Welcome to Year 4  

Autumn Term 2025

Welcome back to school and welcome to Year 4! I can’t wait to get to know the new Year 4 children and see them grow this term. Please have a look below at the learning we will be doing in the Autumn Term and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.  

English

Our writing in Autumn 1 will be inspired by ‘Arthur and the Golden Rope’. By doing so, the children will be able to make connections with their historical learning on the Anglo Saxons. We will work towards the following writing outcomes:  

• A retell of part of the story 

• A setting and a character description 

• A diary entry  

Grammar 

We will learn grammar through our English lessons as well as one skill-focused lesson a week. The grammar features that we will focus on in Year 4 are: 

• Using direct and reported speech including using inverted commas to correctly punctuate direct speech 

• Using commas following fronted adverbials 

• Using subordinate clauses, punctuating them correctly by using commas when the subordinate clause starts the sentence 

• Using apostrophes for singular and plural possession

• Using prepositional noun phrases

• Appropriate use of nouns and pronouns 

• Precise use of paragraphs

• Understand and identify suffixes, synonyms, antonyms, homophones and all four categories of nouns.  

Spelling

Year 4 will have three spelling lessons a week during which they will learn spelling rules, spelling patterns and common exception words. We will then have a weekly spelling test of these rules on Fridays. The spelling rules and key words are sent home at the start of the half-term.  

Maths

Throughout the Autumn term in maths, we will build upon our prior learning in the following topics:  

• Place value: representing, partitioning, comparing, ordering and rounding numbers up to 1,000 

• Addition and subtraction: adding and subtracting up to four-digit numbers 

• Measurement: area  

• Multiplication and division: learning and practising the 6, 9, 7, 11 and 12 times tables including the inverse 

Times Tables

In the Summer term, Year 4 will complete the statutory multiplication tables check. On an Ipad or laptop, the children will complete 25 multiplication (no division) questions, with 6 seconds for each question. Once the 6 seconds has passed, the next question will load.   

It is, therefore, very important that the children continue to practise the 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10 times tables previously learned. As we learn the remaining times tables in school, the children should practise these too.  

Do please keep logging on to Times Tables Rockstars or access the free websites linked below:  

Hit the Button - Quick fire maths practise for 6-11 year olds (topmarks.co.uk)  

Times tables Speed Test X - Timestables.co.uk  

For those who prefer a more practical approach, why not try the following ideas?

• Times tables songs on Youtube eg 6 Times Table Song (Cover of Shake It Off by Taylor Swift!) - YouTube
• Quiz children on different questions - maybe even get them to quiz you!
• Set up a treasure hunt of the questions and answers.
• Use water or chalk to write out the tables on the floor outside. 
• Make art out of the times tables facts eg. putting the answers on flower petals.  

Science 

In science in the Autumn term, Year 4 will explore the following two topics through lots of hands-on investigations:  

States of Matter  

• compare and group materials together, according to whether they are solids, liquids or gases 

• observe that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled, and measure or research the temperature at which this happens in degrees Celsius (°C) 

• identify the part played by evaporation and condensation in the water cycle and associate the rate of evaporation with temperature

Animals including humans  

• describe the simple functions of the basic parts of the digestive system in humans 

• identify the different types of teeth in humans and their simple functions 

• construct and interpret a variety of food chains, identifying producers, predators and prey

We will develop our scientific skills through the five types of scientific enquiry: 

• Observation over time 

• Pattern seeking 

• Identifying, classifying and grouping                           

• Comparative and fair testing 

• Research using secondary resources 

No Outsiders

Year 4 will use these books to consider and reflect upon the following ideas in PSHE: 

To help someone accept difference. 

To choose when to be assertive.

History

Our Autumn term history topic will be the Anglo-Saxons where we will consider the following questions:  

• Why did the Saxons invade?  

• What does the mystery of the empty grave tell us about Saxon Britain?  

• How did people’s lives change when Christianity came to Britain and how can we be sure?  

• How were the Saxons able the see off the Viking threat?  

• Just how great was King Alfred, really?  

• Just how effective was Saxon justice?  

• So how dark were the dark ages, really? 

Geography

In geography in the Autumn term, we will focus our learning around rivers, linking this to our science learning on the water cycle. We will consider the following questions, as well as completing a river study:  

• What is the water cycle?  

• How is a river formed?  

• Where can we find rivers?  

• How are rivers used?  

• What can we find out about our local river?  

• What features does our local river have? 

PE 

We will have PE on Mondays and Fridays, this term. Please send your child in with the correct PE kit on these days and ensure that long hair is tied back and any earrings are covered with micro-pore tape or removed.   

Useful information 

Snacks: Please send your child in with a healthy snack for their morning break. Children may also purchase a warm snack, if they wish. 

Water bottles: Please send your child into school with a named, filled water bottle, with a secure lid. 

Homework:  

• Times tables: please encourage your child to use Times Tables Rockstars, Hit the Button or Speed Challenge to practise their times tables. 
• Maths: Set weekly through Mathletics on a Friday. 
• Accelerated Reader: it is so important to listen to your child read, even just for 5 minutes daily. 
• Reading comprehension: A reading comprehension text and questions will be sent home weekly. These should be returned on a Tuesday and a new copy will be sent home.  
• Spellings: please encourage your child to practise their weekly spellings in preparation for their Friday test. The weekly words are sent home at the start of each half-term. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me on Seesaw, at the end of the school day or on contact@excalibur.cheshire.sch.uk. Please note, we cannot guarantee that Seesaw is checked during the school day so anything urgent should go to this email.  

Miss Steele