Reading and Writing in Year 4
This half term we will be preparing to write a book all about the castle in Barnard Castle. We will be researching facts ready to put into the book, as well and writing some wonderful descriptions of the castle and its surroundings. We will be using different sentence structures and a range of grammatical skills in our writing throughout the term. As well as researching the castle, we will look at and appraise a poem written about Barnard Castle by Sir Walter Scott.
Alongside this topic we will be reading a book which the children themselves chose, Mightier Than the Sword. In this story, a young boy is learning all about King Arthur and the knights of the round table. Many strange things happen when Adam sets up his own round table to defend a local plot of land from developers who threaten to destroy it.
Maths
Recently, year 4 have finished learning their times tables. They now know all of them up to 12×12, but this doesn’t mean they can stop practising them. We will continue to play times table games and the children will be quizzed on them throughout the half term.
Following all of their hard work on their times tables, the children in Year 4 have moved on to learning about multiplying. This, along with division, will be the focus for the rest of the half term.
Science
This half term the children will be learning about the different states of matter. They will be using investigations and observations to discover the 3 states. Through exploration they will identify what makes something freeze or melt and how materials can change state. We hope to spend plenty of time working outside, taking advantage of the season and the changes in state that surround us every day. This will lead to the children learning about the water cycle and how the changes of state contribute towards this.
Topic
As part of a local history study, and in order to write the information book about the castle in Barnard Castle, Year 4 will be learning all about castle locations and features before conducting a local history study on their own Barnard Castle.
Art and Design
As part of our castles topic the children will learn all about coats of arms and their significance in history. They will begin to understand why they were introduced and how they were used before designing their very own. In order to design their own coat of arms, the children will learn all about the symbolism of the colours and images displayed in coats of arms. We will look at some famous coats of arms and see if we decide if it is appropriate for who it represents.
Music
Music this half term will be taught through the rehearsals for the lower Key Stage 2 production of ‘Zoom’ at Easter. We will be exploring rhythms, pitch and harmonies whilst we prepare for this exciting opportunity.
Sport and PE
Throughout year 4 the children will attend weekly swimming lessons. It is vital that all children become confident in water. These weekly lessons will provide the children with the skills needed to feel confident in water whenever they need to do so.
