Welcome to our Year 4 Shark Class page! Here we will share our plans for the year ahead, to help you start conversations with your ‘shark’ about what they are enjoying and learning about in school.

Firstly, I would like to say how excited I am to join St George’s and how I am very much looking forward to becoming a part of your child’s learning journey this year. The children have already shown how enthusiastic they are and that they are ready to get going!

In English, we will be reading and creating poems about sharks. We will explore ‘finding tales’ such as The Egg by MP Robertson, and aim to produce our own stories where something is ‘found’.  A unit about information texts will follow, including links to our work on Ancient Egypt. Our Guided Reading will include a variety of information texts to inspire our own writing and promote a greater level of fluency and comprehension. We will also be exposed to a wider range of vocabulary and be able to better understand different grammatical skills and word groups.

In addition, we are introducing ‘Just Read’; where we have an exciting ‘finding tale’ to read together -  ‘The Land of Roar’ by Jenny McLachlan.

In Maths we are starting the new year with a unit on place value. This will be followed by expanding our knowledge of addition and subtraction. We will also be increasing our efforts with multiplication and related facts, as later in Year 4 all children will have a Multiplication Check.

Our first Science topic is ‘Living things and their habitats’. We will use the acronym ‘MRS GREN’ to help us remember the 7 key characteristics of living things. We will also begin to classify groups of animals such as vertebrates and invertebrates. We will compare the places that animals live, finding out how their environment suits them. We will also be using the allotment to support this learning.

We start the year with an exciting History-based topic about the Ancient Egyptians. We will identify where Egypt is and discover some of the exciting evidence of the past. We will also make connections to Ancient Egypt through some of our English and art work.

In PSHE/RHE, we will be discussing the importance of caring and identifying responsibilities, as well as thinking about how we deal with our own emotions and how we can support others. We will be looking in greater depth at the community, worship and celebrations of people of the Hindu faith.

Computing in Year 4 opens with finding out about how computer networks work, learning more about the workings of the Internet, websites and a reminder about the importance of being safe online.

In art, the children will create their own work inspired by the artist Edward Hopper; specifically looking at perspective within their drawings. In music, we will work on the song ‘Mamma Mia’ and listen to and appraise other songs by Abba.

PE will include swimming on a Monday – Children to wear sports kit and bring their swimming kit (swimsuit, towel and swimming hat) in a plastic bag. Goggles are optional. Children should also wear their sports kit on a Friday, as we will be learning the sport of Tri-golf.

Children across St George’s benefit from our school allotment and amazing outdoor spaces, if possible, please provide your child with a pair of wellies (to be kept at school).

Further information about school trips will be shared shortly.

If you have any questions or need to speak to us, please catch us at the end of the school day or make an appointment by phoning the school office.

Mrs Baldwin, Miss Dickinson and Mrs Beaumont