Welcome to the autumn term!

We hope this message finds you well and that you and your children enjoyed a fantastic summer break! As we gear up for an exciting autumn term, we're thrilled to share some of the delightful activities and learning opportunities we have planned for the children.

Continuing from Year 3, our budding musicians will have the chance to learn to play the guitar with the wonderful Mr Norman. It's a fantastic opportunity for them to explore their musical talents and develop a love for music. Additionally, our creative sessions will include making clay pots, where your little ones will have the chance to express their artistic flair!

In art, we’ll be taking inspiration from the renowned artist Yayoi Kusama, diving into her unique style and creating our own masterpieces. In Geography, we’ll embark on a journey to South America, discovering its rich culture and diverse landscapes. Our Science lessons will focus on Biology, where we’ll be classifying organisms and learning about various animals and their environments. In Spanish, we will enhance our language skills by using a range of familiar spoken phrases and commands, making the learning process engaging and practical.

Now, an important note regarding swimming lessons: these will commence on the 6th of January and continue until the 23rd of January. Please note the pick-up times, which will be at 10:15 am from school and 12:15 pm from the Life Centre. It's crucial that we adhere to these timings to ensure the safety and smooth running of our swimming programme.

Meet the Year 4 team

Miss LM (Le Masurier) will teach 4KLM.

Mrs Lord will teach 4GL.

Miss Claughton will teach 4GL every Tuesday morning and Miss Mathews will teach 4GL every Wednesday afternoon.

Mrs Claughton will also teach 4KLM every Thursday morning.

Our teaching assistants are Miss Phippen and Mrs Bishop.

Underpinning all our learning and time together is our school values, they are also linked to our Dojo rewards. We will learn about and celebrate examples of each value daily.

Our value for this term is... happiness

This can be shown by: having a positive attitude, being kind, smiling and looking after others.

We will be discussing what it means to show happiness as well as these 2 key questions.

What makes me happy?

How can I make others happy? 

Reading

Reading is a priority at Salisbury Road, therefore we will be practising our reading skills 5x a week using VIPERS to help us. In the classroom, we will use a mixture of choral, echo and ping pong reading, this will enable us to become confident, fluent readers.

Please remember to read at home four times a week to an adult. It is also really important that you record your reading in your reading record so your teacher can see how much you are reading at home. If you have read four times in a week, you will earn a raffle ticket for the reading raffle and have the chance to win a brand new book!

English

This term, we will be focusing on both fiction and non-fiction writing, ensuring a balanced approach that nurtures creativity and practical skills.

To kick things off, our first project will delve into the vibrant world of the Amazon rainforest. The children will write a short piece exploring its wonders, which will serve as a fantastic way to stimulate their imagination and enhance their descriptive writing skills. Following this initial piece, we will hold bespoke grammar sessions tailored to support their writing journey, helping them to grasp important concepts that will be invaluable across all their work.

Once we've completed our rainforest activity, we will transition into creating an explanation text centred around machines. This will be an engaging and enjoyable task, as students will brainstorm and plan their own machines designed for useful purposes. They are free to dream big, with ideas ranging from a homework machine, which could tackle their assignments, to a bedroom cleaning machine that would make tidying up a breeze! They might even want to consider more whimsical inventions, such as a teleporting machine. The sky truly is the limit when it comes to their creativity!

Throughout this process, the children will apply the grammar lessons taught in class, ensuring that their writing is not only imaginative but also grammatically sound. I’m looking forward to seeing how each child interprets these tasks, and I know they’ll greatly benefit from these writing projects.

Maths

This term we will be looking at the place value of numbers up to 10,000, estimation of numbers, fractions, multiples of numbers, written methods for multiplication and division as well as beginning to look at shape and angles.

Please don't forget to keep practising your times tables - these are VERY important! If you get your sheet signed for going onto TTRS 4 times-a-week, you will earn a raffle ticket for a wonderful prize.

Challenge yourself to beat your classmates on TTRS.

Science

This term in Science, we will be diving into the fascinating world of classification. This unit covers all the statutory content in the 'Living things and their habitats' topic from the Year 4 Programme of Study. Through this engaging topic, your children will explore how living things can be classified in a variety of ways.

We will begin by examining organisms, grouping them as vertebrates and invertebrates. Students will learn that vertebrates, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, possess endoskeletons and can be further classified by characteristics such as being warm or cold-blooded, or by their physical features, like fur or wings. Invertebrates, covering snails, slugs, worms, spiders, and insects, will be explored as well, taking their skeleton types into consideration – whether they have endoskeletons, exoskeletons, or hydrostatic skeletons.

Additionally, we'll learn about plants, categorising them as flowering or non-flowering. We'll also discuss what a species is, and how individuals within a species can reproduce, contributing to the cycle of life.

An important part of our lessons will focus on protecting biodiversity and recognising the interdependence of different species. As we delve into these topics, we will discuss how changes in environments can pose threats to living organisms – from habitat loss due to global warming and urban development to the impacts of agriculture and hunting.

Geography

This term, in Geography, we will be focusing on the vital concepts of lines of longitude and latitude. These imaginary lines are essential for our understanding of the Earth's layout. Lines of longitude run from north to south, with the Prime Meridian being the most significant. In contrast, lines of latitude stretch east to west, with the Equator, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and the Arctic and Antarctic Circles as key reference points.

To bring these concepts to life, we will delve into Brazil, a fascinating and diverse country that embodies clear contrasts that your children might have already heard about. Understanding how people live in different parts of the world is a crucial part of our curriculum, helping pupils connect with communities beyond their immediate surroundings.

Brazil, home to 12 countries, boasts the largest nation in South America, which is Brazil itself. Pupils will learn about the majestic Andes Mountains, which run along the western coastline, and explore Brazil's distinctive political and physical regions, such as the Amazon rainforest, the Cerrado, and the Mata Atlântica. We will also introduce them to the indigenous Kayapo people, who reside in the Amazon, highlighting their unique agricultural practices and lifestyle as hunter-gatherers.

Furthermore, we will explore Rio de Janeiro, a bustling city of contrasts where some residents live in favelas while others enjoy affluent neighbourhoods frequented by tourists. By the end of the term, we aim to equip our pupils with a deeper understanding of diverse places, people, and environments, adhering to the KS2 Geography National Curriculum standards.

History

This term we will be studying the Ancient Maya civilisation.

As Historians, we will be understanding life of the ancient Maya, and comparing this with that of the ancient Greeks and the ancient Egyptians. 

The Maya were an incredible civilisation that thrived in Mesoamerica from around 250 to 800 AD, living in vibrant city-states governed by kings. Their city-states, quite different from those in ancient Greece, had a unique dynamic among themselves. The Maya were polytheistic, worshipping multiple gods, each overseeing different aspects of life. To honour these deities, they engaged in ritualistic sacrifices, which sometimes included animals and, regrettably, humans.

Impressively, the Maya constructed magnificent step-pyramids and temples dedicated to their gods. Their cities often featured a central plaza, temples, a ball court, and occasionally an observatory. Notably, the ancient Maya made significant advancements, developing a sophisticated number system and even the concept of zero. They also created their own hieroglyphic writing system, reminiscent of the Egyptians. While the Maya civilisation eventually declined, many of their descendants still live in Central America today, keeping their rich heritage alive.

Homework

Homework will be given to the children every Tuesday and will either consolidate their learning in school or extend their learning further. It will be expected back to school on the following Monday. 

Sometimes, the homework may need to be completed via teams and other times it may be on paper or be a project to complete. 

If you ever have any concerns about your child's homework, please speak to their class teacher. 

Year 4 Spelling

Children will receive weekly spellings with their test taking place on a Monday. 

Each week, they will have six spellings which follow the current rule they are learning and the other four words will comprise from the statutory list from the national curriculum. 

We will teach the children strategies which will help them to learn their spellings. 

** For the children having phonics sessions, they will be given a list of spellings by their phonics teacher each week**

PE

4KLM and 4GL will have PE on a Wednesday afternoon. However, this occasionally may change so please ensure they have their PE kit in school every day.