Learning in Year 4

In Year 4, children continue to develop as confident, curious and increasingly independent learners. Through a carefully sequenced, knowledge-rich curriculum, pupils deepen their understanding, make connections between subjects and apply their knowledge with growing confidence.

Reading and writing lessons are enriched by engaging texts such as The Queen’s Nose, The Girl Who Stole an Elephant, Varjak Paw, Young, Gifted and Black, The Boy at the Back of the Class and The Wind in the Willows. Children develop their writing through persuasive advertisements, imaginative diary entries, adventure stories, news reports, explanatory texts, stories from other cultures and the study of poetry.

In mathematics, pupils develop fluency, reasoning and problem-solving as they apply increasingly secure knowledge of number, calculation, multiplication tables, fractions, measurement, geometry and statistics.

Across the wider curriculum, pupils:

• investigate living things and their habitats, states of matter, animals including humans, electricity and sound in science;

• explore rivers, latitude and longitude, the water cycle, environmental regions and increasingly sophisticated map skills in geography;

• study the settlement of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons and Scots, the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for England, and an ancient civilisation such as Egypt or the Shang Dynasty in history;

• develop creativity through drawing, painting, printmaking, textiles, collage, sculpture and three-dimensional art;

• design and make products involving mechanisms, textiles, structures, electrical systems, and food and nutrition;

• explore rhythm, musical texture, notation, singing, composition, timbre and ensemble performance;

• extend their Spanish vocabulary through dates, numbers, colours, clothing, school subjects, animals, plants and cultural celebrations; and

• learn about friendships, families, respectful relationships, personal safety, healthy choices and being ready to learn through PSHE.

Regular opportunities for reading, handwriting, spelling, physical education, creative expression and language learning ensure that children experience a broad, balanced and engaging curriculum throughout Year 4.

Further details can be found in our Year 4 curriculum overview.