Class 4

Year Groups: 4 & 5

Teachers: Mrs Teehan and Miss Land 

Teaching Assistants: Mrs Plye and Mrs McGoldrick 

Reading

Reading is a vital part of all children’s development.  Children in Class 4 should read a book from school every day for approximately 20-30 minutes.  Each child has a Reading Diary in which they should record each time they do this.  The Reading Diaries will be checked in class once or twice a week.

We have daily whole class reading sessions. Within these sessions we focus on developing reading fluency and comprehension through a range of activities including questioning and discussion opportunities.  Year 4  Year 5

Literacy

In Literacy, we will base our units on a variety of books and short films.  The sort of texts we will use include adaptations of Romeo & Juliet and original stories such as The Nowhere Emporium.  Examples of short films our units may be based on include The Christmas Truce, actually originally a Sainsbury’s advert, and For the Birds by Pixar.

It is important that pupils in Class 4 write in cursive handwriting with fluid joins.  There will be sessions on this in school but this will also be part of the homework expectation.  In addition, it is vital that children learn to spell a variety of different words.  Spelling homework will form the bulk of this learning, with a test each week.  Pupils will also have access to an online platform, Spelling Shed, to increase their opportunities to practice. 

Maths

We will teach across the full range of mathematical subject areas over the course of the year.  It is really important at this point in children’s education that their mathematical fact knowledge is secure so that they are not expending mental energy recalling a fact when practicing a new skill.  By the end of Year 4, all children should know their number bonds to 10, 20 and 100 and should have rapid recall of multiplication facts up to 12 x 12.  For more practice on this, there are numerous online games.  We would recommend TT Rockstars for times tables, which children will have access to as part of their homework.  Hit the Button is also a useful website for practicing maths facts. 

Science

In Class 4, our Science topics will include Sound, Plants, Properties of materials, Animals and Earth and Space.  Throughout our work in Science, we will be developing our pupils’ skills as experimentalists.  This will include asking questions, developing hypotheses, ensuring tests take account of factors that may affect the end result, analysing results and drawing conclusions. 

Foundation Subjects

In Class 4, we also teach RE, French, Music, PSHE (Personal, social, health and emotional learning), Geography, History, Art & DT.  Children have PE twice weekly as physical activity is important for physical and mental wellbeing.  Over the course of the year, all children have the opportunity to participate in Forest School.