Welcome to the Spring Term!

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

We are excited to begin the spring term with our swimming programme!
Swimming lessons will run from Tuesday 6th January 2026 to Friday 23rd January 2026.

Please ensure your child brings their swimming kit every day during these three weeks, along with a healthy snack to support their energy levels.

We’re looking forward to a fantastic few weeks of building confidence and skills in the water!

Meet the Year 4 team

Miss LM (Le Masurier) will teach 4KLM.

Mrs Ruhee will teach 4GL.

Miss Rich will teach 4GL Monday mornings 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... aspiration

How can I work with others to achieve my goals?

What do I want to achieve?

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

English – Spring Term Learning

This term in English, we will begin our poetry unit with a focus on metaphors and personification. Children will explore how descriptive language and thoughtful word choices can influence the reader’s feelings, create vivid imagery, and bring writing to life.

Following our poetry unit, we will move on to persuasive writing. The children will work towards writing a persuasive letter to convince Mrs Benton and Mrs Moran that our class should have a pet!

Throughout this unit, we will study the key features of effective persuasive writing, including:

• The structure of a persuasive text
• Persuasive vocabulary and powerful synonyms to avoid repetition
• Use of facts, figures and evidence to support viewpoints
• Technical language
• Emotive language to influence the reader
• Rhetorical questions
• Exaggeration for emphasis
• A balance of positive and negative language
• And more!

We are excited to see how the children develop their persuasive voices and craft compelling arguments.

Later in the term, we will be exploring stories from other cultures, with a particular focus on quest narratives. The children will learn how writers build suspense, develop atmosphere, and craft engaging stories that entertain and captivate the reader.

Throughout this unit, we will concentrate on using powerful, descriptive vocabulary that appeals to the senses and helps create vivid characters, settings and moods. This will include:

• Simile
• Metaphor
• Alliteration
• Onomatopoeia

To develop suspense and tension within their writing, the children will learn to use a range of techniques, such as:

• Show, not tell
• Creating a sense of danger through weather, sensory details, abandoned or eerie settings, and time of day
• Personifying the setting to make it feel threatening
• Emotive language
• Short, sharp sentences
• Empty words to hint at unknown threats
• Repetition for dramatic effect
• The power of three
• Rhetorical questions to make the reader feel concern
• Hiding the threat to build mystery
• Using ominous vocabulary
• Surprising the reader with the unexpected

This unit gives children a chance to explore rich storytelling traditions and practise creating tension-filled narratives that keep readers gripped from start to finish.

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 Chemistry: States of Matter

Pupils will explore the particle model and learn how particles behave in solids, liquids and gases. They will compare the properties of each state and use this knowledge to classify everyday materials, including some that contain more than one state of matter.

Through practical activities, pupils will model particle arrangements using movement in the classroom and then draw their own scientific diagrams. They will also learn key vocabulary linked to changes of state and investigate how heating and cooling affect different substances.

Pupils will practise reading scales and thermometers, measure water at different temperatures, and watch demonstrations showing that different materials melt at different points. To finish the unit, they will apply their understanding of states of matter to annotate and explain the water cycle.

In Spring term 2 Physics: Sound

Pupils will learn that sound is made by vibrations and explore how these vibrations can be heard, felt and seen. They will revisit the particle model to understand how sound travels through different materials and carry out simple demonstrations to see this in action.

They will study the parts of the ear and learn how vibrations travel from the air, through the eardrum and ear bones, to the brain. Pupils will also investigate how sound becomes quieter with distance.

Using instruments, they will explore how bigger vibrations create louder sounds and how pitch changes with the frequency of vibrations. Pupils will use data loggers to measure pitch in an investigation.

The unit also introduces how animals use sound, how hearing changes as we age, and what can cause hearing loss. Pupils will learn about sign language, including some common signs and how to spell their name using the sign alphabet.

Geography

This term, in Geography, we will be learning about tropical rainforests—where they are found, how they work, why they matter, and what we can do to help protect them. We will be focusing on the Amazon Rainforest as a key example.

What Are Tropical Rainforests?

Tropical rainforests are warm, wet forests found near the equator, where temperatures stay high and rainfall is heavy all year round. These ideal conditions support an incredible range of plants, animals and insects—many of which are found nowhere else on Earth.

Children will explore:

• Where tropical rainforests are located
• Why they are so biodiverse
• How rainforest climates differ from the UK

Layers of the Tropical Rainforest

Tropical rainforests are structured in four layers, each with its own unique environment and wildlife:

1. Emergent Layer – the tallest trees, home to birds of prey and bats
2. Canopy – a thick roof of leaves where most animals live
3. Understory – darker, cooler, and home to insects, frogs and small mammals
4. Forest Floor – receives very little sunlight; home to insects, fungi and decomposing plant material

Understanding these layers helps children imagine life inside the rainforest and see how habitats connect.

Why Are Tropical Rainforests Important?

Tropical rainforests are vital to our planet. They:

• Produce around 20% of the world’s oxygen
• Help regulate the Earth’s climate
• Provide food, medicine and natural resources
• Are home to millions of species, many still undiscovered
• Support the lives and cultures of many indigenous communities

By looking closely at the Amazon Rainforest, children learn how these systems work and why they matter to everyone, even those living far away.

Threats Facing Tropical Rainforests

Using the Amazon as a case study, children will explore the major challenges rainforests face today, including:

• Deforestation (cutting down trees for farming, logging, and building)
• Fires and droughts
• Habitat destruction affecting animals and wildlife
• Climate change, which increases extreme weather and impacts the ecosystem
• Loss of biodiversity as species become endangered or extinct

These discussions help children think about how human actions affect delicate ecosystems.

Protecting Tropical Rainforests

The topic also focuses on solutions and what can be done to protect rainforests, such as:

• Supporting sustainable farming and fair‑trade products
• Reducing waste and recycling to lower pressure on natural resources
• Protecting indigenous land rights
• Encouraging countries and companies to reduce deforestation
• Raising awareness about the value of rainforests

Children are encouraged to think about how even small actions can contribute to big global changes.

What We Aim for Children to Understand

By the end of the unit, children will have a strong understanding of:

• What tropical rainforests are
• How rainforest ecosystems function
• Why rainforests are globally important
• The current threats they face
• Ways people around the world can help protect them

History

As Historians, we will be  learning about the Early Islamic Empire, a civilisation that had a huge influence on the world we live in today.

What and where was the Early Islamic Empire?

The Early Islamic Empire began in 610 CE, with the founding of Islam by the Prophet Muhammad. From its origins in the Arabian Peninsula, the empire expanded rapidly. At its height, it stretched across Western Asia, Northern Africa, and parts of Eastern Europe, becoming one of the largest and most advanced civilisations of its time.

The Establishment of Baghdad

A major focus of our learning has been the founding of Baghdad in 762 CE. Built by the Abbasid Caliphs, Baghdad quickly became:

• A centre of culture and trade
• A meeting point for ideas from across the empire and beyond
• One of the world’s most important cities during the medieval period

The House of Wisdom

At the heart of Baghdad’s achievements was the House of Wisdom, a famous library, learning centre and translation institute. Scholars from many cultures and religions came together to read, write and translate important texts.

The children have explored the many contributions made by Islamic scholars in areas such as:

• Science – developing astronomical instruments, studying the stars, and improving methods of observation
• Mathematics – introducing and developing algebra, and refining number systems
• Medicine – writing medical encyclopaedias, improving hospitals, and advancing surgical techniques
• Technology – inventing mechanical devices, clocks, and new engineering solutions

These ideas travelled across the world and helped shape later scientific and mathematical developments.

Chronology Skills

As part of the topic, children have also practised converting years into centuries (e.g., 610 CE is in the 7th century). This helps them place events in a wider historical timeline.

Why is it important to learn about the Early Islamic Empire?

Studying this civilisation helps children:

• Understand that important ideas have come from many different cultures
• Appreciate the global nature of scientific and mathematical progress
• Recognise the value of knowledge, learning, and curiosity
• Gain a more complete and diverse picture of world history.

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.