Year 4: what to teach and where to find it.
What the national curriculum asks of this year, which parts of the free course cover it, and a term-by-term path through Level 2, Moving Up English.
Where to start
Level 2: Moving Up English
Weeks 19 to 36 of Level 2 (see Year 3 for the reasoning).
If it feels too easy or too hard
Use the placement check, then move up or down a year on this map. Children learning English as an additional language often sit at a different level for speaking, listening, reading and writing: that is normal.
What the national curriculum asks
- Pupils justify their views about what they have read, with support at the start of Year 3 and increasingly independently by the end of Year 4 (S1, lower key stage 2).
- Pupils become more confident using language in a greater variety of situations, for different audiences and purposes, including drama, formal presentations and debate (S1).
- Grammar terminology for pupils (Year 4 content): determiner, pronoun, possessive pronoun, adverbial (S1, Appendix 2).
- Spelling: the second half of the Years 3 and 4 statutory word list, including further homophones (S1, S2).
Summarised in our own words from the official documents listed under Sources. For exact wording, always use the official text.
How the free course covers it
| Spelling | The rest of the Years 3 and 4 statutory words and homophones. |
|---|---|
| Grammar | Pronouns, determiners, adverbials, speech punctuation. |
| Writing | A fact file, a letter of thanks, a story with a problem and solution. |
| Handwriting | Legibility and consistency; keep joined writing quick. |
| Typing | The full 24-lesson course (our suggestion). |
Some strand pages are still being added to the site and will open as they are published. See the full plan for every strand.
Your year, term by term
A suggested path through Level 2. Each week links to the full week on the level page, with lesson outlines and free resources.
School term 1
Level 2, weeks 19 to 24
- Wk 19 Just, already, yetpresent perfect with just / already / yet
- Wk 20 What is it made of?be made of; materials
- Wk 21 Science and naturezero conditional (If you..., ...)
- Wk 22 Spacetoo / not ... enough; superlatives in facts
- Wk 23 Friends and advicecould / should for advice; tag questions
- Wk 24 Review and assessmentTerm 2 grammar
School term 2
Level 2, weeks 25 to 30
- Wk 25 Travel and transportbefore / after clauses; first, then
- Wk 26 Festivals and celebrationspast simple and past continuous in a recount
- Wk 27 Senses and opinionslook / sound / feel / taste / smell like; make + adjective
- Wk 28 Inspiring peoplepast simple with time phrases (in 1907, when she was...)
- Wk 29 Staying safe onlineshould / shouldn't, must / mustn't
- Wk 30 The futurewill, might, going to together
School term 3
Level 2, weeks 31 to 36
- Wk 31 Setting the scenepast continuous for background; adjectives
- Wk 32 Story from pictureslinking: so, because, then, when, before, after
- Wk 33 Myths and legendsmixed narrative tenses; direct speech
- Wk 34 Plan and draftplanning a story in paragraphs
- Wk 35 Edit and rehearseediting: tenses, linking words, speech marks
- Wk 36 Final assessment and celebrationYear grammar
Checks and tests this year
- There is no national English test in Year 4 (the Year 4 times tables check is maths). Your school may run its own assessments (GOV.UK, The national curriculum: key stages 1 and 2).
At home
- Read poems aloud and learn one by heart.
- Talk about new words found in reading and use them at tea time.
- Ask for a one-minute talk on a hobby.