History - Stone Age to the Iron Age

The Stone Age to the Iron Age in Britain covers around 10,000 years- from the end of the last Age (during the Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age) to when the Romans invaded in 43 CE.

Throughout the unit, children will look at the historical concepts of continuity and change; a lot of things stay the same for a very long period of time (for example, there is very little change in housing until well into the Iron Age.) However, in another sense, quite a few dramatic changes take place that completely change the lives of people of Britain, such as the introduction of farming. The children will be introduced to some important discoveries that archaeologists have made, such as Skara Brae and Must Farm, which will help them see first-hand how interpretations about the past can be constructed from the objects left behind. The children will also look at how human remains can teach us about British people in the past, such as the discovery of the ‘Cheddar Man’, who would have had dark hair, light eyes and dark skin, and was a Mesolithic hunter-gatherer.

This unit helps to develop children’s understanding of the key substantive concept of society-looking at how people lived, migration to Britain and how villages operated over time. The children will also look at prehistoric religion, trade and how conflict between warring tribes resulted in the need for weaponry and protection (e.g. building of Hill forts)

Studying this unit helps children to understand the history of Britain as a coherent, chronological narrative, starting from the earliest times.

Art and Design - Line

The children start by learning how artists use sketchbooks, looking at famous examples and go onto use their own, carrying out exploratory drawings using different kinds of lines and drawing materials. The children then study at how artists can vary the weight of their line looking at Leonardo da Vinci’s sketchbook drawings of water. They go onto explore through the works of Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Picasso and Moore how artists use lines in different ways, to show shape, tone and texture. They do drawing exercises to use lines in ways which they may not have encountered before: continuous line
drawings to show a piece of fruit and using multiple lines next to each other to show the contours of a hand.

The children conclude the unit by studying how printing can create lines through the woodblock prints of Hokusai, in particular The Great Wave. They carry out an extended project to produce a detailed monoprint, using polystyrene.

Computing - Connecting Computers

The children will develop their understanding of digital devices, with an initial focus on inputs, processes, and outputs.  They will also compare digital and non-digital devices.  Next, pupils will be introduced to computer networks, including devices that make up a network’s infrastructure, such as wireless access points and switches.  Finally, children will discover the benefits of connecting devices in a network.

Geography - Spatial Sense

This unit looks at compass directions and introduces the eight-point compass. Children will use the eight-point compass to describe their local area. Children will look at ordnance survey maps and the symbols they use. They will look for symbols representing places in their local area that they are familiar with. Simple grid references will be introduced, and children will learn how to locate places on a map using a letter and number grid reference. 

Following a focus on geography skills, children will then contrast London and San Francisco. When studying San Francisco, children will look at both human and physical geographical features of the region. They will learn why the region is known for its fog and why cable cars are used to travel up and down the steep hills of
the city.

Science - The Human Body

Children will learn about voluntary and involuntary muscles and their purpose. They will learn that some muscles, like our heart, move without us consciously thinking about it, but other muscles require us to command them to move. Moving forward with their understanding, children will look in more detail at the skeletal system, building on prior knowledge and elaborating through studying names of bones, joints and their function.

Building on their understanding of body systems, children will learn about the nervous system. They will learn that our brain is an organ that acts as the command centre for the many messages that run around our body through our nervous system. They will understand the importance of our spinal cord which runs through our backbone and the web of nerves that connect to it.  Children will learn about reflex actions and their importance if part of our body is in danger.

Children will continue to build on their knowledge of the digestive system; children will learn the key parts of the system including the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and anus. They will also look at types of teeth and their functions including incisors, canine, premolars and molars.

At the end of this unit, children will understand that our bodies are made up of systems that work alongside each other to keep us alive, moving and healthy.