Year 4
Ruthless Romans
Autumn Term
Literacy
Maths
Our Literacy this term will be linked closely to our topic on the Romans. The
children will begin looking at Myths and their importance in Roman life. They
will focus particularly on the structure of Myths, character description
through the use of powerful adjectives, verbs and similes as well as the key
message behind the Myth. To aid this work the children will look closely at
Pandora’s Box before writing their very own Myth to share with their reading
buddy before half-term.
Later in the term the children will learn about the devastating effects of
Pompeii through creating a non-chronological report. They will investigate the
appropriate facts, learning about note-taking and using information to turn
into their own writing. Additionally, they will look at the different ways of
presenting information and how they need to appeal to their audience through
the use of appropriate titles, sub-headings and pictures.
At the start of the Autumn term the children will develop
their understanding of place value, ordering of numbers, and
rounding to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000. Following on from
this the children will re-visit, at their appropriate stage using
the Nyewood methods, the four main operations within maths
developing their accuracy and understanding of the number
system. They will also develop their knowledge of times tables
and their inverse operations.
Later on in the term children will explore the properties of
2—D and 3-D shapes as well as identifying lines of symmetry
within them. Afterwards children will explore units of
measurement, developing their understanding of unit
conversion as well as finding the perimeter of shapes. Finally
the children will have the opportunity to explore collecting
and presenting data.
Computing – Code Studio and Core Skills.
This term children will explore Code Studio which will
present children with a number of coding scenarios, whereby
they have to give a set of instructions to achieve certain
goals. As they progress they will begin to fix codes that are
broken in mini-games. Later on in the term the children will
also develop their core skills in ICT through the use of
Word and touch-typing.
Art / DT – Mosaics/Volcanoes.
The children will begin the term
investigating Roman mosaics.
They will explore different
patterns, the meaning behind
them, as well as developing their
reflective skills. Finally they will
create their own mosaic.
Later in the term, the children
will investigate, design and make
their very own functioning volcano
from Papier-Mache which will link
into our literacy work on Pompeii.
Music –
This term the
children will begin
the term by exploring rhythm and
pattern within music. They will then have
the opportunity to use this knowledge to
compose their own short pattern piece of
music. Later in the term the children will
explore composition, looking at effects
of different types of music on a listener
and how these can be created.
Curriculum enhancement
This term there will be a number of opportunities for the
children to experience different elements of Roman life. The
children will firstly visit Fishbourne Roman Palace where they will
undertake a number of workshops and observe mosaics. Later in
the term they will be involved in a Roman day involving a number
of Roman themed activities. Finally the Rainbow Theatre
Company will be visiting which will allow children to role-play many
areas of Roman life.
Topic – Romans
Our topic will commence with all children coming in dressed as a
Roman for a themed day where we will begin to discover what life
was like in that period of history. We will begin at the start of the
Roman Empire through the Myth Romulus and Remus, to the
eventual end of this iconic period of history. Whilst on our journey
the children will experience what it was like to be in the Roman
army, how Britain rebelled again their impending invasion as well as
the influence of the Gods on their day-to-day life. We will also
investigate the influence of the Romans on our life today, through
a mini-study of Chichester and other Roman towns.
All of this work will culminate in a Roman Museum being created
where the children will become curators, sharing their knowledge
with their peers and parents alike!
Key questions driving learning
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What was life like in the Roman period?
Why did the Romans invade Britain?
Why were the Romans so powerful?
What did the Romans believe in?
How have the Romans influenced Britain?
Physical Education –
This term the children will
experience a number of different
sports and areas of PE, starting the
term with handball and dance.
During these units the children will
learn the skills and rules of
Content
handball, before putting these into
play during games. Within our dance
unit the children will craft their
very own dance, thinking carefully
about sequence and links between
their moves. Later in the term the
children will explore gymnastics and
take part in tag rugby.
Science Our Science topic will begin with children
looking into how our bodies digest food and
the importance of the care of our teeth. The
children will develop their understanding of
these themes through a number of practical
lessons. Following on from this we will look
into states of matter, learning to understand
what a solid, liquid and gas is. Once this has
been established we will investigate how
particles can change form between different
states of matter.
Throughout each unit there will opportunities
for the children to plan, carry out and
evaluate practical investigations, which aim
to enhance and develop their understanding
of the topics covered.
Living and Reflecting –
The autumn term will commence with the children exploring key events
from the bible and how they impact Christian life. Through this topic
the children will have the opportunity to reflect on how the bible has
an impact on them, as well key values that Christians should uphold.
After half term the children will explore Christian projects that help
to provide and create water and electricity for those in need. They will
look at how, through following the Christian faith, these charities and
organisations help to benefit wider communities across the world.
Throughout living and reflecting lessons, the children will have
independent time to reflect quietly as well as contributing in class
discussions and to their own reflection area in class.