4B (Miss Barnes)

Spring Term 2026

Year 4

Teacher - Miss Barnes

Teaching Assistant - Mrs George

We are using 1-1 devices!

Spring Term Enquiry Questions:

History: What changes did the Viking invasions bring to the everyday lives of people in Britain?

RE: How do religious groups contribute to society and culture?

Geography: How does the River Stour shape the land and lives of people in our local area?

Art: Who was John Constable, and what is he famous for?

English

Children will explore biographies, learning how to organise information and write about real people’s lives.

Alongside this, they will study a range of poetry, including work by Benjamin Zephaniah. Through his poem ‘The British’, children will explore language, identity and voice, and consider how poetry can reflect modern Britain.

Children will continue to develop their writing skills through high-quality texts. We will be reading Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo, and writing diary entries and letters (both informal and formal).

Children will:

Use causal connectives to develop their explanations.
Use fronted adverbials to suggest how when or where an event took place.
Identify what is a main clause, subordinate clause and write sentences using a range of subordinate and coordinating conjunctions.
Use their, there and they’re correctly in their writing.
Plan our writing by discussing and recording ideas
Express thoughts and feelings of a character using the first person perspective.
Evaluate and edit by assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing and suggesting improvements
Explore the purpose of metaphors and similes.
Continue to practise weekly spellings linked to the year 3 & 4 spelling list.

Spelling: We will be focussing on the statutory year 3/4 spelling list and the spelling rules/ patterns connected with these spellings.

Reading: We will use Kensuke’s Kingdom to support comprehension skills. The children will also practice specific reading skills on a rotation 3-4 x a week using a range of shorter fiction and nonfiction texts/ extracts linked with Kensuke’s Kingdom. We will be focussing on:

Vocabulary choices and word meanings from the context of the text
Inference
Retrieval and explanation
Sequencing
Summarising
Prediction

Maths

Children will continue to practise their times tables daily in preparation for their times tables multiplication check in June. There is an expectation that all children will work on TTRS at home to improve their times table fluency.

Children will:

Multiply and divide a 2 and 3-digit number by a 1-digit number using a formal written method.
Recognise and identify factor pairs.
Divide 2 digit by 1 digit numbers.
Area - Compare and classify geometric shapes including quadrilaterals and triangles based on their properties.
Learn about fractions (including decimals)
Count up and down in hundredths
Solve problems to calculate quantities and fractions to divide quantities
Recognise and write decimal equivalents
Add and subtract fractions with the same denominator
Round decimals with 1 decimal place to the nearest whole number.

The key question for RE this term is:

How do religious groups contribute to society and culture?

Children will explore the worldviews of Christianity and Hinduism, focusing on the key concepts of identity and change.

In Christianity, children will learn about cultural expressions of faith, including music, art and buildings, and explore the role of the Christian community in charity and service. They will consider how Christian beliefs shape identity and influence daily life.

In Hinduism, children will learn about Dharma (duty and way of life), Ahimsa (non-violence) and Karma, and how these ideas guide behaviour and responsibilities. They will explore Hindu temples and buildings in both the UK and India, and consider how beliefs influence identity and social duty.

Science

This term’s science topic is Living Things and Their Habitats.

Children will learn that living things can be grouped in different ways, and will use and create simple classification keys to help identify and name plants and animals in their local and wider environment. They will study vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as flowering and non-flowering plants.

Children will also learn that environments can change over time and that these changes can sometimes pose dangers to living things. They will explore how habitats change throughout the year and work scientifically by observing, classifying and recording findings.

Computing

In computing, children will collect, analyse, evaluate and present data and information using digital tools. They will continue to develop their understanding of online safety, learning to use technology safely and responsibly.

Children will also learn coding using Scratch, and use LEGO Spike to develop their STEM (science, technology, maths, engineering) skills, combining programming, problem-solving and creativity.

History

What changes did the Viking invasions bring to the everyday lives of people in Britain?

In history, children will learn about the Vikings, building on their knowledge of the Anglo-Saxons from the Autumn term. They will develop a clear chronological understanding, learning who the Vikings were, where they came from, and why they invaded and settled in Britain.

Children will explore how Viking and Anglo-Saxon life differed and overlapped, and examine the impact of Viking settlement on everyday life in Britain, including language, place names, laws, crafts and farming. They will also learn about Anglo-Saxon resistance, such as the role of King Alfred, and consider how this shaped Britain. Throughout the unit, children will develop their historical thinking by learning how historians use evidence to understand invasion and settlement.

Geography

How does the River Stour shape the land and lives of people in our local area?

In geography, children will study the River Stour, focusing on the key features of our local river. They will learn how rivers shape the landscape and link this learning to a revisit of the water cycle, strengthening their understanding of physical geography.

Art

Who was John Constable and what is he famous for?

In art, children will study the work of John Constable, linking their learning to a significant local artist. They will use sketchbooks to record observations, inspired by Constable’s landscapes.

Children will explore colour theory, including complementary and split complementary colour schemes, and develop their understanding of foreground, background, light and surface. Through close observation, they will experiment with different hues and tones to create the illusion of 3D form in 2D work, before exploring painting on a range of surfaces.

PSHE

In PSHE, children will learn to identify the differences between dangers, risks and hazards, and suggest practical strategies for managing risks and keeping safe.

They will explore issues around the safe use of medicines, learn about who helps keep us healthy and safe in the local community, and develop an understanding that humans have rights and responsibilities.

Later in the term, children will be introduced to key ideas about money and society, including what is meant by income tax, National Insurance and VAT, helping them understand how adults contribute to the wider community.

Children will:

Play squash competitively and apply basic principles suitable for attacking and defending
Learn invasion games – finding space, calling for the ball, protecting the ball, attacking and defending.

French

In French, children will learn to talk about festivals and dates, including discussing and asking about presents. They will practise asking others what gifts they would like and responding appropriately.

Children will also learn to give and understand simple instructions, talk about journeys to French cities, and describe the weather, continuing to build confidence in speaking, listening and understanding French.

Music

Children will use Charanga to:

Develop an understanding of the history of music.
Sing, play and perform with accuracy and expression.
Learn to appreciate music from well-known historical musicians.