In Year 4, the children are bridging that gap between lower and upper Key Stage Two. Therefore, we focus on building on from Year 3 by developing further independence and a greater resilience to try to solve problems themselves and develop more strategies to support their own learning. We wish our learners to be confident enough to ‘have a go’ and use the resources around them to support their own learning.
A huge focus in year 4 are the multiplication tables. This is a statutory year group with the ‘MTC’ (Multiplication Tables Check) taking place in early June. We will spend the time leading up to this really focusing on ALL of the multiplication tables. We follow on from years 2 and 3 where they focus on a progression of specific tables. There will be regular practise of these through using various resources and activities.
Our overall aim is that the children leave year 4 and move into year 5 with increased independence and confidence, that the majority will be fluent in all multiplication tables and that they will have felt a sense of achievement in their own progress and be ready for the new challenges of Upper Key Stage 2.
Mathematics
In Year 4 we use our own school long term plan but follow the White Rose Maths scheme (Link for more information: https://whiteroseeducation.com/parent-pupil-resources/maths) for the basis of our lesson planning. The CPA (concrete – resources, pictorial – pictures and abstract) approach is used across all Maths topics in order to embed them and ensure that the children are able to call on the necessary skills when required.
As mentioned previously, in Year 4 the children are expected to take the government prescribed MTC (Multiplication Tables check). This is merely a checking tool for the school whereby it can allow us to see where the gaps are and put further intervention in place to support the children who need it. Please access this link for further information: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/multiplication-tables-check
When children know these securely it increases their confidence and improves their ability to access other maths learning. Work on their times tables is through weekly challenges to test their knowledge and speed recall matched to their target (Mental Magicians), specific lessons, daily tables work and daily practise on Times Table Rockstars Nearer to the check, the children use timestables.co.uk to practise. We focus on repetition but also strategies to recall and find the answers. We ask that parents/carers support at home with daily practise too and thus, it is part of their weekly homework.
Writing
In Year 4, children will continue to develop across the different strands of writing: imagination and ideas, audience and purpose, handwriting, spelling, grammar, and punctuation. One of the main foci in this year group is to write narratives with a clear beginning, middle and end with a clear plot. In all writing they will be encouraged to proofread and amend their own and others’ writing with the support of teachers which should instil growing confidence. They need to create more detailed settings, characters and plot in narratives. There is more of a focus on organising their writing into paragraphs around a theme and to maintain tense throughout a piece of writing. Following on from previous year groups, they will be taught and reminded to use punctuation correctly, including for direct speech. The skills and knowledge required for Year 4 can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zktdp9q
For writing we use model texts to ‘scaffold the children’s own writing. They then ‘innovate’ this model text to write their own version. As we move further into Year 4, we move to a less scaffolded approach. Children get to write a range of genres and for different purposes and audiences.
Year 4 spellings are set fortnightly. They are sent home every Monday on a ‘Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check’ sheet which they should do every day. They will also practise them in class and be tested weekly. Spellings are differentiated for those children who need it or have specific learning needs.
Handwriting
Children will continue to practice their handwriting skills whenever they are writing and during regular handwriting sessions– the Letter Join website is available to support handwriting practice. The username is ak3814 and the password is home.
Reading
Reading is central to everything we do and is the doorway to improve all learning. We read across the curriculum, allowing the children to experience a range of texts and styles of writing. Pupils have a reading record which is the link between home and school reading. Parents and carers are encouraged to read regularly at home, recording this daily. The children are encouraged to record their own reading in these too. The children regularly in class – we have daily ‘quiet reading’ where the children settle down to reading their own choice of book to themselves. We also have daily whole class reading lessons where children explore a range of texts. And at 3pm every day (where possible) we drop everything and the teacher reads aloud our ‘class reader’ which is a perfect end to the day. A time for the children to unwind, sit back and enjoy listening to and becoming immersed in a book.
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Good mental health and wellbeing is essential for all school pupils. It helps them to learn effectively, cope with day-to-day challenges, and develop into resilient young adults. There are a number of things that we, at school, do to support the mental health and wellbeing of the children. We aim to create a safe and supportive environment where students feel comfortable discussing their mental health and understand how to support their wellbeing. Please come and speak to the adults in school if this is something you would like to discuss regarding your child and we will endeavour to support you in any way that we can. We also have our Learning Mentor who is always available to support and advise both children and adults. There are also a range of websites that can provide support to you, as parents and carers, in order to help your child.
YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People | YoungMinds
Child mental health: recognising and responding to issues | NSPCC Learning
Home Learning
Mathematics
Please find activities and information by following the Third Space Learning link. This is a website with step by step videos and worksheets (which you can print or just have a go at on paper whilst looking at them on the screen) You may want to look at other areas of the website too with your child. Basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division using standard methods would be good to practice.
White Rose Maths have published some fantastic free online Maths resources – remember that it is good to find it challenging as this means that you are learning! Write down your answers, draw diagrams and show your workings!
timestables.co.uk will help them practise their Times Tables and TTRockstars which we use daily in class for most of the year. Your child will have a log in so they can see their own progress and compete against themselves and others.
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The children love Free Writing and Pobble 365 has a new writing stimulus every day! There are sentence starters and prompts with each sentence. Please encourage them to practice their handwriting skills whenever they are writing – the Letter Join website is available to support handwriting practice.
Choose a video clip from the Literacy Shed to get your creative juices flowing! Please email any poems, stories, letters, songs or anything that you write to the school office.
Please encourage your child to practice their handwriting skills whenever they are writing – the Letter-join website is available to support handwriting practice.
You can also access all the other website links within the ‘Supporting Learning‘ area of this website under ‘Useful links’. Let your child find out about and learn within an area they are interested in/a subject they enjoy or have a talent for e.g. Geography and mapwork/digital maps or History and a particular period of time that your child is interested in.
Your child can spend time learning all Year 3 and 4 spellings and checking that they know them.
The most valuable thing your child can do is read! Read whatever they are interested in and talk about what they read. Read together and with siblings or to younger siblings.
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