Ireland · NCCA Curriculum Specifications
4th Year (TY) Voices and Visions: Exploring Language and Literacy
This course develops Year 4 students as confident communicators through the exploration of diverse text types and creative expression. Students engage in deep reading comprehension, purposeful writing, and collaborative oral language activities to refine their understanding of how language shapes meaning.
01The Art of the Storyteller
Students explore narrative structures and character development in fiction to understand how authors build immersive worlds.
Analyzing how a character's desires and fears drive the plot of a story.
Investigating the reasons behind characters' actions and choices.
Examining how different characters view the same events and how this impacts the narrative.
Investigating how descriptive language creates a sense of place and mood.
Examining the mechanics of rising action and how conflicts are introduced in short stories.
Focusing on the turning point of a story and the events that lead to its resolution.
Understanding how stories conclude and the underlying messages they convey.
Distinguishing between objective information and subjective viewpoints in media and reports.
Learning to recognize if an author's main goal is to inform, persuade, or entertain.
Exploring rhetorical devices used in advertisements and speeches to sway public opinion.
Students practice finding and using facts or examples to back up their statements.
Learning to organize complex information using headings, subheadings, and bullet points.
Developing skills to find the most important information in informational texts.
02Informing and Persuading
Focusing on non-fiction texts, students learn to identify facts, opinions, and the techniques used to influence an audience.
Using figurative language to create vivid mental pictures for the reader.
Understanding how to use 'like' or 'as' to make comparisons and create vivid descriptions.
Understanding how to give human qualities to inanimate objects and use exaggeration for effect.
Exploring the musicality of language through various poetic forms and structures.
Investigating how rhyming words and repeated sounds enhance poetic expression.
Developing oral fluency and expression by preparing poems for an audience.
Practicing and performing poems, focusing on expression and audience engagement.
Developing the ability to listen critically and respond thoughtfully to others.
Focusing on understanding how others might be feeling based on their words and actions.
Working in groups to solve problems and build on each other's ideas.
Learning to state an opinion clearly and give simple reasons to support it.
Practicing formal debating skills, including rebuttal and closing statements.
Developing confidence and skills in speaking clearly to a small group.
03Poetry and Performance
Students engage with the rhythm, sound, and imagery of poetry to express complex emotions and ideas.
Experimenting with simple and compound sentences to improve writing style.
Understanding how to add descriptive words and phrases to make sentences more interesting.
Moving beyond common words to find the exact term that conveys a specific meaning.
Learning to use a dictionary to find the meaning of new words and check spelling.
Understanding how marks like commas and periods guide the reader.
Understanding how question marks and exclamation marks convey different tones and meanings.
Analyzing how images, color, and layout communicate messages in digital and print media.
Understanding why different media are created and for whom.
Developing critical thinking skills to determine if information is trustworthy, both online and in books.
Learning about online privacy, digital citizenship, and responsible internet use.
Combining text and images to create a basic digital presentation or poster.
Students create and present their own digital projects, applying design principles.
Analyzing how character, setting, and plot are conveyed in short videos, animations, or picture books.
Exploring different forms of creative writing beyond traditional narratives and poems.