Year 4

Welcome to Year 4

Mrs Cornish is the class teacher and Mrs Murrill is the classroom assistant and will be supporting in class every morning.

Year 4 is the second year of Lower Key Stage 2 and we continue to build upon the foundations developed in Year 3 whilst preparing the children for Upper Key Stage 2. The children will be encouraged to continue to develop their independence and further develop their responsibility for their personal belongings, learning in school and with their home learning.

Year 4 is a very exciting and busy year where children will be continuing to develop a range of skills and knowledge alongside discovering and learning lots of exciting new things. The children will be encouraged to develop their 'Behaviour for Learning'. We will work very hard but also have lots of fun learning together.

This year we will cover a variety of skills, knowledge and understanding including the following topics:

The Ancient Egyptians
The Anglo-Saxons
Digestion and teeth
Persuasive writing
Pablo Picasso

The children will continue to have the opportunity to be involved with many pupil groups around the school.

During the spring term, pupils will be attending swimming lessons on Thursdays as part of their PE curriculum. We are also looking forward to our museum visit in January.

We look forward to helping Year 4 develop and grow.

Welcome to Year 4 Parent Presentation

New to year group 2024

Year 4 Curriculum Overviews

Year 4 Reading Spines

100 books to read before you leave Year 4!

Times Table Workshop 2026

Mock test website

Times Tables Pop Songs

Supermovers

Government information about the MTC

Year 4 - 2025/2026

Week beginning Monday 9th March 2026 LI: To investigate changes in matter

In science this week, Year 4 carried out experiments to explore changes in states of matter and were looking to see how quickly ice would melt when subjected to different environments.

Week beginning Monday 2nd March 2026

WORLD BOOK DAY CELEBRATIONS

This week, Year 4 enjoyed celebrating World Book Day. We shared books with some of the Year 4 parents, presented our memoirs to our classmates, took part in the CBBC World Book Day Live Lesson and had a "book tasting" session in the hall. We also shared book recommendations with the class.

Week beginning Monday 23rd February 2026 LI: To name parts of the body in French

In French this week, we learnt the names of various body parts and used this new vocabulary to play games and sing songs.

Week beginning Monday 9th February 2026 LI: To paint canopic jars

This week, we were able to paint our canopic jars and get them ready to take home.

Week Beginning Monday 2nd February 2026 LI: To make an electric circuit

In Science, Year 4 have been learning about electricity and creating their own working circuits. This week, the children explored conductors and insulators. They used a variety of materials to help with this.

Week Beginning Monday 26th January 2026 LI: To make canopic jars from clay

This week, Year 4 became sculptors! The children made canopic jars from clay and sculpted beautiful lids inspired by ancient Egyptian artworks. They are now drying and in a future art lesson, we will add paint and details to the jars and their decorative lids. We will share the final result soon!

Week beginning Monday 19th January 2026 LI: To recall times tables facts

This week, Year 4 were taught the formal method of multiplication. To help with this, we recalled times tables facts by playing board games and only being able to move our counters if we got the answer right!

Week beginning Monday 12th January 2026 LI: To rehearse persuasive sentences

In English, we are looking at the persuasive devices used in advertising and promotional materials. Next week, we will be writing our own leaflets persuading people to go to the Fitzwilliam Museum. To prepare for this we did a "Conscience Alley" activity and had to think of reasons Captain Purplebeard and his pirates should or shouldn't go looking for treasure. Half of the class tried to convince the pirates to stay on dry land and the other half tried to convince them to set sail. The adults were the pirates and walked along the "alley" whilst we took it in turns to persuade them. It was good fun and got everyone talking! The "pirates" were scared of krakens and getting scurvy so decided not to go!

Friday 9th January - Fitzwilliam Museum Trip

Year 4 had an amazing day at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge as an introduction to our history topic for this term. The pupils were so appreciative of the architecture of the building, noticing the ornate ceilings, that our guide took us on a detour to the stunning main entrance of the museum. There, the children marvelled at the carved pillars, mosaics and statues of Greek gods and goddesses. We then went to the Ancient Egyptian galleries where we learnt about Rameses III and explored a whole host of artefacts, including an actual mummy! Luckily for us, there is an extra exhibition about Ancient Egypt in the museum at the moment, so we were able to explore that too. The children were really engaged and behaved beautifully - we even received compliments from members of the public who were also visiting the museum!

After lunch, we spent time in the art studio and painted designs inspired by what we'd seen on papyrus. It was a fantastic start to our Ancient Egyptian history topic!

Week beginning Monday 5th January 2026 - Wellbeing Workshop

Year 4 had a fantastic morning being welcomed to the new term with a wellbeing workshop with Stevenage Sporting Futures.

They explored how the food we eat and the ways we move our bodies can affect how we feel, as well as learning about positive body image and looking after ourselves. A really engaging and thoughtful session that encouraged healthy, confident minds and bodies—thank you to Stevenage Sporting Futures for a great workshop!

Week beginning Monday 15th December LI: To perform

This half term, we have been busy in our dance lessons with Mr Sapsead, learning two dances for our Christmas performance. We have also learnt the songs to accompany the dances with Mrs Cornish in our music lessons. We have combined the two to create some festive numbers that we hope you will enjoy on Thursday.

Week beginning Monday 8th December LI: To stitch a festive decoration

In DT with Mrs Murrill, we have been learning a variety of stitches and designing Christmas stockings or other seasonal decorations. On Tuesday, we got to make our final piece. We used appliqué and decorative stitches as well as sewing sequins and buttons to make festive designs on our front piece of fabric. Then, we stitched two pieces of fabric together to create stockings or cushions. We would like to thank Olivia's nan - Mrs Williams - for coming in to help us.

Week beginning Monday 1st December LI: To use fronted adverbials in English

In English, we are learning about explanation texts. To help us to make our writing more interesting, we had discussions about how things worked and played a "Connect 4" game using fronted adverbials to give us ideas on how to make our writing more engaging for the reader.

Week beginning Monday 24th November: Stevenage Better Visit

Alison and Lewis from Stevenage Borough Council came in and spoke to the children about the Council’s current projects to regenerate Stevenage. Some of the projects are to modernise transport facilities, to increase the number of people living and working in town to boost demand for local services, to maximise business/educational facilities and to introduce welcoming new green spaces. The children then designed their own posters showing their ideas of regeneration in Stevenage.

Week beginning Monday 17th November LI: To use classification keys to identify living things in the local environment

Year 4 explored the school grounds, looking under logs, in bushes and in the sensory garden to find invertebrates. The children enjoyed collecting worms and bugs and classifying them.

Week beginning Monday 10th November LI: To understand area

This week in maths, we have been learning about area. We used sticky notes to make a variety of shapes with the same area.

Week Beginning Monday 3rd November 2025 LI: To understand the needs of settlers

This week, we began our geography unit about village settlers. In groups, the children were given 12 cards to group into three categories: things settlers need, things they would like and things that are not important. Although there were some differing opinions, everyone agreed that food, water and shelter were things settlers would need when choosing where to settle.

Week Beginning Monday 20th October 2025 - LI: To create self portraits in the style of Picasso.

This half term, year 4 have been learning about the different periods in Picasso's art work - Blue, Rose and Abstract. They have learnt about proportions of the face and created their own self portraits. They then used oil pastels and paints to recreate each period of art.

Week Beginning Monday 13th October - LI: To observe and conclude from an experiment

Over the past week, year 4 have been observing the effect that different drinks have on our teeth. They conducted an experiment where they chose 6 drinks to place eggs in for a week and observe the changes that happen to the shell. We used eggs as the shell is similar to the enamel on our teeth.

Class conclusion:

Even though orange juice is made from fruit, it can still damage your teeth by staining them yellow.

Water and milk are both very good for your teeth as they did not stain or damage the egg at all.

Coke was one of the worst drinks for your teeth because it cracked the egg badly and stained it a dark brown.

Wine is not good for your teeth as it can stain them greyish and it can affect the texture of your teeth. It also softened the shell which made some of it disintegrate.

Least effect - Most effect

water, milk, orange juice, coffee, wine, coke

Week Beginning Monday 22nd September 2025 - LI: To investigate Roman numerals

This week, year 4 began exploring Roman numerals by using base 10 to represent the symbols for different numbers. They used lots of oracy skills to discuss the correct way to make each number and the rules that are followed.

Week Beginning Monday 15th September 2025 - LI: To use a variety of sources to prove what we know

In History, we have been looking at the arrival of Christianity in Britain. We had a gallery of a variety of sources to prove theories as to how Christianity grew in Britain during Anglo Saxon times. We then carried out some extra research from books in our reading corner.

Week Beginning Monday 8th September 2025 - LI: To choreograph a simple dance

This week in dance, year 4 were put into groups of 5 to choreograph their own dance to 'Breakaway'. They listened to the lyrics carefully to help come up with dance moves and worked collaboratively as a group. They then performed their dances to the rest of the class.

Week Beginning Monday 7th July 2025 - LI: To choreograph a gymnastics sequence

This summer term, year 4 have been learning about balancing, rolling and jumping. This week, the children created their own routines which incorporated lots of their new skills. Each routine included at least one jump, roll, individual balance, partner balance and inverted movement. The children then confidently performed their routines to the rest of the class.

Week Beginning Monday 30th June 2025 - LI: To role play characters' thoughts and feelings

This week, the children were learning about African stories and were focusing on 'Mufaro's beautiful daughters'. They got into role as the two daughters and father and shared the thoughts of the character that they were playing.

Week Beginning Monday 23rd June - Wymondley Woods

This week, Year 4 went to Wymondley Woods for a residential trip away. The children arrived on Tuesday afternoon where they explored the grounds, played a game where they had to unscramble the letters that they found and were assigned bedrooms to sleep in. The children had pizza for dinner which was enjoyed by everyone! They then had a camp fire with songs and smores in the evening before heading off to bed. On Wednesday, Year 4 woke up nice and early and enjoyed lots of toast and cereal for breakfast. They then headed down to the woods where they participated in a scavenger hunt. In the middle of the woods, the children then began building their own dens using logs and sticks from their surroundings. Some dens had dance floors or conservatories while others even made their own carpet. At lunch time, the children headed back to make their own wraps. They then played on the trim trail, played parachute games, created their own leaf printing on white sheets with hammers and played giant noughts and crosses. The children and adults all had a wonderful time.

Week Beginning Monday 2nd June 2025 - LI: To investigate how sound travels

This week, Year 4 started their new topic in Science - Sound. They looked at some different instruments and learnt how vibrations make the sound. They then created their own string telephones to investigate whether sound travels better over longer or shorter distances and whether the string is pulled tight or held loosely. They concluding that the sound was loudest when the string was short and held tightly.

Week Beginning Monday 19th May 2025 - LI: To make a buzz game using a circuit

In DT, year 4 designed their own buzz game. They then decorated a yoghurt or ice cream tub with coloured paper and drew a theme. The children then used their knowledge from their science unit 'electricity' to create a working circuit inside which attached to a handle to create a working buzz game.

Week Beginning Monday 12th May 2025 - LI: To investigate melting

In Science this week, year 4 were trying to find out the melting points of different materials. They planned their investigation last week and chose six materials to test. They placed these in foil trays on top of a hot water bottle and observed the materials. When the materials began to melt, the children measured the temperature. We then compared these to the temperatures found by scientists by researching online. We found that the ice melted fastest as predicted and had a melting point of 0 degrees celsius, whereas the fruit pastel and marshmallow didn't melt as their melting points were higher than the temperature of the hot water bottle.

Week Beginning Monday 5th May - LI: To use co-ordinates in computer programming

In coding, Year 4 have been learning to use IF statements. Today they had to apply this to using co-ordinates to make the guards change direction if they reached a certain position. The children worked through five challenges and some children moved onto an extension challenge where they had to apply their new skills to make a goalie move position to collide with the ball.

Week Beginning Monday 28th April - LI: To develop individual and partner balances

In PE, year 4 were practicing holding different balances both individually and with a partner. They had different challenge levels to try and had to hold each balance for 5 seconds. The children then chose two individual and two partner balances to perform as part of a routine.

Week Beginning Monday 31st March 2024 - TimesTables RockStars Day!

On Wednesday this week, Year 4 dressed as rockstars to celebrate TimesTables Rockstars Day. Throughout the day, the children competed in mini battles on TTRS, created their own rockstar avatar, created a music video to APT 4 times tables and used the boom whackers to play 'Sweet Child O' Mine'.

Aairah - Everyone was so competitive while we were competing in the battles!

Cara - I liked when we did the APT song for times tables. It was really fun and I can't wait to see the video.

Archie - Today was the best day ever because we got to dress up in full rockstar outfits!

Week Beginning Monday 24th March 2025 - LI: To design, make and evaluate a quiche

This week, year 4 made quiche. A few weeks ago the children designed their quiche filling with their chosen vegetables and meat. On Monday the children worked in groups to make the pastry using the rubbing in technique. Then on Tuesday the children carefully used knives to chop their vegetables and meat into small cubes and slices to add onto of their pastry. They then added their egg, cheese and cream mixture to complete the quiche. The children then took the quiche home to try with their family.

Cara - "My quiche tasted really good because there was so much cheese in it."

Wezem - "I liked the taste of the quiche but the pastry was a bit too soft for me."

Archie - "I loved my quiche because I loved the taste of the cheese."

Daniel - "I liked adding pepperoni because it wasn't too spicy. I also liked the creamy taste of the quiche."

Week Beginning Monday 17th March 2025 - LI: To use classification keys to identify living things in the local environment

In Science, Year 4 went outside and used magnifying glasses to find different invertebrates in the forest area. They used a classification key to help them identify which type of invertebrate it was. "I know that this is a centipede because it has long legs whereas this is a millipede because it's legs are shorter."

Week beginning 4th March 2025

World Book Day Celebrations

Year 4 had a fantastic World Book Day and looked amazing in their costumes. Mrs Cornish and Mrs Murrill came dressed as characters from our current class reader: Charlotte's Web.

We listened to two whole chapters of our book and took inspiration from Charlotte's spinning "Some Pig" in her web, to decorate our classroom door with lots of positive affirmations about our class.

During history, we used books from our class library to help us research Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. We were very fortunate to have lots of parents come in to read with us at the start and end of the day.

Week Beginning Monday 10th February 2025 - LI: To open and close a circuit with a switch

In Science, Year 4 have been learning about electricity and creating their own working circuits. This week, the children had to create their own switches to open and close the circuits. They used split pins, paper clips and cardboard to help with this.

Week Beginning Monday 13th January 2025 - LI: To create procedures using 2Logo

This week in computing, Year 4 were creating their own procedures then using the REPEAT command to create their own patterns and shapes.