Literacy
We will continue to improve our Literacy skills through daily handwriting, grammar, punctuation and spelling sessions. Along with other texts, we will be reading: information texts, stories from other cultures, poetry and recounts. Reading informs our knowledge and understanding of how pieces of writing are constructed and develops our skills as writers. Throughout our extended writing we will be focusing on planning, drafting and reviewing our work, editing it for improvement.
Numeracy
In Numeracy we will be consolidating understanding of addition and subtraction using column methods and mental arithmetic strategies. Within this we will also be covering place value, which is essential in helping children to develop their understanding of addition and subtraction. As the term continues, we will be moving on to mental and written methods for multiplication and division; problems involving time and fractions.
Times tables:
By the end of Year 4 we hope that all children will have completed their times tables passport. To help them achieve this, can you please ensure that your child practises their times tables daily and that they bring their passports into school each day.
Science
Electricity – We will be learning to construct simple electrical circuits, identify whether a circuit will work or not, recognise the purpose of a switch and identify conductors, insulators and associated materials.
Sound - We will be learning: how sound is made; how it travels; patterns between the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibration produced; how sound is affected by distance.
Both topics will involve investigation, exploration, discussion, the testing and development of ideas.
Autumn Term Humanities Topic:
Indus Valley –Pupils will be learning about its location, inhabitants and historical context. We will examine what happened to the Indus Valley and the impact it has had on civilisation today.
India – This topic will look at a wide range of areas, including locating the UK and India on a map, describing a range of physical and human features of places using appropriate geographical terms, making geographical comparisons between localities studied, asking and responding to geographical questions and using maps and secondary sources. Preparation for this study happens through cross-curricular learning in Literacy.

Computing
This term children will learn to design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals including controlling or stimulating physical systems. They will learn to solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts. They will learn the importance of sequence, selection and repetition in programs. They will better understand variables and various forms of input and output. Pupils will use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs.
Religious Education:
Sikhism – we will be learning that a Gurdwara is a centre for worship, how it demonstrates values to Sikhs and understanding why the Guru Granth Sahib described as ‘The Everlasting
Guru’
Hinduism – looking at Hindu beliefs; the role of the god that takes many forms; what happens in a Hindu place of worship; how Hindus worship at home.
Art and DT
During the Autumn term we will be creating Indian masks based on the story of Rama and Sita.
The children will develop their own ideas and construct and mould the masks from paper-mache.
Additional details will be added through paint.
We will also be looking at Indus Valley seals (used for relief stamps) and trying to recreate our own designs inspired by real life examples.
PE Kits:
PE will take place on Monday for 4C and a Tuesday for 4B. Please ensure that your child has the appropriate kit in school and that it is clearly labelled. The children should bring their kits into school at the beginning of the half term and they should stay in school until the half term break when they can be taken home for washing.
Please remember that all children in Year 4 will be swimming every Monday and ensure that children bring the correct swimming kit: dark plain coloured swimming costume, towel and a swimming hat.

Additional Information
Uniform:
Pupils should wear a blue, yellow or white top (no motifs please) and appropriate skirts, shorts or trousers. Please also remember that the only jewellery allowed in school is small stud earrings.
Long hair should be tied back.
Water:
It is Sherington Scool policy to drink plenty of water throughout the day to aid concentration and learning. Your child should bring a plastic bottle to school as soon as possible which should be labelled and kept in the classroom.
Birthdays:
At Sherington we are proud of our Healthy School status. On your child’s birthday, you may wish to send in a pre-cut cake with napkins (no sweets or chocolates please). Alternatively, you could buy a book or a game for the classroom. If you are unsure please speak to your child’s class teacher. We thank you for your support.
Homework:
Homework will be set weekly using Mathletics and Reading Eggs. Your child will be given a set of spellings each week. The spelling quiz will take place every Friday. If your child is struggling with an aspect of their homework please encourage them to seek help from their teacher in advance of it being due in.
We have asked the children to ensure that they are reading for a minimum of 15 minutes each day and completing their reading record. Reading records along with times table passports need to be brought in every day.
School Trips
We are always looking for parents to help on our school trips. If you feel that this is something that you could help with, then please let your child’s teacher know.