During Autumn 1, we will be following a Gospel Unit of work which explores the question, ‘What kind of world did Jesus want?’

The children will be able to:

• Identify this as part of a ‘Gospel’, which tells the story of the life and teaching of Jesus.
• Make clear links between the calling of the first disciples and how Christians today try to follow Jesus and be ‘fishers of people’.
• Offer suggestions about what Jesus’ actions towards the leper might mean for a Christian. Make simple links between Bible texts and the concept of the ‘Gospel’ (good news).
• Give examples of how Christians try to show love to all, including how members of the clergy follow Jesus’ teaching.
• Make links between the Bible stories studied and the importance of love and life in the world today, expressing some ideas of their own clearly.

As we approach the festive season, we will consider, ‘Does the Christmas narrative need Mary?’

The children will explore the role of Mary in Christian life and in the Christmas story in particular. They will know that Mary is considered to be the mother of Jesus and that God was his father, although Mary was married to Joseph. They will know the key events from Luke’s gospel that involve Mary; they will have thought about their significance to the Christmas narrative; they will be able to interpret some of the symbols usually connected with Mary; they will know that different denominations vary in their treatment of Mary, and they will have considered their own response. 

In addition, the Autumn Term also has a focus on Advent. Year 4 will be presenting the Advent Assembly and we will confirm the date in due course.

In the Autumn term, Year 4 will begin by studying the author Roald Dahl. Both our English work and history will be related to this significant author. We will encourage the children to read lots of great stories by Roald Dahl, such as ‘The BFG’ and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ to make comparisons and pursue themes. His books, ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine', and his first book, ’James and the Giant Peach ‘, will be the main focus and stimulus for much of our learning next half-term.

After half-term, our focus will shift to the class text, ‘The Last Bear’ by Hannah Gold. This is a beautiful book centred around the relationship between a girl and a bear. All our English lessons will be based on the novel.

WRITING:

The class texts will be a stimulus for a range of writing genres including:

Narrative

Instructions

Diaries

Letters

Non - chronological reports

READING:

We have three sessions of reading timetabled across our week. Two of the sessions are guided reading using VIPERS, where we will read a topic related shared text. There is a focus on vocabulary teaching, verbally answering questions, demonstrating written answers and independent comprehension. In addition, the children have a D.E.A.R session (Drop Everything And Read) when they are encouraged to read material of their choice. They also have access to the school library during this time. Short 'protected read' sessions are also timetabled so that the children can listen to the teacher read our class novels.

In Mathematics during the Autumn term, we will be covering the following topics:

Number, place value

Rounding and estimating

Securing addition and subtraction mental fluency

Securing formal written addition and subtraction fluency

Counting in multiples of 6,7,9,25 and 1000

Multiplication and Division facts (Times Tables)

Factor pairs, Integer Scaling and Correspondence Problems

Problem-solving, including measures to apply place value

Multiply and Divide a One or Two-digit Number by 10 and 100

Measures – Conversions of units, compare, estimate and calculate

Roman numerals

Data handling

Perimeter

Morning Skills:

The children have a 20-minute session of mental arithmetic at the start of each day.

Times tables: The children will have ‘Multiplication Masters’, regular weekly table tests, to reinforce their rapid recall. These are the tables they should know and will be taught; KS1–2s, 5s and 10s.

Y3–3s, 4s, 8s

In Year 4 we will extend our tables knowledge and will focus on 6s, 7s, 9s, 11s and 12s.

This term, our Science topics consist of the following:

Animals including Humans

Year 4 will be exploring digestion and food in relation to animals including humans. As part of our unit of work, the children will be aiming to:

• Label key organs found in the digestive system and describe each of their functions.
• Describe the functions of the four different types of adult human teeth using key vocabulary.
• Know that good dental care involves brushing their teeth twice a day with toothpaste and a soft toothbrush.
• Produce a food chain that begins with a plant and has arrows that move up the food chain.
• Define a producer, predator and prey and identify examples in food chains.
• Describe digestion, teeth and diets when talking about the observed poo clues.
• Write a letter that uses a range of scientific vocabulary from the unit.

Electricity

In this unit, children will explore how to construct a circuit and what makes it work. Children will learn about the varied power supplies for electrical appliances and their roles, referring to renewable and non-renewable energy sources. In addition, children will learn about the safety measures around electricity. The children will be involved in investigative work and will follow lines of enquiry.