History

The History of Human Rights

This unit begins by looking at what human rights are.  Building on their knowledge of World War II, they learn that the United Nations established the Universal Declaration of Human Rights following the atrocities of the war.  They have previously learned about Winston Churchill, and they will learn that he helped to establish the Council of Europe, which introduced the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms’

Children will begin to look at women’s rights.  The children will learn about women’s rights in Britain over time until the present day.  Children will use their knowledge to evaluate similarities and differences between lives of women in 1918 and today. They will discuss significant women they have learned about in the past such as Boudicca, Elizabeth I, Emmeline Pankhurst, Malala Yousafzai, and Queen Victoria.

The children will move on to looking at the UN Convention on the Rights of the child.  They will analyse how perspectives of children and childhood have changed over time. They will analyse changes and look at similarities and differences in Britain over time.

They will then learn about race and ethnicity, and will explore in depth the concept of immigration.  They will discuss perspectives from the past and look at racial inequality - comparing the American Civil Rights movement to similar movements in the United Kingdom.

Following this, they will look at the human right to ‘freedom of thought, conscience, and belief’. They will retrieve previous learning on the history of religion in Britain, reflecting upon religious intolerance and persecution, and looking at laws in place today to protect citizens.

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.

Design & Technology

Sew: Upcycling Fashion

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

Geography

Globalisation

This unit explains that following the collapse of the Soviet Union, international trade became a focus for countries around the world. As technology and communications developed during this time, it allowed businesses to operate more easily in other countries.

Pupils will look at the leather industry in Northamptonshire and will learn how it declined due to other countries becoming able to offer the same products at more competitive prices. This example will help pupils to see the changes that occurred in some industries as international trade increased and how these changes were advantageous for some but disadvantageous for others. 

Pupils will study examples of economic, political and cultural globalisation. They will recognise the common thread running throughout the lessons that in many ways the world is becoming more connected and ‘smaller’. 

Art and Design

Art in the 20th Century - Modernism & Beyond

The children start by reviewing their understanding of modernism.  They then use three statues, including recent sculptures by Marc Quinn and Thomas J Price, to investigate the issue of public statuary and identity as a starting point for their own project.

The children go on to consider how Picasso developed cubism which led to abstraction and then explore work of significant British artists of the 20th century. They consider abstraction by looking at the work of sculptor Barbara Hepworth and painter Frank Bowling, the influence of world war two on the work of Frank Auerbach and the departure from abstraction and return to figuration in the work of Lucien Freud.

Finally, they explore how art can address the issue of identity, in the work of Lubaina Himid.  This tour of important work of British artists from the 20th and 21st century is designed to inspire the children independently to explore their own ideas and create a piece of work in materials of their choice about identity, as part of an extended project, to be a culmination of their year 6 work.