with a drawing activity based on tone and observational drawing. We will look at some Modern art and compare this with Hyper-realism, thinking about the links between art and photography. The children will be working alongside local artist Kath Renton and RSPB to learn about local wildlife. They will observe, draw and paint terns. The children will learn how to work with clay to sculpt then paint terns. Then they will have the opportunity to reflect on the styles and techniques in previous art learning and select from a range of materials to create their own art, sharing ideas with others. Finally we will look at the role of designers, thinking particularly about Vivienne Westwood and the work of a fashion designer.
RE
What kind of world did Jesus want?
Children will learn about the concept of ‘Gospel’* which tells the story of the life and teaching of Jesus. They will learn about the calling of the first disciples and how Christians today try to follow Jesus. They will find out about Jesus’ actions towards other people and what example these set for the actions of Christians today. Children will learn about links between the teachings within the Bible and what the meaning of Jesus’ good news for Christians is. They will learn about the parable of the Good Samaritan and the importance of charity within the lives of many Christian people.
French
Language angels - Les Fruits
In this unit we will learn how to name and recognise up to 10 fruits in French. We will attempt to spell some of these nouns. We will ask our friends in French if they like a particular fruit and say what fruits we like and dislike.
Click on the link and login to pupil games to practice your French
Username: links
Password: pupil
Maths
This half term we will focus on place value and addition & subtraction, using 4-digit numbers.
Remember to log on to DoodleMaths every day to consolidate your skills and collect your stars. Use the app or login online using this link DoodleMaths
Science
Digestion and Food
Using models, children describe the function of key organs in the digestive system. Pupils identify the types of human teeth and investigate factors that impact our dental health. They compare human teeth to other animals’ and take on the role of a naturalist investigating animal faeces for clues about diet, digestion and dentition.
History
This half term we will ask the question 'Why did the arrival of the Romans change Britain?' We will explore the concept of invasion by finding out what it was about Britain that the Romans wanted. We will find out why, at one point, the Romans were one battle away from being forced to retreat from Britain. We will use evidence to find out how they might have lived and analyse evidence of ruins to suggest what these tell us about the way their towns were designed and for what purpose. Finally, we will begin to understand what gladiators were, what they represented and why they were an important aspect of Roman life.
Click on the image below to find out about Roman gladiators.
Computing
The children will apply their knowledge and understanding of networks, to appreciate the internet as a network of networks which need to be kept secure. They will learn that the World Wide Web is part of the internet, and will be given opportunities to explore the World Wide Web for themselves in order to learn about who owns content and what they can access, add, and create. Finally, they will evaluate online content to decide how honest, accurate, or reliable it is, and understand the consequences of false information.
CLICK HERE for more information about this half term's learning in Computing.
PSHE
Jigsaw - Being Me
We will be introduced to Jigsaw Jaz and begin the unit by learning about being part of a class team and a good school citizen. We will then go on to learn about our rights and responsibilities and how democracy works through our school. We will consider rewards and consequences and what motivates our behaviour.
Music
Pulse and Metre
We will be finding the pulse and exploring rhythm in a piece of music. Then the children will learn about how music is organised by the number of beats in a bar. We will identify and explore music with different beats using body percussion.
PE
Games - Dodgeball
This half term we will develop our understanding of the rules of dodgeball and learn to work tactically as a team. We will develop our throwing skills to throw accurately, over distance with power. We will begin to understand how, when and why to jump, duck, catch and dodge.