Year-4-Curriculum-Gallery (ID 1012)

• Religious Studies
  Religious Studies

  At St. Francis we are beginning our journey using RED (Religious Education Directory for Catholic Schools) 'To know You more clearly'

  (More information can be found here: RED Catholic Schools)

  During Year 4 the pupils will learn about people such as Abraham, Elijah and John the Baptist whose lives have been transformed by faith and hope in God. Pupils will explore more about the type of messiah Jesus is and what it means to live a life in Christ.

  Pupils will also be learning about the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love, and through this lens revisit the lives of St Peter and St Paul and learn about the place of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the communion of saints.

  Autumn Term:

  Branch 1 - Creation and Covenant

  Branch 2 - Prophecy and Promise

  Spring Term:

  Branch 3 - Galilee to Jerusalem

  Branch 4 - Desert to Garden

  Summer Term:

  Branch 5 - To the ends of the Earth

  Branch 6 - Dialogue and Encounter

  Class Worship

  During the year, all children will have the opportunity to create and lead a class worship.

• English
  English

  Autumn - We start the new academic year looking at Free-verse poem, creating our own 'What we didn't do on our summer holiday'.Then we will recap sentence structure before looking at our first text Dear Miss. After this we will look at The Story of Tutankhamun including drama, fact files and a Howard Carter style diary and finally end the year with an adventure, and short story writing based on Arthur and the Golden Rope.

  Spring - This term we have focused on sentence structure, character and setting descriptions using The Tin Forest as our base. Then we wrote and performed a cinquain poem. Following on from this we have been looking at developing our creative writing into a narrative and non-chronological report using a short film to inspire us!

  Summer - We have been incorporating our historical knowledge of the Roman period into the wider Roman Empire using the beautifully illustrated book Escape from Pompeii as our focus.

• Mathematics
  Mathematics

  In the Autumn term we will be focussing on: place value, the four operations, measurement and area. We will be using mathematical equipment and pictorial representations to develop our understanding of these concepts.

  For the Spring term our topics include: multiplication and division, length and perimeter, and decimals.

  During the Summer term our topics include: more decimals, money, time, shape, statistics, position and direction.

  Throughout the year we shall also be spending time working on our multiplication tables using Times Table Rockstars.

• Science
  Science

  Autumn 1 - Sound: What is sound and how we hear

  Autumn 2 - States of Matter: Recaping materials - solids, liquids and gases and what changes when they are heated or cooled

  Spring 1 - Animals including humans: Looking at our digestive systems and teeth!

  Spring 2 - Electricity: Looking at appliances, circuits, loops, switches, conductors, insulators and recognising how to stay around electrical equipment

  Summer 1 - Continuing with Electricity before moving onto important individuals in Science

  Summer 2: Living things and their habitats: Includuing classification, the environment, food chains producers, predators, and prey

• Computer Science
  Computer Science

  Throughout Year 4 we continue to build our knowledge and skills in the vast field of computing. We explore computer systems and networks, creating media and photo editing and data logging. Also incorporated is a DT/Digital World unit where we will be exploring the concept of mindfulness and writing design criteria to develop a programmed product for timing a mindful moment.

• Art and Design
  Art and Design

  (Art alternates with DT)

  Drawing: Exploring tone, texture and proportion – Using tone, texture and proportion to create realistic drawings

  Sculpture and 3D: Mega materials - Exploring how different materials can be shaped and joined and learning about techniques used by artists.

  Craft and design: Fabric of nature (or Egyptian unit *tbc) - Using the flora and fauna of tropical rainforests as a starting point, children develop drawings through experimentation.

• Geography
  Geography

  (Geography alternates with History)

  Our topics for this year include:

  Why do some earthquakes cause more damage than others?

  Why are jungles so wet and deserts so dry?

  How can we live more sustainably?

  .

• History
  History

  (History alternates with Geography)

  Our topics this year encompass vast historical time periods. We will be delving into the Ancient Egyptians to see if we can unearth some tantalising clues and gruesome facts. Following that we will move along the timeline and closer to home looking at an equally huge empire, that of the Roman Empire and their impact on the British Isles - as part of this we shall be developing our historical thinking skills investigating different sources- what can they tell us?

  Our school trip to Colchester Castle in the Summer term helps the children to experience the world of Roman Britain at first hand!

• Music
  Music

  Following Charanga’s English Model Music Curriculum, in Autumn we shall be exploring musical structure looking for patterns in the sections of music and songs. The next unit will explore how special effects in music can make the words we sing more meaningful. The sounds that we hear in music can also help to communicate specific moods.

  Following that we shall look at composing with our friends to see how music improves our world. Continuing with the music and feelings theme we will also use instruments with different sounds to help communicate different emotions, then onto improvisation as a way to express our feelings – the theory being that music comes from our hearts.

  This year, we are fortunate once more to be able to experience opera and to be involved in a performance during the Summer term through the Wild Arts Outreach project. This year we are studying The Marriage of Figaro!

• Physical Education
  Physical Education

  P.E

  P.E. days for Autumn Term 2026

  Wednesday - Colchester United

  Friday - Dance

  Please ensure named P.E. kits are in school, hair is tied back and earrings removed.

  Other information

  During the course of the school year, some of our lessons will be taught by experienced Colchester United members, some by our professional dance coach and others by the class teacher.

  Our lessons include: dance, invasion games (e.g. hockey), striking and fielding skills, gymnastics, circuits, orienteering, and swimming. Swimming usually takes place in the Summer term but you will receive confirmation of this beforehand.

• PSHE
  PSHE

  PSHE Topics from ‘Ten-Ten: Life to the full'

  Autumn – Created and loved by God

  Spring – Created to love others

  Summer – Created to live in community

  We also look at some additional units which include: The Virtues, Parliament Week, Anti-bullying, Internet Safety Week, Fairtrade Fortnight and Joy of Movement.

• French
  French

  We will be learning about how to ask for various snacks, the types of celebration days in France and how to describe ourselves and others. We will also revise numbers to 30 and basic greetings in French.

• Design and Technology
  Design and Technology

  (DT alternates with Art)

  Mechanical systems: making a slingshot car - Designing and making a car with a working slingshot mechanism and housing the mechanism using a range of nets.

  Textiles: Fastenings - Analyse and evaluate a range of existing fastening – design criteria.

  Cooking: adapting a recipe - Learning a basic biscuit recipe and adapting it for a new audience while considering the cost of ingredients and other expenses against a set budget.