Aurora - Summer Term

Welcome to Year 4 Aurora Class.

As we move into the Summer Term, we continue with our learning using the White Rose Maths scheme. We consolidate our learning on decimals, before acquiring new skills and learning in money, time, shape, statistics and position and direction.

In English, we will continue to use our new found skills from the Talk for Writing project in order to write a range of narrative genres. We will use our understanding of story mapping, oral rehearsing, grammar devices and writer's toolkits to help us to structure our own independent pieces of writing. We will also begin to work on writing non-fiction pieces, putting our prior learning into action to support this.  

In Science, we will be learning all about 'Food and the Digestive System’.  the children will revisit the meaning of scientific vocabulary, including producer, consumer, carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, predator and prey. They will learn about the features of ecosystems and the meaning of new terminology, including 'biotic', which means living, and 'abiotic', which means non-living. They will research an ecosystem and use the information gathered in future lessons. They will learn about two scientific diagrams, a food chain and a food web, finding out what these diagrams are and what they show. They will discuss the similarities and differences between food chains and food webs and sketch examples. They will revisit the word 'interdependence' and its meaning and discuss how living things depend on biotic and abiotic features of ecosystems for their survival. They will discuss the challenges different ecosystems face from human activities such as pollution or natural events such as deforestation. They will then learn about the digestive system of humans, naming the digestive organs, describing their functions and finding out what happens to the food they eat. They will learn the names and functions of the four types of human teeth and identify the differences between the teeth of carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. They will formulate and then ask a dental health professional questions to discover the importance of oral hygiene and its role in preventing tooth decay and gum disease. They will complete their learning by creating and carrying out an investigation into the effectiveness of fluoride toothpaste.

In the 'Ancient Civilisation' project, which is our main thematic project this term, the children will learn about three of the earliest civilisations in the world; ancient Sumer, ancient Egypt and the Indus Valley civilisation. They will study the ancient Sumerian and ancient Egyptian civilisation in detail, to discover how crucial factors like water sources and farming helped them to develop and thrive. They will find out about important inventions and the growth of cities. They will also study the lives of different people in society, including the roles of kings and pharaohs. The children will reflect on their learning by identifying the similarities and differences between the two civilisations, before studying the Indus Valley civilisation independently. They will explore sources of evidence about the location of the Indus Valley, cities and trade, and note the reasons why historians know less about the Indus Valley than other ancient civilisations. The children will then compare all three civilisations, before learning about the causes and consequences of each civilisation’s decline. They will also consider whether or not these civilisations left a lasting legacy.

In Art, the first unit focuses on 'Statues, Statuettes and Figurines' the children will be taught about the 3-D representation of the human form, including statues, statuettes and figurines. Following on from this they will move on to 'Islamic Art', where the children will be taught about the features of Islamic art. They will make geometric patterns and motifs on paper, with fabric and in clay.

In Design and Technology, the unit is titled 'Tomb Builders' where the children learn about simple machines, including wheels, axles, inclined planes, pulleys and levers, exploring how they helped ancient builders to lift and move heavy loads.

Our PE focus this term is 'Striking and fielding' and 'Athletics'. The children will be taught the skills of coordination, developing the skills to pass and field a ball and return it accurately. The Children will also learn about various athletic skills including running, jumping and throwing.

R.E is taught for one hour a week and over the summer term we will be learning about two different religions. In the first half of term we will be looking at the religion of Islam where we will focus on 'Why do Muslims call Muhammad the seal of prophets?' In the second half term we be looking at the religion of Sikhism where the main focus will 'How do Sikhs put their beliefs about equality into practice?'

Useful information

• Our class PE days are with Mr Kent on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please ensure your child wears their named, correct school PE kit on these days, that earrings are not worn and long hair is tied up.
• The children have access to their water bottles in the classroom during the day. Please ensure that your child has a named water bottle in school which is taken home regularly to be washed.
• Your child is welcome to bring in a snack of fruit or vegetables each day.
• Reading books is your child's responsibility and they will be responsible for changing their own book. Please ensure they record the date and title of the book that they have chosen in their reading record.  

Weekly Home Learning (Approximately 30 minutes a day)

Each week your child will be set:  

• Daily reading
• Daily Times Tables Rockstars
• Spelling practice on Spelling Shed
• Regular Lexia practice
• Pick and Mix Grid

Spellings and Phonics:  It is expected that in Year 4, all the Year 1/2 words and Year 3/4 list of spellings are known. Please practise these and use these words in your writing. Remember to use some of our Spelling strategies!

Times Tables:  This is vitally important!! This year the children will be sitting the national Multiplication Check Test in the Summer term. Keep practising - with TTRS!

Lexia: Lexia is proven to help children make accelerated progress when reading, writing and speaking. Regular access of this will help children make good progress with their spelling and reading comprehension skills!

Pick and Mix Grid: These grids allow pupils to choose a few activities which particularly interest them and spend the term working on them before bringing them in to share with the class.

Home Learning Support

Please click on the links below to gain access

Year 4 Curriculum Planning Documents

Knowledge Organisers