Year 4
Stokenham Area Primary School
Summer Term 2024
Year 4 Curriculum Outline Letter
Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope you have had a lovely Easter break! Here is an overview of the areas we will be covering over the Summer Term.
English
In English we will be studying two fiction texts (The Paperbag Prince and I don’t believe it Archie!) and non-fiction texts (What a waste and the Rainforest Rough Guide) to learn about stories with familiar settings and non-fiction writing techniques. Within these texts we will be linking objectives to cover grammar areas for the Year 4 curriculum. The children are encouraged to improve the sentences they compose, by extending their range of adjectives, adverbs, fronted adverbials and conjunctions along with building up sophisticated vocabulary.
Spellings will be tested on a Friday and new ones given out on the following Monday. Strategies you might like to use at home might include: Look, Cover, Write, Check, Box Font, Pyramid Spellings, Spellings into sentences and Speed Spell to name a few (the children know all of these techniques).
Maths
We will continue to develop children’s confidence in solving mathematical problems as well as continuing our unit on coordinates. We will then study decimals, fractions, shape, time and division.
Year 4 children are expected to know all of their times tables by the end of the year and in June the whole class will undergo the national times table test. We practise daily in class but this is a very useful area to cover at home as well if you get the opportunity!
Science
This term our two units are:
1) Animals including Humans:
- Identify the different types of teeth in humans and their simple functions.
- Describe the simple functions of the basic parts of the digestive system in humans
- Role of the small intestine
- Diets of different animals
- Role of producers, predators and prey in the food chain.
2) Living Things and Habitats
- Recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.
- Consider some of the natural changes that could happen to an environment and to understand what some living things can do to survive such changes.
- Do a simple experiment to demonstrate the effect of a greenhouse and relate this to climate change.
- How can we reverse climate change and deforestation?
Geography
EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES: HOW DOES THE EARTH SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL?
In this unit children will explore the dynamism of the earth, learning about its structure, looking particularly at the causes and distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes and their effects on landscape and people.
They will be introduced to the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’, the most active region on earth, and consider why people choose to live on the flanks of volcanoes and in earthquake zones when both can be life-threatening. They will learn that volcanoes have existed throughout geological time, and that there are several different types.
History
ROMAN BRITAIN
In this unit children will explore the Roman invasion, learning about how the Romans were able to defeat the Celts and take over Britain. They will be able to make valid conclusions about the life of soldiers on Hadrian’s wall and about the positive contributions of Roman infrastructure to everyday life.
RE
This term we will be looking at Christianity, particularly how Jesus wanted his followers to live and look after the world.
Music
We will continue listening and appraising different genres of music, expanding our vocabulary and understanding of notation and composing. Sadly, we say goodbye to the ukuleles but will be composing and performing with a variety of other instruments and continuing to hone our singing skills.
PE
We are very hopeful that the pool will soon be up and running and the outside temperature will allow us to start swimming.
Plymouth Argyle will be doing PE on a Thursday until our pool timetable is in place. Achieve for all will be taking PE on a Friday.
Please make sure that your PE kits are in school all week.
PSHE
This term our topic is ‘HEALTH AND WELLBEING’ where we will look at:
Physical Health and Mental Wellbeing
Growing and Changing
Keeping Safe
French
This term in French we will be focusing on two different units – “Chez Moi” and “Boucle d’or et les Trois Ours”. We will be developing our French knowledge and putting it to the test, discussing ‘goldilocks and the three bears’ and ‘my home’.
Computing
This term we will be completing two computing units, the first focusing on editing and creating media, and the second being our final programming unit of the year.
Homework
This will be set every Friday and due in the following Wednesday. We aim to cover a range of subjects.
Residential
We are very excited for our residential and it will be here before we know it! Hopefully a date you all have in your diaries – Wednesday 19th – Thursday 20th June 2024.
Miss Woollard
This Year’s Curriculum
Stokenham Area Primary School Curriculum Map
If you would like further information in relation to the curriculum please feel free to contact the school office.