Year 4 – Autumn Term: Ancient Civilisations

Welcome back! We are very excited to begin our Autumn Term together, and we have a fantastic topic to dive into: Ancient Civilisations. This term, our learning will take us on a journey through some of the world’s earliest and most fascinating societies, including ancient Sumer, ancient Egypt and the Indus Valley.

Along the way, children will explore how these civilisations rose, thrived, and eventually declined, uncovering their incredible achievements and legacies.

English

Our English work will be inspired by a range of rich and thought-provoking texts. We’ll begin with Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold, using it to develop narratives, poems, speech, and setting descriptions. Later, we’ll explore Varmints by Helen Ward, leading to diary entries, letters, and instructions.

In reading, we continue with Destination Reader, where children take part in whole-class sessions focusing on comprehension skills. This half-term, we’ll enjoy The Egyptian Cinderella and The Search for Tutankhamun. Please support your child by reading together daily and discussing their books.

Maths

In Maths, we will be:

• Building our knowledge of place value up to 10,000

• Comparing and rounding numbers

• Developing strategies for adding and subtracting up to 4-digit numbers

• Solving problems involving money

• Practising estimation and checking strategies

There will also be a big focus on times tables, as we prepare for the multiplication tables check later this year.

Science – Electricity

Our Science topic is Electricity. We will:

• Learn about electrical appliances and safety

• Construct simple circuits and understand their parts

• Investigate conductors and insulators

• Explore programmable devices

Other Subjects

• History – Ancient Civilisations: Sumer, Egypt and Indus Valley

• R.E. – Jewish identity through the Mezuzah and the Shema

• P.E. – Gymnastics indoors; Badminton outdoors (led by Chelsea Football Foundation)

• Art – Islamic Art, creating geometric patterns and a high-relief clay tile

• Music – Exploring the gospel song This Little Light of Mine, pentatonic scales and rhythm

• French – Learning vocabulary about transport and travel

• Computing – Coding with Purple Mash, designing, testing, and debugging programmes

A Great Start Ahead!

We are looking forward to a term full of curiosity, creativity and new challenges. Thank you for supporting your child’s learning at home – whether it’s reading together, practising times tables, or simply sharing conversations about what we are exploring in class.

Miss Howard.