Welcome to Year 4!
Victory Class
Teachers: Miss Payne
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Harding
Enterprise Class
Teacher: Miss Page
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Newman
Welcome to Year 4. This is an exciting year when children continue to grow in confidence, independence and responsibility. Throughout the year, we will support pupils to become enthusiastic readers, thoughtful writers, confident mathematicians and curious learners.
Our Shared Responsibility
Our Year 4 curriculum theme is Our Shared Responsibility. Across the year, pupils explore how choices made by individuals, communities and societies can affect people, places and the planet.
Children will learn about the Vikings, the importance of water, Tudor society, environmental responsibility, the Victorians and tourism. Through these topics, pupils will think about how people have shaped the world in the past and how our choices continue to shape it today.
This supports our wider school aim of developing pupils as confident, curious and responsible Global Citizens.
Term 1: Vikings
How was everyday life in Britain impacted by the Vikings?
Children begin the year by learning about the Vikings and their impact on everyday life in Britain. They explore why the Vikings travelled, raided and settled, and how life in coastal towns and communities changed as a result.
In English, pupils use Viking Boy and other texts to support descriptive poetry, historical report writing and Viking adventure stories or diary writing. In DT, pupils design and make Viking longships, linking their understanding of Viking travel and invasion to structures and design.
Term 2: Water
How do our choices affect the journey of water and the world around us?
In Term 2, pupils learn about water through Geography and Science. They explore the water cycle, states of matter, mountains, lakes and how water moves through the environment. Pupils consider why water is important and how human choices can affect this precious resource.
In English, children write a chronological report about the water cycle, descriptive settings linked to mountains and lakes, and diary writing inspired by Edmund Hillary’s Mount Everest expedition. In Art, pupils develop their watercolour skills, linking creative work to the theme of water.
Term 3: Henry VIII and the Tudors
How did Henry VIII change society and religion in Britain?
Children study Henry VIII and the Tudor period, exploring how one monarch’s choices changed society and religion in Britain. They learn about power, belief, monarchy and consequence.
In English, pupils write a persuasive letter from the point of view of Catherine of Aragon. In Art, pupils create Tudor portraits, developing their painting and observation skills. In Computing, children continue to develop digital understanding through iLearnAI, supporting their awareness of technology and responsible digital choices.
Term 4: Our Planet
How do people’s choices shape the planet we live on today?
In Term 4, pupils explore how people’s actions affect living things, habitats and the wider planet. They consider endangered animals, environmental change and how individuals and communities can take responsibility for the world around them.
In English, children write non-chronological reports about endangered animals, poetry inspired by The Promise, and informative letters. In Science, pupils study living things and habitats, while DT links through designing a sustainable school garden.
Term 5: Victorians
How did the Victorian Empire change the world?
Children study the Victorians and consider how Victorian society, industry, invention and empire changed Britain and the wider world. They explore both achievement and impact, helping them think critically about legacy.
In English, pupils write a biography of Thomas Edison, a historical fact file about the Victorians, instructional writing and narrative writing linked to Oliver Twist. In Science, pupils learn about electricity, and in Art they explore printing through the work of William Morris.
Term 6: Tourism
Why do so many people travel?
In the final term, pupils explore tourism and the impact it can have on people, places and environments. They consider why people travel, how tourism can support communities, and how it can also create challenges.
In English, pupils write a tourism brochure, a newspaper report linked to The Iron Man, and poetry about our world. In DT, pupils design renewable energy powered vehicles, linking travel, sustainability and innovation.
Maths - Multiplication focus
We place great importance on learning and practising our timetables. To aid us, the children are encouraged to use Times Tables Rock Stars and will engage in multiplication challenges games daily. Please click on the link below to access Times Table Rock Stars. Children need to know all their times tables by the end of Year 4.
Key ways to help your child
PE and Swimming
Year 4 PE lessons take place on Friday mornings, with weekly swimming sessions on Thursday mornings.
Please ensure that children come to school wearing the correct PE kit on their PE day. Long hair should be tied back and earrings should be removed before school, as staff are not able to remove or replace earrings.
As Year 4 pupils also take part in swimming, please ensure your child has an appropriate swimming costume, towel and optional goggles in a named bag every Thursday.
Across the year, pupils will take part in OAA, swimming, dance, gymnastics/parkour, tennis, athletics and football.
Educational Trips and Visits 2026/7
In Year 4, pupils take part in a range of experiences designed to bring their curriculum learning to life. These include a Vikings visitor, a Water Cycle hook day, a Tudors VR workshop, a Wildwood trip linked to climate change, plastics and recycling, a Kent Life trip linked to the Victorians, and a Travel and Tourism hook day. These experiences help pupils deepen their knowledge, make meaningful links across subjects and develop as thoughtful, responsible Global Citizens.
Reading
Reading is one of the most important ways children can build vocabulary, knowledge, confidence and imagination. In Year 4, we encourage children to read widely and regularly, both at home and in school.
At Thames View, we are part of the Accelerated Reader programme. Children choose an appropriate AR book, read it carefully, and then complete the associated quiz to check their understanding. This helps pupils develop fluency, comprehension and independence as readers.
We celebrate reading success every week, including the number of words read and the number of successfully completed quizzes. Children are encouraged to challenge themselves, make thoughtful book choices and develop a lifelong love of reading.
Children should read most nights at home for at least 20 minutes and bring their reading book and Reading Record to school every day. Parents and carers can support by listening to their child read, asking questions about what they have read, and encouraging them to complete their AR quiz once they have finished their book.
This year, key class texts include:
- Viking Boy
- Charlotte’s Web
- The Iron Man
- a variety of fiction, non-fiction and poetry linked to the curriculum
These texts support pupils’ understanding of courage, responsibility, friendship, environmental care, invention and how people’s choices affect others.
Website for Accelerated Reader - https://login.renaissance.com/1302daf1-2b52-4df2-9c3c-a4e357d90f80?state=13d5034f-49ae-4584-b400-1dc37143138c
Writing
In Year 4, pupils develop their writing by learning to write for different purposes, including to entertain, inform, persuade and explain.
Across the year, writing will include:
- descriptive poetry;
- historical reports about the Vikings;
- Viking adventure stories and diary writing;
- chronological reports about the water cycle;
- descriptive settings linked to mountains and lakes;
- diary writing about Edmund Hillary’s Mount Everest expedition;
- persuasive letters linked to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon;
- non-chronological reports about endangered animals;
- poetry and letters linked to The Promise;
- biographies of Thomas Edison;
- historical fact files about the Victorians;
- narrative writing linked to Oliver Twist;
- tourism brochures;
- newspaper reports linked to The Iron Man;
- poetry about our world.
Spelling
In Year 4, pupils continue to practise spelling patterns from lower Key Stage 2 and learn the Year 3 and Year 4 statutory spelling words. Spellings are taught and practised regularly in school, and children are expected to apply these accurately in their writing.
Regular practice at home helps pupils become more confident and accurate writers.
Times Tables and Maths
Year 4 is an important year for developing fluency with multiplication and division facts. Children are expected to know all multiplication and division facts up to 12 × 12 by the end of Year 4.
Pupils will take part in regular practice at school, including Times Tables Rock Stars and multiplication challenges. Parents can help by encouraging short, regular practice at home.
In Maths, pupils will also develop confidence with place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, money, time, shape, statistics and position and direction.
Useful websites:
- Times Tables Rock Stars
- Timestables.co.uk
- Hit the Button
- BBC Bitesize KS2 Maths
- Topmarks Maths
Useful links
- https://www.theschoolrun.com/year-4-multiplication-tables-check-mtc-explained
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/multiplication-tables-check-information-for-parents
- Times Tables Rock Stars
- Timestables.co.uk - MTC practice page
- Times Tables Games
- Learn your times tables
- Hit the Button
Practise times tables, number bonds and much more!