Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Our curriculum in action

Year 3 - Prehistoric World 

In this unit of work, Year 3 pupils took a step into the Prehistoric World. They learnt the terms history and prehistory and that this is when the first insects, reptiles and mammals appear. They found out about the job of a palaeontologist and how they use fossils to find out about the past. Lastly, they greatly enjoyed learning about the significance of Mary Anning and sequencing key events in her life.

Pupil Voice:

What is history?  History is learning about the past 

What is a palaeontologist?  A palaeontologist is someone who studies fossils.

Why is Mary Anning important in prehistory?  She found fossils and used them to find out about the past.

Year 3 - Ancient Egypt

In this unit of work, Year 3 pupils investigated the Ancient Egyptians learning interesting facts such as how they built pyramids to bury Pharaohs' bodies and how the River Nile was important for trade. The children loved learning about how the Egyptians believed in many gods and how Ra was the most important. Chronological understanding was developed through sequencing of dates and events on a timeline.

When using debens as a source, the children also compared life then with today to improve their enquiry skills.

Pupil Voice:

Why did the Ancient Egyptians build pyramids?  They used them to bury the pharaohs.

Why was the River Nile important?  It was important to be able to get water and to trade.

What were deben weights used for?  They were used to trade. 

Year 3 - Romans: 55BC Roman Invasion

In this unit of work, Year 3 pupils began their journey into Roman studies. They studied the similarities and differences between Celtic Warriors and Roman Soldiers and now know an empire is land ruled by a single ruler and that invasion is when an army take control of another country. The children are aware that the Romans invaded Britain for precious metal and cattle. Julius Caeser’s invasion and why it was unsuccessful was an area of interest and the children are able to give reasons such as weather and the strength of the Celts due to use of primary and secondary sources.

Pupil Voice:

What is an invasion?  An invasion is when people come to attack and they take over the land. 

Why did the Romans invade Britain?  They wanted gold, iron, bronze and cows.

Why was Julius Caesar’s first invasion of Britain unsuccessful?  It wasn’t good weather so that made it unsuccessful.  

Year 4 - The Stone Age

In this unit of work, Year 4 pupils spent time learning about the three periods of the Stone Age (Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and were able to place these on a time line showing understanding of BC. The children enjoyed identifying key features and changes across the three periods with regards to settlements, hunting, food and craft. When studying Skara Brae, the children were interested in asking historical questions and using evidence to think about what might have happened in Skara Brae and how a range of primary sources may have been used.

Pupil Voice:

What are the three periods of the Stone Age?  They are Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic.

How did settlements change through the Stone Age?  People started using stone and wood to build houses.

What is Skara Brae?  Skara Braw is an ancient village that was discovered when the water lowered.

Year 4 - Ancient Greece

In this unit of work, Year 4 pupils were interested to find out that other civilisations in other places in the world were existing at the same time. They created a timeline showing this and reinforcing their chronological understanding. The children also thoroughly enjoyed learning about Greek Gods, their importance to the Ancient Greeks and how these Gods have influenced the modern world. Finally, the children used research skills to compare and contrast Athens and Sparta.

Pupil Voice:

Which periods of history existed at the same time as Ancient Greece?  Ancient Egypt, Bronze Age and Iron Age.

Why were Greek gods important?  Ancient Greeks thought gods were in control of them and if they didn't follow them, they would reign terror.

Year 4 - Romans: Emperor Claudius and Binchester Roman Fort

In this unit of work, Year 4 pupils further developed their chronological understanding of some important Roman events including Roman invasions and their dates by creating a timeline. They also furthered their understanding of reasons for Roman invasion and used sources to find further reasons such as gold, tin and iron.

The children thoroughly enjoyed studying Boudicca’s revolt against the Romans and using sources to make inferences about her. Lastly, the children learnt about a local Roman Fort – Binchester, why it was built and visited this as part of their enrichment learning. This linked back to their Year 3 learning at Escomb Saxon Church when they discovered the stone to build the church came from Binchester.

Pupil Voice:

Why did the Romans invade Britain?  They wanted more resources like gold, iron, tin, lead, corn, cattle.

How did Britons respond to the Roman invasion?  Boudicca and her army fought back

Who was Boudicca?  Boudicca was the leader of Icenis.

Year 5 - The Bronze Age

In this unit of work, Year 5 pupils learnt where to place the Bronze Age within history linking back to year 4. They greatly enjoyed learning about the Amesbury Archer using artefacts found with him to tell us about both him and the Bronze Age. Stonehenge was another favourite for year 5 as they learnt the key features and used sources to work out how it may have been built. The children also compared what Stonehenge was used for compared to now.

Pupil Voice:

What artefacts were found with the Amesbury Archer?  People found a bronze knife, beaker pot and stone cushion.

What do we know about the Amesbury Archer?  Many people think he wasn’t actually an archer.

How has the use of Stonehenge changed from prehistory to now?  Now, Stonehenge is a site people visit but in the past they did rituals there.

Year 5 - Early Islamic Civilisation

In this unit of work, Year 5 pupils found out about the Islamic civilisation and how it originated in Baghdad before spreading to North Africa, Spain and India. A particularly interesting part of their learning centred around the House of Wisdom and all that was studied there. This learning paved the way for discoveries such as astronomy, medicine and the number system. The children also loved learning about the Silk Road and how it supported the trading of goods even impacting trade today. They used their growing understanding of primary and secondary sources to build a picture of this period of history thinking carefully about their reliability.

Pupil Voice:

What was the Silk Road?  The Silk Road is the route that was travelled through many countries for trades.

Which goods travelled along the Silk Road?  Some of the goods were silk, pepper and cotton. 

Year 5 - Romans: 'Romanisation of Britain'

In this unit of work, Year 5 pupils moved their learning to understand the ‘Romanisation’ of Britain. The children now know what a legacy is and that the Romans changed Britain with their legacies. They are able to explain the impact of some of these changes including roads, plumbing, education, food and language. Roman artefacts were observed with interest to deduce information.

Pupil Voice:

What is a legacy? A legacy is something that carries on for a long time.

What impact did Romans have on roads in Britain? They created straight roads that we still have today.

What impact did Romans have on plumbing in Britain?  They created new sewage systems.

Year 6 - The Iron Age

In this unit of work, Year 6 pupils studied the Iron Age which ended their learning of Early Britain. Within this unit they learnt how trade increased and how coins were introduced to aid this and keep track of wealth. Comparison skills were used to think about how trade had changed since the Bronze Age. The children also used secondary sources to support them when thinking about change and continuity from Stone Age to Iron Age with regards to settlements.

Year 6 - Mayan Civilisation

In this unit of work, Year 6 pupils increased their knowledge around the Mayan civilisation from Central America. The children successfully sequenced the Mayan periods alongside other key events. They greatly enjoyed learning about the creation story and the characteristics of an important god or goddess and why they were important to the Mayans. Important Mayan buildings such as a temple, palace and plaza are now familiar to the children as well as the kingdom of Tikal. The children used archaeological evidence successfully to make deductions about the Mayans and their cities.

Year 6 - Anglo Saxons

In this unit of work, Year 6 pupils moved their learning to the invasion of Anglo-Saxons finding that they invaded for farming and new homes. The children also carried out independent research to investigate Anglo-Saxon life. Next, they moved on to looking at settlements, in particular change and continuity with Stone Age Settlements from earlier learning. Lastly, their learning took them to a study of Sutton Hoo where they used primary sources and made predictions about who was buried there and what this might tell us about Anglo-Saxon life.

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