Year 4 2025 - 2026

Welcome to Year 4!

The teachers in Year 4 are Mrs Drury (4D) and Miss Rothwell (4R). The teaching assistant is Mr Foster.

Welcome back! We are really looking forward to having you all back in school and hope you are excited for all you will to learn in Year 4.

What will we be learning this half-term?

English

We will begin this half term by focusing on key grammar and spelling skills. The children will revisit different word classes, explore sentence structure and apply these skills to our writing.

Click the link for a selection of videos to help you support your child with this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zktdp9q

Following this, we will be exploring the fictional text ‘Journey’ by … We will take part in a variety of sentence stacking and experience-based lessons following the story of ‘Journey’ with a view to create their own narrative based on a journey.

We will focus on embedding a variety of grammatical and linguistic techniques in our writing. These will include fronted adverbials, dialogue using inverted commas, metaphors and similes.

Maths

This half term, we will be developing our understanding of place value and numbers to 10,000. The children will learn to recognise the value of each digit in four-digit numbers and practise representing these in different ways, including using number lines, diagrams and practical resources. They will compare and order numbers, round to the nearest ten, hundred and thousand, and apply these skills to solve a range of problems. 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 ‘The Firework Maker’s Daughter’ by Philip Pullman. 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, ‘Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag’. 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 half term, Year 4 will focus on sketching human lips, with a focus on proportion and perspective. Inspired by the work of Michelangelo, pupils will study how artists capture detail and expression through careful observation. They will experiment with a range of media including charcoal, biro pen and pencil to explore different effects. Skills such as hatching, cross-hatching, and stilling will be practised to build texture, tone and depth in their drawings.

Science

In Science this half term, Year 4 will be investigating states of matter. Pupils will explore how materials can change state through processes such as melting, freezing, evaporation and condensation. They will carry out practical investigations to compare and group materials, observing the effects of heating and cooling, and recording data to identify patterns. They will also have the opportunity to plan and carry out their own experiments.

Geography 

In Geography this half term, Year 4 will be exploring the enquiry question “The Americas: is there more to North America than just the USA?” Pupils will learn to use maps, atlases and digital tools to locate countries, states, and cities across North and South America. They will compare physical and human features of different regions and investigate famous routes such as Route 66. The children will also study Biscayne National Park and Niagara State Park to consider how people interact with and protect the natural environment. By the end of the unit, they will be able to describe similarities and differences between regions, use compass directions confidently and reflect on the impact of tourism on diverse landscapes.

Religion and Worldviews

During the autumn term, we will be learning more about religion Judaism. We will be focusing on the concept of ‘Belonging’ and the relationship Jewish people have with God. The children will explore the Story of Abraham and Moses and The Ten Commandments in detail. 

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 Wednesday. 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 will take place on Mondays starting on 8^th 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. Rothwell 4R
4r@ashburymeadow.manchester.sch.uk