Welcome to Year 4!
Victory Class
Teachers: Mrs Wright and Mrs Kirk (Thursdays)
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Newman
Enterprise Class
Teacher: Miss Brobbey
Teaching Assistant: Miss Jimenez
Welcome to KS2! We are looking forward to introducing your children to new opportunities, such as swimming and learning Spanish. Throughout the year, we will endeavour to become magnificent mathematicians, wonderful writers and remarkable readers. Here is our learning for the year:
Term 1 Topic: Romans Rule
Our Big Question for the term is "What did the Romans do for us?" We will be learning about the Roman invasion and the influence that the Romans have had on British life. We explore why the Romans invaded Britain, how the Celts living there reacted and what their life was like, how Boudicca led a rebellion against the Romans and what impact the Romans had on life in Britain then and since. We will have a Roman workshop to enhance our learning on this topic and use old tiles to design and make our own Roman mosaic tiles.
Term 2 Topic: Magnificent Mountains
Our topic this term is Magnificent Mountains and our big question is "Why are mountains important?" This term we will be locating and exploring the main mountain ranges of the world and the UK as well as investigating the different ways in which mountains are formed and considering the impact humans are having on mountain environments.
Term 3: Glorious Greece
Our big question this term is "Why do so many people go on holiday to Greece?" Our focus is on the study of modern-day Greece, investigating its climate, human and natural physical features as well as what attracts tourists to visit the country. Alongside this, we will be developing our mapwork skills to use grid references to locate places on a map. We will link our English lessons by writing brochures to persuade our audience to visit Greece.
Term 4: It's All Greek to Me! (Ancient Greece)
Our focus in Term 4 is on a study of Ancient Greece and our big question is "What is the legacy of Ancient Greece?" We will be investigating how the belief in many gods and goddesses influenced aspects of life and learning about major battles between the different city states. As we learn, we will reflect on the impact Ancient Greece has had on our way of life today, including democracy and even the Olympic Games!
Term 5: Our Changing World
Our focus is on a study of Climate Change. Our big question is "How is the weather around us changing our planet". We will be learning about the difference between climate zones and biomes before considering how our climate is changing, how this is affecting life on our planet and how we can prevent it.
Term 6: Smashing Saxons
In this term, we will focus our study on the Anglo-Saxons, building on our knowledge of invaders and settlers in Britain. We will be considering what made the Anglo-Saxons invade and stay in our country and how they affected life here then and nowadays. Using a variety of evidence, we will investigate our own questions about life in Kent in Anglo-Saxon times and evaluate which evidence was most useful.
Maths - Multiplication focus
We place great importance on learning and practising our timetables. To aid us, the children are encouraged to use Times Tables Rock Stars and will engage in multiplication challenges games daily. Please click on the link below to access Times Table Rock Stars. Children need to know all their times tables by the end of Year 4.
PE
Our PE takes place at school on Wednesday mornings. We will build our basic hand-eye skills linked to popular sports, such as hockey. We will be outside as often as possible, so please make sure that your child comes to school in the correct kit. Please also ensure that long hair is tied back, and that earrings are removed.
Every Thursday, we will walk to the new Cozenton swimming facilities to develop our water skills. Please come dressed in an appropriate swimming costume, with a spare change of clothing, towel and optional goggles in a bag to carry.
Home Learning
Your child’s weekly home learning will consist of:
Reading:
Alongside continuing our VIPERS questions work, we will explore a range of exciting fiction and non-fiction texts throughout the year. These will include: T1- Romans on the Rampage; T2 - Romans on the Rampage and a range of non-fiction texts based on Mountains; T3 - Charlotte's Web; T4 - Charlotte's Web and Greek Myths; T4 - Non-fiction texts based on Ancient Greeks; T6 - Iron Man.
Children will be expected to read most nights in the week for at least 10 minutes. Please record how your child has got on with their book in your child's reading record. This might include their understanding of the vocabulary used; how they inferred a character's emotions or actions; or even a prediction made based on what had already been read. All children will have an Accelerated Reader login to complete a quiz at home or in school after completing their book. Please encourage them to do so.
Website for Accelerated Reader - https://login.renaissance.com/1302daf1-2b52-4df2-9c3c-a4e357d90f80?state=13d5034f-49ae-4584-b400-1dc37143138c
We will celebrate pupil success in completing these tasks both in class and across the school to boost the profile of these activities in our school community.
Spellings
As well as practising the Year 3 and 4 statutory spellings, we investigate the Year 4 spelling curriculum using a variety of resources and strategies. Spellings will be set on a Friday and tested the following Friday. The term's list of spellings and weekly spellings will be sent home.
Websites:
Timestables
We will be using the Computing Suite to practise to practise your multiplication facts, particularly on
Times Tables Rockstars.
There will be a focus for the Multiplication Times Tables Check, but you can do this at home too, using a
keyboard if possible, on TTRS Soundcheck or timestables.co.uk MTC practice page.
Different Times Table challenges/games will be set weekly on the TT Rockstars website.
With the National Year 4 Multiplication Times tables Check (MTC) a major assessment in Year 4, we will be
focusing on learning our multiplication and division facts up to 12 x 12 by heart, so keep
practising at home as well as at school, starting by revising those that should already be known by
the end of Year 3.
There are links on this page to Times Tables Rock Stars as well as other sites we may be
using to practise online. We are also keen for you to share ideas for practising offline too, so,
if you have a method that works for you, let your teacher or TA know so you can teach it to your class!
There is a link for parents to explain more about the MTC below.
Websites:
- https://www.theschoolrun.com/year-4-multiplication-tables-check-mtc-explained
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/multiplication-tables-check-information-for-parents
- Times Tables Rock Stars
- Timestables.co.uk - MTC practice page
- Times Tables Games
- Learn your times tables
- Hit the Button
Practise times tables, number bonds and much more!
Trips and Visits
At Thames View, we recognise the importance of developing our children academically, socially and spiritually. As a result, we endeavour to give our children experiences beyond classroom learning.
Term 1: Science Museum and Roman Gladiator Workshop
Term 2: Harry Potter World in the Snow and Family Trust Visit
Term 3: Family Trust Visit
Term 4: Ancient Greece in Virtual Reality Workshop
Term 5: Shorne Country Park
Term 6: We end our year celebrating our achievements with Sports Day and the return of Family Trust.
Check,
Other Useful Website Links
- The School Run
- Duolingo - practise your Spanish or any other language you are interested in!
- https://www.oddizzi.com/ - Learn more about all aspects of our world Geography. Ask your class teacher for our Year 4 username and password.