Parson Cross CE Primary School
Year 4
In Year 4, children grow in confidence as they are encouraged to think and learn more independently. They will begin to make decisions about their learning and have an increased awareness of how to handle different situations.
Year 4 will present the children with many exciting opportunities to develop new skills. For half of the year, children will take part in weekly swimming lessons at Hillsborough Leisure Centre. They will work on increasing children’s confidence in the water, introducing them to basic swimming techniques and strokes, and ensuring the children understand how to be safe in and around water. Children will also begin weekly cornet lessons that will run throughout the year. A specialised music teacher will conduct a 45-minute instrumental lesson for the whole class. This allows children to acquire a love of creating and listening to music. They develop both the physical and mental skills needed to play an instrument as well as observing what commitment, dedication and practice can achieve.
In Maths, we aim to ensure children have a secure knowledge of basic arithmetic. It is important that children are confident in both their mental and written calculation skills. Once children have grasped the simple facts, we move forward on to using larger numbers and fractions. Children will also be introduced to new concepts such as decimal numbers, negative numbers and Roman numerals.
Year 4 is a crucial year for developing the children’s understanding and quick mental recall of multiplication facts. In June, the children will sit the national Year 4 multiplication tables check. This is about finding out the children who struggle with times tables and require extra support. We ensure this test is stress-free by doing regular practice throughout the year to increase confidence and ability.
In English, the children will build key skills in both reading and writing. During Year 4, children will become increasingly confident with their reading as the develop their fluency and expression. We focus heavily on improving children’s comprehension as they come across new texts and unfamiliar words. Reading is encouraged both in school and at home to expose children to a wide variety of vocabulary, grammar and different styles of writing.
Children will continue to write in various styles and genres. They are taught a range of spellings and grammatical techniques to advance their skillset. As well as this, they will be introduced to more complex punctuation, such as commas, inverted commas and apostrophes which they will practice implementing accurately in their writing.
In Year 4, students will enjoy many interesting topics in science, history and geography. These include: Sound, Electricity, Anglo-Saxons, Ancient Civilisations and Rivers. Children will be immersed in a broad, engaging curriculum and are bound to leave Year 4 with many new skills and memorable experiences.
