Year 4

Welcome to Spring Term 2025

Last term, we covered a lot of ground in our EXPLORE term and I’m very excited to get going as we dive into our DISCOVER themed term.  This term’s main focus will be history.  The children will continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of history as we study the Romans.  By using a range of range of sources and carefully selected information they will discover the far-reaching influence of the Roman Empire both in the past and the present.

Of course, I will continue to teach the other subjects with Maths and English being taught in the mornings.  We follow the White Rose Maths scheme of work (Spring term).  For English, I will use a range of resources to develop the children’s writing and reading comprehension skills.  This term, there will be a greater focus on grammar helping the children secure the different words classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, expanded noun phrases) they need to know.  I will also be spending more time on supporting the children in developing their reading comprehension skills.  Our English lessons will be driven by high quality texts.  For the first two weeks, we will be writing poetry, using two poems: Overheard On A Saltmarsh (1917) by Harold Monro and A small dragon by Brian Patten.

In Science, we will discover how matter can exist as solids, liquids and gases and the different processes that cause a material to change from one state to another.  In the second part of the spring term, the children will learn all about sound and vibrations.

PE will be continued to be taught twice a week: one session will be lead by myself (dance followed by Yoga) and one session by Matt (cricket followed by outdoor adventurous activities – OAA).  PE sessions will take place on a Thursday and Friday – see below for my weekly timetable.

I’m really looking forward to the two computing topics we have this term.  In the first half of the spring term the children will be discovering how to create repeating patterns by using different commands and creating a programme.  In the second part of the spring term the children will be getting to grips with capturing and analysing data.

For RE this term, I’ll be using some new resources which I’m excited about.  Each of the two half-termly topics will start with a question: How does the story of Rama and Sita inspire Hindus to follow their dharma? (Hinduism) and How does the teaching of the gurus move Sikhs from dark to light? (Sikhism)

This is just a snapshot of some of the subjects I’ll be teaching.  For a more detailed breakdown of what will be taught in the DISCOVER term please look at the DISCOVER long-term plan and the knowledge organisers.

Welcome to the Year 4 class webpage.

I’m very excited to be teaching Year 4 this year. 

At Hollybush we have designed each term around one of three themes: Explore, Discover and Create.  Explore is our Autumn term theme with a specific focus on Geography, Science and Computing.

The core subjects of Maths and English will take place each morning except Fridays when I have my planning time.  On Friday morning, Matt, our PE specialist, will take a session of PE and Mrs Eley will deliver a reading comprehension session which I will have planned.  See below for a more detailed look at the weekly timetable.  Of course, from time to time this will change.

You will see from the weekly timetable (see below) that the children will have 2 hours of PE: one delivered by Matt (Tag rugby) and one by myself (basketball).

For maths we follow the White Rose Year 4 Scheme of Work.  This provides excellent resources for both teachers and parents.  The scheme is based on a mastery approach to maths.  You can find out more about this on the curriculum part of the website under ‘maths’.  In June 2025 all Year 4 children in England sit the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC).  For more information about the MTC please see below.

In English this half-term, we will be focusing on narrative based around two books: Fly Eagle, Fly! by Christopher Gregorowski (story retold on YouTube) and Iron Man by Ted Hughes.  Narrative is an excellent genre to develop children’s writing especially sentence structure.  You will see from the Y4 writing checklist (see below) what the national expectations are for Year 4.  Page 3 of this document outlines the ‘working at the expected standard’.  In second half of the term, we’ll switch to non-fiction and the children will develop their skills at writing a non-chronological report.

Two areas of science will be covered during the Explore term.  The first is called, 'Animals Including Humans'.  The children will expand on their learning from year 3 about how animals, including humans, need to get nutrition from what they eat. They will explore the different organs of the digestive system in humans and the functions of teeth in both humans and animals.  The second topic, 'Living Things and their Habitats' will allow the children to explore a variety of ways to identify, sort, group and classify living things. They will learn how animals are split into 'vertebrates' and 'invertebrates' and begin to consider the differences between living things within these classifications.

In computing the children will explore computer systems and networks followed by learning about digital recording and creating their own podcast!  

For a more detailed look at what the children will be learning in the different subjects please click on the Explore Long Term plan.

For each subject and specific learning block we have developed knowledge organisers.  These are helpful summary of what will be taught and what the children need to learn.  Click below to take you to the relevant knowledge organisers for this term.