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. We are also supported by Mrs Qadri and Mrs Taylor.
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 summer term, pupils will be attending a sleepover at Wymondley Wood and enjoying some outdoor experiences in addition to developing their independence and having fun with their friends.
We look forward to helping Year 4 develop and grow.
Welcome to Year 4 Parent Presentation
Year 4 Curriculum Overviews
Year 4 Reading Spines
100 books to read before you leave Year 4!
Government information about the MTC
Year 4 - 2025/2026
Week beginning Monday 4th May 2026 LI: To present information
This week in English, we have been learning about the Amazon Rainforest and some of the interesting animals that live there. In groups, we used our class text to make notes on either fish, amphibians or aquatic mammals. We then made up our own presentations using our notes and delivered these to the other groups. It was interesting listening to the other groups when it was their turn, as we learnt a lot from each other. During our presentations, we worked on projecting our voices; speaking with expression; holding our books away from our faces and making eye-contact with the audience rather than always looking down at what we'd written.
Week beginning Monday 27th April 2026 LI: To learn about Hajj
In Religion and World Views this week, we were visited by Mrs Ilyas who taught us about Hajj - the Pilgrimage which all Muslims try to do at least once during their lives. Mrs Ilyas showed us lots of interesting photos, videos and even brought in a lovely model where the figures could move around the different elements of Hajj, including walking seven times around the Ka'bah, going between Safa and Marwah, stopping at Mina and climbing Mount Arafat. The children enjoyed learning all about Hajj and making pin wheel models with the different stages of the pilgrimage.
Week beginning Monday 20th April 2026 LI: To create group balances
This week, in PE, we worked in groups to create balances. We thought about different levels and how to use equipment to make the balance more interesting. Some groups took turns in balancing on equipment, whilst others were able to balance on the equipment at the same time.
Week beginning Monday 13th April 2026 LI: To learn the importance of budgeting
In PSHE this week, Year 4 have been learning about budgets. We played a game where we had a weekly budget of £150 and had to make sure we had enough to cover bills and pay for things such as new shoes and school trips. We could also treat ourselves but had to make sure we also saved a bit for the next week, as sometimes unexpected expenses cropped up. Some groups had £80 left over at the end of three weeks, but others were struggling in week two as they'd spent too much in the first 7 days!
Week beginning Monday 23rd March 2026 LI: To think about the importance of forgiveness
This half term in religion and world views lessons, we have been learning about forgiveness and trying to answer the question: Is forgiveness possible for all Christians?
In response to this, the class made bookmarks and wrote poems about forgiveness.
Week beginning Monday 16th March 2026 LI: To create a healthy quiche
This week, we created our own healthy quiches. They were delicious!
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.
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.
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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.
