ST. THOMAS A BECKET CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL
Year 4 Curriculum Newsletter Terms 3 and 4 2018
Dear Parent/Guardian,
We hope that this summary assists you in following your child’s work this term. Please ensure your child is completing their homework. Completing homework is a valuable exercise as it helps to reinforce what we do in the classroom. We request that you encourage your child to read for a minimum of 15 minutes every night and record this in their reading record.
This will be checked each week and house points and prizes will be rewarded for regular reading.
R.E
Our three topics this term are ‘Community’, ‘Giving and Receiving’ and ‘Self Discipline’. In ‘Community’ the children will learn about how it feels to be chosen by Jesus and understand the meaning of community. In the topic ‘Giving and Receiving’ the children will explore what this looks like in everyday life, and learn how the Eucharist challenges and enables living in communion. The ‘Self Discipline’ topic teaches children why self-discipline is important and celebrates growth to new life.
Homework
One and a half hours per week is recommended by the Government for children in Year 4. Your child is expected to:
· Learn spellings every week. The children will be tested every Friday.
· Complete a fortnightly maths activity on MyMaths.co.uk.
· Complete a page from their Spelling Book and Mental Maths Book every week.
· Complete a range of tasks from the homework grid once a term (this is optional).
Maths
The topics covered will be: Using mental strategies to add numbers to 100 and the written method for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The children will be solving word problems, doubling/halving, looking at 2D and 3D shapes, metric units and presenting data. The children will also learn about measuring length, perimeter, angles, equivalent fractions and decimals.
English
We will be studying the book ‘Tom’s Midnight Garden’. Through this text children will explore how to create story settings and introduce characters. They will use the content of the story to develop their own adventure through a doorway into another time. Children will also begin to structure chronological and non-chronological reports. We will continue to work on children’s use of correct grammar and punctuation.
P.E. Kits
Please ensure that the correct P.E. kit is in school including royal blue shorts, a school T-shirt and a tracksuit for when weather is colder. Our P.E. lesson takes place on a Monday afternoon. Children will be learning a variety of skills through gymnastics and games.
Science
The topics covered will be ‘sound’ and ‘grouping living things’. In the ‘sound’ topic the children will look at how materials absorb sound and travel across a distance. We will also look at different parts of the human ear. During our ‘grouping living things’ topic, children will be given the opportunity to explore and use classification keys to help group, identify and name a variety of living things in their local and wider environment.
Learning Journey
During terms 3 and 4 we will be learning about the topics of European neighbours and Henry VIII.
Computing
Children will learn about e-safety, with a focus on keeping their passwords safe and cyberbullying. They will start a unit on programming called ‘Music Mania’ to create sounds by inputting a sequence of codes.
Music
This unit is focused around the song Stop! Children will listen and appraise the song, play progressive warm-up games, learn to improvise and compose.
Art
We will be using Tom’s Midnight Garden in Art to look at a variety of skills including painting, wax resist, tissue paper collage and 3D sculptures. We will look at other artists who have used Tom’s Midnight Garden as inspiration to give us ideas for our own work. The children will learn the skills of evaluation and critical response of their own and other people’s work.
Dates for your diary
4I’s Class Assembly is on Friday 12th January
4L’s Class Assembly is on Friday 2nd February
Yours sincerely
Miss Bracuti Miss Crowe
Class 4I Class 4L