Class 4 - Autumn 2009

This term, the children in Class 4 will have a really varied curriculum with lots of different topics and chances for cross-curricular activities.

In Literacy we will be starting off our non-fiction work with instructions and recipes, and looking at language that should be used to write more complex instructions.  Our Literacy work will then move on to researching and reading novels by Charles Dickens.  Our first focus will be 'Oliver Twist', then we will move on to looking at 'A Christmas Carol' nearer the end of term.  During the year, the children will be focusing on writing and they will use VCOP to help them to improve their skills.  Spellings will be don every week- new spelling lists are given on Mondays and the test will take place on Friday mornings.  Spelling lists are also available in the Home Learning pages of this site.

In Maths we will begin with counting, partitioning and calculating.  This will involve revisiting ordering and sorting numbers to ensure confidence with place value which will aide the children with other mathematical work that the children will encounter this year. Our second topic of the term is 'Securing number facts and understanding shape'.  During this topic the children will investigate and classify different triangles and rectangles.  The children will be given the opportunity to visualise, describe and to draw and measure for 2 weeks.  This unit gives the children experience in constructing simple graphs and the opportunity to recognise that graphs are used as visual representations of data.  After half term we will have 2 more units; 'Calculating, measuring and understanding shape' and 'Securing number facts'.

During this term in Science the children will learn about Our Earth.  We will have a look at the different planets in the solar system and the earth in detail.  We will do lots of practical experiments involving how the plants move around the sun.  After half term, our topic will be Keeping Healthy.

We Will begin our Humanities with a History topic about The Victorians.  We will be finding out about Queen Victoria and the things that happened during her reign including houses, the clothes, people's jobs and about Crystal Palace.  The topic links well with our Literacy work about Charles Dickens.

In D.T. for the whole term we will be completing a project about Puppets.  This will involve research about different types of puppets and how they work.  We will then move on to designing our own string puppets and making them.

We are focusing on pencil and paper techniques in art including drawing with perspective and using different grade pencils. We will also focus on observational drawing. The children will be taught how to shade their pictures and include details in their sketches.

In Music we will be investigating rhythms, creating our own and putting our rhythms together as a class.  The topic is called 'Journey In To Space' which links well with our Science topic.  After half term we will link our work in Music with our Victorian topic.  We will learn some games and songs from the Victorian period.

Finally in R.E. this term we will focus on the Old Testament which includes looking at different stories and events.