St. Peter's Catholic Primary School

In Year 4 we build on our academic, personal and social skills developed during Year 3 and throughout the children’s school career.

One of our main focuses is building upon the children’s confidence and independence. This allows the children to make their own choices and take responsibility, developing their ability to ensure that they have the necessary equipment needed for their day’s learning – whether this is their homework books or Reading Record.

Through the use of our Personal Development (PSHE) and Journey in Love (RSHE) , the children in Year 4 develop an awareness of relationships and ways to deal with any issues that arise, again taking responsibility to find solutions as well as building their resilience.

Over the course of the year, the children will build upon academic skills acquired throughout their learning career. Through the use of exciting and innovative learning experiences, ongoing assessment, intervention groups and developing skills to reach their A.R.E, the children are aided in reaching their full potential.

Year 4 is also a very special year as the children are invited to take part in preparation to receive the Sacraments in the restored order of Reconciliation and Holy Communion. All children, Catholic and non-Catholic, are invited to participate in the preparation and, as always at St. Peter’s, the non-Catholic children who wish to participate will be able to take part in the celebration even though they will not receive the Sacraments.

Children in Year 4 are expected to;

• Be able to tie their own shoe laces and tie their own tie
• Keep their bags (please can we ask that children don't bring a large backpack to school, as there is limited space in the cloakroom) tidy and kept on their peg
• Put their lunchboxes on the shelf above their peg as these cannot be kept in their bags due to the limited space
• Be organised when entering school in the morning; putting their water bottle in the correct place and putting their Reading Record on their desk
• Have all clothes clearly labelled

Children are to come to school wearing their P.E. Kits on their P.E. days. For Year 4, this is a Tuesday and a Wednesday. P.E. Kit should include; spare socks, trainers, black logo t-shirt, maroon shorts, a school logo jumper/ hoodie and black tracksuit bottoms (optional).

Homework will be given out on a Friday and will be expected back in school on a Tuesday. For our homework, we use the White Rose Maths and CGP SPAG books and the assigned work will be based on that weeks learning. The children will either have a maths activity or a grammar activity to complete. Sometimes, the children may be set some homework from another curriculum subjects but instructions will be made clear on this. The children also have access to Read Theory which helps them to develop their independent reading and comprehension skills. Spelllings are given out on a Friday to be tested on the following Friday.

In Year 4, we develop our writing skills that were taught in Year 3, using more complex sentence structures and interesting vocabulary. We look at a variety of exciting texts each half term and complete our writing tasks based around this theme. We continue with whole class reading sessions three times per week and complete a Reading Theory activity at least once a week in school. Reading is the key to improving our understanding and we ask that the children read to an adult at least three times per week, with a comment recorded in their Reading Records. Independently, children are expected to complete two Read Theory activities per week.

Spellings are given out on a Friday and will then be tested on the following Friday. The spelling words will generally follow a different spelling rule each week. At times, I will send the common exception words home for the children to learn. These are words that don't necessarily follow a pattern, but are words that the children need to know how to spell in order to achieve their A.R.E. Please find the Year 3 and 4 common exceptions words below.

Recommended Reads:

In Year 4, Mrs Lawton loves reading David Walliams books with the children such as; Gangsta Granny, Boy in the Dress, Awful Auntie, Midnight Gang. Below are an example of books that you may enjoy reading for pleasure.

Roald Dahl - James and the Giant Peach, Esio Trot, The Twits, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

E.B. White - Charlotte’s Web.

Jeff Kinney - Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Ted Hughes - The Iron Man.

Recommended Reading Books for Year 4:

Please click on the image below to see a list of 50 books recommended for Year 4. There is also a PDF of recommended books across different age ranges.

In Year 4, we continue to use mathematical concrete apparatus, pictorial representations and abstract methods and recordings to further develop our understanding and to support our learning. We are continually practising recall of mathematical facts which enables us to solve problems quicker and more effectively. We look indepth at multiplication and divison, including multiplying and dividing by 100 and 1,000. In Year 4, we also introduce decimals, negative numbers and more complex fractions.

At the end of Year 4, all children must take a multiplication check. Please see below for further information.

The Multiplication Tables Check is now a statutory requirement for the children in Year 4. The purpose of the check is to determine whether children can recall their times tables, including the corresponding divisions, fluently. It will then help us to identify pupils who have not yet mastered their times tables, so that additional support can be provided.

The test will take place across a 3 week window in June and the children will complete it online, in school.

We will be doing lots of times tables work in school and complete a Times Tables Challenge once per week. All of the children will start on their two times table in September and then progress each week when they are confident with the times table they are currently on. It is crucial that the children are practising their times tables at home, as much as possible. Please see below for websites which will support your child's learning with their multiplication tables.