Year 4

Important Diary Dates:

Welcome to Year 4!  Mrs Lillico is Year 4′s teacher.

Knowledge and Understanding

Geography – finding out about Africa. Use maps and atlases to locate Africa and countries in Africa, identify human and geographical features. Draw maps. Identify similarities and differences between people and places in different parts of Africa, including homes, culture, religion, food, villages and cities, economy, climate,  and wildlife.

Science – Friction – children will learn about different types of friction, between solid surfaces, air and water resistance. They will carry out investigations and learn how to measure forces and relate this to their everyday experiences.

ICT – Children will be making Islam patterns using software.

RE – Islam. Children will be learning about he basic principles of Islam, including key traditions and festivals.

Communication, Language and Literacy

• Diaries – children will be making and writing their own diaries. They will also be writing diaries from the point of view of other people, linked to our Africa topic.
• Stories from and set in other cultures – Africa (The Colour of Home by Mary Hoffman, The Day of Ahmed’s Secret by Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gililiand)
• Grammar focus – Writing in paragraphs.
• French  – festivals and dates, numbers beyond 20, instructions, basic conversation
• Weekly – guided group reading; reading comprehension; handwriting; spelling;

Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numbers

• Measures
• Angles
• Fractions
• Mental and written calculation methods for all four number operations
• Solving problems

Physical Development

• Swimming
• Daily Activate
• Adventurous outdoor activities – on our residential visit!
• Tri Golf

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

• PSHE – Relationships. People who are important to us.
• Learning about and celebrating the Olympic Values

Creative Development

• Music with Miss Hawes
• Art – continuing with Sculpture (with Miss Hawes). The children have been working so enthusiastically designing and making their sculptures. We are really looking forward to seeing the finished masterpieces!
• Art – pattern making. Linked to Islam.

Additional Information:

Swimming will continue to take place on Tuesday mornings. Please make sure your child arrives promptly to school as we leave straight away after registration.

PE lessons will usually take place on Thursday afternoons. Please make sure that your child has their PE kit in school with them everyday.  Kit should consist of plain shorts and t-shirt, well fitting PE shoes / trainers and something to tie back long hair if needed. We are hoping to be outside more this half term – children may want to bring jogging trousers as well.

Homework

Year 4 will continue to receive regular homework on Friday, to be handed in by Wednesday- literacy and maths based this half term.  Don’t forget other regular reading at home! We aim to ensure each child reads at least once a week with an adult in school, usually as part of a small guided group.

As ever, if you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact school or pop in and see me in the classroom as I am very happy to be of help– after school is usually best.

Please click here on The Classroom to see what our school theme is for 2011/2012.