ST. MARY’S C.E. PRIMARY SCHOOL
Teacher: Miss Doherty
SUBJECT
ENGLISH
What are we learning about this half term?
Year group: 4
Term: Summer 2013 – 1st half
What we will be learning this term.
How you can support your child at home.
We will begin by continuing our work on Stories from other cultures:
Stories from other cultures:
We will be reading stories set in Africa and identify the clues the
author has used to give us more information about that culture. We
will look at the tale of Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters and see how this
compares to other stories we are familiar with, comparing whether
the setting affects how the characters behave.
Explanation texts:
We will look at explanation texts, identifying the different
presentational and language features. We will then host our own
Dragon’s Den competition and create our own inventions, explaining
both orally and on paper how they work.
MATHS
SCIENCE
Maths topics to be studied this half term include:
- Finding fractions of numbers and shapes
- Finding fractions which total 1
- Finding equivalent fractions
- Add and subtract 3 digit numbers, sometimes in the context of
money
- Solving word problems using all 4 operations, sometimes using a
calculator
- Recognising negative numbers and values of money on a
calculator display
Habitats:
Why are red squirrels endangered?
The work on habitats will also link in with our trip to Formby beach,
where we will learn about two different habitats -the beach and
woodland. The trip will provide us with the opportunity to visit a red
squirrel woodland sanctuary and learn all about the squirrel’s
habitat. We will also learn about the beach habitat and find out
about the Natter jack Toad.
We will examine food chains and how particular creatures are
adapted to certain living environments e.g. beach and woodland.
This unit will also allow us to develop our research skills and will
consolidate earlier work on using keys and branching databases.
R.E.
CONNECTED
CURRICULUM
Connected Learning
Subjects:
Geography
Art
Application of Core
Skills:
English
Maths
ICT
PSHCE
Being a Sikh:
This half term we will learn about what it means to be a Sikh. We
will look at the Sikh naming ceremony and the founding of the
Khalsa. We will look at the amrit ceremony and learn about the five
K’s.
How is the eroding coastline at Formby affecting people, vegetation
and the environment?
We will continue our work on coasts and will learn about how British
coastlines are changing, from natural occurrences, such as erosion
and deposition, to man-made changes, such as the impact of
tourism.
As part of this unit we will visit Formby to find the answers to the
above question. On our return we will then use Photo story 3 (See
ICT unit) to combine text, images and sound to develop our own
information guide about the eroding coastline.
Read regularly to and with your child
emphasising expression and use of
punctuation.
Discuss child’s reading book e.g. Story – How
does it begin? How are characters
represented /described? Predictions of what
might happen next.
Discussing reasons why an author has started
a new paragraph.
Help with homework - – Discuss VCOP with
your child. V - Have you chosen the best
word for that sentence? C - Could you use an
alternative connective? O - Could we start
that sentence in a different way to make it
more interesting? P - Read over and check
homework for a range of punctuation e.g.?! “
.A,
Practise times tables (spoken and written)
and other mental maths skills e.g. Adding and
subtracting three-digit numbers.
Point out measurements, fractions, decimals
and percentages in everyday life e.g. in the
supermarket, negative numbers on a
thermometer
Use Mathletics at home, setting challenges
and increasing levels.
Visit a park / nature reserve with your child.
Discuss all the different places where animals
live. How are these places different? What
types of plants / animals live there? How are
they suited to their environment?
Research the Red squirrel and Natter jack
Toad.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ag
es/8_9/habitats.shtml
Discuss with your child how different religions
have different beliefs and traditions to
Christianity. Discuss how we choose our
names and how Christians can become full
members of Christianity through confirmation.
Discuss symbols belonging to different groups
and what these symbols represent.
http://resources.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/homework/religion/sikhism.
html
Look at holiday photos of coastlines, looking
at the different shapes made by the rocks and
sand. Discuss the opportunities for tourists
along that area of the coastline e.g. hotels,
restaurants, pier etc.
What is erosion? Why is it a concern for the
British coastline?
The trip will also allow us find about more about different habitats
(see science unit). We will produce art work around the theme of
the beach (see art unit)
Art
We will use the Digital media Dazzle to produce our own coast
Look at examples of Pointillism art work and
P.E.
artwork in the style of Pointillism artist Seurat. We will then use the
program to create artwork in the style of Pop art artist, Andy
Warhol, using artefacts collected from the beach.
examples of Andy Warhol’s work.
Tri Golf:
Pupils will learn basic putting and chipping skills and apply these
through a series of activities. They will use activity cards to set up
and understand the rules of activities and then work within their
groups to plan their own activities.
Watch golf with your child, discussing skills
and rules of the game.
Discuss the importance of clear rules and
instructions when playing games.
Watch sports with your child (either live or on
TV). Draw attention to how players control
their body movements.
Dodge ball:
Pupils will learn the rules of dodge ball. They will develop skills in
teamwork, agility and coordination
MUSIC
ICT
http://kids1.tate.org.uk/blog/?p=242
Exploring descriptive sounds:
During this unit we will continue to explore how music can be used
to create pictures in our minds. This half term we will be focusing on
using music to represent different animals. We will be developing
our understanding of pitch and rhythm and looking further at tempo
and duration in music.
Listen to music with your child. Discuss what
it makes you think of and how it makes you
feel. What is it that makes us feel that way?
(E.g. speed, volume, type of instrument.)
What instruments would you use to describe
particular animals? Why have you chosen
that?
Control:
Download Photo Story 3 at home for children
to use.
We will continue our work on control.
We will use software to investigate different commands to direct an
onscreen animal along a path which has been designed by the
children. The children will create a sequence of commands to move
the animal. They are creating their own computer programme for
others to use. It will require the children to develop skills in accuracy
to create the correct sequence for their animal.
Photo story:
Microsoft's Photo Story is a Windows program that lets children
create presentations out of your photos and images. Pupils will learn
how to crop, rotate, and edit pictures; add captions and titles; and
add sound effects, narration, and background music. The will create
their own presentation about Formby (See connected curriculum)
SPANISH
Our Spanish lessons with our Language Assistant will continue this
half term and this language will be reinforced throughout the week.
This half term we will also be introducing ourselves to our Spanish
pen pals.
Encourage your child to use the vocabulary
taught and help to foster cultural awareness
through discussion and media.
Additional information:

Please read with your child every day (the reading book provided by school will support you in this). Please ensure that your child’s
reading book and reading journal are signed and brought in every day and that the reading journal is kept up to date. Books cannot
be taken out of the library without the barcode in the front of the reading journal.

Homework (usually Literacy and Numeracy), in addition to what is detailed above, will be set on Thursday, to be returned by the
following Monday or earlier if possible.

Spellings are set on a Monday in their small spelling book and tested on a Friday. Their spelling book must be in school every day. I
will assess the children before they see the spellings. We will then look at the spelling patterns together and the children will need to
practise their spellings at home. The children should not just learn the spellings, but they should understand the meaning and
context of the spellings (encourage your child to put their spellings into sentences). When I assess the children again I will record the
progress they have made e.g. if on their first assessment they get 5 correct and then on the second assessment they get 9 correct,
they have made a progress of 4. If your child has made maximum progress, an L symbol will be given to show they have reached
their limit. I will discuss the progress the children have made with them. I am looking for progress and challenge, not just getting full
marks every week as a matter of process.

PE is on Tuesday and Wednesday. Please can you ensure that your child has his/her kit in on these days and does not take the kit
home until the holidays unless absolutely necessary. Children will need both their indoor and outdoor kits this half term; a plain white
t-shirt, plain black shorts and jogging pants and a plain jumper. No logos or football kits please.

If any parents wish to help in class, this could be with reading, art or any particular talents you may have please contact me and we
will arrange a suitable time and activity. Your help is always greatly received.
*Please note that, as stated in our behaviour policy and as discussed at our Open House meeting and the recent Behaviour Policy Parent
Workshop, children who do not bring in their PE kit, spelling book, or hand in their homework on time will be given a yellow card. This is a
little reminder to the children that they are responsible for their property and to develop independence in organisation skills. I appreciate your
support in this matter. We understand that from time to time there will be exceptional circumstances preventing your child from completing
their homework. If this is the case, please contact me so that we can make alternative arrangements together and a yellow card will not be
given in such cases. 