Year 4

Curriculum Information Year 4 Autumn 2025 (241.36KB)
Curriculum Information Year 4 Spring 2025 (227.78KB)
Year 4 Objective Map - Maths Curriculum (53.63KB)
Year 4 Maths Information for Parents (69.50KB)
Year 3/4 Reading Information for Parents (499.10KB)

Learning Links

Nov 282025
Parent Activity: Charcoal Drawing Workshop
We were delighted to welcome Year 4 parents to school for our parent activity session, where families explored the art of charcoal drawing together. Parents and children worked side by side to create drawings that tell stories, sharing a creative and educational experience. The feedback from parents was overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing how much they valued the opportunity to create artwork alongside their children and share their final pieces. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the parents who took time out of their busy schedules to join us. Your participation enriches the learning community at The Ryde School and creates lasting memories for our children.
Nov 212025
Class Assembly: Healthy Teeth
Year 4 delivered an engaging and informative assembly about the importance of dental health. Through clear demonstrations, the children showed how sugary foods contribute to tooth decay, while healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, combined with regular brushing, help maintain strong, healthy teeth. The highlight of the assembly was a creative dramatic performance featuring superheroes battling the tooth decay caused by sugary foods. This imaginative approach delivered a powerful message about proper dental care in a way that resonated with the whole school.
Sep 232025
Hartham Common Visit
The Ryde School enjoyed a memorable whole school visit to Hartham Common. Year 4 had a wonderful time exploring the natural environment and engaging in a variety of educational activities. The children listened carefully for the sounds of water throughout the common and created descriptive writing pieces about water in the landscape, from dewdrops to streams. They documented their water-related observations in nature journals and searched for condensation on grass and vegetation. The visit also inspired beautiful sketches of the common, allowing the children to capture the natural beauty around them. It was a valuable experience that enabled our pupils to observe nature closely and develop their appreciation for the outdoor environment.

In the afternoon, Year 4 walked to the museum where they embarked on a fascinating journey into Roman history. The children had the opportunity to learn about life in Roman times and enjoyed a hands-on experience with authentic artefacts. This interactive approach brought history to life and allowed the pupils to connect with the past in a meaningful way. The visit provided an excellent complement to their morning at Hartham Common, making it a full day of rich, experiential learning.
Jul 232025
Summer Term Highlights
Summer Term Round-Up – Year 4

The Summer Term has been action-packed for Year 4, with a brilliant mix of hands-on learning, outdoor adventures, creative expression, and team spirit. Here are some of the highlights!

Multiplication Tables Check
Throughout the year, Year 4 pupils have been working diligently to master their times tables. Their growing confidence and speed meant that, when the time came for the official Multiplication Tables Check, they approached it with calm determination. The results spoke for themselves — an impressive 83% of pupils scored 92% or higher! To celebrate their hard work, the children enjoyed some well-deserved cupcakes.

🎨 Art – Food-Inspired Creations
In Art, Year 4 explored the work of food-inspired artists such as Claes Oldenburg, Lucia Hierro, Rowan Briggs Smith, and Nicole Dyer. Pupils began by filling their sketchbooks with drawings and visual notes.

Next, came the exciting challenge of turning their ideas into 3D food sculptures! Using clay and wire netting, each child created a unique piece to be admired from every angle — all of which came together in a vibrant “classroom feast” display.

🏹 The Edge Outdoor Adventures
Over four weeks, Year 4 had the opportunity to attend The Edge outdoor activity centre. They took on exciting challenges including high ropes, archery, and laser tag. These sessions built teamwork, resilience, and a sense of adventure — and the children loved every minute!

🌿 Outdoor Activities Week
Outdoor Activities Week was a huge hit! Pupils took part in a wide range of hands-on experiences such as Maths orienteering, sensory poetry writing, measuring and exploring areas around the school, den building and even a camp fire. It was a fun and educational week that brought learning into the fresh air.

🛏 Pyjamas Day
A fun and cosy day for a great cause! Pupils arrived at school in their pyjamas to support our fundraising efforts and the day was filled with laughter and joy as they embraced the relaxed dress code while supporting a meaningful initiative.

📢 Class Presentations
Throughout the year, Year 4 pupils have researched and presented on topics they are passionate about. Several chose to collaborate in pairs or small groups and it was wonderful to see their confidence, curiosity and teamwork shine through in their presentations.

🏃 Sports Day
Sports Day was a brilliant celebration of effort and enthusiasm. Year 4 pupils gave their all — aiming for personal bests and contributing points to their House teams. The energy, encouragement, and sportsmanship on display made us all proud.

🎶 End-of-Year Performance – ‘Lean On Me’
As the school year drew to a close, Year 4 chose to perform before their parents the uplifting song Lean On Me — a piece that held special meaning for the class. Their performance included beautiful solo vocals, singing in parts and a well-rehearsed musical accompaniment. Parents were deeply moved by the performance and praised the children for their talent.
Jul 022025
Ron Weasley Willow Wands
Using harvested willow from the tunnel, we chose a withy to whittle. We then used a safe technique with a peeler to remove the bark.

Afterwards we cut the length of wand using a pair of loppers.

Later we customised our wands by decorating them with wool and felt pens.
Apr 042025
Spring Term Highlights
The Spring Term has been a busy and exciting one for Year 4, filled with creativity, hands-on learning, and memorable experiences both inside and outside the classroom.

🌟 STEM Workshop
Our budding scientists took part in an interactive STEM workshop where they explored electrical circuits and discovered how solar power works. This hands-on experience brought science to life and deepened their understanding through practical application.

💻 Computing
In Computing, the children developed their programming skills using Scratch. They worked creatively and collaboratively to design interactive stories and animations, showing great enthusiasm and problem-solving skills throughout.

✍️ English
As part of their work on The King Who Banned the Dark, pupils explored persuasive writing through role play. By stepping into the shoes of the story’s characters, they gained a deeper understanding of narrative voice and developed more engaging and imaginative writing.

🔬 Science
This term’s Science focus was on sound. Using musical instruments, the children investigated how vibrations create sound, experimenting with pitch and volume to explore how sound travels.

➗ Maths
Year 4 tackled fractions with confidence this term. They learned how to add and subtract fractions and applied their understanding to a range of problem-solving activities. Their mathematical thinking has really shone through!

🛠 DT & Physical Computing
The children were introduced to the Crumble physical computing kit, giving them a chance to combine design, coding, and technology. They thoroughly enjoyed creating and controlling devices, gaining confidence in their digital skills.

💃 Dance
Dance lessons were a real highlight. The children learned to choreograph and sequence routines to upbeat music, culminating in a fantastic performance for parents. It was wonderful to see their creativity and confidence on display!

🏛 History – Roman Britain
As part of their History learning, Year 4 visited the Verulamium Museum in St Albans. They explored Roman artefacts, walked through Verulamium Park, and viewed the remains of the Roman walls. The visit offered a valuable hands-on insight into Roman life and local history.

📚 World Book Day
World Book Day was a joyful celebration of reading! The children loved hearing their teachers share favourite stories, writing book reviews, and pairing up with Year 5 for shared reading sessions. It was a day full of imagination and inspiration.

🎭 ‘An Inspector Calls’ Performance
The term ended on a high note with a brilliant performance of An Inspector Calls by Classes 4 and 5. The children worked incredibly hard to learn their lines, songs, and stage directions. Their dedication and teamwork resulted in a polished performance that made us all proud.
Oct 012024
Science – Teeth
In Year 4, we have been learning all about teeth and how to care for them. We started by exploring the different types of teeth, identifying each one’s function, and labelling them on diagrams.

We were fortunate to have received a visit from our local dental team, which included two dentists and a dental nurse. They shared valuable information about dental health care, teaching the children how to keep their teeth strong and healthy. They emphasised brushing twice daily, eating nutritious foods and drinks for example water, milk, fruits, and vegetables, and avoiding sugary and acidic items like cola and sweets. The dental team also demonstrated the correct brushing technique—moving the toothbrush in gentle circles—and the children enjoyed this hands-on activity.

To deepen their understanding, they conducted an experiment to see how different foods affect teeth. They used hard-boiled eggs to represent teeth, placing each in a different liquid—orange juice, cola, milk, and water—and observed the results over a week. The findings were fascinating:

• The egg in cola turned a dark brown colour, which lightened significantly after vigorous brushing.

• The egg in orange juice became bleached white.

• The eggs in milk and water showed no visible changes.

The students were thrilled to observe these transformations firsthand, and they gained valuable insights into the importance of maintaining healthy teeth.
Mar 262024
Production of Porridge
This term, Year 4 and Year 5 performed a musical play called ‘Porridge’. We especially enjoyed learning the songs and dances as they were catchy and fun to sing. We had to work really hard to learn all our lines as well as when to come on and off the stage. Our parents enjoyed coming to watch it as much as we enjoyed performing it!
Mar 252024
Dance Festival
Year 4 and 5 were offered the opportunity to take part in a local dance festival at the Campus West Theatre. They used their dance lessons to create and learn a routine around the theme of the Olympics and chose to dance to the music ‘Chariots of Fire’.

They loved the experience of performing on a real stage and the experience of being backstage.
Mar 202024
Science – The Digestive System
In science we are learning all about the digestive system. To start our topic, we made our own digestive system using orange juice (stomach acid), water (saliva), crackers and banana (food), a food bag (the stomach) and tights (the intestines).

It started in the mouth where the food was crushed for digestion which was when we added the water as the saliva. As the food moved into the stomach, this is when we added the orange juice to help break the food down. We then used the tights to move the food through the intestines and squeezed out any liquids which left only the waste products.
Mar 142024
Year 4 trip to Verulamium Museum
St Albans is our local history study for the Romans. We were excited to visit as we have learnt all about the how the Romans settled in St Albans.

We started in the museum with a workshop, exploring different artefacts: some were real and some were replicas. We had to work out what we thought the objects were and what they were used for.

After the workshop we had time to explore the museum. We were excited to see many of the mosaics and tapestries that we studied in our history lessons at school. We were able to look at different coins, farming tools, clothes and even real skeletons!

We then walked over to the Hypocaust where we were amazed at the size and couldn’t believe the Romans built it.

Finally, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and walked along the length of the Roman wall that remains, noticing the remains of the towers where the Romans would guard their settlement. We then took a detour up to St Albans Cathedral and around the lake before returning to school.
Dec 152023
Design and Technology – Crumbles
This term, Year 4 have been studying electronics and control in Design and Technology. We used ‘Crumbles’ to explore how to create a circuit with different outputs (linked to our science topic) and how to program the sparkles and the motor in different ways.

Our design brief was to create a moving picture with an element which lights up. We thoroughly enjoyed this project and were delighted with the outcome, so on Friday 15^th December, we invited our parents into school to share our projects with them.

Thank you to @ComputingHubSAC for the loan of the equipment to make this project possible.
Dec 132023
Christmas Time
On Wednesday 13th December, we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner with all our friends – our favourite part was definitely the crackers and the bad jokes!

On Thursday 14^th December, the PTA organised for us to meet Santa and decorate biscuits in the Elf’s workshop!
Nov 222023
The Wind in the Willows
On Wednesday 22^nd November, the whole school had our annual visit from Image Theatre, who performed the story of The Wind in the Willows.

As always, we thoroughly enjoyed the interactive show, with many children being chosen to take part as characters in the story. The whole school were taught songs which everyone joined in with.

Year 4

Learning Links

Maths

Computing:

Science:

History:

Art:

Geography:

Parent Activity: Charcoal Drawing Workshop

Class Assembly: Healthy Teeth

Hartham Common Visit

Summer Term Highlights

Ron Weasley Willow Wands

Spring Term Highlights

Science – Teeth

Production of Porridge

Dance Festival

Science – The Digestive System

Year 4 trip to Verulamium Museum

Design and Technology – Crumbles

Christmas Time

The Wind in the Willows

In this section

Year 4 Document Archive