Year 4 Spring Overview - January 2026 

Dear Families, 

Welcome back and happy New Year!  This newsletter gives an overview of our curriculum plans for the Spring Term and some additional useful information. 

Curriculum 

Our Geography focus for this term is Biomes.  We will be learning about the Arctic and Antarctica, climate zones, the biomes that exist in them and the impact of climate change on the environment.  

Our writing will be inspired by Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance expedition, supported by Ice Trap! by Meredith Hooper and MP Robertson.  The children will be writing to inform, including a recount and biography of an imagined explorer. 

We will be reading non-fiction about Antarctica and exploration to grow our background knowledge.  We will also be reading The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, paying particular attention to character and ‘reading between the lines’ to understand what we have read.   

Spelling will be taught every week. Children will have spelling homework to be handed in every Tuesday. 

In Maths, the first half term’s work is all about written arithmetic.  We will be practising methods for Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division. Each week we will revisit the number objectives to consolidate key maths skills. We will be launching a Going For Gold challenege in school to promote times tables but please ensure your child practises their multiplication and division times table facts using TTRockstars or other paper-based activities.   

PE timetable: PE (Dance, Yoga and Hockey) on Monday and Thursday for 4MP and Monday and Wednesday for 4P. It is vital that ALL children wear their school shoes on a PE day and bring trainers to change into for PE. This can help avoid mud being brought into school. Swimming will for selected children on Mondays. 

In Music, we will be studying the genre of ‘swing’ music, focussing on The Doot Doot Song and using percussion as part of our exploration of this genre.            

In Art, we are focussing on the artist Petrit Halilaj and combining pencil sketching skills with the Arctic and Antarctic region. We hope to invite parents to a gallery of our work when we have completed our work. 

In Science, we will first be learning about states of matter, including melting and freezing.  After the break, we will be learning to classify living things using branching keys. 

In French, the children will be consolidating our learning about introducing ourselves, days of the week and months of the year.  We will then be learning to talk about pets. 

In Computing, we will be continuing our work on online safety and exploring how the internet works. 

In RE, we will be looking at what Christians learn from the creation story and what beliefs Hindus hold about the ultimate reality.  

In PSHE, we will be exploring Dreams and Goals and Relationships in our daily lives. 

In DT, we will be exploring the use of pneumatics and how simple pneumatic mechanisms work.  

Additional information 

Uniform 

Please can you ensure that children have a change of shoes to wear at breaktime (these can be those that are worn for PE).  OPAL can get very muddy and the children will not be able to use the field or other muddy areas without a change of shoes. 

Home reading 

Please continue to read with your child at home.  Regular reading will help your child to develop their vocabulary, their confidence and their enjoyment of reading.  You can support them by asking ‘how’ or ‘why’ questions to help them with their understanding. 

 Please ensure your child’s reading record is filled in.  If your child is reading a colour-banded book, please encourage them to re-read the book to develop their confidence and their recognition of the words. 

Useful resources to support your children: 

• Multiplication Tables Check practice: Multiplication Tables Check - Mathsframe 
  You can set which tables you would like your child to be tested on, how many questions and how long they have to answer each one. 

• BBC Frozen Planet II (available on iPlayer).  Please review before sharing with your children. 

• The Wilson Gallery, Cheltenham:  Edward Adrian Wilson, born in Leckhampton, was an Antarctic explorer who achieved Farthest South with Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton, before Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole in 1911.  There is a collection of items at The Wilson about him including some of his paintings.   

School trips 

We will be visiting the Wilson Museum in Cheltenham, in April, for an explorers workshop where the children will have the opportunity to put themselves in Edward Wilson and Shalkleton’s shoes (literally!) and find out more about the efforts of the crew as they aimed to cross the Antarctic. 

You will have received information about the Year 4 residential opportunity on 28-29th April. We will have an information session later this term, date to be confirmed, for parents and carers but look forward to this exciting adventure for the children! 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to speak to us at the end of the day.  If you would like to request a meeting, please email the school office. 

Many thanks, 

Miss Parker, Mrs Mackie and Mr Price