Spring 2024
As readers, we have been exploring the book ‘Children of Winter’ to link to our plague topic. We wrote setting descriptions and sequels to the story; ensuring that we used description and dialogue to make them engaging.
As historians, we have been studying the topic ‘Eyam and the Plague.’ As part of this, we looked at the symptoms of the plague, how it spread and the history behind the Eyam quarantine. We linked this to what we experience during the Covid-19 lockdown and created our own quarantine plans for Eyam during 1665. We even went on a trip to Eyam to see what life would have been like during this period of history.
As artists, we have been exploring how to sketch and paint self-portraits. We used the grid method to help us with getting our facial features in the correct places, and we practiced sketching key features first. We then used water colours to paint our final sketch.
In RE, we have been looking at the different religions within Nottingham. We have researched how these religions work for their local community and we have explored the recent census data to learn about what different religions we have in Nottingham and how these are represented.
As writers we have been using the book ‘The Curse of the Maya’ as inspiration to write persuasive texts. We wrote a holiday brochure to persuade holidaymakers to visit Guatemala (where the story is set), and we also wrote a letter to the British government to persuade them to help the father in the story who gets kidnapped.
As Historians, we have been exploring the question ‘What was society like in Ancient Maya?’ We looked at the Maya hierarchy and drew pyramids to represent this, and we also explored what food was like in Ancient Maya and how it differs to what we eat today. We used primary sources and explored how some sources are more reliable than others when it comes to learning about the past.
In RE, we have been looking at what religious people can learn from scripture. We explored different scripture such as the 10 Commandments and the 5 Precepts of Buddhism, and we wrote our own rules for living in a harmonious society. In addition to this, we researched religious people such as Gandhi and Malala to see how they put their beliefs into action.
In DT, we have been focusing on mechanisms. We researched how the first fairground rides were made using steam and designed our own fairground ride. After that, we made some rides out of K’Nex by following the instructions and using our own ideas. We had to be good problem solvers and have the resilience to have another go when things did not work.
Autumn 2023
Our topic this term was World War II; with a focus on what life was like in Britain during this period. We looked at why the war started and then focused on rationing, the Blitz, evacuation and the role of women during this era.
Our RE linked closely to this as we studied the Holocaust and looked at eye witness and survivor accounts to try and understand what life was like for Jewish people living in Europe during World War II and why they were persecuted.
In English in the Autumn term, we read the book Rose Blanche, linked to our World War II topic. We wrote diaries about what it would have been like to live in Germany during World War II and a newspaper report about the girl who went missing in the book. We also read the first chapter of Silverfin and wrote some amazing horror stories based on this and the graphic novel.
Our art for this term was making 3D lanterns. We had to be very resilient as following the instructions and bending the wire into the correct shape was tricky, but we all managed to make a lantern to hang up in the classroom.
Our DT this term linked to our topic as we designed and made bridges like soldiers had to when they moved through Europe during World War II. We learnt about the famous bridge designer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and then researched and made a variety of different bridge types.
