Year 4
Year 3/4 Phase Leader - Mrs Hemingway (3HE)
Teachers - Mrs Ward (4W) & Miss Ritchie (4R)
Teaching Assistants - Mrs Mayet, Mrs Khot, Miss Jubb, Miss Badat and Mrs Hussain
Below is the AUTUMN TERM overview - this covers everything that your child will be working on throughout the autumn term in Year 4.
For the full year overview of all subjects covered across this year group, please click on the Long Term Plan link below:
Year 4 Long Term Plan 2025-2026
PARENTS' OVERVIEW - AUTUMN TERM 2025/26 (downloadable doc)
AUTUMN TERM 2025
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Maths |
In Year 4, we follow a progressive approach ensuring the children get experience of mathematical concepts in blocks of a week or two weeks. They then revisit these concepts over the year to ensure they have mastered previous knowledge and understanding that has been taught. We encourage the children to be independent learners in maths and they utilise their Maths Toolkit to support their learning when required.
During the Autumn term the children will learn about: Number, place value and rounding, Mental addition and subtraction & baseline assessments, Multiplication grid method, Division, Geometry: properties of shapes, Geometry coordinates, Measures, fractions, time, data handling, number and place value and rounding will all be covered.
Times Table Rock Stars
This year your child will take their multiplication check. This is a timed test similar to TT Rockstars so we highly encourage the children to practise their times tables and challenge themselves on TT Rockstars as often as possible. Your child will be given a username and password for access to the app called ‘Times Table Rock stars’ which can be accessed by any mobile device e.g. Phone, tablet and laptop. Through this app, the children have a great opportunity to learn their times tables in a fun interactive way.
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Literacy |
In Literacy, over the Autumn Term, Year 4 will be looking at a variety of fiction texts.
For the first few weeks the children will be looking at the Ice Palace by Robert Swindells. As part of the analysing of the text, the children will develop empathy with the characters, they will be writing a range of different pieces including: a letter, narrative and a character description. Later in the term we will be reading and completing work based on George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl – a popular children’s (and adults) author. I wonder what the children will decide to put in their medicines?
The focus will be on narrative writing using empathy and the children will be introduced to and encouraged to use subordinate clauses.
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PE Physical Education |
During autumn term, Year 4 children will be developing their personal and social skills in their PE lessons. Personal -the children will be developing balancing and coordination as part of their lessons. In the lessons there are choices to be made, easy, hard or harder – Which will your child choose? During autumn term 2, children will be encouraged to develop their social skills as part of their PE lessons. They will be developing seated balances in pairs and accuracy in jumping and landing. When demonstrating, the children will be asked to observe carefully the sequences shown and offer support in improving their techniques. This will require high level listening skills.
PE Days: Tuesdays or Wednesdays
Children need to come to school in uniform and bring in their PE kits.
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Science |
Our first Year 4 topic in science during the first half of the autumn term will be concerned with ‘Animals Including Humans.
Our Science lessons will look at different parts of the human body, what impact food and drink can have on the body and animal food chains. We will then move on to looking at living things and their habitats where they learn how to recognize that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.
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Music |
Year 4 will be taking part in the School Nativity this year and their music lessons will focus on singing, listening, improvising and composing as well as playing musical percussion instruments linked to the Nativity songs. The unit will culminate in the performance of their songs to the whole school, parents and carers.
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MFL Modern Foreign Language (French) |
In French this half term the children will be learning the days of the week, dates and seasons through maths, songs, surveys and the research of French festivals finishing with a birthday celebration.
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Computing |
In the first term, the children will be learning about unpacking hardware and software. This unit allows children to further their understanding of technology and computer systems in relation to their hardware and software. Children will understand the role of hardware, the role of software and how they interact together to complete tasks.
Animation - This unit introduces children to animation and the common techniques used by animators. Children will use traditional animation methods and compare these methods with using animation software (2Animate). Children will learn techniques, such as onion skinning, ending with the production of their own digital 2D animation.
Logo - This unit introduces children to Logo programming, focusing on developing their understanding of basic commands and programming concepts. Children will learn to create shapes and letters using instructions that contain advanced features such as procedures.
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PSHE Personal Social Health Economic Education |
Children will follow the ‘My happy mind’ scheme of learning. The aim is to help prepare today’s children for tomorrow’s world by building resilient, balanced and happy minds. Our topics this term include: Meet your brain, Places, Showing respect, managing hurtful behaviour and Celebrate.
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RE Religious Education |
Over the Autumn term, in year 4, the children will be exploring the big question:
How do Jews use stories to remember God’s covenant?
This unit focuses on what it is like to be Jewish: exploring the covenant with God; exploring beliefs about God; about how ideas of God are expressed in stories, celebration, ritual and action; about Moses as a key leader in the Jewish tradition; about the Torah as sacred text; about the great festivals of Pesach, and the weekly celebration of Shabbat, illustrating how Jewish people try to live. This unit gives the children opportunities to explore how religious texts can be a source for learning and for beliefs.
We will also be preparing our year 4 Nativity to perform at the end of Autumn term.
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Art and Design |
During the autumn term the children will be looking at drawing: power prints. Using mechanical engravings as a starting point, pupils develop an awareness of proportion, composition and pattern in drawing and combine media for effect when developing a drawing into a print.
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DT Design Technology |
During the autumn term, the children will use a range of materials, design and make a car with a working slingshot mechanism and house the mechanism using a range of nets.
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Geography |
In this unit the children will be trying to answer our big question:
Why are rainforests important to us?
Throughout this unit children will describe tropical rainforests and why they are important. They will also begin to understand the threats to the Amazon.
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History |
Our History topic for the term is ‘How hard was it to invade and settle in Britain?’
Children will learn about Anglo Saxon invaders and settlers and the mystery of Sutton Hoo. They will discover why places are named like they are and look at what life was like in Anglo Saxon times including food, clothing and houses.
Spelling
We follow the spelling patterns from Spelling Shed.
The children can then use the website to practice their weekly spellings choosing the level of support they need. Each child in Year 4 has a copy of the spelling lists in their school book bag.
Children who are having phonics teaching will get spellings from their phonic phase.
We will also cover the spellings from the Statutory Year 3/4 list.
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Homework |
Every week on Friday (due in the following Tuesday) Year 4 children will be given a maths activity, either linked to their learning that week or revisiting a previously taught skill.
They will also be expected to:
- read their reading book and get their reading record signed x3 weekly
- Play on TT Rockstars and Spelling Shed games.
- Learn their times tables up to 12 x 12
- Learn their weekly spellings (each week has a different list focus that the children have been practising in school that week)
Each term Year 4 children will:
- be set their black book homework tasks. They need to be as creative as possible so it could include art work, writing, computer presentations, 3D models, posters etc. It is hoped an adult at home will work collaboratively with the child and help them with their learning and presentation. When this happens the work is often simply stunning!
Black book homework
This is your chance to show off what you can do now you are in Year 4! Choose at least 3 activities from the list below to complete over the autumn term and during the half term holidays (due in on Monday 8th December 2025.)
You are going to share all your homework with your class mates and teacher. It could include art work, writing, computer presentations (printed out), 3D models, posters, photographs etc. You will have to explain to the class what you have done.
Homework for research to be completed in Black Books:
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Year 4 Autumn Term 2025 Black Book Homework Tasks |
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Our literacy work this half term is ’Ice Palace’. Write about/ draw your favourite character from the story. Try and label you image. |
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Research the Amazon Rainforest. Find out what the climate is like there, what it would be like to live there and describe the different layers of the rainforest. You could draw a picture to explain. |
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We will be reading George’s Marvellous Medicine. Write a recipe of what you would put in your own ‘disgusting’ medicine. Be creative! It could include dog’s toenails or even a snake’s eyeball! Maybe some vinegar or bird poo! Don’t forget to draw what the medicine bottle looks like and even some pictures of the ingredients. |
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We are looking at French numbers and the French calendar. Produce an information leaflet to translate English number and calendar words in to French such as two= deux, January= janvier Can you write the date you were born in French!? |
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Design your own animal and show how it will camouflage in to its surroundings. What does its skin look like to be able to hide? Label its features that will help it survive eg sharp claws |
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Explain what your favourite thing to do in your free time is… you need to write why you enjoy it. You could draw a picture of it or even take a photograph of you doing it. |
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We want hear all about the Christmas Story! You will learn all about this for the Nativity, what can you tell us about it? This could be a story board or a model/drawing of your favourite Nativity scene. Be creative! |
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