English

In English this term Year 4 will study a variety of texts including play scripts, stories by popular authors, historical stories, poetry, newspaper reports and instructional writing. The children will be given the opportunity to use a range of planning techniques in their independent writing and they will be encouraged to proof read and edit their own work. They will be taught to organise their work into paragraphs and use "powerful" verbs to make their writing livelier. Grammar work will include use and identification of adverbs; use of basic punctuation including commas and investigation into the use of verb tenses. Weekly differentiated spellings will be sent home daily for homework and tested on a Friday. We will be continually focusing on handwriting throughout the year. Children in Year 4 are encouraged to write with pen and will be taught to improve their use of cursive, joined writing.

Mathematics

Maths in Year 4 begins by looking at addition and subtraction, placing a lot of focus on different mental strategies. The idea is to give the children more than one strategy so that they will feel comfortable adding and subtracting mentally in a variety of ways. Over the next few weeks the children will be learning to use multiplication facts, rounding to 10 and 100 and even 1000. We start to place a lot more emphasis on problem solving in Year 4, the children will be introduced to a wide variety of vocabulary which relate to a single operation e.g. Subtraction and therefore they will begin to recognise what a question is actually asking of them. For the written methods we reinforce the use of column method for addition, subtraction and multiplication. We begin to look at 4 digit numbers in addition, subtraction and consider the place value of these bigger numbers. For multiplication a big emphasis is placed on the children's own tables knowledge. A weekly tables challenge test reinforces the work we do in class and the work the children do in learning their tables at home for homework. This year we have, as a prep school, introduced a daily maths homework. This is designed to be a reinforcement to the work done in class and will be used to identify any problems or misconceptions that may have arisen from the mornings lesson. They are meant to be short 10 minute tasks which will allow your child the time to consolidate what they have learnt in the day's lesson. Over this term Year 4 children can also expect to look at and learn about fractions, including the introduction of decimals. They will also begin to use and understand the relationships between different types of measurements e.g. grams and kilograms and litres and millilitres.

Science

Science in Year 4 there is a greater emphasis on the use of scientific investigation. The children will begin to be taught how to construct a proper scientific write up including the use of predictions, fair tests and concluding and evaluating. Our first topic looks at forces, in particular friction. This topic provides a wonderful area and opportunity for practical work and investigative work. The children will enjoy deciding which surface is best for pulling a shoe over and deciding how a parachute works and how to design it. Following on from forces, Year 4 children will have to opportunity to use and construct simple circuits in our Electricity topic. We look at how a circuit works and what is needed to make it work, how we can change a circuit and what happens when we add another bulb to it. The children will be using their knowledge of circuits to design and make a switch to turn a motor on and off. Science provides us with a wonderful medium for investigation and practical learning and we hope to maximise this opportunity in Year 4,

History

In history the children will be studying the Ancient Greeks. They will learn about many aspects of life in ancient Greece and compare life in different city states. This will lead to discovering the reasons behind the fighting between the different regions of the country and researching the major battles of the time. They will find out about the beliefs that the people held and the Gods and Goddesses that they worshipped. They will investigate the story of the origin of the Olympic Games and the many myths and stories that have been passed on through the years. We hope to bring the topic to life by holding a "Greek Afternoon" when the children will dress up, taste Greek food, and take part in some typical ancient Greek activities!

Geography

In geography the children will find out more about the United Kingdom and the continent of Europe. They will use maps, atlases and other secondary sources to learn about the countries that make up Europe. They will look at a range of maps and plans of different scales and investigate the use of symbols and grid references on maps. They will look at the reasons why early settlements grew up where they did and discover the origins of some place names. They will use maps to find out how most places are connected to each other. They will also use aerial photos of settlements to draw their own sketch maps.

Religious and Moral Education

The topic of RME consists of a combination of both the R.E and PSHME subjects that the children were taught last year. In Year 4 we have incorporated much of the moral values discussed last year in PSHME and linked them into the topics we cover in R.E. This year we begin by looking at Homes and Families, discussing the idea that we all belong to our own home and family where we experience love and care. God, who never stops loving and caring is the heart of every family. Much of the moral implications arise from the definition of "Family" and what it means to the individual child. We move on to look at a different faith and this term it is Judaism. We look at and discuss different aspects of the Jewish faith and how they live as a family and worship. We will look at the different signs and symbols that appear in our faith specifically during baptism and conformation with some emphasis on the similarities and differences of both of the ceremonies. Finally, as the autumn term deals with the run up to Christmas, we will look at Advent and how it is a time for preparation, we prepare for visitors and especially we welcome the coming of Christ at Christmas.

French

In the autumn term, the children will consolidate and extend their learning from last year on the themes of personal details, numbers and months of the year. They will also learn how to say and record days of the week, birthdays, and some vocabulary related to Christmas.

ICT

After a brief introduction to the new facilities, our focus well be on correct use of a word processor for much of the term, with some opportunity to experiment with audio recording later on.

Music

The term will begin with percussion, recorder and singing work in which the children will revise their musical skills. Notation work will include new notes to read and play on the recorder. They will play percussion instruments using graphic scores such as the ‘Whale'. All children in Year 4 may join the school choir which meets once a week on Wednesday lunchtime and which will perform at our whole school Candlelit Carol Services in December. New songs will be learnt for our Harvest Festival and Key Stage 2 Christmas production.

Art and Design

The first project we will complete this term will be a celebration of the Harvest Festival. We will investigate the work of Antonio Gaudi - particularly his Mosaics of natural forms. Then, using this artist's work as an inspiration, we will express fruit and vegetables in mixed media. Any donations of magazines to use for our work would be greatly appreciated. The final pieces of work will be displayed in the school corridor during the Harvest Festival. For the rest of the term we will be working towards a competition on Ancient Greece. We will explore the theme of "The Minotaur" in a range of two and three dimensional media. Pupils will, therefore, have an opportunity to produce dynamic and individual pieces of art work to enter in the competition next Easter.

Drama

In drama the children will build on their skills in mime, improvisation and role play. They will work individually and in groups to build their confidence in performing in front of an audience. They will interpret a wide range of stories from fairy tales to Greek myths. Drama will also support literacy work on playscripts, including characterisation and following stage directions.

Physical Education

Girls games lessons will focus on netball and uni-hoc. We seek to improve basic skills of sending and receiving the ball, to develop tactics to outwit the opposition and an understanding of positional play and team work.

Boys will be introduced to specific control and concentration ball skills in football, as well as passing techniques important to team play. Rugby work will introduce rugby as a team game and develop handling and running skills, as well as introducing simple tactics in team games.

Health and fitness work will continue to improve on stamina and fitness, as well as a basic understanding of the importance of regular exercise and of the cardio-vascular system. Cross country work will also aid stamina and fitness, with some awareness of pacing and breathing patterns.

It is emphasised that the above is offered as a guide only, and the school retains the flexibility to adapt its schemes of work to the needs of the individual or the class.