Westdene Primary School & Nursery

Project 1: Disassembly, design, construction and evaluation of an electronic board game.

• Investigate and analyse a range of existing products
• Understand electrical systems in products
• Understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world
• Generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design
• Use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups
• Understand and use electrical systems in their products
• Select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks
• Select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities

Project 2: Disassembly, design. construction and evaluation of a musical Instrument.

• Select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing], accurately
• Select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities
• Investigate and analyse a range of existing products
• Understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world
• Apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures
• Use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups
• Generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design
• Evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work

Project 3: Exploration of textiles and designs to create a tote bag out of recycled materials

• Select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks
• Design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria
   

Within these topics we will learn how to use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and a key to locate and plot geographical places and features on a map, as well as how contour lines are used to show the topography of an area. They will have the opportunity to learn about the stages of the water cycle and about mountains and their different formations, studying mountain ranges in the United Kingdom and around the world. They will also learn about habitats and how human and natural influences can have an impact on the environment.

Topic 1: Volcanoes, Earthquakes & Mountains

• Describe and understand key aspects of physical geography: volcanoes, earthquakes, climate zones.  

Topic 2: Waterhall Rewilding

• Use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods including sketch maps, plans, graphs and digital technologies.
• Use maps, atlases and digital mapping systems to identify the position and significance of latitude and longitude.
• Describe and understand: vegetation belts and land use.
• Identify characteristics of key topographical features (contour lines): hills.

• Understand how these areas have changed over time. 

Topic 1: Iron Age Britain

Changes in Britain during and after the Iron Age

Knowledge/ understanding of British history

• Can accurately differentiate within a longer time period using dates and names for specific eras
• can explain beliefs and attitudes in terms of why people might have had those ideas.
• Sees consequences in terms of immediate and longer-term effects and can see that people were affected differently
• Raise questions about what the evidence tells us. They are aware of the need not to rush to conclusions based on flimsy evidence. Romans in Britain

Topic 2: Roman Britain

The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain

Knowledge/ understanding of British history

• Children understand that people create different versions of the past for different audiences and therefore might give a different emphasis
• Answers to questions are structured and provide supporting evidence for statements made;
• Able to see two sides of a question and can offer arguments on both sides;
• Raise questions about what the evidence tells us. They are aware of the need not to rush to conclusions based on flimsy evidence.

Our writing units are based on The Write Stuff. Lessons concentrate on the teaching of writing with a sharp focus on the craft and construction of sentences, split into learning chunks that guide pupils on their writing journey. Sentences created by pupils are celebrated and examples are used to form a large class Sentence Stack. This Sentence Stack builds throughout the unit to display the whole piece of text. Also integrated into these units are immersive experience lessons to stimulate ideas. These can take many forms - visits out, visitors in or drama conventions deployed to strengthen context and build imagination, depending on the needs of pupils and knowledge of their previous experiences.

FICTION

Adventure - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

In this unit, we explore the fantastic and effective writing features used by Roald Dahl in this classic children's story to grip the audience and have us rooting for poor Charlie Bucket. Together as a class, we retell the journey from Charlie finding a golden ticket to entering the great chocolate factory, using extracts from the story and clips from the film to ignite our ideas. This unit coincides with Roald Dahl day and compliments our Quentin Blake illustration project in Art.

Fantasy - The Lost Thing

Shaun Tan's visual masterpiece, The Lost Thing, follows the journey of one man's attempt to return an unusual being from the beach where he finds it to its rightful place, in a moving and metaphorical story. Using extracts from the picture book and award-winning short film, we use fantastic writing features to retell the story in our own words. We then come up with a lost thing of our own to write a short story about.

NON-FICTION

Explanation - Wallace and Gromit

The iconic Aardman duo's eccentric inventions form the basis of this unit in which we learn how to explain how something works. Using video clips from the 'Cracking Contraptions' series and extracts from the accompanying Cracking Contraptions Manual, we are inspired to design our own eccentric inventions to solve day-to-day problems, like tidying your bedroom or making breakfast. We learn how to use various writing features and structures to explain how they work in detail that the audience can understand.

Guided Tour - Once Upon a Raindrop

In this unit, we write and conduct a guided tour of the water cycle, inspired by James Carter's visual adventure 'Once upon a raindrop - the story of water'.  

POETRY

Poetry - The Sound Collector

Roger McGough's wonderful poem is the inspiration behind this unit, in which we explore the shape and sound of poetry. 

Poetry - Snow on Snow

We learn about the effective use of similes and metaphors through Ted Hughe's winter poem.

YEAR 4 AUTUMN TERM

This term in French I will:

· Learn and use the verb ‘avoir’ (to have) and begin to build sentences

· Use avoir to talk about my family and pets

· Use avoir to talk about how people look

· Use common colours, adjectives and adjectival endings to write and speak accurately

· Begin to add connectives in my work

YEAR 4 SPRING TERM

This term in French I will:

· Learn the verb ‘être’

· Use the verb ‘être’ to talk about how people look

· Use the verb ‘être’ to describe personality

· Develop the use of connectives in writing and speaking

· Begin to understand and use agreement and gender correctly

YEAR 4 SUMMER TERM

This term in French I will:

· Use simple –er verbs to express my opinion

· Talk about School subjects and my likes and dislikes

· Begin to justify my opinions using common adjectives

· Compare my school day to other children in French speaking countries

AUTUMN 

Exploring Rhythm Patterns

• Create & perform more complex rhythmic patterns.
• Use notation of rhythms as appropriate.

Exploring Musical Terms & Signs

• Recognise and explore musical terms & signs.
• Consolidate a strong sense of pulse and demonstrate an ability to perform with others.

SPRING 

Exploring Sound Colours

• Compose, perform expressively & analyse compositions.
• Demonstrate an extensive sound vocabulary.
• Compose more complex descriptive pieces using techniques such as layering.

Exploring Arrangements

• Create, combine and perform rhythmic and melodic material as part of a class / group performance.

• Compose group pieces showing understanding of accompaniment / arrangements.
• Use ICT, graphic / staff notation as appropriate.

SUMMER 

Exploring Melodies & Scales

• Recognise a variety of scales including major, harmonic & melodic minor, pentatonic & chromatic.

• Use scales knowledge to compose / improvise short melodies and accompaniments.

Exploring Descriptive Sounds

• Create, perform and analyse short descriptive compositions that combine sounds, movements and words.
• Compose group piece combining musical skills learnt during the year.

Autumn

Global citizenship: Challenging media stereotypes and finding out about the British values of democracy, rule of law, mutual respect, individual liberty and tolerance

Internet safety: Taught through computing

New beginnings: Rights and responsibilities in school

Protective behaviours: Feeling safe and unsafe exploring how to tell and use a support network

Getting on and falling out: Regulating emotions and group work skills

Say no to bullying: Taught during anti-bullying week

Spring

Disability equality education: Looking beyond appearance and not making assumptions

Healthy eating: Taught through science, DT and PE

Going for goals: Identifying and overcoming barriers to learning

LGBT equality education: Celebrating differences and exploring homophobic language

Money management: Taught during Finance fortnight

Good to be me: Exploring feelings such as hope, disappointment and anger

Summer

Drugs and alcohol education: The dangers and effects of alcohol

Relationships: Exploring loss and coping strategies

Relationships and sex education: Body changes during puberty

Changes: Coping with unwanted changes and giving and asking for help

AUTUMN

INDOOR

• Indoor Athletics – Indoor Pentathlon

OUTDOOR/GAMES

• Multi-skills activities focussing on development of the fundamental movement skills of agility, balance and coordination.

 SPRING

INDOOR

• Dance skills and performance. Dome Dance Let’s Dance Performance. March

OUTDOOR/GAMES

• Invasion style games skill development.
• Net style games skill development.

SUMMER

INDOOR

• Gymnastics. Small and large apparatus

OUTDOOR/GAMES

• Athletics activities skill development.
• Striking and fielding style games skill development.

AUTUMN

Celebrations: Christmas journeys.

Children will consider and learn:

• About the importance of Bethlehem for many Christians.
• That the story of Jesus’ birth is of central importance in Christianity and understand some of the reasons why.
• To know that people within a story will have different feelings, hopes and motives.
• That music can be used to give a religious message and appreciate that the basis of the music is the Nat story.
• That belief and religious ideas can be expressed through words and music, art and literature.
• To consider own beliefs and religious ideas.

SPRING

Why is Easter important to Christians?

Children will consider and learn:

• About events of Palm Sunday and atmosphere and feelings of crowd on Palm Sunday.
• About significance of the last supper
• About the events which led to Jesus being arrested
• About the events of the Crucifixion.
• About the feelings of disciples, friends and family of Jesus
• Why Christians believe in life after death – resurrection
• That the cross and crucifix are symbolic for some Christians

How and why do Hindus worship at home and in the mandir?

Children will consider and learn:

• The meaning of the aum symbol and its significance.
• About some aspects of Hindu beliefs in God.
• About the Hindu idea of God in many forms
• And reflect on the different aspects of own character.
• That shrines are special places in Hindu homes.
• About some of the ways Hindus show devotion to God.
• What ‘puja’ means (worship)
• That some of the activities in worship have parallels in own life
• What ‘puja’ means (worship)
• That some of the activities in worship have parallels in own life.
• About worship through the elements, rituals and artefacts that are involved in Hindu worship.
• That religious beliefs ideas and feelings can be expressed in a variety of forms

SUMMER

Creation stories

• Children will consider and learn:
• That there are many Hindu stories about the beginning of life
• That Christian Creation is two stories written at different times but found at the beginning of the Bible
• And be aware of similarities and differences from other creation stories.
• To appreciate the interconnectedness of the Earth.
• And empathise with different viewpoints.
• To understand what happens when the Earth is abused.

What religions are represented in our neighbourhood?

Children will consider and learn:

• To use a range of resources to discover which religious traditions are represented in the neighbourhood.
• About the main beliefs, practices, buildings and people of the religious traditions in the neighbourhood of the school.
• And find out what facilities are offered by the local church.
• To work co-operatively with others to collate information.
• That there is diversity within and between religions and some of the reasons why this is so.

Year 4 working scientifically skills underpin  science learning.

• ask relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiries to answer them
• set up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests
• make systematic and careful observations and , where appropriate, taking accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers
• gather, record, classify and present data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions
• record findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables
• report on findings from enquiries, include oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions
• use results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions

AUTUMN

Living things and their environment      

• recognise that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways
• explore and use classification keys to help group, identify and name a variety of living things in their local and wider environment
• recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.
• identify how the habitat changes throughout the year.
• grouping a wide selection of living things that include animals and flowering plants and non-flowering plants.

Electricity

• identify common appliances that run on electricity
• construct a simple series electrical circuit, identifying and naming its basic parts, including cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers
• identify whether or not a lamp will light in a simple series circuit, based on whether or not the lamp is part of a complete loop with a battery
• recognise that a switch opens and closes a circuit and associate this with whether or not a lamp lights in a simple series circuit
• recognise some common conductors and insulators, and associate metals with being good conductors.

SPRING

Digestion and Teeth

• describe the simple functions of the basic parts of the digestive system in humans
• identify the different types of teeth in humans and their simple functions (comparing the teeth of carnivores and herbivores)
• construct and interpret a variety of food chains, identifying producers, predators and prey

Sound

• identify how sounds are made, associating some of them with something vibrating

• recognise that vibrations from sounds travel through a medium to the ear
• find patterns between the pitch of a sound and features of the object that produced it
• find patterns between the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibrations that produced it recognise that sounds get fainter as the distance from the sound source increases

SUMMER

States of Matter

• compare and group materials together, according to whether  they are solids, liquids or gases
• observe that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled, and measure or research the temperature at which this happens in degrees Celsius (°C)
• identify the part played by evaporation and condensation in the water cycle and associate the rate of evaporation with temperature.

Animals including humans : Puberty

• describe the changes as humans develop to old age.

Living things and their environment    revisited  

• recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.
• identify how the habitat changes throughout the year.
• grouping a wide selection of living things that include animals and flowering plants and non-flowering plants.