Year 4 2026 - 2027

Welcome to Year 4!

The teachers in Year 4 are Mrs Drury (4D) and Miss Bednarska (4B). The teaching assistants are Mr Wall and Miss Nicolae.

We are really looking forward to welcoming all of our children to Year 4! We have an exciting year ahead, full of new learning, fun activities and challenges. We can’t wait to get to know you, work together and make lots of happy memories.

A very warm welcome to all our parents and carers too! We look forward to working closely with you throughout the year and supporting your child to be happy, confident and successful in Year 4.

We are looking forward to a fantastic year together! 😊

What will we be learning this half-term?

English 

This term, we will begin by revisiting important writing skills from Year 3, including using conjunctions, paragraphs, different verb tenses, apostrophes and correctly punctuated direct speech.

We will then begin reading The Girl Who Stole an Elephant by Nizrana Farook. Children will explore the characters, make predictions and use clues from the text to understand characters’ thoughts, feelings and actions. They will use the story as inspiration to write journal entries from Chaya’s point of view, focusing on showing her changing thoughts and emotions.

Later in the term, children will develop their narrative writing by retelling part of the story from Neel’s point of view. They will learn how to describe settings and characters, organise their ideas into paragraphs, use fronted adverbials and direct speech, and choose vocabulary that makes their writing interesting for the reader.

Maths

This half term, we will be developing our understanding of calculation with a focus on multiplication and division. The children will learn to multiply and divide using formal methods such as column multiplication and bus stop method for short division. They will also explore maths fluency through diagrams and practical resources.  Alongside this, we will continue to consolidate mental and written methods for addition and subtraction. These skills will provide a strong foundation for the work we will move on to later in the term.

Reading

This half term, we will be beginning with a fiction unit in our shared reading, studying the text ‘Perry Angel's Suitcase’ by Glenda Millard. The children will develop their retrieval and inference skills, whilst expanding their vocabulary through definition and application.

We will then move onto a non-fiction text, ‘Mysteries of Harris Burdick’. During this unit, we will build on the skills introduced previously as well as developing an understanding of non-fiction texts and their features.

Art 

This term, children will explore how illustrations can tell a story, inspired by Laura Carlin and Chris King. They will learn how to use composition, colour, tone, light and shade to create mood and develop their own illustrations. Children will also explore digital art before creating a final piece that tells a story about a meaningful event.

Science 

This term, children will learn about the three states of matter: solids, liquids and gases. They will investigate how materials change when they are heated or cooled, exploring melting, freezing, evaporation and condensation. Children will also carry out practical investigations and learn how these processes are connected to the water cycle.

Geography 

This term, children will explore North America, locating key countries and cities and learning how climate, rivers, mountains and coasts influence where people live. They will investigate why New York City grew into a large city and compare life there with Nunavut in northern Canada. Children will use maps and photographs to understand how geography affects settlements, transport, jobs and everyday life.

Religion and Worldviews

During the spring term, we will be learning more about religion Judaism. We will be focusing on the concept of ‘commitment’ and ways in which many Jewish people choose to show their commitment to G-d. They will learn about Kushrut Law, Kosher foods and Passover. The children will explore the Story of Exodus and the importance of this to Jewish people. 

Home Reading

Children will be given a reading book to use for reading at home. The books should be returned to school once the children have read them, at which point your child will collect a new book to read. If your child is receiving phonics catch up, their reading book will be electronically assigned on Collins Hub (https://www.collinshub.co.uk/login/). Logins can be found on the front page of your child’s reading record.

We expect children to be reading for 10 minutes a day at home to an adult. Children will also be given a reading record to record when they have read to an adult at home. Comments should be written in the box provided, so we can track their progress and respond appropriately. Reading records will be checked daily to ensure they are being used effectively.

P.E. and Swimming

Children will take part in weekly P.E. lessons. P.E. will take place every Tuesday. Children should come to school in their PE kits, ready for PE. This PE kit is to consist of a white top, black trousers/shorts/leggings and appropriate trainers.

The children in Year 4 will also take part in weekly swimming lessons. Swimming lessons for 4B will take place on Wednesdays, starting on 9th September, and swimming lessons for 4D will take place on Fridays, starting on 11th September.

Children must come to school ‘swimming ready’ with their swimwear on underneath their uniforms. Children must bring underwear and a towel in their swimming bag. Please refer to our swimming information letter, which can be downloaded on this website page, for details about the sessions and what your child needs to wear.

Homework

Children will be expected and encouraged to complete weekly homework linked to their learning. Every Friday, a short task will be set on Mathletics and Ed Shed, which will be linked to our learning in Maths and English that week. As part of the Wider Curriculum, children will also be assigned a piece of homework linked to our foundation topic. This will be recorded in their homework books.

All homework will be set on Friday and is to be completed by the following Thursday, ready to be checked and reset the next day.

Spellings

Children will be given spellings at the start of each week. These must be practised during the week, ready for our spelling test on Friday.

Times tables

By the end of Year 4, the children need to know all the times table facts for the 1-12 times tables. At the end of the year, children will take part in the Year 4 National Times Table Check, which tests their knowledge of the times table facts for 1-12 times tables.

This assessment will take place during a two-week period in June.

We will practise regularly in school, but it is crucial that children are practising their times tables at home daily for rapid recall. To support them with this, please make sure your child is regularly practising on Times Table Rockstars. In order to support your child further, we will have a weekly focus on a particular multiplication groups, which they will then be tested on and their progress will be monitored.

If you have any questions or need any help or support, please come and speak to us at the end of the day or email at the following class email addresses.

Mrs. Drury 4D

4d@ashburymeadow.manchester.sch.uk 

Miss. Bednarska 4B
4b@ashburymeadow.manchester.sch.uk