History

The Cold War

The unit begins by recapping on essential prior knowledge acquired from the ‘World War II’ unit, focusing on the relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union in the 1940s. This allows the children to build on their substantive concept of alliance: an agreement between states for mutual support in case of war. The first lesson then introduces the concepts of
capitalism and communism. The children will learn that the Cold War was a period of tension led by the capitalist superpower, the USA, and the communist superpower, the USSR. Building on their understanding of global allies, the children will learn that the USA and its allies were concerned about the spread of communism and wanted to issue a policy of ‘containment’ (protectionism). In contrast, historians argue that the USSR were operating a policy of ‘expansion’ (expansionism).

Children will learn that the superpowers never officially went to war; instead, the war was fought through ‘proxy wars’ – with each superpower supporting opposing sides. Children will also learn that the USA and USSR competed to develop and stockpile the most dangerous nuclear weapons, this became known as the ‘arms race’. They will learn that in 1962 the world came close to a nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

As well as competing for weapons, the superpowers competed to show the world they had the greatest technology and scientific discovery. In 1955, both sides were competing to launch satellites into space. The Soviets were the first to successfully put the first satellite into orbit- Sputnik 1- in 1957. They also put the first man in space- Yuri Gagarin, in 1961 (and later in 1963, the first women in space- Valentina Tereshkova). In 1961, America declared that they wanted to be the first to put the man on the moon. During the 1960s, both sides competed to do this. In 1969, the US Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong was the first man to step on the moon, and famously said, ‘one step for a man, one giant leap for mankind’. During this lesson, the children will listen to a Ted Talk by Jeff Steers, titled: Who do you think won the space race? The children will have an opportunity to discuss this talk and then decide for themselves who they believe won the space race.

The pupils will learn about the Korean War, Vietnam War, Yom Kippur War and the Soviet Afghanistan – they will be shown on a map where these wars took place. 

Art and Design

Impressionism & Post-Impressionism

This unit introduces the impressionists through the work of Monet, exploring how they broke from the norm by painting outside (en plein air), using rapid brushwork and painting landscapes showing the transient effects of the weather. By looking at the work of Renoir the children learn how the impressionists used developing scientific knowledge to inform the way they painted. They look at paintings by Renoir and Degas to explore how the impressionists were concerned with painting everyday life, rather than grand portraits or historical subjects. They look at the work of Cassatt who painted many pictures of domestic scenes of women and children, influenced by Japanese wood-cuts. In response to this the children paint en plein air, practise using broken brushstrokes and draw modern café scenes.

The children then look at work of three important artists, seen as post-impressionists: Cezanne, Van Gogh and Gauguin. Study of the work of Cezanne, considered by some to be the ‘father’ of modern art, focusses on his distinctive brushwork seen in paintings of Mont Sainte-Victoire which he painted many times. The children replicate his patchy brushwork using collage to create their own picture of the mountain. Finally, the children explore how Van Gogh painted from nature and used colour and brushwork to express and convey emotions, whilst Gauguin used intense light and colour in his paintings but rejected painting from nature and used his imagination instead.

Design & Technology

Sew: Upcycling Fashion

Children will upcycling an old shirt/t-shirt for themselves/a friend to wear.

Geography

Africa

In this unit, pupils will be introduced to the African continent and will begin by looking at the diversity of the continent, preventing any misconceptions occurring about Africa being a homogenous place.  Pupils will locate physical geographical features of the continent such as the coastlines, the equator, the Atlas Mountains, Mount Kilimanjaro and the Sahel region. They will know
that Africa is rich in minerals and resources

Children will explore issues that are faced by some African countries including desertification at the edges of the Sahara Desert, food security in Madagascar and locust infestations in Kenya.

Science

Reproduction

This unit begins with a practical task to set up an investigation into asexual reproduction in plants. Pupils will observe a potato, ginger and garlic over the course of this unit to look for growth. Pupils will learn that some plants reproduce asexually, not requiring a male and female, but reproducing by copying itself.

Pupils will dissect a flower, reinforcing knowledge of flowering plants and their reproductive organs. They will work scientifically to identify, remove and observe the sepal, stamen, pistil and pollen.  Pupils will continue to work scientifically as they dissect fruit looking for three parts of the fruit; the exocarp (skin), mesocarp (flesh) and endocarp (seed covering). They will learn that the fruit is an important part of reproduction for many plants.

Moving on to reproduction in animals, pupils will look again at how animals reproduce.  They will learn about internal and external fertilisation and will understand that different animals reproduce in different ways. They will learn that external fertilisation has a much higher mortality rate, therefore animals that use external fertilisation, e.g. fish, produce more offspring than those who use internal fertilisation e.g. humans. Pupils will build on this knowledge and look at growth stages of animals.  Pupils will learn that animals care for their young in different ways and that offspring vary hugely in their ability to be independent when they are born.