1. Year 4 – Summer Term (1st Half) 2015
Literacy
In literacy this half of term, we will be looking at recounts :
We will Explore The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. We will then act out, swap stories, learn about adverbials and recounts using past tense and first person and chronological order. The children will write a new version of The Diary of a Killer Cat, by Anne Fine, using recount features and complex sentences. The Diary of a Lively Labrador, is used to stretch more confident readers.
We will also be studying persuasive writing:
Children explore and discuss adverts. They find key features of persuasive writing and use these
with a twist, to persuade people NOT to buy! Using compound and complex sentences the children will
then write a persuasive letter about their bedtime!
As we close in on the Summer Holidays, Year 4 will be taking a look at performance poems:
Listen to a range of performance poems and explore the features that poets use, The Torch, The Deal and Don’t Tell Your Mother by Michael Rosen, Word of a Lie by Jackie Kay, Cool Cat by Mike Jubb, Picnic Time on the M25 by Paul Cookson, My Nephew by Wilf Merttens, The Dragon who Ate our School by Nick Toczek and Write-A-Rap Rap by Tony Mitton. Children identify and use conjunctions that indicate time and cause. Investigate negative prefixes, informal language and rhymes. Children write extra lines to one of poems and then a rap..

2. Maths This half term, Year 4 will:
Multiply and divide numbers by 10 and 100 including decimals (tenths and hundredths); read and write decimals (to 1 and 2 places), understanding that these represent parts (tenths and hundredths) of numbers; mark 1- and 2- place decimals on a line; count in tenths (0.1s) and hundredths (00.1s); multiply numbers with up to 2 decimal places by 10 and 100, and divide numbers by 10 and 100; say the number one tenth and one hundredth more or less than a given number; round decimal numbers to the nearest whole number.
Learn 11 and 12× tables; develop and use effective mental multiplication strategies; use a vertical written method to multiply 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers; use rounding to estimate answers; use a written method to multiply 3-digit numbers, including amounts of money by 1-digit numbers; multiply 2-digit and 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers; understand how division ʻundoesʼ multiplication and vice versa; divide above the tables facts using multiples of 10.
Understand, read and write 2-place decimals; compare 2-place decimals in the context of lengths; add and subtract 0·1 and 0·01 and say a number one-tenth (0·1) or one-hundredth (0·01) more or less than a given number; revise equivalent fractions; write fractions with different denominators with a total of 1; recognise decimal and fraction equivalent.
Add two 2-digit numbers or a 2-digit number to a 3- or 4-digit number mentally; subtract 2-, 3- and 4-digit numbers using counting up; derive factors of 2-digit numbers and use factors and doubling to solve multiplication mentally; solve integer scaling problems using mental strategies and spot a relationship between products; solve correspondence problems, using a systematic approach and calculate using mental multiplication strategies.
Solve written addition of two 4-digit numbers; add amounts of money (pounds and pence) using column addition; solve 4-digit minus 4-digit and 4-digit minute 3-digit subtractions using written column method (decomposition) and check subtraction with addition; solve word problems choosing an appropriate method.
Use coordinates to draw polygons; find the coordinates of shapes after translation; draw and interpret bar charts and pictograms; draw line graphs and understand that intermediate points have meaning.

3. Science This half term we will be looking into:
Producers, predators and preys
Food webs
Revising forces
Friction
Air resistance
Parachutes
Water resistance

4. Topic: We are meteorologists Presenting the weather
Computing
Topic: We are meteorologists
Presenting the weather
Unit Summary: This unit brings together data measurement, analysis
and presentation, as the children will take on the role of meteorologists and
weather presenters.
Vocabulary
chart
data-logging
forecast
graph
measurement
prediction
spreadsheet
temperature
Skills
Content creating
Programming
Logical thinking
E-Safety: The children will consider the importance of obtaining and using accurate data
for any information-processing work. If the children choose to film one another, they
will ensure appropriate permission has been obtained. The pupils will think
carefully about the implications of uploading their films to the school network.

5. Topic
This term the children will be studying the Egyptians! A timeline covering 3000BCE to present – from pharaohs and pyramids, Egyptian gods and their temples, the burial of mummies(!) and daily life for Ancient Egyptians, then a whole theme on modern Egypt with the Suez Canal, Egyptian football and soap operas. Specifically this half term we will be studying the daily life and culture of the Egyptians.

6. Music Discuss how music creates a mental image
We will be exploring sound colours in music this half term. We will be doing the following activities:
Discuss how music creates a mental image
Express moods using instruments and vocal sounds
Compose ‘jogging music’
Compose different music to match a range of photos
Share and perform compositions in front of the class
Discuss images in poems
Compose ‘seashore music’
Perform and record their ‘seashore music’

7. Art/DT
In art and DT we will be linking with our Egyptian topic and creating death masks!
The children will:
Have an understanding of the importance and use of death masks in Egyptian society and what they represented.
Look at and annotate examples of death masks, identifying key features including colour.
Design a death mask in sketch pads, based on examples they have seen.
Use a range of materials including cardboard, clay, mod roc and paint to make an Egyptian death mask.

8. RE
In RE this half term we will be learning about the beliefs and practises of Sikhism.
In this unit the children will learn:
What the 5ks are and their significance for Sikhs
About the founding of Khalsa and how it is remembered today in a ceremony and
in the festival of Baisakhi
That Guru Nanak founded the faith and understand some of his teachings
Some Sikh beliefs about God through Sikh stories
About the significance of the Guru Granth Sahib to Sikhs
To reflect upon their own views about God
About the importance of the Sikh gurdwara to the Sikh community

9. PE and games
This half term we will be learning the essential skills to play tennis. The children will learn the rules od tennis, and the correct techniques needed to hit accurate forehands and backhands. They will enjoy practising these skills by hitting balls to each other with or without a net, depending on confidence. We will then move onto serving and playing class competitions.
PSHE
Our topic in PSHE this half term is ‘honesty and appreciation’. The children will be:
Interacting and being part of a group discussion about honesty.
Looking at different situations regarding honesty comic style with drama.
Looking at appreciation of my peers.
Appreciating the value of friendship.
Looking at the school as a community and appreciating concern for others
in the school - some who are going to experience transition and change.

10. On occasion, homework will be handed out on different days due to work
Handed out
Collected in
Literacy
Monday
Thursday
Maths
On occasion, homework will be handed out on different days due to work
needed to be taught beforehand. If this happens, the children will still have 3
days to complete it.
PE is on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please make sure you have the correct kit, labelled and in school all week. Earrings must be removed for PE.