History - Life in Ancient Rome

The children learn about the changing political context of Rome- from being governed by a monarchy, to the Republic and the Empire. They will look at similarities and differences between democracy in Rome and democracy in Britain today.

In addition, the children will also begin to learn about Rome’s social classes and compare the lives of Patricians, Plebeians and Slaves.  During this unit, the children will learn about the everyday lives of Roman citizens and the types of leisure activities that they enjoyed such as chariot racing, visiting the forum and roman baths and gladiator fights.

During this unit, one lesson is dedicated to looking at artefacts found at Pompeii. The children will learn how artefacts are used to find out
more about the past.

The children will also look at one important legacy of Ancient Rome- the Latin language. They will explore Latin words and look at how Latin has influenced many world languages, including the English language.

Art and Design - Design

The children are introduced to the idea of analysing art by splitting it into separate constituent parts by looking at Kauffman’s paintings at
the Royal Academy of Art which represent colour, design, composition and invention. They learn that we now analyse art by identifying that design (or composition) in art means how the different elements of art (line, colour, shape, form, tone, space and texture) work together to make a piece of art. 

The concept of design is then explored by considering how the elements work together in the cut-outs of Matisse in his book called Jazz.  Over the course of three lessons the children explore how Matisse worked and make their own cut-outs of trapeze artists based on the work Les Codomas.

Children examine the design of Munch’s work The Scream of Nature, learning how the artist used colour and line to communicate strong emotions. This is known as expressionism. In particular, they consider how Munch uses complementary colours.  They conclude the unit by creating their own picture showing a scream, using mixed media.

Geography - Eastern Europe

In this unit, children will build on their knowledge of Europe and explore Eastern Europe in more depth. They will explore the countries of Eastern Europe and key features such as rivers and climate. They will compare the UK with a chosen European country.

Children will then study the recent conflict in Ukraine and explore the impact on the rest of Europe. They will locate Crimea on a map of Eastern Europe and discuss why its geography has led to many different conflicts over time.

Science - Ecology

Pupils will learn about the seven things that all living things have in common; movement, sensitivity, respiration, nutrition, excretion, respiration and growth.

Pupils will study food chains and will look at what happens when a food chain is disrupted. They will learn that ecosystems are complex webs of life, with many things dependent on one another. They will understand how humans can impact both positively and negatively on ecosystems. Pupils look at air pollution as an example of how human actions impact the environment. They will learn how air pollution can impact upon ecosystems and how dangerous it can be for many living things.