YEAR 4
Summer Term
AROUND THE WORLD IN
EIGHTY DAYS
Useful information:
Welcome:
Our themed curriculum topic this term is
‘Around the World in Eighty Days’. The
children will be learning about this through
a range of topics and subject areas. Our
themed curriculum covers the History,
Geography, Art and Music aspects of the
National Curriculum with a focus on key
English and Maths skills. The theme of
‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ will focus
on developing children’s understanding of
the wider world, including human and
physical geography, art and music from
different countries and how plants and
animals adapt to different environments.
Subjects including Science, ICT, DT, RE,
PSHCE and PE will continue to be taught
independently, although cross-curricular
links will be made.
Our themed curriculum ensures that
children are taught the key skills and
knowledge from the National Curriculum.
In addition, it provides opportunities for
pupils to ask questions about what they
would like to know, enabling greater
engagement in the curriculum and
opportunities to stretch and enthuse our
children.
Planned educational visit
We are planning one trip this term to
develop children’s understanding of
different environments and how animals
have adapted to them. Our trip to Kew
Gardens will take place this term.
PE:
Lime have P.E on a Monday and a Tuesday
and Pine have P.E on a Tuesday and Thursday
each week. Children will be developing their
tennis and athletics skills this term so must
have a pair of suitable trainers in school to
enable them to take part.
Please ensure that your child has all items in
their PE kit to ensure they can take part fully
in each session.
Uniform:
We want all children to be proud of
themselves and being a member of our
school.
Children should ensure they are dressed
smartly at all times in the correct uniform.
Girls’ uniform
Green sweatshirt with school logo
White or green polo shirt with school logo
Mid grey skirt or uniform trousers
Black, white or grey socks or tights
Black flat heeled shoes (laced or buckled: no
slip on shoes)
Optional items
Green cardigan
Mid grey shorts
Green checked or striped summer dress
Boys’ uniform
Green sweatshirt with school logo
White or green polo shirt with school logo
Mid grey uniform trousers
Black, white or grey socks
Black flat heeled shoes (laced or buckled: no
slip on shoes)
Optional items
Mid grey shorts
Jewellery
No jewellery other than one gold or silver
stud per ear. A watch may be worn. During PE
studs must be covered and the watch
removed.
Please note: Hair that touches the shoulder
must be tied back.
Communication:
If you have anything that you wish to talk to us about please approach us at the end of the
day or contact the school office if you would prefer to make an appointment.
Theme
Overview:
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Use a range of sources to compare and contrast different world climates.
Explain the difference between climate and weather.
Investigate how animals are adapted to their environment.
Choreograph a dance to form part of a carnival.
Explain how our lives are similar and different to children in other parts of
the world.
Design a 3D umbrella to represent different countries around the world.
Use clay to make a Spanish tile.
Compose a song using Chinese pentatonic scales.
Educational Visits:
Plan a summer holiday to a different country or a different part of the UK.
Visit the Natural History Museum to look at animals and plants from different
countries.
Things to do at home:
 Create an information leaflet about a place you have visited or plan to visit.
Include information about the climate, the landscape, the people who live
there and what plants and animals you would find.
 Find out which plants and animals live in Holmer Green. Plant seeds in your
garden to create an environment that insects and other animals would like
to visit.
 Find out about food from other cultures. Use ingredients from around the
world to cook a new recipe.
 Keep a recycling diary over time and challenge your family to recycle more.
Useful Websites:
www.recyclenow.com
http://kids.nationalgeographic.co.uk/kids/places/find/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/habitats.shtml
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/science/living/habitats.html
Literacy
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Traditional Tales
Take One Poet: Benjamin Zephaniah
Discussion
Explanation
Vocabulary building
Take One Book: The Firework Maker’s Daughter
Books to enjoy:
80 Days around the World: Jules Verne
The Butterfly Lion: Michael Morpurgo
The Firework Maker’s Daughter: Philip Pullman
National Geographic Wild Animal Atlas: National Geographic
This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World.
Things to do at home:
Read stories from other cultures and write a book review, detailing how lives in
another country may be different to ours.
Write a poem about the weather.
Create a leaflet explaining how the weather differs in different countries.
Create a fact file for a country of your choice, including details of climate,
weather, landscape, animals and their habitats.
Useful Websites:
www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk follow the English link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/english/writing/explanation/read/1/
http://www.poetry4kids.com/
www.worldoftales.com
Numeracy
Objectives being covered this term
 Number, place value and negative numbers including reading
comparing numbers beyond 1000 and rounding numbers to the
nearest 10, 100 and 1000.
 Mental addition and subtraction including estimating and using
inverse operations to check calculations.
 Written addition and subtraction including adding and subtracting
numbers with up to four digits and solving two step word
problems.
 Mental and written multiplication and division including recalling
multiplication and division facts for tables up to 12x12 as well as
recognising factor pairs.
 Fractions including counting up and down in hundredths and solve
problems which include finding fractions of amounts.
 Capacity including converting between different units of measure
as well as estimating and comparing different measures.
 Area and perimeter including measuring and calculating both the
area and perimeter of a rectilinear figure.
 Time by converting between analogue and digital and 12 and 24
hour clocks as well as reading the clock to the nearest minute.
 2D shapes including identifying different angles and lines of
symmetry.
 Statistics including presenting interpreting data.
Numeracy
Methods:
Things to do at home:
Mugs
You need a 1 litre measuring jug and a selection of different mugs, cups or beakers.
Ask your child to fill a mug with water.
Pour the water carefully into the jug.
Read the measurement to the nearest 10 millilitres.
Write the measurement on a piece of paper.
Do this for each mug or cup.
Now ask your child to write all the measurements in order
Number game 2
Put some dominoes face down. Shuffle them. Each choose a domino.
Multiply the two numbers on your domino.
Whoever has the biggest answer keeps the two dominoes.
The winner is the person with the most dominoes when they have all been used.
Dicey division
You each need a piece of paper. Each of you should choose five numbers from the list below and
write them on your paper.
5 6 8 9 12 15 20 30 40 50
Take turns to roll a dice. If the number you roll divides exactly into one of your numbers, then cross
it out, e.g. you roll a 4, it goes into 8, cross out 8.
If you roll a 1, miss that go. If you roll a 6 have an extra go.
The first to cross out all five of their numbers wins.
Useful Websites:
www.counton.org has lots of ideas and games to play.
www.learn.co.uk help for all children with reading, maths and revision.
www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk follow the maths zone link
www.nrich.maths.org.uk for more challenging problems and puzzles!
www.mathszone.co.uk many interactive maths games and activities
Science
Learning Overview:
States of Matter
 To compare and group materials together, according to whether they
are solids, liquids or gases.
 Understand how to use a Thermometer to measure temperature
change.
 To know that heating can cause melting and cooling can cause
solidifying.
 Understand evaporation and know that evaporation is faster in warmer
conditions.
 To identify the part played by evaporation and condensation in the
water cycle.
Living things and their habitats
 To explore and use classification keys to help group, identify and name a
variety of living things in their local and wider environment.
 To understand the breadth of variety in flowering plants.
 To know that animals can be grouped into those with and without
backbones.
 To understand how to use a decision tree to classify or identify an
animal.
 To discuss examples of how changes to habitats affect living things.
 To reflect on the impact of human activity on the environment.
Things to do at home
 Investigate the plants and animals that live in your garden. Think about what
conditions they like.
 Create an information booklet of the plants and animals in your local area.
 Help your adult make a cup of tea. Talk about what happens to the sugar.
 Test materials at home to find which of them dissolve in water.
 Make chocolate nests. Time how long it takes to melt the chocolate.
Useful Websites:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/4_11/site/science.shtml
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/
http://bpes.bp.com/collection/?id=1222