Otter Class (Year 4) 2026 - 2027

Welcome to the class page for Otter Class.

Class Staff

Teacher: Miss Walker

Teaching Assistants: Mr Walker

Here you will find all of the exciting and wonderful things that your child will be learning during their time in Year 4. If you have any questions, please use Class Dojo or speak to a member of our team at drop off/ pick up.

Thank you!

Autumn 1

Our text focus for English this term is Leon and the Place Between by Angela McAllister.

Wanting to prove to his brothers and sisters that magic really exists, Leon volunteers to be in Abdul Kazam's magic show and gets transported to a mysterious world. Filled with rabbits, doves, playing cards and magician's assistants - among other things - if a magician can make it disappear, it will end up in the Place Between.

Writing outcomes:

In reading this half term, the children will explore fiction, non-fiction and poetry. We will be looking at the texts, 'Beowolf', 'Stories from Around the World', 'The Travel Book', 'How to Spaghettify Your Dog', 'Werewolf Club Rules' and 'Cherry Moon'. 

You can support your child at home by reading with them daily and recording it in their reading diaries to help them add stamps onto their Book Worm. 

You could ask your child about what they think might happen next in the story, how do they think the character is feeling, who is the author and what do they do. 

In Maths this half term, we will be focusing on Place Value as well as Addition and Subtraction.

We will continue our work on learning our times tables in preparation for the Year 4 multiplication Tables Check in June 2027.

The children will be given 25 questions on any multiplication facts up to 12x12. To ensure that our children are ready for this, we will be practising our times tables daily. As part of our practice, each child has their own login for Times Table Rockstars which they can access both at school and at home. Just a few minutes of practice each day can really help children to improve their knowledge and speed! 

This half term in science, we will be learning all about teeth and the digestive system. 

The children will:

• Identify different types of teeth.
• Explain why different animals need different kinds of teeth.
• Describe how to look after your teeth.
• Describe and modl the journey of food through thedigestive system.
• Undertand the jobs of the main digestive organs.

This term we will be focusing on: History

We will be looking at the key question - What changed in Britain after the Anglo-Saxon invasion?

The children will:

• Explore who the Anglo-Saxons and the Scots were.
• Explore what Anglo-Saxon settlements looked like.
• Explain how Christianity arrived in Britain.
• Investigate if King Alfred was really 'Great'.

This half term in music the children will be looking at composing and developing Rock and Roll bass lines. 

Your child will have 2 active lessons - 1 PE lesson and 1 forest school session this term. Please check the timetable for the class PE/Forest School days.

This term, the children will be focusing on tag rugby and cricket.

 Mondays- Each Monday, your child will be given 10 spellings to learn over the course of the week which are tested the following Mondy. They will have opportunities to learn their spellings in class, however, extra practice at home is essential. 

Other useful links:

Oxford Owl - Linked to our phonics Read, Write Inc programme https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/free-ebooks/   

Story Nory - A range of stories by classic authors as well as poems musicals and fairytales. https://www.storynory.com/archives/classic-authors 

Story Berries- Read along with audio clips. https://www.storyberries.com

Monkey Pen-  Free downloadable children’s books in PDF format. https://monkeypen.com/pages/free-childrens-books

Free Children’s Stories-  https://www.freechildrenstories.com

Keeping Safe Online-  www.esafety.gov.au/kids 

Topmarks- A great way for children to practise many of their maths skills https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=16&AgeGroup=3

Newsround is a very good outlet for your child to watch each day to gain a wider understanding of what is happening not only in our country, but the rest of the world. We will be watching newsround every afternoon in class.