History - The Cold War

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’. 

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.

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). 

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 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.

Geography - Africa

In this unit, pupils will be introduced to the African continent and will begin by looking at the diversity of the continent.

Pupils will locate physical geographical features of the continent such as the coastlines, the equator, the Atlas Mountains, Mount Kilimanjaro and the Sahel region. 

This unit will introduce children to ancient African civilisations. They will look at the geography of ancient African trade and will encounter Mansa Musa, thought to be the richest man who ever lived. 

Moving to modern day Africa, pupils will study two major issues facing the continent today. Firstly, pupils will study desertification and its impact on farming. They will learn about efforts to counteract this process, for example the great green wall project. Secondly, pupils will look at the issue of food security. They will understand the relationship between agriculture, weather and climate. They will look at Madagascar and how climate, political situations and poverty result in dangerous levels of food insecurity for people living there. Pupils will then look at the country of Kenya and will study the 2020 locust infestations that threatened crops and livelihoods. 

Art and Design

Impressionism and 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.