In Year 4, the children will be introduced to new and exciting topics and skills, to develop their natural curiosity and develop their knowledge and interests. They will draw on previous knowledge created in Year 3 at Diamond Hall Junior Academy.
This year the children will focus on History in our ‘Invasion’ topic. Later on in the year, they will get the chance to explore the characteristics and features of rivers and mountains around the world as well as the history behind the three of the world’s first ancient civilisations: ancient Sumer, ancient Egypt and the Indus Valley civilisation.
Our morning will consist of Reading, Writing and Mathematics where children will build upon their previous knowledge. We will be exploring many genres of writing including a recount letter, a short narrative and non – chronological reports. The children will be able to apply their knowledge on punctuation and grammar alongside learning new techniques such as creating sympathy for the reader, speech and fronted adverbials. Mathematics is taught using ‘Maths No Problem!’ which follows the national curriculum, with a key focus on the concrete, pictorial, abstract ways of learning. Children can investigate and apply their skills through problem-solving and reasoning questions. We also include mental arithmetic into our lessons. Children are in year 4 are expected to master all of their times tables buy the end of the year.
As a school we encourage reading for pleasure for our children as it can develop children’s use of vocabulary and spark new and creative ideas. This is proven to have a positive outcome on children’s writing. In school children will develop their independent reading through the use of accelerated reader, where children choose a book appropriate to their reading level, and quiz on their books to show their knowledge and understanding of the book.
Our first novel in Year 4 is ‘The Saga of Erik the Viking’ by Terry Jones which is a tale of the Viking Warrior. His adventure on the Golden Dragon leads him unexpectedly to Dogfighters and giants which combine to make his voyage a great saga of thrilling adventures. So far, the children are fascinated by this book and have created some fantastic predictions throughout.