Year 4 2020/21

Welcome to Year 4! I hope you all had a relaxing summer and are looking forward to coming back to school. I am excited teach you for the Autumn term. 

We will continue to be using Class Dojo this year to reward positive behaviour. I will use class Dojo for pictures of activities the children are taking part in , so please do make sure you are linked to the class.

English 

In English this half term, we will be reading lots of texts based on the legend of the Loch Ness Monster.  This is an exciting topic which is one of the new bridging units helping children move from year 3 into year 4 and takes  account of the fact that they have missed some school in the last academic year.

We will be writing our own information text in the form of a magazine article. I will be looking for: 

• Complex sentences with a range of conjunctions
• Commas to separate clauses in sentences
• Use of standard English verbs
• Headings for each section to inform the reader 

Guided Reading
There will be 2 sessions a week, the first of which will concentrate on vocabulary, and the second session will give the children a chance to show and discuss their understanding of the texts they read. They will be asked questions using 'VIPERS' strategies. 

Maths
We will begin the year by practicing and extending our place value skills. We will cover the following objectives: 

• Count in multiples of  25 and 1000.
• Read and write numbers to at least 10 000.
• Recognise the place value of each digit in a four-digit number.
• Identify, represent and estimate numbers using different representations (including the number line).
• Order and compare numbers beyond 1000.
• Round any number to the nearest 10, 100 or 1000.
• Read Roman numerals to 100 and know that over time, the numeral system changed to include the concept of zero and place value.
• Select a mental strategy appropriate for the numbers involved in the calculation.

PE
In the first half term we will concentrate on 'Keeping Fit and Healthy' and this will involve understanding how regular exercise can improve physical and mental well-being.  PE lessons will link with other work we do in class to develop a good knowledge of how we can all take responsibility for our health and encourage children to discover different types of exercise.

History
We will begin the year by carrying out a local study.  Year 4 will focus on the history of Preston North End Football Club.  We will look at the origins of the club from being one of the founding members of the football league and study the part it plays in the community in the present day.  We will find out about some of its most famous players and its achievements and also use the football club to help us look at how life has changed in Preston since it was established.

Religious Education

At Sacred Heart, RE is at centre of everything we do.  This half term, we will be exploring 'God's People' and how we can follow their example. We will be thinking about how feelings and beliefs affect behaviour. We will be using Caritas in Action, CAFOD and Come and See to explore this. 

Science 

In Science, we will study two topics in the Autumn term. 

In the first half term we will look at Living Things and Their Habitats, using the following objectives:

• Recognise that living things can be grouped in different ways
• Explore and use classification keys to help identify and group living things
• Compare habitats and understand why different animals choose to live in different places
• Work scientifically to study various animals and their habitats
• Develop classification keys

In the second half term we will be learning about States of Matter. We will be covering the following objectives: 

• Compare and group materials together, according to whether they are solids, liquids or gases.
•  Observe that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled, and measure or research the temperature at which this happens in degrees Celsius (°C).
•  Identify the part played by evaporation and condensation in the water cycle and associate the rate of evaporation with temperature.
•  Solids, liquids and gases can be identified by their observable properties.
•  Solids have a fixed size and shape (the size and shape can be changed but it remains the same after the action).
•  Liquids can pour and take the shape of the container in which they are put.
•  Liquids form a pool not a pile.
•  Solids in the form of powders can pour as if they were liquids but make a pile not a pool.
• Gases fill the container in which they are put.
•  Gases escape from an unsealed container.
• Gases can be made smaller by squeezing/pressure.
•  Liquids and gases can flow.

Computing

In computing we will start by looking at software in the unit 'We are software developers'.  This will help children to look at how software is developed and understand the science behind computing.  We will also use this knowledge to develop our own simple games.