Autumn 1
What will Class 4 be learning in Autumn 1?
Autumn 1 is going to be an exciting term of learning and discovery in Class 4! Below you will find information about each subject and strategies that can be used at home to support your child.
In English, we will be exploring Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo, developing our vocabulary, reading comprehension and writing skills as we discover the adventures of this legendary warrior. Children get an opportunity to discuss legends and the importance of heroic poetry in early European literature. They go on to create a number of varied written outcomes using the text as a starting point including recounts, formal letters, dialogue, descriptions, obituaries and writing their own epic, heroic narrative using various poetic devices. References will be made to the original manuscript throughout.
As we begin our exciting Beowulf topic, we would love for children to continue talking about the story at home. Please use the question hand provided to encourage your child to share their thoughts, make predictions and explain their ideas about the characters and events.
There are no right or wrong answers to many of these questions — the most important thing is to talk, listen and encourage your child to support their ideas with evidence from the story. This will help develop their vocabulary, comprehension and confidence when discussing what they have read.
In Reading, Class 4 will be diving into the exciting and imaginative world of Lilliput by Sam Gayton. As the story unfolds, Lily and Finn encounter danger, friendship, giants and unexpected challenges, giving us plenty of opportunities to explore characters, settings and themes while developing our love of reading.
During our weekly guided reading sessions, children will read and discuss sections of the text together, developing their fluency, vocabulary and understanding. Following each guided reading session, we will answer VIPERS questions to develop a range of important reading skills:
V – Vocabulary: Exploring the meaning and use of new and unfamiliar words.
I – Inference: Using clues from the text to work out what characters may be thinking, feeling or why they behave in certain ways.
P – Prediction: Thinking about what might happen next and using evidence from the text to support our ideas.
E – Explanation: Explaining our thoughts and answers using evidence from what we have read.
R – Retrieval: Finding and recalling information directly from the text.
S – Summarising: Identifying the most important information and explaining what has happened in a section of the story.
Our weekly VIPERS work will encourage children to look closely at the text, justify their ideas and become confident, independent readers. We will gradually develop our ability to answer questions in greater detail, using evidence from the book to support our thinking.
We would encourage parents and carers to use the VIPERS question hand provided when reading with their child at home. Asking a few simple questions about the story can help children develop their vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval and summarising skills, while encouraging them to think more deeply about what they have read. You don't need to ask every question — simply choose a few that encourage your child to talk about the text, explain their ideas and use evidence from the story to support their answers. Most importantly, enjoy sharing books together and encouraging a love of reading!
In Maths, we will develop our understanding of place value and Roman numerals, learning to recognise the value of digits and represent numbers in different ways. We will also develop our ability to round numbers and use this skill to estimate and check our answers. As the term progresses, we will focus on strengthening our multiplication and division methods, building accuracy, fluency and confidence when solving calculations. Alongside our daily Maths lessons, we will complete Fluent in 5 every morning, giving children regular opportunities to practise their calculation skills and improve their recall of multiplication facts. We will also take part in the Mastering Number programme daily, which will help develop children's number sense, mathematical fluency and ability to reason and explain their thinking. These regular opportunities to practise will help children become increasingly confident, resilient and independent mathematicians.
The Maths knowledge organisers provided can be a really useful tool to support your child’s learning at home. They include key vocabulary, facts and examples that your child can refer to when completing homework or practising their maths skills. The yellow organiser is for Year 4 and the purple organiser is for Year 5, so please use the one that matches your child’s year group to help reinforce the learning taking place in school. Below are also links to websites to support your child's multiplication and division:
Maths Games for KS2: designed by a teacher for teachers - Mathsframe
Hit the Button - Quick fire maths practise for 6-11 year olds - Topmarks
In Science, we will investigate the power of forces and explore how forces can make objects move, stop, speed up, slow down or change direction. We will learn that a force is a push or a pull and investigate different types of forces, including gravity, friction, air resistance and water resistance. Children will explore how contact and non-contact forces act on objects and consider how forces can affect the way objects move. We will use scientific vocabulary such as force, gravity, friction, resistance, mass, weight, surface, motion, push, pull, contact force and non-contact force throughout our learning.
Through a range of practical investigations and fair tests, we will make predictions, identify variables, record and measure results, and use evidence to draw conclusions. We will investigate how changing factors such as the surface, mass or shape of an object can affect the force acting upon it. Children will be encouraged to make careful observations, ask scientific questions and explain their findings using appropriate scientific vocabulary. Our aim is to develop curious, resilient scientists who can think critically, investigate scientifically and use evidence to explain how and why things happen.
Please use the Science knowledge organiser about forces to support your child’s learning at home. It provides key vocabulary, facts and information that will help children to recap what we have been learning in class and become more confident when talking about forces, gravity, friction, air resistance and water resistance. Even a few minutes discussing the vocabulary or asking your child to explain what they know can help to reinforce their learning and understanding.
During PE, we will develop our fundamental netball skills and begin to build our understanding of how to play effectively as part of a team. Children will practise passing, catching, throwing, footwork, movement and spatial awareness, developing greater control, accuracy and confidence when handling the ball. We will learn different types of passes, including the chest pass, bounce pass and shoulder pass, and develop our ability to move into space to receive the ball.
As our skills develop, we will begin to apply them in small-sided games and competitive situations, learning how to use attacking and defending strategies effectively. Children will explore the importance of marking, intercepting, creating space, changing direction and communicating with teammates. We will also develop our understanding of the basic rules of netball, including footwork, obstruction, contact and positional responsibilities.
Throughout our PE lessons, we will focus on teamwork, communication, sportsmanship and resilience. Children will be encouraged to support one another, listen to advice, reflect on their performance and persevere when developing new skills. Our aim is to help every child become a confident, cooperative and resilient player who understands the importance of working together and showing respect for others.
In History, we will travel back in time to explore the fascinating world of the Anglo-Saxons and Scots. We will begin by developing our understanding of chronology, creating and using timelines to place key events and periods in the correct order. We will explore when the Anglo-Saxons arrived in Britain, where they came from and how their arrival changed life in Britain following the end of Roman rule. Children will develop their understanding of important historical vocabulary, including chronology, settlement, invasion, migration, kingdom, monarch, ruler, hierarchy, power, tribe and artefact.
A particular focus of our learning will be hierarchy and power within Anglo-Saxon society. We will investigate how Anglo-Saxon society was organised, from kings and nobles through to warriors, craftsmen, farmers and enslaved people, and consider how wealth, land and status influenced people's lives. We will explore how different Anglo-Saxon kingdoms developed and how powerful rulers competed for control.
We will become historical detectives, using a range of primary and secondary sources to find out about the past. Children will examine and interpret artefacts such as weapons, jewellery, coins, tools, pottery and objects discovered through archaeological excavations. We will consider what these artefacts can tell us about Anglo-Saxon homes, beliefs, clothing, work, warfare and everyday life, while also thinking carefully about the limitations of historical evidence. We will learn that historians must question, compare and evaluate evidence rather than simply accepting that every source tells us the complete story.
Throughout the topic, children will develop their ability to identify significant events, sequence dates, compare periods and explain cause and consequence. We will use timelines to help us understand how Anglo-Saxon Britain changed over hundreds of years and make links between important events and historical figures. By the end of the unit, children will have developed a clearer understanding of how the Anglo-Saxons and Scots shaped Britain and how historians use evidence and artefacts to build a picture of the past.
Our Anglo-Saxons and Scots knowledge organiser is a useful resource to support your child’s learning at home. Please encourage your child to look through it regularly, as revisiting the key facts, vocabulary and important dates will help them to build and strengthen their knowledge throughout our topic.
In RE, we will explore the question “Where and when do some people of faith pray?” We will investigate the importance of prayer and worship in the lives of people from different religious traditions and explore why prayer can be an important part of someone's faith. Children will learn that people may pray in a variety of places, including places of worship such as a church, mosque, synagogue, mandir or gurdwara, as well as at home or in other quiet and meaningful spaces.
We will explore when and why people pray, considering how prayer may be part of everyday life or connected to particular occasions, festivals, celebrations and times of need. We will learn about different forms of prayer, including spoken and silent prayer, individual and communal prayer, and consider the different ways people may prepare for prayer. We will also explore the importance of respect, reflection and community within religious practices.
Children will have opportunities to look at and discuss religious artefacts, images and sources to help them understand how prayer is practised. We will develop our understanding of key vocabulary such as prayer, worship, faith, belief, devotion, reflection, sacred, community and place of worship.
Throughout our learning, children will be encouraged to ask thoughtful questions, compare different religious practices and explain their ideas respectfully. We will recognise that people within the same faith may have different experiences and practices and that it is important to listen to and respect the beliefs of others. Our aim is to develop children's knowledge, understanding and respect for religious diversity, while encouraging them to reflect on the importance of beliefs and practices in people's lives.
In Art, we will be exploring form through drawing, developing our ability to observe, sketch and represent objects accurately. We will investigate how artists use line, shape, tone, texture, proportion, perspective and shading to create the illusion of form and three-dimensionality. Children will practise looking carefully at objects from different viewpoints and will experiment with techniques such as hatching, cross-hatching, blending and tonal shading to show light and dark areas. We will explore how the position and direction of lines can help to create depth and form, while encouraging children to develop their own artistic style. Throughout the unit, we will focus on refining our skills, evaluating our work and making improvements as we develop confidence in drawing.
In PSHE, we will explore the question “How can I make healthy choices?” Children will consider the different factors that contribute to a healthy lifestyle, including physical health, mental wellbeing, nutrition, exercise, sleep, hygiene and relationships. We will explore how the choices we make can affect our health and wellbeing and consider how we can develop positive habits. Children will also learn about the importance of making informed decisions and recognising when they may need to seek help or advice from a trusted adult. Through discussion and reflection, we will develop our understanding of self-care, resilience, responsibility and personal wellbeing, encouraging children to recognise that small, positive choices can make a big difference.
In Computing, we will learn about effective searching and how to find reliable information online. Children will develop their understanding of how search engines work and learn how to choose appropriate keywords and search terms to improve their results. We will investigate how different searches can produce different results and consider how to identify information that is reliable, accurate and trustworthy. Children will also learn about the importance of checking information across different sources rather than assuming that everything they find online is correct. Alongside developing their digital skills, we will reinforce the importance of online safety, including protecting personal information and making sensible choices when using the internet.
In Music, we will explore how music can be adapted and transposed to create different versions of a piece. Children will develop their understanding of pitch, rhythm, melody, tempo and dynamics, experimenting with how changing these musical elements can alter the way a piece sounds. We will explore how a melody can be moved into a different key while retaining its musical structure and will develop our ability to listen carefully and recognise changes in pitch. Children will have opportunities to perform, compose and adapt musical ideas individually and collaboratively. We will encourage children to develop their confidence as performers, listen carefully to others and evaluate how effectively their musical choices communicate an idea or mood.
In French, we will build our confidence with everyday vocabulary by learning the days of the week, months of the year and numbers up to 31. Children will practise listening to, speaking, reading and writing these key words and phrases, developing their pronunciation, vocabulary and conversational skills. We will use games, songs, repetition and practical activities to help children recall the vocabulary accurately and apply it in different contexts. We will also begin to use our new vocabulary to talk about dates, birthdays and events, helping us to develop our ability to construct simple sentences and communicate confidently in French.
