Meet our Classes
Spring Term Curriculum Letter for Year 4
12th January 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy New Year! I am looking forward to getting the term started without any further snowy interruptions! I have included some information to remind you of routines and expectations in Year 4.
- Weekly spelling lists are sent home every Monday and the children are tested every Friday. In this time, the children are expected to choose five of their words and use them in a ‘Year 4 standard’ sentence (your child can explain this to you!).
- Homework is set on a Thursday, to be returned on a Tuesday. Homework instructions are written in the children’s Personal Organiser.
- Children are to learn times tables as part of homework every week.
- As well as learning spellings and completing any homework given, the children are expected to read every night at home and keep a record of their reading (in their Personal Organisers). Please can you sign their Personal Organisers once a week.
- PE kit is needed on Wednesday and Friday plus for any clubs your child attends.
- Please can you ensure your child’s uniform and PE kit are labelled – we end up with a selection of unmarked jumpers and cardigans at the end of every day!
- Art aprons are needed every Thursday – these can be an old shirt etc. but need to cover up school uniform to protect it. They also need to be labelled, please.
All children at Holy Trinity are fortunate to have a range of specialist teaching throughout the curriculum.
Adults involved with Year 4
Class Teacher – Miss C Lindsay
Teacher Assistant – Mrs G Patel
Art Teacher – Mrs N Matthews
Music Teacher – Mrs S Hornal
PE Teacher – Mr O’Connor
This term’s curriculum will consist of the following:
English:
We will be studying stories from other cultures and stories set in imaginary worlds, looking at a variety of texts. The children will then be writing their own stories based on these themes. The children will also be studying how plays are written and they will create a few masterpieces of their own! The children will also continue with weekly Big Writing, which will be reinforced with grammar work. A main focus in Year 4 writing is to learn how to structure work, using paragraphs and more complex connectives (although, if, however, meanwhile) to link ideas within a text. A main focus in reading in Year 4 is to express an opinion on a text, giving reasons. We will also summarise texts and discuss authors’ choice of words.
 Mathematics:
Some key objectives for Year 4 are:
- Addition and subtraction Mental methods: pairs of 2-digit numbers Written methods: 2 and 3-digit numbers
- Multiplication and division
Times tables and division inverses
Multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100
- Order, partition and round 4-digit numbers, using both positive and negative numbers
- Partition and order decimal numbers
- Solve one- and two-step word problems involving numbers, money or measures
- Use standard metric units to estimate, measure and record measurements
- Identify pairs of fractions that add to 1
- Interpret and order mixed numbers
 Science: The topic for the first half term is Habitats. This will link well to our general topic of Rainforests and will be particularly useful on our trip to London Zoo. The second half term the chidren will be studying the topic of Moving and Growing. There is a continued focus in Year 4 Science on understanding and carrying out fair tests.
Foundation Subjects: Our main topic this term is the Americas. Within this topic, the children will study the fascinating and endangered ecosystem of the South American rainforests. They will also investigate the Aztec empire; its key events, characters and the cultural legacy it left. This topic will encompass all of the Foundation Subjects (including History, RE, Geography, DT, Art, PE, Music and ICT) in a cross-curricular, natural and child-friendly manner.
The main RE focus this term will be on Faith and Identity. This will include looking at key figures in Christianity and other faiths. This term will include Holy Week and therefore the children will focus on the Easter story for part of the second half term.
I will continue to teach all children French for half an hour a week.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information or if you feel it necessary, make an appointment to see me about anything more personal to your child.
Yours sincerely,
Miss C Lindsay |
