Autumn 1

Writing

This half term block in Year 4 consists of three genres which are:

• Stories with fantasy settings 
• Explanations
• Film and Playscripts

Children will begin the Autumn term by continuing to build on what they have learnt about composition in Year Three. They are taught to discuss and record ideas for planning. This is evident through text mapping, non-fiction bridges and boxing-up text types to create a plan. They continue to build upon their knowledge of the use of paragraphs to organise writing gained in Year Three, but further this by linking ideas across paragraphs using fronted adverbials for when. Children also continue to generate and select from vocabulary banks e.g. subordinating conjunctions to show time; subordinating conjunctions to show cause and effect but now further this learning to ensure they are selecting technical language appropriate to the text type. Knowledge of vocabulary is also extended further to develop characterisation using vocabulary to create emphasis, humour, atmosphere, suspense.

When proofreading and editing work children are taught to discuss and propose changes to their own and others’ writing with partners and in small groups. A strong emphasis is placed on oracy in Year Four ensuring that the children use appropriate intonation, tone and volume to present their writing to a range of audiences.

Alongside compositional skills, children also develop their knowledge in vocabulary, grammar and punctuation.

They begin the half term by exploring, identifying and creating complex sentences using a range of conjunctions e.g. subordinating conjunctions to show time or cause and effect. This is a recap of learning in Year Three that has been extended to further learning in Year Four. Children also consolidate their ability to use commas to mark clauses in complex sentences. Commas are a huge part of the Year Four curriculum so it is important that they are taught consistently. Children in Year Four during this half term are taught to use commas after fronted adverbials and to use inverted commas and other punctuation to indicate direct speech. Whilst children in Year Three are taught to select nouns, Year Four children move towards selecting and using nouns for precision. They are also taught to explore, identify, collect and use noun phrases e.g. The crumbly cookie with tasty marshmallow pieces melted in my mouth. Moving towards the second half of the Autumn term in their playscripts unit, children in Year Four are taught to identify, select and use determiners including demonstratives: this/that; these/those and possessives: my/your.

By the end of the first half of the Autumn term, children in Year Four will produce three writing outcomes. A written explanation of a process, an innovated narrative based on a model and a script based on a short film. 

Transcription- Spelling

Children in Year Four at St Michael with St John follow the 'Collins Connect' spelling programme. They are provided with a spelling pattern as a weekly focus and receive spellings linked to this each week to take home and learn. 

The spelling patterns taught in the first half of the Autumn term are:

• Adding suffixes beginning with vowels to words of more than one syllable 
• The /i/ sound spelled y 
• The u sound spelled ou
• The prefixes dis- and mis-
• The prefixes in- ir- im- il-
• The prefixes re- and inter- 

Autumn 2

This half term block in Year 4 consists of three genres which are:

• Fairy tales
• Classic poetry 
• Recounts: Newspapers

Children will begin the second half of the Autumn term by discussing and recording ideas for planning. This is evident through text mapping, non-fiction bridges and boxing-up text types to create a plan. They continue to build upon their knowledge of the use of paragraphs to organise writing gained in Year Three, but further this by linking ideas across paragraphs using fronted adverbials for when. Children also continue to generate and select from vocabulary banks e.g. subordinating conjunctions to show time; subordinating conjunctions to show cause and effect but now further this learning to ensure they are selecting technical language appropriate to the text type. Knowledge of vocabulary is also extended further to develop characterisation using vocabulary to create emphasis, humour, atmosphere, suspense.

When proofreading and editing work children are taught to discuss and propose changes to their own and others’ writing with partners and in small groups. A strong emphasis is placed on oracy in Year Four ensuring that the children use appropriate intonation, tone and volume to present their writing to a range of audiences.

Alongside compositional skills, children also develop their knowledge in vocabulary, grammar and punctuation.

They begin the half term by exploring, identifying and creating complex sentences using a range of conjunctions e.g. subordinating conjunctions to show time or cause and effect. Children also consolidate their ability to use commas to mark clauses in complex sentences. Commas are a huge part of the Year Four curriculum so it is important that they are taught consistently.

Children in Year Four at this time in the year, consolidate their ability to use commas after fronted adverbials and to use inverted commas and other punctuation to indicate direct speech. Whilst children in Year Three are taught to select nouns, Year Four children move towards selecting and using nouns for precision. They are also taught to explore, identify, collect and use noun phrases e.g. The crumbly cookie with tasty marshmallow pieces melted in my mouth. 

By the end of the second half of the Autumn term, children in Year Four will produce three outcomes. An innovated narrative based on a model, a newspaper report and they will have learnt a classic poem by heart. 

Transcription- Spelling

Children in Year Four at St Michael with St John follow the 'Collins Connect' spelling programme. They are provided with a spelling pattern as a weekly focus and receive spellings linked to this each week to take home and learn. 

The spelling patterns taught in the second half of the Autumn term are:

• The prefixes sub- and super- 
• The prefixes anti- and  auto-
• The suffix -ation
• Adding the suffix -ly to words ending in -y.
• The pattern -sure as in measure.
• The endings -ture and -cher
• The ending -sion

Spring 1

This half term block in Year 4 consists of two genres which are:

• Stories with issues and dilemmas 
• Persuasion

Through the narrative genre in the Spring term, children in Year Four continue to develop their skills in composition through reading and analysing narratives in order to plan and write their own versions. They 

discuss and record ideas for planning e.g. in the form of a story mountain and develop settings and characterisation using vocabulary to create emphasis, humour, atmosphere, suspense. During this genre a particular focus is placed on the importance of a strong opening paragraph in a narrative piece. Children learn to plan and write an opening paragraph which combines the introduction of a setting and character/s. Children also consolidate their knowledge of using paragraphs to organise writing in fiction texts. 

Alongside compositional skills, children also develop their knowledge in vocabulary, grammar and punctuation. 

Throughout this genre children continue to create complex sentences with adverb starters e.g. ‘Silently trudging through the snow, Sam made his way up the mountain.’ They also continue to use inverted commas and other punctuation to indicate direct speech e.g. ‘The tour guide announced, “Be back here at four o’ clock.”’  

Through the genre of persuasion in the Spring term, children in Year Four continue to develop their skills in composition through reading and analysing persuasive texts in order to plan and write their own versions. They are taught to identify and discuss the purpose, audience, structure, vocabulary and grammar of  non-fiction – persuasive texts and discuss and record ideas for planning e.g. boxing-up text types to create a plan. During this unit, children also learn to generate and select from vocabulary banks e.g. persuasive phrases, alliteration appropriate to persuasion. After the writing outcome has been produced, children are taught to discuss and propose changes to own and others’ writing with partners/small groups and as a result children can improve their writing in light of evaluation. When reading aloud teachers encourage our children in Year Four to use appropriate intonation, tone and volume to present their writing to a range of audiences. 

Alongside compositional skills, children also develop their knowledge in vocabulary, grammar and punctuation.

They are taught to identify, select and effectively use pronouns and can explore, identify, collect and use noun phrases e.g. the crumbly cookie with tasty marshmallow pieces.

By the end of the first half of the Spring term, children in Year Four will produce two outcomes. An innovated narrative based on a theme and a persuasive advert. 

Transcription- Spelling

Children in Year Four at St Michael with St John follow the 'Collins Connect' spelling programme. They are provided with a spelling pattern as a weekly focus and receive spellings linked to this each week to take home and learn. 

The spelling patterns taught in the first half of theSpring term are:

• The suffix -ous
• The endings -tion, -sion, -ssion, -cian
• The sound k spelled ch
• The sound sh spelled ch
• The sound k spelled -que and the sound g spelled -gue

Spring 2

This half term block in Year 4 consists of two genres which are:

• Novels as a theme
• Non-Chronological reports

Through the narrative genre in the Spring term, children in Year Four continue to develop their skills in composition through reading and analysing narratives in order to plan and write their own version. Children  identify and discuss the purpose, audience, structure, vocabulary and grammar of narrative and discuss and record ideas for planning e.g. story board, boxing-up text types to create a plan. To create impact on the reader, children learn to develop settings and characterisation using vocabulary to create atmosphere. They also learn to generate and select from vocabulary banks e.g. powerful adverbs, adverbial phrases.

Alongside compositional skills, children also develop their knowledge in vocabulary, grammar and punctuation. 

Throughout this genre children continue to use nouns for precision and show their ability to explore, identify, collect and use noun phrases. New learning is introduced into this unit where children learn to explore, identify and use Standard English verb inflections for writing e.g. We were instead of we was; I was instead of I were; I did instead of I done. They are also taught to improvise and compose dialogue, demonstrating their understanding of Standard and non-Standard English.

Through the non-fiction genre in the Spring term, children in Year Four continue to develop their skills in composition through reading and analysing non-fiction texts in order to plan and write their own. They identify and discuss the purpose, audience, structure, vocabulary and grammar of non-fiction and discuss and record ideas for planning e.g. boxing-up text types to create a plan. Children also consolidate their understanding of the use of paragraphs to organise writing in non-fiction texts and are taught to use organisational devices in non-fiction writing, e.g. captions, text boxes, diagram, lists. When the writing outcome has been produced, children are taught to proofread to check for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation. This is completed through discussion where children then propose changes to their own and others’ writing with partners/small groups.

Alongside compositional skills, children also develop their knowledge in vocabulary, grammar and punctuation. 

Throughout this genre children continue to identify, select and use determiners e.g. a, the, this, that, these, those, some, many, every and explore, identify and use Standard English verb inflections for writing e.g. We were instead of we was; I was instead of I were; I did instead of I done.

By the end of the second half of the Spring term, children in Year Four will produce two outcomes. A story based on a plot/structure from a focus text and an information poster. 

Transcription- Spelling

Children in Year Four at St Michael with St John follow the 'Collins Connect' spelling programme. They are provided with a spelling pattern as a weekly focus and receive spellings linked to this each week to take home and learn. 

The spelling patterns taught in the second half of the Spring term are:

• The sound s spelled sc
• The sound ay spelled ei, eigh, ey
• The possessive apostrophe with plural words

Summer 1

This half term block in Year 4 consists of three genres which are:

• Stories with a theme
• Poems with a structure
• Information booklets

Through the narrative genre in the Summer term, children in Year Four continue to develop their skills in composition through reading and analysing narratives in order to plan their own versions and discussing and recording ideas for planning e.g. boxing-up text types to create a plan. They are taught to develop settings and characterisation using vocabulary to create emphasis, humour, atmosphere, suspens and can generate and select from vocabulary banks e.g. adverbial phrases, technical language, persuasive phrases and alliteration. Once the outcome has been produced, children independently proofread to check for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Alongside compositional skills, children also develop their knowledge in vocabulary, grammar and punctuation. 

Throughout this genre children continue to explore, identify, collect and use noun phrases e.g. the crumbly cookie with tasty marshmallow pieces and create complex sentences with adverb starters e.g. Silently trudging through the snow, Sam made his way up the mountain. Children also consolidate their understanding of the use of commas to mark clauses in complex sentences and create sentences with fronted adverbials for where e.g. In the distance, a lone wolf howled. Children also consolidate the skill of using commas after fronted adverbials and can link ideas across paragraphs using fronted adverbials for when and where e.g. Several hours later…, Back at home… Moving towards the end of the narrative unit, children begin to use apostrophes for singular and plural possession e.g. the dog’s bone and the dogs’ bones and can write using different sentence type structures. 

Through the poetry genre in the Summer term, children in Year Four continue to develop their skills in composition through reading and analysing poetry in order to plan and write their own versions. They identify and discuss the purpose, audience, structure, vocabulary and grammar of poetry and effectively generate and select from vocabulary banks e.g. alliteration. When the writing outcome has been produced, children are taught to proofread to check for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation. This is completed through discussion where children then propose changes to their own and others’ writing with partners/small groups. When reading their poems aloud, children in Year 4 are taught to use appropriate intonation, tone and volume to present their writing to a range of audiences.

Through the non-fiction genre in the Summer term, children in Year Four continue to develop their skills in composition through reading and analysing non-fiction in order to plan their own versions. They identify and discuss the purpose, audience, structure, vocabulary and grammar of non-fiction and discuss and record ideas for planning e.g. boxing-up text types to create a plan. Children also consolidate their ability to use paragraphs to organise writing specifically in non-fiction texts and ensure that they generate and select from vocabulary banks e.g. technical language, adverbial phrases, persuasive phrases, alliteration appropriate to text type. Once finished children will proofread to check for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.
 

Alongside compositional skills, children also develop their knowledge in vocabulary, grammar and punctuation. 

Throughout this genre children continue to use commas to mark clauses in complex sentences and identify, select and use determiners e.g. quantifiers such as:  some, any, no, many, much, every, and demonstratives such as:  this/that; these/those.

By the end of the first half of the Summer term, children in Year Four will produce a narrative based on a text read, a poem with a structure and an information booklet. 

Transcription- Spelling

Children in Year Four at St Michael with St John follow the 'Collins Connect' spelling programme. They are provided with a spelling pattern as a weekly focus and receive spellings linked to this each week to take home and learn. 

The spelling patterns taught in the first half of the Summer term are:

• Homophones and near homophones.

Summer 2

This half term block in Year 4 consists of three genres which are:

• Folk tales
• Debate
• Poems on a theme

Through the narrative genre in the Summer term, children in Year Four continue to develop their skills in composition through reading and analysing narratives in order to plan their own versions and discussing and recording ideas for planning e.g. boxing-up text types to create a plan. They are taught to develop settings and characterisation using vocabulary to create emphasis, humour, atmosphere, suspens and can generate and select from vocabulary banks e.g. adverbial phrases, technical language, persuasive phrases and alliteration. Once the outcome has been produced, children independently proofread to check for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Alongside compositional skills, children also develop their knowledge in vocabulary, grammar and punctuation. 

Throughout this genre children continue to create complex sentences with adverb starters e.g.  Silently trudging through the snow, Sam made his way up the mountain. They also consolidate their understanding of the use of apostrophes for singular and plural possession e.g. the dog’s bone and the dogs’ bones. Commas are revisited again during this unit where children are taught to use inverted commas and other punctuation to indicate direct speech e.g. The tour guide announced, “Be back here at four o’ clock.” Children also create sentences with fronted adverbials for when e.g.  As the clock struck twelve, the soldiers sprang into action and for where e.g.  In the distance, a lone wolf howled.

Through the non-fiction genre in the Summer term, children in Year Four continue to develop their skills in composition through reading and analysing non-fiction in order to plan their own versions. They identify and discuss the purpose, audience, structure, vocabulary and grammar of non-fiction and discuss and record ideas for planning e.g. boxing-up text types to create a plan. Children also consolidate their ability to use paragraphs to organise writing specifically in non-fiction texts and ensure that they generate and select from vocabulary banks e.g. technical language, adverbial phrases, persuasive phrases, alliteration appropriate to text type. Once finished children will proofread to check for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Alongside compositional skills, children also develop their knowledge in vocabulary, grammar and punctuation. 

Throughout this genre children continue to use commas to mark clauses in complex sentences and identify, select and use determiners e.g. quantifiers such as:  some, any, no, many, much, every, and demonstratives such as:  this/that; these/those.

By the end of the second half of the Summer term, children in Year Four will produce a narrative based on the studied text, a discussion text based on a formal debate and a performance of a poem based on a theme. 

Transcription- Spelling

Children in Year Four at St Michael with St John follow the 'Collins Connect' spelling programme. They are provided with a spelling pattern as a weekly focus and receive spellings linked to this each week to take home and learn. 

The spelling patterns taught in the second half of the Summer term are:

• Homophones and near homophones