Castle Bromwich Junior School
Autumn Term
Maths
Throughout the Autumn Term, we have been learning about number and place value, addition and subtraction, calculating the area and started our learning journey into multiplication and division. Starting with number and place value is a key part of your child’s learning as it links to all other areas of mathematics.
Writing
In Autumn 1, Year 4 children look at the book called ‘Fortunately The Milk’ written by Neil Gaiman. The children will write diary entries, character descriptions, newspaper articles and their own stories.
In Autumn 2, we will look at the book ‘The Adventures of Captain Underpants,’ written by Dav Pilkey. The children will be learning how to write expanded noun phrases, use speech punctation, write instructions and create our own comic strips!
Reading
We have been following the text ‘Fortunately The Milk’ by Neil Gaiman for our shared reading lessons and have been using this to develop our understanding of the reading VIPER (Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explain, Retrieve and Summarise).
We will then continue to develop our Reading VIPERS while reading ‘The Adventures of Captain Underpants’, written by Dav Pilkey.
Science
Our first Science unit of Year 4 is electricity. The children have learned about the history of electricity, understand what electricity is and have created their own electrical circuits using batteries, bulbs and wires.
Art
In Art, the children will be creating their own cartouches, linked to our History unit on the Ancient Egyptians. They will make their own cartouches out of clay, using different tools and skills to create their final piece.
Design Technology
In D.T, Year 4 children will use their knowledge learned in Science to create their own electronic posters. These posters are to advertise a new toy and must have one element of the poster that lights up.
History
Our first History unit of the year is all about the Ancient Egyptians. The children learn all about what life was like for the Ancient Egyptians, learn about the pyramids, and understand what mummification is!
Music
In Year 4, the children are incredibly lucky to learn how to play the guitar as part of the Music curriculum. They are taught by a specialist teacher from Solihull Music Service and start off by learning the names of parts of the guitar and how to play using ‘Walking Fingers’. They are also introduced to the notes, E, F and G.
French
In French, the children have learned how to say different family members, such as mum, dad, brother and sister. They then apply this to write a letter explaining who the members are in their family, what their names are and how old they are.
Personal Social and Health Education
Our first PSHE unit of the year is ‘Being Me in My World’. Throughout this unit of work, the children learn what it means to be part of a class team and work together to create a Class Charter to follow for the rest of the year.
In Autumn 2, we move onto ‘Celebrating Differences’, which allows the children to learn how to celebrate their own uniqueness and accept others for who they are. This links with our school value of ‘Adapt’.
Religious Education
Throughout the Autumn Term, the children have learned about Diwali and Christmas symbols. When learning about Diwali, the children had a chance to experience what Diwali celebrations would be like. In our Christmas symbolism unit, the children learn what a ‘Christingle’ is and have the opportunity to make one themselves.
Computing
In computing, Year 4 children learn how to stay safe online, specifically focusing on; ‘Self-Image and Identity’, ‘Online Relationships’ and ‘Online Reputation’. They will also learn about coding using Micro:bit MakeCode, a programme that introduces children to what coding is. They create their own codes to make different games, such as, Rock, Paper, Scissors.
Physical Education
Our indoor PE units this term have been focusing on Dance linked to the Egyptians and developing their personal skills by improving their footwork and one leg balance. Our outdoor units have been Orienteering (which has been great fun) and learning the different skills needed to play Netball.
