Year 4
In Year 4, we are a kind and caring class who work hard and have fun. Amongst many other things, we enjoy learning about the Tudors, the Celts and Romans, rivers, Spain and Europe.
Much of the work on these topics is cross-curricular. In English lessons we read ‘Toro Toro’ by Michael Morpurgo about the Spanish civil war and in D.T. lessons we make tapas, linking with our geography topic about Spain. In art lessons, the children create portraits based on the paintings of Hans Holbein to complement their Tudors topic. They read and invent Roman myths and they create woven mats and mosaics, linking in with their Celts and Romans topics.
History Week Dress-up Day
In science lessons the children learn about electricity, sound, the digestive system, states of matter, grouping and classifying living things and habitats.
We like to learn at places of historical interest and visit the Crofton Roman villa in Orpington and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, as well as the Woolwich Mosque and the Woolwich Hindu Temple and St Thomas and St Luke Church in Charlton to complement our RE lessons.
The children have weekly swimming lessons in the autumn and spring terms which include lessons on water safety and life-saving skills. They have P.E. twice a week and are taught netball, football, hockey, tennis and athletics. We also have cricket lessons with specialist coaches. We also run ‘the daily mile’ in our local park twice a week. In the summer term, the children participate the school sports day, which helps to develop valuable team skills as well as a sense of personal achievement. The children also learn and perform a traditional country dance in the school May Day celebration.
Year 4 children have multiple opportunities to perform both in front of the school and in front of their families. They sing songs at the Harvest and Easter assemblies and participate in the Key Stage Two Christmas Carol Concert at St Thomas’ Church. We also have class assemblies and exhibitions where the children will share their learning with other classes and their parents and carers.
Times tables are a focus in Year 4 and the children benefit from using the Times Tables Rockstars website. They also use the IXL website for their maths and English homework. As well as this, we aim to inspire children to be creative by giving them a selection of imaginative activities to complete at home over the course of each half term.
Please click on the buttons below for a copy of the half-termly newsletters as they become available.
Please see the Curriculum tab in the 'Teaching and Learning' section for an overview of this year's learning.
Homework
The children use the Bloom's Taxonomy approach to homework, as used in the classroom, because it is more stimulating. A half-termly topic-based sheet is devised by the class teacher and sent home. Many tasks set on the grid are practical. The children choose their homework from the grid and we would like at least 3 tasks completed and handed in over the half term. Please click on the buttons below for a copy of the half-termly Homework Grids as they become available.
The children also use iXL which is an online comprehensive learning program. It offers unlimited Maths and English practice, with lessons in thousands of skills, all of which are aligned to the National Curriculum. Both parents and teachers can monitor the children's progress. Tasks are set online for the children to complete each week.
This homework is in addition to learning weekly spellings, practising weekly times tables on Time Table Rockstars and daily reading at home.
Our aim is for the children to really be inspired by their homework and to progress at their own level, facing challenges where appropriate.
Please click on the buttons below for a copy of the half-termly Homework Grids as they become available.
