YEAR 4 ENGLISH COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Outline
Term 1
Grammar
- Capital letters, full stops and question marks.
- Nouns: common nouns, proper nouns
- Past and present tense verbs
- Compound sentences
- Verbs and Adjectives
- Synonym and antonyms
- Singular and plural
- Connectives
- Speech Marks
- Prefix and Suffix
- Alliteration and similes
- Dictionary and use of glossary.
Reading
Fiction and Non-Fiction
- Extend the range of common words recognized on sight.
- Use phonic as the main method of tackling unfamiliar words.
- Proof reading to identify common grammatical and punctuation errors.
- Read aloud with increased accuracy, fluency and expression.
- Comment on some vocabulary choices, e.g. adjectives.
- Begin to develop likes and dislikes in reading.
- Read poems and comment on words and sounds, rhyme and rhythm.
Writing
Fiction and Non-Fiction
- Draw inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justify inferences with evidence.
- To describe people/ objects using colour, shape, size, texture, doing, position and number.
- Choose interesting words and phrases, e.g. describing people and places.
- Build and use collections of interesting and significant words.
- In Narratives, create setting, characters and a plot.
- Organise paragraphs around a theme.
- Assess their own and other’s writing and suggest improvements.
- Find information from different formats, e.g. charts, labelled diagrams.
- Begin to re-read and re-draft own writing for sense and accuracy.
- Write a poem using a variety of language features.
Speaking and Listening
- For children to learn and recite favourite poems.
- Listen carefully and respond appropriately, asking questions of others.
- Discuss the meaning of unfamiliar words encountered in reading.
Term 2
Grammar
- Revise term 1 grammar concepts.
- Compound words
- Adverbs and adverbial phrases
- Compound and complex sentences
- Time connectives
- Prefix and suffix
- Use past and present tenses accurately but not always consistently.
- Use mainly simple and compound and complex sentences, with connectives used to connect ideas.
- Vary sentence openings, e.g. with simple adverbs.
- Present tense action verbs (commands)
Reading
Fiction, playscript, letters and comprehension.
- Analysing and evaluate texts looking at language, structure and presentation.
- Preparing poems and playscripts to read aloud, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action.
- Use punctuation to determine intonation and expression when reading aloud to a range of audiences.
- To follow instructions and ask and answer questions about them.
- Read and respond to question words, e.g. what, where, when, who and why.
- Locate words by initial letter in simple dictionaries, glossaries and indexes.
- Explore a variety of fiction texts on screen.
Writing
Fiction, playscripts and poetry.
- Write a letter, a playscript and a poem with appropriate features for the text types.
- Using correct Grammar and punctuation for each text type.
- Using interesting sentence openers, adjectives and verbs in their writing.
- Writing a poem based on a model.
- Use simple fiction texts as a model for writing.
- Form letters correctly and consistently.
- Re-read and re-draft own writing for sense and accuracy.
Speaking and Listening
- Recount experiences and explore possibilities.
- Articulate clearly so that others can hear.
- Vary talk and expression to gain and hold the listener’s attention.
- Show awareness of the listener by including relevant details.
- Attempt to express ideas precisely, using a growing vocabulary.
- Listen carefully and respond appropriately, asking questions of others.
Term 3
Grammar
- Revise term 1 and 2 grammar concepts.
- Speech marks
- Time and sequence words
- Adjectives and adverbs
- Specialized words to suit the text type
Reading
Fiction and Non-Fiction
- Reading with fluency and expression, taking some notice of punctuation, including speech marks.
- Identify and describe various elements in an advert.
- Reading a newspaper report and identify important information from the text.
- Make simple inferences from the words on the page.
- Summarize and report back to the class what they have read.
- Use punctuation to determine intonation and expression when reading aloud to a range of audiences.
Writing
Non-Fiction
- Planning, drafting and creating their own advert.
- Using suitable vocabulary and catch phrases to draw attention to their advert.
- Use the language of time in a Newspaper report, e.g. suddenly, after that.
- Choose some interesting words and phrases, e.g. in describing people and places.
- Develop a Newspaper report with a setting, a sequence of events and quotations from characters involved in an event.
- Link ideas in sections, grouped by content.
- Find alternatives to and/then when connecting ideas.
- Write with a variety of sentence types.
- Re-read and re-draft own writing for sense and accuracy.
Speaking and Listening
- Explain plans and ideas, extending them in the light of discussion.
- Demonstrate ‘attentive listening’ and engage with another speaker.
- Extend experiences and ideas through role-play.
- Begin to be aware of ways in which speakers vary talk, for example the use of more formal vocabulary and tone of voice.
- Show awareness that speakers use a variety of ways of speaking in different situations and try out different ways of speaking.
Textbooks
- Treasure House Resources
- Treasure House Year 4 Comprehension
- Treasure House Year 4 Composition
- Treasure House Year 4 Grammar
- Treasure House Year 4 Spelling
- Treasure House Year 4 Anthology
- Collins Dictionary
- Collins Thesaurus
- Rising Star Audio Spelling
Assessments: Break down of 100% mark
The final grade for the course will be calculated based on:
Multiple forms of formal and informal assessments including CAT 4, GL Assessments, will be used to gain knowledge about a student’s level of understanding. Assessments will be in the areas of Grammar, Spelling, Comprehension, Composition, Speaking and Listening, Formal Assessment test dates will be posted on the communicator.