Year 4

MEET THE TEAM

Our Topic this term is: Ancient Civilisations

We will be learning about mountains and rivers in our topic. Our curriculum takes the form of mini projects which really allows us to look at the subject in depth. This project teaches children about the history of three of the world’s first ancient civilisations: ancient Sumer, and ancient Egypt civilisation. Children will learn about the rise, life, achievements and eventual end of each civilisation. We hope the children will be captivated by the challenges of the mini projects and are looking forward to our new topic.

These activities are for you to do at home with an adult. You can do all of them or choose the ones that you find most interesting.

At home, children can take part in fun, practical activities such as:

Create a small museum box displaying artefacts from Sumer or Egypt with labels.
Build a model of an ancient structure such as a ziggurat or pyramid.
Recreate ancient writing systems, like cuneiform in clay or hieroglyphics on paper.
Write and illustrate a short “day in the life” diary from a Sumerian or Egyptian person.
Make a food poster showing what people ate and how they got their food.
Create a mini‑poster about an important invention from ancient Sumer or ancient Egypt.

Maths

In Maths, we will move onto Decimals, this introduces pupils to tenths and hundredths and how these link to whole numbers and fractions. They learn to read, write, compare and order decimals, and use them in real‑life contexts such as money. Pupils also practise rounding decimals and solving simple problems involving amounts written in decimal form. It is of particular importance for children to continue to practise their times tables on TTRockstars regularly, especially the soundchecks which reflect the Multiplication Check that all Year 4 pupils nationally complete towards the end of Year 4.

The link to their site with home learning and advice on can be found here:

https://whiterosemaths.com/advice-and-guidance

Here is an overview of the year.

Reading & Writing

In Reading we will start the half term with the poem 'Bluebells' and move onto the non fiction book 'Everything Ancient Egypt' which fits nicely with our history project 'Ancient Civilisations'. Our writing will focus around a fantastic picture book called 'The Quest' where the pupils will be writing a story.

RHSE

In RSHE, we will be learning about This term, how to stay safe, especially online. We’ll talk about how to spot danger, make good choices, and say no to peer pressure. We’ll learn to check privacy settings, ask an adult before adding friends, keep our info private, and tell someone if something feels wrong. We’ll also practise setting kind and clear boundaries with others and find out where to get help if we need it.

Science

In Science, we will be studying Electrical circuits and conductors. This project teaches children about electrical appliances and safety. They construct simple series circuits and name their parts and functions, including switches, wires and cells. They investigate electrical conductors and insulators and identify common features of conductors. It also teaches children about programmable devices. They combine their learning to design and make a nightlight.

Music

We will continue to use our music platform, Charanga, This unit is built around the song Blackbird by the Beatles, giving children the chance to enjoy singing, playing instruments, improvising and composing in a fun, practical way.

This half term we will be teaching the children strike, react, rally and accuracy, power, distance from our Beyond the Physical scheme; they will need to come in their P.E. kits on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Design and Technology

In Design and Technology, we will be learning all about Tomb builders. This project teaches children about simple machines, including wheels, axles, inclined planes, pulleys and levers, exploring how they helped ancient builders to lift and move heavy loads.

Art and Design

In Art and Design we will be learning all about Statues, Statuettes and Figurines. This project teaches children about the 3-D representation of the human form, including statues, statuettes and figurines. They study examples from ancient civilisations, and use their clay skills to create a Sumer-style figurine.

The children will explain their understanding of ‘spiritual’ and explain some ideas and beliefs that are important to them. They discuss how some Christians express their beliefs using visual imagery. They recognise that Muslims use other forms of art, such as pattern, instead of images. Pupils explore how words and poetry, music and dance are used by some faiths as an art form and to express beliefs.

Homework

Homework:

Reading books are changed weekly, every Friday. Home readers should be returned on a Thursday so there is time to sort new books

Times table worksheet goes home every Friday and should be returned on Monday

On seesaw we have the kahoot quiz and spellings

Please contact us if you have any problems accessing or completing homework by email year4@stthomas.org.uk

Library will be on a Monday

PE will be Tuesdays and Fridays

Here is your Year 4 Class Charter challenge sheet. You can also download a copy by clicking on the image.

Download all the Charters as a PDF file