Woodthorpe Church of England Primary School
Learning & Growing Together To Be The Best We Can Be
Rome (Year 4 and Year 5)
Key information:
Spelling strategies Year 3 and 4 Statutory word list
Hall of Fame Year 5 and 6 Statutory word list
Summer 2023
Groundbreaking Greeks
In the Groundbreaking Greeks project, your child will learn about different periods of Greek history, exploring the earliest civilisations, the devastation of the Dark Age and the breakthroughs and developments of the Archaic and Classical periods. They will understand how the geography of Greece affected the development of city states and explore Athens, learning about the structure of the government and society. They will get to know some of the most significant Athenians and understand why Greek art, culture, architecture, philosophy, medicine and mathematics were so significant. Your child will learn about the leadership of Alexander the Great and discover how ancient Greece became part of the Roman Empire after the Hellenistic period. They will explore how the Romans respected and developed Greek ideas, making them their own and spreading them throughout the Roman Empire. To end the project, your child will decide which was the ancient Greeks' greatest idea, and explore how the legacy of ancient Greece affects their lives today.
| Suggested text |
Who Let the Gods Out? – Maz Evans |
| Memorable experience | Time team |
| Innovate challenge | The ancient Greeks’ greatest idea |
| History | Ancient Greek periods – Minoan civilisation, Mycenaean civilisation, Dark Age, Archaic period, Classical period, Hellenistic period; Chronology and timelines; Primary and secondary sources; City states; Democracy; Role of men and women; Social hierarchy; Great Athenians; the Acropolis; Greek art, culture, architecture, philosophy, medicine and mathematics; Olympic Games; Alexander the Great; End of the Greek Empire; Legacy |
| English | Greek myths; Balanced arguments; Playscripts; Odes |
| Geography | Interpreting geographical sources |
| Science: Properties and Changes of Materials |
In the Properties and Changes of Materials project, your child will revisit prior learning about the properties of materials. They will plan and carry out tests to determine the properties of a range of materials. They will use their results to suggest suitable materials for different purposes. They will learn about the property of thermal conductivity and identify materials that are thermal conductors and insulators. They will also learn about the property of solubility and test various materials to discover which are soluble and insoluble. They will find out about heterogeneous and homogeneous mixtures and will separate heterogeneous mixtures using sieving and filtration. They will also separate homogeneous mixtures, investigating how to reverse dissolving by evaporation. They will ask scientific questions about separating unusual mixtures and research to find out the answers. They will learn the difference between reversible and irreversible changes and follow instructions to observe the signs of an irreversible change firsthand. They will complete their learning by finding out about materials scientists and their innovative materials. |
Spring 2023
Sow, Grow and Farm
In the Sow, Grow and Farm project, your child will learn about allotments in the United Kingdom and how the government encouraged people to have them to support food rationing during the Second World War. They will learn about food webs and animal life cycles, including how living things are dependent on one another within a habitat. They will investigate the different ways that plants reproduce and will dissect flowering plants to identify the different structures. They will have the opportunity to learn about farming in the United Kingdom and the techniques used in modern farming, including the challenges that farmers face. They will learn about the benefits of eating seasonally and about the pros and cons of importing food. They will also learn about world farming and how the different climate zones affect where different foods can be grown.
| Suggested text |
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett |
| Memorable experience | Allotment visit |
| Innovate challenge | Market gardeners |
| Geography | Land use in the UK; Allotments; Farming in the UK; Maps; Grid references; Climate zones; Physical features of North and South America; Farming in North and South America; Food transportation |
| English | Non-chronological reports; Diaries; Leaflets; Balanced arguments |
| A&D | Still life |
| D&T | Seasonality |
| History | Dig for Victory |
| PSHE | Debating topical issues |
| Science | Food chains and webs; Life cycles; Plant reproduction; Growing plants; Modern farming |
| Science investigations | Why do birds lay eggs? How do worms reproduce? How many potatoes can you grow? Do dock leaves cure a sting? |
Autumn 2022
Dynamic Dynasties
In Dynamic Dynasties, your child will learn about periods of ancient Chinese history. They will explore a timeline of the first five Chinese dynasties and learn about the legends surrounding the beginning of Chinese civilisation. They will take a deep dive into the history of the Bronze Age Shang Dynasty and explore evidence found in the ancient city of Yin. They will study oracle bones, learn about religious beliefs and explore bronze artefacts that set the Shang Dynasty apart from other civilisations. They will also study the hierarchy of the Shang Dynasty and discover who was powerful and who was powerless. They will look at warfare and find out how bronze technology gave the Shang Dynasty an advantage over their enemies. They will learn about the life of the great military leader, Fu Hao. The children will then look at significant aspects of life after the Shang Dynasty. To end the project, your child will find out how ancient China’s lasting legacy can be seen in the world today.
English focus texts:
Chinese Children's Favourite Stories: Fables, Myths and Fairy Tales Mingmei Yip
Mulan and other Legendary Stories from China Barbara Laban
English foci: stories from other cultures, biographies and poetry.
Topics
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Art |
Tints, Tones and Shades Taotie |
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Design and Technology |
Moving Mechanisms |
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Science |
Forces and Mechanisms Earth and Space |
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Computing |
Micro:bit: programming Mars Rover 1: Data handling |
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French |
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P.E |
Outdoor Orienteering and problem solving Team Building/ Attack vs Defence |
RE
In RE we will be continuing with our ’Understanding Christianity’ scheme of work
Our Key Question: What do Christians learn from the Creation story?
English focus texts:
Fiction
Chinese Children's Favourite Stories: Fables, Myths and Fairy Tales - Mingmei Yip
Bronze and Sunflower-Cao Wenxuan
Multicultural Stories from China-Saviour Pirotta
Chinese Fairy Tales and Legends-Richard Wilhelm and Frederick H Martens
Diversity, RSE, PSHE
Shu Lin’s Grandpa - Yu Rong
Non fiction
The Shang Dynasty (Facts and Artefacts)-Tim Cooke
Atlases
Poems
Narrative poems
Maths
We will continue to follow our Power Maths scheme of work and we will be covering the following this term.
Y4 - Place Value Y5 - Place Value
Y4 - Addition and subtraction Y5 - Addition and subtraction
Y4 - Measure Perimeter Multiplication and division
Y5 - Multiplication and Division Y5 - Measurement
Dynamic Dynasties Useful websites
BBC Teach – Introducing the Shang Dynasty – History KS2
Britannica Kids – Ancient China: Beginnings
The British Library – Chinese oracle bone
The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Search the Collection
The Art Institute of Chicago – The Collection – Discover Art & Artists
British Museum – Collection
Britannica – Taotie
DKfindout! – Ancient Chinese Trade – The Silk Road
Homework
Please see attached below homework for our topic. Each piece of homework completed will receive 5 house points. Please use your homework books or Google Classroom to return your homework.
(homework doc)
We expect you to access TT rockstars for at least 5 minutes each day and read to your parents/carers or on your own every day also. By doing both of these each day your fluency and accuracy in both times tables recall and reading will improve vastly.
Spellings
Year 4 and 5 spellings will be sent home every Thursday and we will have a spelling test the following Thursday.