Year 4
Rights Respecting Articles in Child Friendly Language
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world.
- Albert Einstein
Year 4 classrooms foster creativity, curiosity, and kindness, encouraging every child to learn, experiment and grow together
In Year 4 we draw upon children’s curiosity and existing knowledge as a starting point for our curriculum. Throughout the year we revisit and consolidate knowledge and skills in a meaningful way so that the children can begin to build an appreciation of how facts connect. This ensures what the children have learnt is embedded into their long term memory.
Meet the team
Mrs Willis - Year Lead
Miss Birch (Mon - Thu) Mr Bromley (Fri) - Class Teacher
Miss Edmundson - Class Teacher
Support staff - Miss Patel, Miss Haq and Mr James
What we do and when
Our learning
Autumn Term
As artists, we collaborated to decorate our classroom doors, inspired by our whole school book, More than Words. The book’s theme of communication in a wide variety of ways encouraged us to think about how we communicate ourselves to others based on our choice of clothes. Have a look at some of the amazing outfits we designed.
As explorers, we visited GO Ape in Battersea park. The trip was a great way to start the year. It helped us to build team work and to challenge ourselves and each other. The resilience we showed will stand us in excellent stead for when we find things tricky across the curriculum this year. It really was a fabulous day out together!
As writers, we have been exploring Greek myths. This links well with our history topic this term and has enabled us to learn more about ancient Greek culture. We planned our own endings to Theseus and the Minotaur together using storyboards to help us visualise the sequence of events. Here are a few examples of our hard work.
Previously...
This term in art, Year 4 have been exploring the vibrant work of photographer Thandiwe Muriu. Inspired by her bold patterns and creative use of colour, we experimented with different media to develop our own artistic ideas. The children practised a variety of printing techniques and explored how to create striking designs.
In computing, we took our inspiration even further by creating digital artwork. The children applied all the skills they’ve been learning in computing lessons to produce their final digital pieces, combining creativity with technology.
In RE, we were lucky enough to visit the Buddhist temple in Wimbledon. During our visit, we learned about the origins of Buddhism and had the special opportunity to speak with a Buddhist monk. The children asked thoughtful questions and listened carefully as they discovered more about Buddhist beliefs and traditions. We also took part in a peaceful meditation session, helping us understand how Buddhists practise mindfulness in their daily lives.
Previously...
To start the year, we read our whole-school book, The Spaces In Between, written by Jaspreet Kaur. We designed and created our classroom doors inspired by the illustrations in her book.
As scientists, we started our unit on electricity. We began our unit by reminding ourselves how to stay safe around electricity. We explored possible hazards and threats and discussed how to prevent these.
We’ve also been exploring circuits by asking questions and answering them through hands-on investigations. This has helped us identify the key components of a simple circuit, understand which materials are insulators and conductors, and learn how to effectively use buzzers and switches.
As historians, we ordered events and periods previously learned to support our understanding of chronology. We also explored different artefacts from the Ancient Greeks and inferred what we thought they were.
As artists, we practiced our sketching techniques and drew a still-life drawing of flowers, focusing on size, shape, and shading.
Linked to history we took inspiration from the pottery of Ancient Greece. We’ve been exploring colour, pattern, and shape to create our own Greek pottery designs. Using our sketching skills, we’ve drawn out our ideas, which we will use as the inspiration for our final pieces.
Previously...
In Year 4 this term, we have been reading The Elephants of the Tsunami and have explored the text throughout our reading and English lessons. We have used drama to dive into the text further, to understand the characters and practise using first person. We also used ChatterKids on the iPads to enhance our learning by recording our thoughts and feelings from the elephant’s perspective throughout the key events.
In our science topic this term, we have been exploring animals including humans. We have started exploring the different types of teeth, their functions and comparing the teeth of animals and humans. As part of the Aquafresh Shine Bright competition, we created posters to promote healthy teeth – the best will be submitted!
In computing this term, we have been using the BBC micro bits to understand, handle and gather data. Across the term we explored how a micro bit works, its functionalities and purpose. We wrote our own programs for the micro bits to use them as our own digital assistants. We used the temperature sensor on the micro bits to gather data about the warmest and coldest areas in the school and we programmed the micro bits to advise us on what to wear – weather dependant!
In Year 4 this term, we have been inspired by different texts including, 'Window,' by Jeannie Baker and 'Roman Myths'. In our English, we had a workshop with Banjii Alexander where we started to create our own mythical creatures using descriptive vocabulary. We spotted the similarities between the mythical creatures in both Roman and Greek myths and created our own!
In science this term, we have been exploring states of matter. We have been able to classify different materials as either a solid, liquid or gas, we have identified the visocity of different liquids and explored changes of states of matter in the process of freezing and melting.
In art this term, we have been learning all about the life and works of Vincent Van Gogh. We learnt the story behind his famous painting, ‘Sunflowers’. We have been inspired by different techniques that he used including impasto. We sketched and painted from still life and used the impasto technique to complete our final pieces.
How can you help at home?
Times tables are done in school every week. Please work with your child on timetables rock stars and go over any times tables they are unsure of. Additionally, please read with your child 5 times a week; this can be done using a book from the school library or home. Please record any reading at home in your child’s reading record.
Suggested times table rockstars schedule:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1urcFOcWXcfi4KQWUVvsig7i8XJ79wW_n/view?usp=sharing
Useful websites
- Parent information - Mathletics
- Mathletics
- Times Tables Rockstars
- Timestable check
- Multiplication tables check: information for parents
- Recommended reads
- App age checker
Join our community
Do you have skills, knowledge and have lived experiences that could be beneficial to our pupils at Penwortham? For example, you may be a practising Buddhist or be of the Windrush generation. Your line of work may involve promoting sustainable living (for example) or you may have links to people who would be happy to run professional development sessions for members of Penwortham Primary School.
If so, please sign up to the Penwortham community!
Thank you