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, organising 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. The children 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 term, the children in Year 4 will be building on their learning from Year 3 as they continue to develop their confidence and skills in maths.

They will focus on the place value of numbers up to 10,000, helping them read, write and understand larger numbers. Children will also practise the column method for addition and subtraction within 10 000, alongside formal methods of multiplication and division, including column and bus stop methods.

Through these key areas, pupils will strengthen their reasoning, accuracy and problem-solving skills.

Here are some links to websites/video which will help you support your children around these areas of learning. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zh4skhv 

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/maths/primary-addition-subtraction/addition-subtraction-year-4-age-8-9/ 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z4chnrd#zvqv7v4 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zqpddp3#zw6mm39 

Reading

In our reading lessons, children will be following a reading fluency scheme designed to develop their confidence, accuracy and understanding. Children will be grouped across the Year 3 and 4 phase so that teaching and texts are carefully matched to their current reading level. They will explore a mixture of engaging fiction and non-fiction texts, develop their understanding of new vocabulary using their phonics knowledge, and answer a range of comprehension questions to deepen their understanding of what they have read.

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.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zdpjs82 

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

This term, Year 4 will be building on their previous learning about Judaism. The children will recap key facts from earlier years and learn to name the holy book, place of worship and significant celebrations for many Jewish people. They will also explore the story of Abraham and the covenant with God, as well as the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments. Alongside this, they will compare differences in worship between Orthodox and Reform Jews. By the end of the unit, the children will be answering the key question: How special is the relationship Jews have with God?

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, they will be given a copy of the book which matches their current phonics level. 

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, and swimming lessons for 4D will take place on Fridays. 

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

At the start of each half term, the children will be given a Homework Log containing 8 different tasks. From the sheet, children can choose a minimum of 1 task per week and record it in their homework books.

Please make sure homework books are returned each Thursday with a completed task, so it can be checked and then given back to the children on Friday. By the end of the half term, all of the tasks should be completed. 

The children will also have a short task set for them on Matheletics and Edshed to consolidate learning that has taken place that week. 

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