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Autumn 1 2026

Year 4 Terns
 
Autumn 1 2026
English
Reading: We will use the texts 'Zombierella' by Joseph Coelho and 'Annie Lumsden, The Girl from the Sea' by David Almond to develop our reading and comprehension skills. We will discuss our understanding of the text and new vocabulary, retrieve and record information, identify main ideas and summarise these.
 
Writing: We will use the book 'Tar Beach' by Faith Ringgold to develop our writing skills. Children will explore the theme of ‘freedom’ and do so by creating their own poems. Once they have finished the story, children will receive a letter from the BBC asking them to write a script for the (hypothetical) upcoming movie version. Children will learn the various skills associated with script writing, writing dialogue and stage directions, including writing in present tense, using brackets, contractions and noun phrases. Children will finally publish an act from their script on BBC-headed paper.
Using the text 'Varmints' by Helen Ward, children will go on to plant the seeds and write instructions about the process, collecting subject-specific vocabulary as they go. They will dissect the flowers left behind, identifying and labelling the various parts and explaining their various roles in reproduction and pollination. Children will be given opportunities to describe flowers, write letters and make speeches to a secret society of gardeners who plan to change the world through the power of nature. This series of lessons culminates in children writing an explanation text about the life cycle of a plant with a clear structure.
Geography
What are the similarities and differences between my region and Campania, Italy?

Children will learn about the world and how it is represented on maps, leading to a regional comparison between Campania in Italy and their own region in England. They will recap the countries
and capital cities of the United Kingdom before exploring the countries and capital cities of Europe. The focus will then move to Italy, where children will study its key human and physical features before learning in greater depth about the Campania region.

Children will learn about earthquakes and volcanoes and how these affect the landscape and people of Campania. They will then complete case studies of the region, comparing its physical features, settlements and land use with their own region in England. Finally, children will establish the similarities and differences between the two regions.


DT
Structures - Pavilions
We will explore pavilion structures, learning about what they are used for and investigate how to create strong and stable structures before designing and creating our own pavilions, complete with cladding.
Art

Focus: Painting

This term the children will develop their creativity with a drawing activity using texture.  We will look at some Landscape art and talk about the different styles in landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes.  The children will recap their earlier learning about colour mixing before exploring tertiary colours.  They will mix and paint using these colours and discuss the effect tertiary colours create.  Then the children will have the opportunity to reflect on the styles and techniques in previous art learning and select from a range of materials to create their own art.  Finally we will learn about Architecture and focus on the work of Norman Foster.

RE
What kind of world did Jesus want?
Children will learn about the concept of ‘Gospel’* which tells the story of the life and teaching of Jesus. They will learn about the calling of the first disciples and how Christians today try to follow Jesus. They will find out about Jesus’ actions towards other people and what example these set for the actions of Christians today. Children will learn about links between the teachings within the Bible and what the meaning of Jesus’ good news for Christians is. They will learn about the parable of the Good Samaritan and the importance of charity within the lives of many Christian people.
 
French
Language angels - Les Fruits
In this unit we will learn how to name and recognise up to 10 fruits in French. We will attempt to spell some of these nouns. We will ask our friends in French if they like a particular fruit and say what fruits we like and dislike.
Click on the link and login to pupil games to practice your French
Username: links
Password: pupil
Maths
This half term we will focus on place value and addition & subtraction, using 4-digit numbers.
Remember to log on to DoodleMaths every day to consolidate your skills and collect your stars. Use the app or login online using this link DoodleMaths
Science
Digestion and Food
Using models, children describe the function of key organs in the digestive system. Pupils identify the types of human teeth and investigate factors that impact our dental health. They compare human teeth to other animals’ and take on the role of a naturalist investigating animal faeces for clues about diet, digestion and dentition.
 
History
How did the Roman Empire impact Britain?
This unit looks at the Romans and their achievements from 43 CE to 410 CE. The first lessons explore what life was like in early Rome, who was in charge and held the power across the Empire and how the emperors trained up their powerful armies. This moves onto the Roman invasion of Britain; a comparison between the existing Celtic villages and the new Roman settlements, alongside finding out how the Romans protected their new lands and an introduction to significant historical figures of the time such as Boudicca. The unit finishes with a study of the final years of the Roman Empire and the events that led to its downfall.
Click on the image below to find out about Roman gladiators.
Computing
 
The children will focus on Events in programs, learning more about events and how these help their programming.  They will apply their knowledge to a range of applications to identify similarities and differences. We will then  investigate events from the users perspective.  The children will create and evaluate their own program using a range of events. 

PSHE
Jigsaw - Being Me
We will be introduced to Jigsaw Jaz and begin the unit by learning about being part of a class team and a good school citizen. We will then go on to learn about our rights and responsibilities and how democracy works through our school. We will consider rewards and consequences and what motivates our behaviour.
Music
Pulse and Metre
We will be finding the pulse and exploring rhythm in a piece of music.  Then the children will learn about how music is organised by the number of beats in a bar.  We will identify and explore music with different beats using body percussion.
 
 
PE
Games - Dodgeball
This half term we will develop our understanding of the rules of dodgeball and learn to work tactically as a team. We will develop our throwing skills to throw accurately, over distance with power. We will begin to understand how, when and why to jump, duck, catch and dodge.