years 1-6 all subjects - core knowledge uk

Core Knowledge Sequence UK: All Subjects, All Years Last updated: 24 February 2014

1 Core Knowledge UK, © Civitas 2014 www.coreknowledge.org.uk

The Core Knowledge Sequence UK

The Core Knowledge Sequence UK is a year-by-year outline of the specific and shared content and

skills to be taught in Years 1 to 6. This springboard for learning provides the foundation for a sound,

well-rounded education in the arts, humanities and sciences.

Current events and technology are constantly changing, but there remains a significant body of enduring

knowledge and skills that form the foundation of a strong curriculum.

All children should be able to unlock the library of the world's literature; to comprehend the world around

them; to understand where they stand (literally) on the globe, and to realise the heritage that the history of

their country has bestowed on them. In order to achieve this, it is important for every child to learn the

fundamentals of mathematics; basic principles of science; theories and structures of government; significant

events and themes from history; masterpieces of art, music and literature from around the world; and stories

and poems that have been passed down through the generations.

By explicitly identifying what children should learn in each academic year, it is possible to ensure a coherent

approach to developing cumulative knowledge across all school years, making the most efficient and

effective use of teaching time.

Over the past 20 years, the Core Knowledge Foundation has developed and refined the Core Knowledge

Sequence in partnership with schools implementing the curriculum. Our own edition of the anglicised

Sequence UK reflects these practical insights gained by real teachers and real pupils in real classrooms.

http://www.coreknowledge.org.uk/



The Core Knowledge Sequence UK English Language and Literature: Year 1

Building non-fiction background knowledge in a coherent and sequenced way within and across years can

be accomplished most effectively by integrating the topics from history, geography, science and the arts in

the Core Knowledge Sequence UK into English Language and Literature. In the Sequence UK there are

many cross-curricular connections between Language and Literature (e.g. poems, stories and sayings) and

topics in history, science, visual arts and music, which are advantageously integrated.

I. LISTENING AND SPEAKING Teachers: Shortly after a baby is born, an amazingly complex, interactive communication process begins

between the infant and others in his/her environment. Whilst it may seem like an obvious statement, it is

nonetheless worth making the point that listening and speaking are the primary means of communication

throughout the early years of a young child’s development. Furthermore, reading and writing competencies

are intricately connected with competencies in listening and speaking. Traditional literacy teaching has

typically accorded little, if any, attention to the ongoing development of children’s listening and speaking

abilities and, instead, focus on reading and writing skills. However, it is important to work deliberately to

develop and extend children’s listening and speaking skills while simultaneously beginning to introduce

reading, and then writing. Children who are fortunate enough to participate in literacy teaching that

recognises the importance of continuing to build listening and speaking competencies while also beginning

reading and writing instruction will, in the end, be far more literate adults.

A. CLASSROOM DISCUSSION

• Participate in age-appropriate activities for Year 1 involving listening and speaking.

• Speak clearly with volume appropriate to the setting.

• Use agreed-upon rules for group discussions. For example: look at and listen to the speaker, raise

hand to speak, take turns, say ‘excuse me’ or ‘please,’ etc.

• Ask questions to clarify conversations, directions, exercises and/or classroom routines.

• Carry on and participate in a conversation over four to five turns, staying on topic, initiating

comments or responding to a partner’s comments, with either an adult or another Year 1 child.

• Identify and express physical sensations, mental states and emotions of self and others.

• Understand and use language to express spatial and temporal relationships. For example: up, down,

first, last, before, after, etc.

• Understand and use narrative language to describe people, places, things, locations, events and

actions.

• Understand and use common sayings and phrases such as ‘Better safe than sorry’ and ‘Look before

you leap’.

B. PRESENTATION OF IDEAS AND INFORMATION

• Follow multi-step, oral directions.

• Give simple directions.

• Provide simple explanations.

• Recite a nursery rhyme, poem or song independently.

C. COMPREHENSION AND DISCUSSION OF TEXTS

Teachers: Written text makes use of richer vocabulary and more complex syntax than conversational

language. It is important for young children to be exposed not only to the language of everyday conversation

but also to the richer and more formal language of books. This can be done through frequent reading aloud.




Helping children develop the ability to listen to and understand written texts read aloud is an integral part of

building literacy skills.

In Year 1, a child’s ability to understand what s/he hears far outpaces her or his independent ability to read

and understand written text. By listening to stories or non-fiction selections read aloud, children can

experience the complexities of written language without expending cognitive energy on decoding; they can

likewise access deeper and more complex content knowledge than they are presently able to read

independently.

Careful consideration has been given to the poetry, fiction and nonfiction selections below to ensure that the

vocabulary and syntax presented is rich and complex. Levelled texts (texts for beginner readers) will not

provide the rich language experience that is desired during read-alouds and should only be used here as a

starting point for reading aloud with pupils for whom English is a second language. Non-fiction read-alouds

have been selected on the basis of the history, science, music and visual arts topics identified in the

Sequence UK for Year 1 children, with an emphasis on history and science read-alouds. It is strongly

recommended that daily read-alouds focus on a single topic over a sustained period of time—about two

weeks—rather than intermingling read-alouds on a variety of subjects. Careful consideration should be given

to the order in which non-fiction read-alouds are presented to ensure that knowledge about a topic builds in a

progressive and coherent way.

Prior to a read-aloud, teachers should identify what pupils know and have learned that may be related to the

specific story or topic to be read aloud. Use pictures accompanying the read-aloud to check and support

children’s understanding of the read-aloud.

Following any read-aloud, children should participate in rich, structured conversations with an adult in

response to the written text that has been read aloud. In this way, they can begin to practise orally

comparing, analysing, and forming ideas in written text in much the same way as they will be expected to do

as independent readers in the later years.

• Listen to and understand a variety of texts read aloud, including fictional stories, fairy tales, fables,

historical narratives, drama, informational text and poems.

• Grasp specific details and key ideas.

o Describe illustrations.

o Sequence four to six pictures illustrating events in a read-aloud.

o Answer questions requiring literal recall and understanding the details and/or facts of a read-

aloud, i.e. who, what, when, where, why.

o Retell key details.

o Ask questions to clarify information in a read-aloud.

• Observe craft and structure.

o Understand and use words and phrases heard in read-alouds.

o Compare and contrast similarities and differences within a single read-aloud or between two

or more read-alouds.

o Make personal connections to events or experiences in a read-aloud and/or make

connections among several read-alouds.

• Integrate information and evaluation evidence.

o Make predictions prior to and during a read-aloud, based on the title, pictures and/or text

heard thus far and then compare predictions to the actual outcomes.

o Answer questions that require making interpretations, forming judgments, or giving opinions

about what is heard in a read-aloud, including answering ‘why’ questions that require

recognising cause/effect relationships.

o Identify who is telling a story or providing information in a text.

D. COMPREHENSION AND DISCUSSION OF READ-ALOUDS—FICTION, DRAMA AND POETRY




• Retell or dramatise a story, using narrative language to describe characters; setting(s); and a

beginning, a middle and an end to events of the story in proper sequence.

• Change some story events and provide a different story ending.

• Create and tell an original story, using narrative language to describe characters; setting(s); and a


• Distinguish fantasy from realistic text in a story.

• Demonstrate understanding of literary language and use some of these terms in retelling stories or

creating own stories, including: author, illustrator, characters, setting, plot and dialogue.

E. COMPREHENSION AND DISCUSSION OF READ-ALOUDS—NON-FICTION AND INFORMATIONAL

TEXT

Teachers: Select non-fiction read-aloud topics from the Year 1 history, science, music and visual arts topics,

placing an emphasis on history and science.

• Retell important facts and information from a non-fiction read-aloud.

• With assistance, categorise and organise facts and information within a given topic.

• With assistance, create and interpret timelines and lifelines related to read-alouds.

• Distinguish read-alouds that describe events that happened long ago from those that describe

contemporary or current events.

II. READING

A. PRINT AWARENESS

• Demonstrate a sense of understanding that what is said can be written and that the writing system is

a way of writing down sounds.

• Understand that reading consists of a specific sense of directionality: reading left to right, return

sweep after finishing reading a line, reading top to bottom, reading a book from front to back.

• Identify the parts of a book and the function of each part: front cover, back cover, title page and table

of contents.

• Distinguish between letters, words, sentences and stories.

• Demonstrate an understanding of basic print conventions by tracking and following print word for

word when listening to text read aloud.

• Demonstrate an understanding that the sequence of letters in a written word represents the

sequence of sounds in the spoken word.

• Recognise and name the 26 letters of the alphabet in both their upper-case and lower-case forms.

• Learn the difference between consonants and vowels.

B. PHONOLOGICAL AND PHONEMIC AWARENESS

• Identify whether pairs of environmental sounds (keys jingling, scissors cutting, clapping) are the

same or different.

• Count the number of environmental sounds heard, e.g., clapping, rhythm band instruments.

• Orally segment sentences into discrete words.

• Demonstrate an understanding that words are made up of sequences of sounds.

• Given a pair of spoken words, select the one that is longer (i.e. contains more phonemes).

• In riddle games, supply words that begin with a target phoneme.

• Indicate whether a target phoneme is or is not present in the initial, medial or final position of a

spoken word. For example: hear /m/ at the beginning of mat and /g/ at the end of bag.

• Listen to one-syllable words and tell the beginning or ending sounds. For example: given dog,

identify /d/ or final /g/.

• Recognise the same phoneme in different spoken words. For example: recognise /b/ in ball, bug and

big.

• Identify whether pairs of phonemes are the same or different, including pairs that differ only in voice.

For example: examine /b/ and /p/.

• Orally blend two to three sounds to form a word. For example: given the sounds /m/… /a/… /t/, blend

to make mat.




• Segment a spoken word into phonemes. For example: given bat, produce the segments /b/ /a/ /t/.

• Given a spoken word, produce another word that rhymes. For example: given hit, supply bit or mitt.

• Identify the number of syllables in a spoken word.

C. PHONICS: DECODING AND ENCODING

Teachers: Learning to read requires understanding and mastering the written English code through explicit

and systematic phonics instruction. Research suggests that phonics instruction is most effective when

specific letter-sound relationships are taught and reinforced by having children both read and write the letter-

sound correspondence being studied. Research has also shown that children who are taught to read using

approaches based on synthetic phonics make the most rapid progress. Reading and writing—decoding and

encoding—are complementary processes that ensure mastery of the written code. Teachers and schools

should choose a phonics programme that works best for them. Some popular published programmes are:

The Butterfly Book by Irina Tyk (Civitas), Jolly Phonics (Jolly Learning), Read-Write Inc. (Ruth Miskin

Literacy) and Step by Step Reading by Mona McNee (Galore Park).

• Demonstrate a sense of understanding that a systematic, predictable relationship exists between

written letters (graphemes) and spoken sounds (phonemes).

• Blend individual phonemes to pronounce printed words.

• Read and write any CVC word. For example: sit or cat.

D. ORAL READING AND FLUENCY

• Read decodable stories that incorporate the specific code knowledge that has been taught.

• Use phonics skills in conjunction with context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and

understanding, rereading as necessary.

• Demonstrate an understanding of and use commas and end punctuation while reading orally.

• Read aloud, alone or with a partner for at least 15 minutes each day.

E. READING COMPREHENSION: ALL TEXTS

Teachers: It is important to recognise that Year 1 children are taught only some of the many letter-sound

correspondences a reader needs to know to read a wide range of printed material. As a result, many Year 1

children will be able to read independently only simple written texts. At this level, mental energy will be

directed primarily to the act of reading, i.e. decoding. A focus on the mechanics of decoding is appropriate

and desirable at this early stage in the reading process. Attention to reading comprehension should be

directed to ensuring a fundamental understanding of what has been read. In Year 1, it will generally be more

effective and efficient to devote time to higher level thinking and comprehension skills at the listening and

speaking level in response to written texts that are read aloud.

• Demonstrate an understanding of simple, decodable text after reading independently.


o Answer questions requiring literal recall and understanding details and/or facts (i.e., who,

what, where, when) about a text that has been read independently.

o Retell or dramatise a story, using narrative language to describe characters; setting(s); and

a beginning, a middle and an end to events of the story in proper sequence.

o Use narrative language to describe people, places, things, locations, events, actions, a

scene or facts from a text that has been read independently.


o Understand and use words and phrases from a text that has been read independently.

• Integrate information and evaluate evidence (Note: prior to reading, teachers should identify what

pupils know and have learned that may be related to the specific story or topic to be read. Use

pictures accompanying the written text to check and support understanding.)

o Make predictions prior to and while reading, based on the title, pictures and/or text read thus

far and then compare the actual outcomes to predictions.


III. WRITING




Teachers: It is important to recognise that of all the communication skills—listening, speaking, reading and

writing—writing is the most demanding and challenging, especially for Year 1 children who are just learning

not only the code, but also the fine motor skills and letter strokes necessary to put something down on paper.

At some point during Year 1, however, most children will feel comfortable enough with the basic skills to

begin making a transition to writing more independently. Young children’s desire to express themselves in

writing should be heartily encouraged. To this end, it is important that teachers have age-appropriate

expectations about what Year 1 pupils’ writing should resemble. It is therefore premature to expect that

words in their independent writing will be spelled correctly. It is reasonable to expect pupils to use the letter-

sound correspondences they have learned to set down plausible spellings for the sounds in the word. For

example, a pupil who writes bote for boat, dun for done, or hed for head has set down a plausible spelling for

each sound in the word. Dictionary-correct spelling will be a realistic goal when pupils have learned more

spellings and learned how to use a dictionary to check spelling.

In addition, pupils can also participate in shared writing exercises modelled by an adult. The focus in shared

writing should be on encouraging the pupils to express themselves verbally in a coherent manner and in

complete sentences, as the teacher serves as a scribe.

• Write to reflect audience, purpose and task.

o Draw pictures to represent a text that has been heard or read independently.

o Draw pictures to represent a preference or opinion.

o Write narratives, informative and explanatory texts, and offer an opinion through shared

writing exercises.

o With assistance, add details to writing.

o Create a title or caption to accompany a picture and/or shared writing.

IV. LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS

A. HANDWRITING AND SPELLING

• Hold a pencil with a pincer grasp and make marks on paper.

• Trace, copy and print from memory the 26 letters of the alphabet in both their upper-case and lower-

case forms.

• Write from left to right, leaving spaces between words, and using return sweep from top to bottom.

• Children may write phonetically plausible spellings for words by applying their current level of phonic

knowledge.

• Write words, phrases and sentences from dictation, applying phonics knowledge.

• Apply basic spelling conventions.

B. PARTS OF SPEECH AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

• Form letters, words, phrases and sentences to communicate thoughts and ideas.

• Use and understand question words such as: what, where, when, who, how.

• Form regular plural nouns by adding ‘s’ or ‘es’. For example: dog, dogs; wish, wishes.

• Demonstrate an understanding of frequently occurring prepositions. For example: to/from, in/out,

on/off.

• Produce and expand complete sentences orally and in shared writing exercises.

C. CAPITALISATION AND PUNCTUATION

• Use basic capitalisation and punctuation in sentences to convey meaning.

o Capitalise the first word in a sentence and the pronoun ‘I’.

o Identify and use end punctuation, including: full stops, question marks and exclamation

marks.

V. POETRY




Teachers: Children should be introduced to a varied selection of poetry with strong rhyme and rhythm.

Children should hear these rhymes read aloud, and should say some of them aloud. Some rhymes may also

be sung to familiar melodies. The poems listed here represent some of the most popular and widely

anthologised titles; children may certainly be introduced to more Mother Goose rhymes beyond the selection

below. Although children are not expected to memorise the following rhymes, they will delight in knowing

their favourites by heart, and will experience a sense of achievement and satisfaction in being able to recite

some of the rhymes. [Note regarding Reception: some of the poems and stories specified here are

appropriate for Reception children. Indeed, one would hope that most Reception children would enter Year 1

having heard, for example, some Mother Goose rhymes or the story of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’.

This is a selected core of poetry for Year 1 that children should become familiar with. You are encouraged to

expose children to more poetry, old and new. To bring children into the spirit of poetry, read it aloud and

encourage them to speak it aloud so they can experience the music in the words.

A. TRADITIONAL POEMS

• Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

• Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling

• Early to Bed

• Georgie Porgie

• Hey, Diddle, Diddle

• Hickory, Dickory, Dock

• Hot Cross Buns!

• Humpty Dumpty

• It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

• Jack and Jill

• Jack Be Nimble

• Jack Sprat

• Ladybird, Ladybird

• Little Bo Peep

• Little Boy Blue

• Little Jack Horner

• Little Miss Muffet

• Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

• Old King Cole

• Old Mother Hubbard

• One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

• Rain, Rain, Go Away

• Roses Are Red

• Seesaw, Margery Daw

• Simple Simon

• Sing a Song of Sixpence

• Star Light, Star Bright

• There Was a Little Girl

• There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

• Three Blind Mice

B. OTHER POEMS, OLD AND NEW

• Boat (Michael Rosen)

• Happy Thought (Robert Louis Stevenson)

• I Do Not Mind You, Winter Wind (Jack Prelutsky) [See Year 1 Science]

• Mary Had a Little Lamb (Sarah Josepha Hale)

• Rain (Robert Louis Stevenson) [See Year 1 Science]

• The More It Snows (A. A. Milne) [Cross-curricular connection with Year 1 Science]

• The Wind (Christina Rossetti) [Cross-curricular connection with Year 1 Science]




• Three Little Kittens (Eliza Lee Follen)

• Time to Rise (Robert Louis Stevenson)

VI. FICTION Teachers: The following works make up a strong core of literature, including stories, fables and poems that

provide an excellent foundation for children. This selection also develops children’s operational knowledge of

how written symbols represent sounds, and how those sounds and symbols convey meaning. The stories

specified below are meant to complement, not to replace, materials designed to help children practise

decoding and encoding skills (see above, section II. Reading and section III. Writing).

The following works constitute a core of stories for Year 1, which are meant to be read-aloud texts. Expose

children to many more stories, including classic picture books and other read-aloud books. (In schools,

teachers across years should communicate their choices in order to avoid undue repetition.) Children should

also be exposed to non-fiction prose: biographies, books on science and history, books on art and music,

etc. Children should also be given opportunities to tell and write their own stories.

A. STORIES

• The Bremen Town Musicians (Brothers Grimm)

• Chicken Little (also known as ‘Henny-Penny’)

• Cinderella (Charles Perrault)

• Goldilocks and the Three Bears (traditional)

• King Midas and the Golden Touch (traditional)

• The Little Red Hen (traditional)

• Little Red Riding Hood (traditional)

• Snow White (Brothers Grimm)

• The Three Billy Goats Gruff (traditional)

• The Three Little Pigs (traditional)

• The King with Horse’s Ears (Irish folktale)

• Tug-of-War (African folktale)

• The Tiger, the Brahmin and the Jackal (Indian folktale)

• The Ugly Duckling (Hans Christian Andersen)

• Selections from Winnie-the-Pooh (A. A. Milne)

• The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids (Brothers Grimm)

• The Velveteen Rabbit (Margery Williams)

B. AESOP’S FABLES

• The Lion and the Mouse

• The Grasshopper and the Ants

• The Dog and His Reflection

• The Hare and the Tortoise

C. FOLK HEROES AND TALL TALES

• St. George and the Dragon [Cross-curricular connection with Year 1 Visual Arts]

• King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table [Cross-curricular connection with Year 1 Visual Arts]

o The Sword in the Stone

D. LITERARY TERMS

Teachers: As children become familiar with stories, discuss the following terms (first introduced in section I.

D.).

• Author

• Illustrator




VII. SAYINGS AND PHRASES Teachers: Every culture has phrases and proverbs that make no sense when carried over literally into

another culture. The sayings have been one of the categories most appreciated by teachers who work with

children from different cultural backgrounds. For some children, this section may not be needed; they will

have picked up these sayings by hearing them at home and among friends.

• A dog is a man’s best friend.

• April showers bring May flowers.

• Better safe than sorry.

• Do as you would be done by. (Also known as 'the golden rule').

• The early bird gets the worm.

• Great oaks from little acorns grow.

• Look before you leap.

• A place for everything and everything in its place.

• Practice makes perfect.

• It’s raining cats and dogs.

• Where there’s a will there’s a way.




History and Geography: Year 1 Teachers: In Year 1, children often study aspects of the world around them: the family, the school, the

community, etc. The following guidelines are meant to broaden and complement that focus. The goal of

studying selected topics in world history in Year 1 is to foster curiosity and the beginnings of understanding

about the larger world outside the child’s locality, and to introduce them to varied civilisations and ways of

life. This can be done through a variety of means: story, drama, art, music, discussion and more.

The study of geography embraces many topics throughout the Core Knowledge Sequence UK, including

topics in history and science. Geographic knowledge includes a spatial sense of the world, an awareness of

the physical processes that shape life, a sense of the interactions between humans and their environment,

an understanding of the relations between places and cultures and an awareness of the characteristics of

specific regions and cultures.

Geography begins with the question where? In order to understand physical and human phenomena, we

need to know where they are located. Then we can begin to examine what is around them and how they are

related to surrounding phenomena. We need to understand the processes that shape the physical and

human worlds, how they interact and why things are located where they are, as well as how spatial

arrangements and places change with time. Finally, geographers seek to understand humans in their

environment. Geography’s foundational concepts include:

Location: where things are

Place: conditions at a given place which give it meaning

Links: connections between locations

Region: a territory sharing some homogenous geographical characteristics.

The aim of the geography section of the Sequence UK is to introduce children to the geography of the UK

and the world, as well as teach the skills needed to use maps and globes and think spatially. Regional

geography and spatial sense can be taught alongside or combined with human and physical geography. The

sequence of UK regions should be taught in an order that makes sense relative to the location of the school

or home. Therefore, it would be wise to teach the local region first.

WORLD HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY

I. SPATIAL SENSE (WORKING WITH MAPS, GLOBES AND OTHER GEOGRAPHICAL

TOOLS) Teachers: Foster children’s geographical awareness through regular work with maps and globes. Have

students regularly locate themselves on maps and globes in relation to the places they are studying.

Children should make and use a simple map of a locality (such as classroom, home, school grounds or

‘treasure hunt’).

A. THE CLASSROOM/SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

Understand the concept of an aerial perspective. For example, draw objects from the side and above

and discuss the differences. Draw plans (aerial views) of objects arranged on a desk or the

classroom floor, beginning with looking down on the objects from above.

Use a plan of the classroom, constructed with a basic key, to locate and retrieve objects (pupils

could design this plan together with their teacher). Use the plan to describe where things are located

in the classroom in relation to other objects using terms like ‘next to’, ‘far from’, ‘behind’, ‘under’, etc.

Give directions (left, right, forwards, backwards) including distance (number of steps) to find objects

located in the classroom and different parts of the school.




Understand the spatial layout of the school: buildings, playground, field, entrance, etc.

o Be able to read a simplified map of the school.

o Discuss where things are in relation to each other and how to navigate around the school

grounds using the points of the compass: north, south, east and west.

II. AN OVERVIEW OF THE SEVEN CONTINENTS Teachers: Help children to gain the beginnings of a geographic vocabulary and a basic sense of how we

organise and talk about the world by giving names to some of the biggest pieces of land. Introduce children

to the seven continents through a variety of methods and media (tracing, colouring, relief maps, etc.), and

associate the continents with familiar wildlife, landmarks, etc. For example, there are penguins in Antarctica

and the Eiffel Tower is in France on the European continent. Throughout the school year, reinforce names

and locations of continents when potential connections arise in other disciplines as suggested below and

whenever other opportunities arise.

A. GLOBE/WORLD MAP

Teachers: In later years, children will continue to learn about each of the continents as well as specific

countries and peoples.

Terms: island, continent, ocean, country, map, globe, north, east, south, west.

Differentiate between land and sea using a globe.

Locate the seven continents, the North and South Poles, the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

Understand direction: north, south, east and west.

Identify the seven continents and describe unique geographical attributes of each continent including

animals, plants, cities, landscape features, famous people and famous buildings:

o Asia [Cross-curricular connection with Year 1 Language and Literature: ‘The Tiger, the

Brahmin and the Jackal’]

o Europe [Cross-curricular connection with Year 1 Language and Literature: Grimms’ fairy

tales]

o Africa [Cross-curricular connection with Year 1 Science: Jane Goodall]

o North America [Cross-curricular connection with Year 1 Science: the Wright brothers]

o South America

o Antarctica

o Australia

Locate the British Isles and explain what makes an island.

BRITISH HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY Teachers: The Sequence UK covers British history as a chronological narrative, from pre-history until the

twentieth century. Certain important events will be covered more than once, as children acquire the skills and

maturity to appreciate their significance at a deeper level in later years. The term ‘British’ is used to describe

people and places in the United Kingdom, i.e. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, although

Northern Ireland is not part of Great Britain. The term ‘British Isles’ refers to Britain and Ireland, including the

Republic of Ireland.

I. GEOGRAPHY

Use a map of the UK.

o Name and locate the continent, country and county in which you live.

o Name and locate England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Understand important features of the UK.

o Identify and describe some geographical differences between England, Scotland, Wales and

Northern Ireland.

o Identify the Union flag and the component parts.




II. FROM PRE-HISTORY TO HISTORY Teachers: This account of the pre-history of the British Isles is necessarily brief and simple. It draws on the

disciplines of history and geography to explore important themes in Britain’s pre-history, such as the effects

of being separated from the continental landmass. This will be developed further in later years.

A. ISLANDS

Understand an island as a body of land surrounded by water.

Use examples to understand that islands can be very big or very small. For example: Ireland is a

large island, whereas the Isle of Wight is a smaller island.

B. ICE AGE, STONE AGE, BRONZE AGE AND IRON AGE

Teachers: The descriptions of the Ice Age, Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age exemplify how long periods

of human development are often described by reference to single, defining characteristics. The arrival of the

Romans in Britain allowed the development of written history, because the Romans brought with them the

skill of literacy.

Identify the defining characteristics and broad chronology of the periods of the Ice Age, Stone Age,

Bronze Age and Iron Age.

Understand the importance of reading and writing for communicating ideas and information. Imagine

what life would be like if it was not possible to read or write.

Understand the difference between pre-history and written history.

III. KINGS AND QUEENS Teachers: The monarchy is one of the most famous institutions in Britain. The Queen is the head of state

and still maintains a constitutional role. For hundreds of years, however, the monarch was largely

responsible for the entire management of the country’s affairs. Kings and queens took decisions about

waging war, about promoting or persecuting religious beliefs, about government policies and expenditures.

Understanding the transition from the autocratic and unlimited power of early monarchs to the limited

constitutional role of contemporary British monarchs is integral to understanding modern society and politics.

The changing balance of power between the crown, parliament and the people will be explored throughout

the Sequence UK.

Understand the significance of kings and queens in British history.

Understand the following historic events:

o The barons of England forced King John to sign the Magna Carta on 15 June, 1215. This

limited the power of the monarch.

o King John was succeeded by his son Henry III, who also alienated the barons. They rose in

revolt and the most powerful of them, Simon de Montfort, called a parliament that included

not only the barons but representatives of towns and counties for the first time.

o Charles I believed in the Divine Right of Kings (that God had given him the authority to do as

he wished) and was unwilling to be constrained by parliament. This led to a civil war and his

execution.

o The Commonwealth (1649-1660) was the period when Britain had no monarch, and was

ruled by Parliament and Oliver Cromwell.

o The Restoration of the monarchy took place in 1660. Charles II then ruled with a parliament.

o The Glorious Revolution of 1688 took place when James II was forced to flee after his failed

attempt to overrule parliament.

o William III and Mary II became joint monarchs and signed the Declaration of Rights, officially

limiting the power of the monarch and establishing in principle the constitutional monarchy

that we still have today.

Understand the role of Kings and Queens today and name the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

IV. PRIME MINISTERS Teachers: Introduce children to the importance of the Prime Minister in a parliamentary democracy.

Understand how the office of Prime Minister developed historically.




o Robert Walpole achieved influence with George II and with the House of Commons. He

became the most important minister in the Cabinet: the first Prime Minister.

o As the power of the monarchy decreased, the influence of the Parliament and the Prime

Minister grew.

Understand the role of the Prime Minister today.

o Today the Prime Minister is in charge of government.

o The Prime Minister has regular meetings with the Queen to tell her about the discussions of

the Cabinet.

o The Prime Minister lives at 10 Downing Street in London.

V. SYMBOLS AND FIGURES

Understand important British symbols and figures, including:

o The Union Jack

o Buckingham Palace

o 10 Downing Street

o The Houses of Parliament




Visual Arts: Year 1 Teachers: In schools, lessons on the visual arts should illustrate important elements of making and

appreciating art, and emphasise important artists, works of art, and artistic concepts. It is often appropriate

for works in the visual arts to be linked with subject matter in other disciplines; particularly in history and

geography, but also with language and literature, and some of these links are suggested. While the following

guidelines specify a variety of artworks in different media and from various times and places, they are not

intended to be comprehensive. Teachers are encouraged to build upon the core content and expose children

to a wide range of art and artists, and—whenever possible—to take children to see the works of art they

have studied. For this reason, many of the works suggested for consideration can be found in Britain, or

British collections.

I. ELEMENTS OF ART: COLOUR AND LINE Teachers: The generally recognised elements of art include line, shape, form, space, light, texture, and

colour. In Year 1, introduce children to line and colour. Engage students in recognising and using different

kinds of lines and colours, and point out lines and colours you see around you, in everything from the built

environment to the natural world.

A. COLOUR

Observe how colours can create different feelings and how certain colours can seem ‘warm’ (red,

orange, yellow) or ‘cool’ (blue, green, grey).

Identify and describe the use of colour—thinking about how it sets the scene, creates an atmosphere

or feeling—in:

o Pieter Bruegel, The Hunters in the Snow, 1565 (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna)

o David Hockney, A Bigger Splash, 1967 (Tate Modern, London)

o Henri Rousseau, Surprised! A Tiger in a Tropical Storm,1891 (National Gallery, London)

o Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers,1888 (National Gallery, London)

B. LINE

Identify and use different lines: straight, zigzag, curved, wavy, thick, thin.

Observe and describe different kinds of lines in:

o Rembrandt van Rijn, Saskia in a Straw Hat, 1633 (Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin)

o Pierre Bonnard, The Luncheon (Le Déjeuner), 1923 (National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin)

o Joan Miró, Painting (Peinture), 1925 (National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh)

II. TYPES OF ART: SCULPTURE Teachers: We introduce children to sculpture, or three-dimensional, 'all-around' art. We introduce various

types and styles of sculpture, and encourage children to make their own sculptures. [Cross-curricular links

with British History and Geography]

Hubert Le Sueur, King Charles the First, 1633 (Trafalgar Square, London)

Hamo Thornycroft, Oliver Cromwell, 1899 (Palace of Westminster, London)

E. H. Baily, Lord Horatio Nelson, 1840-43 (Trafalgar Square, London)

Henry Moore, Family Group, 1944 (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge)

Edgar Degas, Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, 1880-81 (Tate, Liverpool)

Barbara Hepworth, Infant, 1929 (Tate, St Ives)

Antony Gormley, Angel of the North, 1998 (Gateshead)

III: LOOKING AT AND TALKING ABOUT WORKS OF ART




Teachers: After children have been introduced to some elements of art and a range of artworks and artists,

and had opportunities for making art, engage them in looking at pictures and talking about them in greater

depth. Encourage the children to use the new words they have been learning as they talk, to expand their

word banks and enhance their oracy at the same time. Begin by asking questions about the lines and

colours, move on to describing or identifying any details which have caught the children’s attention,

progressing to thoughts the children have about why the artist/s worked in a particular way or ‘style’, and

what they might have been trying to say or communicate to us.

A. THE LANGUAGE OF ART

Teachers: This section includes a selection of useful and specialist words for talking about works of art. You

will find that you can use many of these terms in other areas of your teaching, particularly language and

literacy (where it is also customary to consider character, narrative, style etc.). Aim to enable the children to

understand these terms; at this stage very few will be use these terms in their speech, but building

recognition and re-call is an important step towards this.

Style: the way a work of art looks (in literature, the way something has been written or sounds)

Narrative: the word we use for a story in a work of art

Character: a word to refer to the main or important figures in a work of art or literature; but also a

term to describe a type of figure or person, such as ‘hero’

B. TALKING ABOUT PAINTINGS OF CHILDREN

Teachers: Use detailed looking and talking about the following paintings to embed what the children have

learned on the elements of art. Also help the children to verbalise they can observe about the depicted

children, such as their status or relationship, how old they are, what are they doing, where they are and how

might they be feeling (always referring back to things that can be seen).

William Hogarth, The Graham Children, 1742 (National Gallery, London)

Pieter Bruegel, Children’s Games, 1560 (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna)

John Singer Sargent, Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-6 (Tate Britain, London)

Gabriel Metsu, The Sick Child, 1660 (Rijskmuseum, Amsterdam)

C. TALKING ABOUT NARRATIVE PAINTINGS: SAINT GEORGE AND THE DRAGON

Teachers: Observe and talk about two paintings showing George and the Dragon [Cross-curricular link with

Language and Literature]. Use the version of the legend you have used in literature to help you read what

you can see in the paintings. Among artists, the version by Jacobus de Voragine in ‘The Golden Legend’

was a popular source. Start by identifying the characters (what can you see that tells you the girl is a

princess, for example). Compare the different moments in the narrative (story) these artists have shown.

Look at and talk about how the artists painted George, the princess, and dragon as very different characters,

showing different reactions, and in very different settings.

Paolo Uccello, Saint George and the Dragon, 1470 (National Gallery, London)

Jacopo Tintoretto, Saint George and the Dragon, 1555 (National Gallery, London)

ADDITIONAL UNIT: TYPES OF ART: ARCHITECTURE (OF THE STATE)

Teachers: This is an additional unit for you to explore. Children can focus on the art of buildings and building

design. Children can learn about architecture of the 'state', meaning buildings for the rulers of our country -

the government and royals. We also look for the lines in buildings. [Cross-curricular links with British History

and Geography]

The Palace of Westminster, focus on the parts by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin, constructed

1840-1870 (Westminster, London)

Westminster Abbey, present building begun under King Henry III in 1245 (Westminster, London)

The Banqueting House (part of the former Whitehall Palace), by Inigo Jones, 1622, with ceiling

paintings by Rubens added in 1636 (Whitehall, London)




Music: Year 1 Teachers: In schools, lessons on music should feature activities and works that illustrate important musical

concepts and terms, and should introduce important composers and works. When appropriate, topics in

music may be linked to topics in other disciplines. The following guidelines focus on content, not

performance skills, though many concepts are best learned through active practice such as singing, clapping

rhythms, playing instruments, etc.

I. ELEMENTS OF MUSIC

Through participation, become familiar with some basic elements of music rhythm, melody, harmony,

form, timbre, etc.).

o Recognise a steady beat; begin to play a steady beat.

o Recognise that some beats have accents (stress).

o Move responsively to music (marching, walking, hopping, swaying, etc.).

o Recognise short and long sounds.

o Discriminate between fast and slow.

o Discriminate between obvious differences in pitch: high and low.

o Discriminate between loud and soft.

o Recognise that some phrases are the same, some different.

o Sing unaccompanied, accompanied and in unison.

II. LISTENING AND UNDERSTANDING Teachers: To encourage listening skills and the beginnings of understanding, play various kinds of music

often and repeatedly. In the Year 1 classroom, music can be played for enjoyment, to accompany activities,

to inspire creative movement, etc. Expose children to a wide range of music, including children’s music,

popular instrumental music and music from various cultures.

A. INSTRUMENTS

Recognise the following instruments by sight and sound:

o Guitar

o Piano

o Trumpet

o Flute

o Violin

o Drum

B. WORKS OF MUSIC

Become familiar with the following works:

o Edvard Grieg, ‘Morning Mood’ and ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ from Peer Gynt. This is

a good work to illustrate dynamics (loud and quiet), as well as tempo (slow and fast).

o Pyotr Tchaikovsky, ‘The Nutcracker’

o Victor Herbert, ‘March of the Toys’ from Babes in Toyland

o Richard Rodgers, ‘March of the Siamese Children’ from The King and I

o Camille Saint-Saëns, Carnival of the Animals

III. SONGS Teachers: Children should become familiar with many of the works below. See also Year 1 Language and

Literature’s Mother Goose poems, since a number of these poems may be sung to familiar melodies.

A. WORKS OF MUSIC

The Bear Went Over the Mountain




The Farmer in His Den

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush

The Hokey Cokey

Hush, Little Baby

If You’re Happy and You Know It

Jingle Bells

Kumbaya (also Kum Ba Ya)

London Bridge is Falling Down

The Muffin Man

My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean

Pop! Goes the Weasel

Old MacDonald Had A Farm

One Man Went to Mow

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

This Old Man

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

The Wheels on the Bus

B. ADDITIONAL WORKS OF MUSIC

Teachers: You may wish to supplement the songs listed above with other songs, such as those below.

Eensy, Weensy Spider

Five Little Ducks That I Once Knew

Happy Birthday to You

How Much is that Doggie in the Window?

I Had a Little Nut Tree

I’m a Little Teapot

Kookaburra

Lavender’s Blue

Oh Where, Oh Where, Has My Little Dog Gone?

One Potato, Two Potato

Polly Put the Kettle On

Ring-a-Ring Of Roses

Teddy Bears’ Picnic

There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly

You Are My Sunshine




Mathematics: Year 1

I. NUMBERS AND THE NUMBER SYSTEM

A. WHOLE NUMBERS

Read and write numbers to at least 30 in figures.

Count reliably at least 30 objects.

Count on or back in ones, twos, fives or tens.

Recognise the place value of each digit in a number to at least 30.

Compare and order numbers to at least 30, using the related vocabulary and the equals (=) sign.

Use knowledge of place value to position numbers to at least 30 on a number line.

Identify ordinal numbers, first (1st) to tenth (10th).

Within the range 0 – 30, identify the number that is 1 more or 1 less than a given number.

Estimate a number of objects up to about 30 objects.

B. FRACTIONS

Identify 1⁄2 as one of two equal parts of a region or object.

Find 1⁄2 of a set of objects.

II. NUMBER OPERATIONS AND CALCULATIONS

A. ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION

Understand addition as counting on and combining two groups of objects, using appropriate vocabulary.

Understand subtraction as ‘take away’ and ‘difference’, using appropriate vocabulary.

Use the +, – and = signs to record calculations.

Recall pairs of numbers with a total of 10.

Recall all addition and subtraction facts for each number to at least 5.

Begin to recall all addition and subtraction facts for each number to at least 10.

Use known number facts and place value to add or subtract mentally a pair of one-digit numbers, e.g.

5 + 7, 9 – 4.

Use informal written methods to add or subtract.

o Add or subtract a one-digit number to or from a two-digit number, e.g. 14 + 7, 18 – 6.

o Add a multiple of 10 to a one-digit or two-digit number, e.g. 60 + 4, 60 + 24.

o Subtract a multiple of 10 from a two-digit number, e.g. 58 – 30.

B. MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION

Combine groups of the same size, using practical activities.

Arrange objects into equal groups, using practical activities.

Begin to use the vocabulary of multiplication and division.

Identify doubles of all numbers to at least 10.

III. MEASUREMENT A. LENGTH, MASS, CAPACITY AND TEMPERATURE

Identify familiar instruments of measurement, such as a ruler, scale and thermometer, and be able to

describe their uses.

Compare lengths, masses, capacities and temperatures using appropriate vocabulary.




Estimate, then measure, while choosing and using suitable, uniform non-standard or standard units

and measuring equipment, e.g. straws, interlocking cubes, marbles, yoghurt pots, metre stick, litre

jug.

Begin to use a ruler to measure lengths in centimetres.

B. TIME

Use vocabulary related to time.

Sequence familiar events in time.

Compare duration of events.

Know the days of the week and the months of the year.

Read the time to the hour and half hour on an analogue clock.

C. MONEY

Identify and use the pound (£) and pence (p) signs and the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2

coins.

Find totals and give change.

Write simple money amounts, e.g. 30p, £4.

IV. GEOMETRY

A. 2-D AND 3-D SHAPES

Visualise and name common 2-D shapes, including a circle, triangle, square and rectangle.

Visualise and name common 3-D solids, including a sphere, cylinder, cone, square-based pyramid,

cube and cuboid.

Use everyday language to describe features of common 2-D shapes, including the number of sides

and corners.

Use everyday language to describe features of common 3-D solids, including the shapes of faces

and number of faces and corners.

Recognise common shapes and solids in the environment.

Use shapes and solids to make patterns, designs, pictures and models.

B. POSITION, DIRECTION AND MOVEMENT

Use everyday language to describe position, direction and movement.

V. DATA

Establish concepts of likeness and difference by sorting and classifying objects according to various

criteria: size, shape, colour, amount, function, etc.

Define a set by the common property of its elements.

In a collection of objects that includes a given set and an item that does not belong, indicate which

item does not belong.

Interpret and construct simple pictograms.

VI. PROBLEM SOLVING AND REASONING

Recognise and continue simple patterns involving numbers or shapes.

Describe simple relationships involving numbers or shapes.

Solve simple mathematical problems and puzzles involving numbers or shapes.

Solve practical problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication or division in the context of

numbers or measurements, including money.




Science: Year 1 Teachers: Effective instruction in science requires hands-on experience and observation. In the words of the

Association for Science Education: ‘A good primary science education:

Acknowledges that children come to science education with ideas, observations and questions about

the world around them and use these as the foundations for their learning.

Nurtures children’s curiosity and inspires them, in a rich learning environment, to discover more and

to develop positive attitudes and an appreciation of the nature of science.

Challenges children to develop and use scientific skills; acquire and apply scientific knowledge,

understanding and language; investigate through playing, exploring and experimenting;

communicate and collaborate effectively with others; challenge scientific evidence.

Enables children to make connections between scientific ideas and to see how they are developed

and applied in other disciplines and beyond the classroom.’

While experience counts for much, learning from books is also important, for it helps bring coherence and

order to a child’s scientific knowledge. Only when topics are presented systematically and clearly can

children make steady and secure progress in their scientific learning. The child’s development of scientific

knowledge and understanding is in some ways a very disorderly and complex process, different for each

child. However, a systematic approach to the exploration of science, one that combines experience with

book learning, can help provide essential building blocks for deeper understanding at a later time.

I. PLANTS AND PLANT GROWTH Teachers: Reading aloud, observation and activities such as growing plants from seed in varying conditions

are useful ways to explore the following topics with children.

Understand what plants need to grow: sufficient warmth, light and water.

Recognise basic parts of plants: seeds, roots, stems, branches and leaves.

Understand that plants make their own food.

Recognise the importance of flowers and seeds. For example, seeds such as rice, nuts, wheat and

corn are food for plants and animals.

Know that there are two kinds of plants: deciduous and evergreen.

Become aware of key aspects of farming.

o How some food comes from farms as crops

o How famers must take special care to protect their crops from weeds and pests

o How crops are harvested, kept fresh, packaged and transported for people to buy and

consume

II. ANIMALS AND THEIR NEEDS Teachers: Through reading aloud, observation and activities, explore with children the common

characteristics and needs of animals.

Make the connection that animals, like plants, need food, water and space to live and grow.

Recognise that plants make their own food, but animals obtain food from eating plants or other living

things.

Understand that offspring are very much (but not exactly) like their parents.

Understand that most animal babies need to be fed and cared for by their parents; human babies are

especially in need of care when young.

Recognise that pets have special needs and must be cared for by their owners.

III. THE HUMAN BODY: THE FIVE SENSES

Identify the five senses and associated body parts:

o Sight: eyes

o Hearing: ears




o Smell: nose

o Taste: tongue

o Touch: skin

Review the importance of taking care of your body: exercise, cleanliness, healthy foods and rest.

IV. INTRODUCTION TO MAGNETISM Teachers: Through reading aloud, observation and experiments with magnets, introduce children to the idea

that there are forces we cannot see that act upon objects. [Cross-curricular connections with Year 3 Science]

Identify familiar, everyday uses of magnets. For example: in toys, in cabinet locks, in refrigerator

magnets, etc.

Classify materials according to whether they are or are not attracted by a magnet.

V. SEASONS AND WEATHER

Teachers: The emphasis in Year 1 should be on observation and description; technical explanations of

meteorological phenomena should be taken up in later years.

Identify the four seasons.

Be able to describe characteristic local weather patterns during the different seasons.

Recognise the importance of the sun as a source of light and warmth.

Understand daily weather changes.

o Temperature: thermometers are used to measure temperature

o Clouds: rainfall comes from clouds

o Rainfall: how the condition of the ground varies with rainfall; rainbows

o Thunderstorms: lightning, thunder, hail, safety during thunderstorms

o Snow: snowflakes, blizzards

VI. TAKING CARE OF THE EARTH

Identify the importance of conservation: some natural resources are limited, so people must be

careful not to use too much of them. For example: logging and subsequent reforestation.

Recognise practical measures for conserving energy and resources. For example: turn off

unnecessary lights, tightly turn off taps, etc.

Understand that some materials can be recycled. For example: aluminium, glass and paper.

Become aware that pollution be harmful but, if people are careful, they can help reduce pollution. For

example, littering, smog, water pollution.

VII. MATERIALS Teachers: Children should use correct vocabulary to describe different materials and their properties. Sort

materials into groups based on their properties. For example: soft, hard, bendy, ability to float, magnetic or

non-magnetic.

• Recognise and name a variety of widely used materials. For example: wood, plastic, rock, paper,

metal.

• Explain why materials are chosen for specific tasks based on their properties. For example wool for

clothing, glass for windows, wood for tables, metal for bridges.

• Become aware that some materials are natural and some are man-made.

VIII. SCIENCE BIOGRAPHIES

Joseph Banks (botanist)

Jane Goodall (studied chimpanzees)

Wilburn and Orville Wright (made first aeroplane)





I. LISTENING AND SPEAKING Teachers: Traditional English language instruction has typically accorded little, if any, attention to the

ongoing development of children’s listening and speaking abilities. However, it is important to focus on

children’s development of oral language because literacy, the ability to read and write written language, is

highly correlated with pupils’ oral language proficiency. The ability to understand a text read aloud is a

prerequisite for making sense of the same text in printed form. Therefore, it is essential that children build

listening and speaking competency while also developing reading and writing skills.


• Participate in age-appropriate activities for Year 2 involving listening and speaking.


• Use agreed-upon rules for group discussions. For example: look at and listen to the speaker, raise

hand to speak, take turns, say ‘excuse me’ or ‘please,’ etc.

• Ask closed and open questions to clarify conversations, directions, exercises and/or classroom

routines.

• Carry on and participate in a conversation over at least six turns, staying on topic, initiating

comments or responding to a partner’s comments, with either an adult or another Year 2 child.


• Understand and use language to express spatial and temporal relationships. For example: up, down,

first, last, before, after, etc.

• Understand and use narrative language to describe people, places, things, locations, events and

actions.

• Understand and use common sayings and phrases. For example: ‘Hit the nail on the head’ and

‘Many hands make light work’. (Also see section VII. Sayings and Phrases.)

• Recognise and discuss body language; ‘read the signs’.





• Recite a nursery rhyme, poem or song independently, using appropriate eye contact, volume and

clear enunciation.

• Give oral presentations about personal experiences, topics of interest and/or stories, using

appropriate eye contact, volume and clear enunciation.

C. COMPREHENSION AND DISCUSSION OF READ-ALOUDS—ALL TEXTS

Teachers: In Year 2, a child’s ability to understand what s/he hears continues to outpace her or his ability to

read independently and understand written text. By listening to stories or non-fiction selections read aloud,

children can experience the complexities of written language without expending cognitive energy on

decoding; they can likewise access deeper and more complex content knowledge than they are presently

able to read independently.

Careful consideration has been given to the poetry, fiction and nonfiction selections below to ensure that the

vocabulary and syntax presented is rich and complex. Levelled texts (texts for beginner readers) will not

provide the rich language experience that is desired during read-alouds and should only be used here as a




starting point for reading aloud with pupils for whom English is a second language. Non-fiction read-alouds

have been selected on the basis of the history, science, music and visual arts topics identified in the

Sequence UK, with emphasis on history and science read-alouds. It is strongly recommended that daily

read-alouds focus on a single topic over a sustained period of time—about two weeks—rather than

intermingling read-alouds on a variety of subjects. Careful consideration should be given to the order in

which non-fiction read-alouds are presented to ensure that knowledge about a topic builds in a progressive

and coherent way.

Prior to a read-aloud, teachers should identify what pupils know and have learned that may be related to the

specific story or topic to be read aloud. Use pictures accompanying the read-aloud to check and support

children’s understanding of the read-aloud.

Following any read-aloud, children should participate in rich, structured conversations with an adult in

response to the written text that has been read aloud. In this way, they can begin to practise orally

comparing, analysing, and forming ideas in written text in much the same way as they will be expected to do

as independent readers in the later years.



• Distinguish the following genres of literature: fiction, non-fiction and drama.




o Answer questions requiring literal recall and understanding the details and/or facts of a read-

aloud, i.e. who, what, when, where, why.




scene or facts in a read-aloud.







• Integrate information and evaluate evidence.

o Make predictions prior to and during a read-aloud, based on the title, pictures and/or text

heard thus far and then compare the actual outcomes to predictions.

o Answer questions that require making interpretations, forming judgements or giving opinions



o Interpret information that is presented orally and then ask additional questions to clarify

information or the topic in the read-aloud.


D. COMPREHENSION AND DISCUSSION OF READ-ALOUDS—FICTION, DRAMA AND POETRY



• Compare and contrast characters from different stories.

• Change some story events and provide a different ending to the story.

• Create and tell an original story, using narrative language to describe characters; setting(s); and a



• Identify the moral or lesson of a fable, folktale or myth.





creating own stories, including: author, illustrator, characters, setting, plot, dialogue, personification,

simile and metaphor.

• Identify sensory language and how it is used to describe people, objects, places and events.

E. COMPREHENSION AND DISCUSSION OF READ-ALOUDS—NON-FICTION / INFORMATIONAL TEXT

Teachers: Select non-fiction topics to read aloud from the Year 2 history, science, music and visual arts

subjects in the Sequence UK, with an emphasis on history and science.

• Generate questions and seek information from multiple sources to answer questions.

• Answer questions about the details of a non-fiction text, indicating which part of the text provides the

information needed to answer specific questions.


• With assistance, create and interpret timelines and lifelines in relation to read-alouds.



II. READING

A. PRINT AWARENESS

• Understand that reading consists of a specific sense of directionality: reading left to right, return

sweep after finishing a line, reading top to bottom, reading a book from front to back.

• Identify the parts of a book and the function of each part: front cover, back cover, title page, table of

contents and index.

• Demonstrate correct book orientation by holding a book correctly and turning pages.

• Recognise that sentences in print are made up of separate words.

• Understand that words are separated by spaces.

• Distinguish between letters, words, sentences and stories.

• Demonstrate an understanding of basic print conventions by tracking and following print word for

word when listening to text read aloud.

• Demonstrate an understanding that the sequence of letters in a written word represents the

sequence of sounds in the spoken word.

• Recognise and name the 26 letters of the alphabet in both their upper-case and lower-case forms.

• Say the letters of the alphabet in order, either in song or recitation.

B. ORAL READING AND FLUENCY

• Read aloud, alone or with a partner at least 15 minutes each day.

• Read decodable stories (levelled beginner readers) that incorporate the specific code knowledge

that has been taught.

• Demonstrate increased accuracy, fluency and expression on successive reading of a decodable text.

• Use phonics skills in conjunction with context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and

understanding, rereading as necessary.

• Demonstrate understanding of and use commas and end punctuation while reading orally.

• Recognise apostrophes and speech marks.

C. READING COMPREHENSION—ALL TEXTS

Teachers: During the beginning of Year 2, most pupils will still need to devote considerable energy when

reading to decipher the written text. Over the course of this year, they will learn even more elements of the

code, meaning that the decodable text that they can read independently will increasingly resemble ‘real

stories’ and reading books. With practice and repeated readings of the same text, pupils will develop

increasing automaticity, allowing them to focus more intently on the meaning of what they are reading. Both

the pupil’s increasing fluency and the use of more authentic text—which is now decodable because of the

child’s increasing code knowledge—mean that attention to reading comprehension can move to a higher

level than just the rudimentary understanding of text that was expected at the Year 1 level. This expectation

is reflected in the increased number of objectives below that have been added to the Year 2 objectives.




However, it is important to remember that children’s listening comprehension still far exceeds their reading

comprehension, and that their ability to talk about what they have heard and/or read will exceed their ability

to demonstrate that understanding in writing.

• Demonstrate an understanding of completely decodable text after reading independently.


o Sequence four to six pictures illustrating events from a text that has been read

independently.

o Answer questions requiring literal recall and an understanding of the details and/or facts (i.e.

who, what, where, when) about a text that has been read independently.

o Retell key details from a text that has been read independently.

o Ask questions to clarify information about a text that has been read independently.




o Identify basic text features and what they mean, including the title, author, table of contents

and chapters.


o Compare and contrast similarities and differences within a single text or between multiple

texts read independently.

o Make personal connections to events or experiences in a text that has been read

independently and/or make connections among several texts that have been read

independently.

• Integrate information and evaluate evidence. (Note: prior to reading, teachers should identify what


pictures accompanying the written text to check and support understanding.)

o Make predictions prior to and while reading, based on the title, pictures and/or text read thus

far and then compare the actual outcomes to predictions.

o Answer questions that require making interpretations, judgements or giving opinions about

what is read independently, including answering ‘why’ questions that require recognising

cause/effect relationships.


o Identify temporal words that link and sequence events, i.e., first, next then, etc.

o Identify words that link ideas, i.e., for example, also, in addition.

D. READING COMPREHENSION—FICTION, DRAMA AND POETRY






• Identify the moral or lesson of a fable, folktale, or myth.


creating own stories: author, illustrator, characters, setting, plot, dialogue, personification, simile and

metaphor.


E. READING COMPREHENSION—NON-FICTION AND INFORMATIONAL TEXTS

Teachers: Select non-fiction topics from the Year 2 history, science, music and visual arts topics listed, with

an emphasis on history and science.

• With assistance, create and interpret timelines and lifelines related to text read independently.

• Distinguish text that describes events that happened long ago from text that describes contemporary

or current events.

III. WRITING




Teachers: It is important to recognise that of all communication skills—listening, speaking, reading and

writing—writing is the most demanding and challenging. During the beginning of Year 2, children still need to

devote much of their focus and cognitive energy to the code itself, as well as the fine motor act of writing.

During this period, teachers should continue to support written expression through shared writing

experiences that are modelled by an adult and that increase in difficulty over time.

At some point during Year 2, however, most children will feel comfortable enough with their basic skills to

begin making a transition to writing more independently. Children’s desire to express themselves in writing

should be heartily encouraged. To this end, it is important that teachers have age-appropriate expectations

about what Year 2 pupils’ writing should resemble. Pupils have not been taught all of the spellings they will

need to achieve dictionary-correct spelling. It is therefore premature to expect that words in their

independent writing will be spelled correctly. It is reasonable to expect pupils to use the letter-sound

correspondences they have learned to set down plausible spellings for the sounds in the word. For example,

a pupil who writes bote for boat, dun for done, or hed for head has set down a plausible spelling for each

sound in the word. Dictionary-correct spelling will be a realistic goal when pupils have learned more spellings

and learned how to use a dictionary to check spelling.

Furthermore, while teachers can begin to model the use of a writing process, such as ‘Plan-Draft-Edit,’ it is

equally important not to dampen a pupil’s enthusiasm by rigidly insisting that all of a pupil’s writing be edited

over and over again to bring the text to the ‘publication’ stage. In Year 2, teachers should achieve a sensible

balance that encourages children to use their current skill knowledge when writing, without stifling creative

expression.

A. WRITING TO REFLECT AUDIENCE, PURPOSE AND TASK

• Add details to writing.

• Begin to use tools, including technology, to plan, draft and edit writing.

B. CONDUCTING RESEARCH

• Gather information from experiences or provided text sources.

C. NARRATIVE WRITING

• Write or retell a story that includes characters; setting(s); and a beginning, a middle and an

appropriate end to events of the story in proper sequence.

• Write a descriptive paragraph using sensory language.

• Create a title that is relevant to the narrative.

D. INFORMATIVE/EXPLANATORY WRITING

• Write about a topic, including beginning and ending sentences, facts and examples relevant to the

topics and specific steps (if writing explanatory text).

E. PERSUASIVE WRITING (OPINION)

• Express an opinion or point of view in writing, providing reasons and supporting details for

preference or opinion using the linking word because.

• Create a title that is relevant to the topic or subject of the text.

• If writing about a specific book or read-aloud, refer to the content of the text.


A. HANDWRITING AND SPELLING

• Print from memory the 26 letters of the alphabet accurately in both their upper-case and lower-case

forms.

• Form words, phrases and sentences to communicate thoughts and ideas.






• Write on primary lined paper from left to right, staying within the lines and leaving spaces between

words, and write from top to bottom, using a return sweep.

• Write phonemically plausible spellings for words that cannot be spelled correctly with current code

knowledge, e.g., write ate for eight, boi for boy, and fone for phone.

• Write words, phrases and sentences from dictation, applying phonics knowledge.

• Identify and use synonyms and antonyms.


• Recognise, identify and use subject, object and possessive pronouns, orally, in written text and in

own writing. For example: I, me, mine, you, yours, they, them.

• Recognise, identify and use possessive pronouns that function as adjectives, orally, in written text

and in own writing. For example: my, your, her, his.

• Recognise, identify and use common and proper nouns, orally, in written text and in own writing.

• Recognise, identify and use regular verbs to convey a sense of past, present and future tense,

orally, in written text and in own writing.

• Recognise, identify and use subjects and predicates, orally, in written text and in own writing.

o Every complete sentence consists of two parts: the subject and the predicate.

o Subject: what/whom the sentence is about, in bold in the example: Anna scored a goal.

o Predicate: explains something about the subject, in bold in the example: Anna scored a

goal.

• Produce and expand complete sentences orally and in shared writing exercises.


• Capitalise the first word in a sentence, the pronoun ‘I’, proper nouns (e.g. names and places),

months and days of the week.

• Identify and use end punctuation, including full stops, question marks and exclamation marks.

• Use commas appropriately in greetings and closings of letters, dates and items in a series.

• Write a simple, friendly letter.

• Use apostrophes to create contractions and indicate possession, i.e., dog’s paw.

• Use speech marks appropriately to designate direct speech.

V. POETRY Teachers: The poems listed here constitute a selected core of poetry for this year group. You are

encouraged to expose children to more poetry, old and new, and to have children write their own poems. To

bring children into the spirit of poetry, read it aloud and encourage them to speak it aloud so they can

experience the music in the words. Although children are not expected to memorise the following rhymes,

they will delight in knowing their favourites by heart, and will experience a sense of achievement and

satisfaction in being able to recite some of the rhymes.

• Become familiar with the following works:

o Cats Sleep Anywhere (Eleanor Farjeon)

o The Frog (Hilaire Belloc)

o A Good Play (Robert Louis Stevenson)

o Hope (Langston Hughes)

o If Wishes Were Horses (traditional)

o I Know All the Sounds the Animals Make (Jack Prelutsky)

o Jumbo Jet (Spike Milligan)

o My Shadow (Robert Louis Stevenson)

o The Owl and the Pussycat (Edward Lear)

o The Pasture (Robert Frost)

o The Purple Cow (Gelett Burgess)

o Pussycat, Pussycat (traditional)

o The Queen of Hearts (traditional)

o Ring a Ring of Roses (traditional)

o Rope Rhyme (Eloise Greenfield)




o Scissors (Allan Ahlberg)

o Solomon Grundy (traditional)

o The Swing (Robert Louis Stevenson)

o Table Manners [also known as ‘The Goops’] (Gelett Burgess)

o Thirty Days Hath September (traditional)

o Three Wise Men of Gotham (traditional)

• Become familiar with riddle rhymes.

• Become familiar with tongue twisters.

VI. FICTION Teachers: While the following works make up a strong core of literature, the ‘content’ of language arts

includes not only stories, fables and poems, but also knowledge of how written symbols represent sounds

and how those sounds and symbols convey meaning. Thus, the stories specified below are meant to

complement, not to replace, materials designed to help children practise decoding and encoding skills (see

above, section II. Reading and section III. Writing).

The titles here constitute a core of stories for this year group. They are available in a variety of editions,

some designed for novice readers, and others best for reading aloud to children. In Year 2, most of the

following titles should be read to the children. It is recommended that you provide a mixture of texts,

including some beginning readers, with their necessarily limited vocabulary and syntax, for these can give

children the important sense of accomplishment that comes from being able to ‘read it all by myself’.

Expose children to many more stories, including classic picture books and books best read aloud. (In

schools, teachers across year groups should communicate their choices in order to avoid undue repetition.)

Children should also be exposed to non-fiction prose—biographies, books on science and history, books on

art and music—and they should be given opportunities to tell and write their own stories.

A. STORIES

All Stories Are Anansi’s (folktale from West Africa)

The Boy at the Dike (folktale from Holland)

Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby (traditional)

The Frog Prince (Brothers Grimm)

Hansel and Gretel (traditional)

Selections from The House at Pooh Corner (A. A. Milne)

It Could Always Be Worse (Yiddish folktale)

Jack and the Beanstalk (traditional)

‘King of the Nogs’ from The Sagas of Noggin the Nog (Smallfilms)

Medio Pollito (Hispanic Folktale)

The Pied Piper of Hamelin (traditional)

Pinocchio (traditional)

The Princess and the Pea (traditional)

Puss-in-Boots (traditional)

Rapunzel (traditional)

Rumpelstiltskin (traditional)

Sleeping Beauty (traditional)

The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter)

B. AESOP’S FABLES

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

The Dog in the Manger

The Fox and the Grapes

The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs




The Maid and the Milk Pail

The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

C. DIFFERENT LANDS, SIMILAR STORIES

Teachers: To give pupils a sense that people all around the world tell certain stories that, while they differ in

details, have much in common, introduce pupils to similar folktales from different lands, such as the

following:

• Issun Boshi / One-Inch Boy (Japan); The Knee-High Man (African-American folktale)

• You may also want to read ofther variations of these stories including; Tom Thumb (England);

Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen (Denmark); Little Finger of the Watermelon Patch

(Vietnam)

• You may also want to read one of the many variations on the Cinderella story (from Europe, Africa,

China, Vietnam, Egypt, Korea, etc.)

D. LITERARY TERMS

• Understand the names for characters, including heroines and heroes.

• Recognise terms in drama, including actor, actress, script, costume, scenery, props, theatre, stage,

audience and applause.


another culture. For many children, this section may not be needed since they will have picked up these

sayings by hearing them at home and amongst friends. However, this section has been one of the categories

most appreciated by teachers who work with children from home cultures that differ from British culture. All

children should become familiar with the sayings and phrases below.

• An apple a day keeps the doctor away. [Connection to Year 2 Science]

• Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. [Connection to Aesop’s fables]

• Don’t judge a book by its cover. [Connection to ‘The Frog Prince’]

• Hit the nail on the head.

• If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

• Land of Nod

• Let the cat out of the bag.

• Many hands make light work. [Connection to ‘The Boy at the Dike’]

• The more the merrier.

• Never leave until tomorrow what you can do today.

• Sour grapes [Connection to Aesop’s fables]

• There’s no place like home.

• Wolf in sheep’s clothing [Connection to Aesop’s fables]




History and Geography: Year 2

WORLD GEOGRAPHY

Teachers: In Year 2, children continue their study of the world around them and then broaden and

complement that focus. The goal of studying selected topics in World History in Year 2 is to foster children’s

curiosity and the beginnings of their understanding about the larger world outside their locality, and about

varied civilisations and ways of life. This can be done through a variety of means: story, drama, art, music,

discussion, and more.

In Year 2, the study of geography expands on the concepts of spatial sense, maps of the school setting, and

the globe. Pupils also learn about Northern Europe, including Scandinavia. The geography of the British Isles

expands on the regional differences between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

I. SPATIAL SENSE Teachers: Foster children’s geographical awareness through regular work with maps and globes and other

geographical tools.

Locate yourself on maps and globes in relation to the different places you are studying.

II. THE SCHOOL SETTING Teachers: Pupils should learn about the spatial layout of the school in greater detail: its site (what is there)

and situation (what surrounds the school).

Identify buildings, playgrounds, fields, entrances, boundaries, vegetation and neighbouring land use.

Examine aerial photographs of the school grounds and surrounding area. Use these photos to:

o Identify buildings and points of interest.

o Discuss how to navigate around the school grounds, what buildings and land are near the

school, what route pupils take to get to school and what they pass along the way.

o Use the compass points: north, south, east and west.

Develop spatial awareness by drawing basic maps of confined areas, for example a classroom, the

playground, their bedroom, etc. Use symbols, a key to represent objects on the map and a colour-

code for different areas.

III. GLOBE/WORLD MAP Terms: Peninsula, boundary, equator, hemisphere, climate.

Identify the major oceans and the seven continents.

Find the equator, the northern hemisphere, the southern hemisphere and the North/South Poles on a

globe.

Identify the UK as one of many countries in Europe, with neighbours such as France, Spain,

Germany, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and

Ireland.

Identify the spatial distribution of the Roman Empire (Cross-curricular connection with Roman

History).

IV. NORTHERN EUROPE Teachers: Introduce pupils to a part of Europe that is different from the UK and illustrate the ways in which

Northern Europe is similar and different from the UK. The geography of Northern Europe should be taught

alongside the history of the Vikings.

Climate (average weather conditions over an extended period of time)




o Climate of Northern Europe: mild in the south; cold and snowy further north. Northern

Europe is covered in snow and ice for much of the winter.

Vegetation: coniferous forest adapts to the cold and snowy climate.

Landscape: mixture of lowlands, mountains and lakes.

Countries: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.

Languages spoken: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finish, and Icelandic.

Settlement: the capital cities are Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Reykjavik.

o Discuss what it is like to live in a cold and snowy climate. How do people keep warm? How

do they travel around? How do they clear snow?

GEOGRAPHY OF THE BRITISH ISLES

I. REGIONS OF THE UK

Name the continent, country and county in which you live.

Identify regional differences between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For example:

identify the flags, major mountain ranges, major rivers, lakes, capital cities and other distinguishing

characteristics.

England: identify cultural symbols, famous people and cultural differences. For example: St.

George’s Day, the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, Anglo-Saxons, football, Stratford-upon-Avon,

Shakespeare, Chaucer

Scotland: identify cultural symbols, famous people and cultural differences. For example: Loch Ness,

Ben Nevis, Scottish Gaelic, tartan, kilts, haggis, highland games, Robert Burns, Scottish dancing

[cross-curricular connection with Music Year 2]

Wales: identify cultural symbols, famous people and cultural differences. For example: Welsh

language, rugby, Dylan Thomas, St. David’s Day, Eisteddfod festival of literature and music, Welsh

folk songs

Ireland: identify cultural symbols, famous people and cultural differences. For example: Irish Gaelic,

St. Patrick’s Day, shamrock, leprechaun, James Joyce, Gaelic football

II. CLIMATES

Understand the difference between weather and climate

o Weather is day to day atmospheric conditions

o Climate is the average weather conditions measured over years

How does the weather vary from day to day and why?

o Keep a daily record of temperature, wind direction, wind speed and precipitation

o Discuss how the weather changes and why, for example with wind direction

Show how the climate varies across the UK

o Changes in temperature, precipitation, wind, seasons

o Discuss latitude as a reason for this variation

WORLD HISTORY Teachers: Encourage children to examine the nature of a ‘civilisation’, what defines a settled culture as

opposed to a nomadic lifestyle. Settlements, agriculture, laws and customs and communications all form

important parts of civilisation, and children should see what modern culture and society owes to these

ancient civilisations.

I. ANCIENT EGYPT

Terms: archaeology, archaeologist, fertile




A. GEOGRAPHY

Identify the African continent on a map or globe.

Understand the climate in Africa and its influence on vegetation, particularly in the Sahara Desert

[Cross-curricular connection with Science Year 2]

Understand the importance of the Nile River, floods and farming

Identify key pharaohs

o Rameses II

o Tutankhamun [Cross-curricular connection with Visual Arts Year 2]

o Hatshepsut, woman pharaoh

o Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti [Cross-curricular connection with Visual Arts Year 2]

Identify key features in the Ancient Egyptian culture and religion

o Pyramids

o Mummies

o Great Sphinx

o Animal gods

o Hieroglyphic writing

II. MESOPOTAMIA: THE ‘CRADLE OF CIVILISATION’

Understand the importance of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia

Identify key features in the Ancient Mesopotamian culture and religion

o Cuneiform writing: understand why writing is important to the development of civilization

o Ziggurat temples

o Babylon city

o The Gate of Ishtar

Become familiar with the Code of Hammurabi (early code of laws)

o Understand why rules and laws are important to the development of civilisation

HISTORY OF WORLD RELIGIONS Teachers: Since religion is a shaping force in the story of civilisation, the Core Knowledge Sequence UK

introduces children in the early years to major world religions, beginning with a focus on geography and

major symbols and figures. The purpose is not to explore matters of theology but to provide a basic

vocabulary for understanding many events and ideas in history. The goal is to familiarise, not proselytise; to

be descriptive, not prescriptive. The tone should be one of respect and balance: no religion should be

disparaged by implying that it is a thing of the past. To the question, ‘Which one is true?’ an appropriate

response is: ‘People of different faiths believe different things to be true. The best people to guide you on this

right now are your parents or carers.’

I. JUDAISM

Belief in one God

Followers are called the Jewish people or Jews

Become familiar with the Story of the Exodus

o Moses leads the Hebrews out of Egypt

Understand important places, holidays, symbols and features:

o Israel, Hanukkah (sometimes spelled Chanukah), Torah, synagogue, symbol of the Star of

David

II. CHRISTIANITY

Belief in one God

Followers are called Christians

Christianity grew out of Judaism





o Jesus, meaning of ‘messiah’, Christmas, Easter, symbol of the cross

III. ISLAM

Belief in one God

Followers are called Muslims

Originated in Arabia, spread worldwide


o Allah, Muhammad, Makkah, Qur’an, mosque, symbol of the crescent and star (found on the

flags of many mainly Islamic nations)

BRITISH HISTORY

I. ROMANS IN BRITAIN Teachers: Emphasise the vast extent of Roman influence from the Middle East and North Africa to Northern

Europe. It is important that pupils understand how the Romans exported ideas, innovations and language all

over Europe, and led to the development of the idea of Christendom. In Britain, the Romans brought literacy

and extended trade and contact with continental Europe, as well as vast technological developments.

A. THE ROMANS INVADE 43AD

Invasion under Emperor Claudius

o Boudicca, Rebellion of the Iceni, in 60AD.

o Destroyed Roman settlements at Colchester, London and St Albans; Romans considered

leaving.

Romans fail to conquer Scotland (Caledonia)

o Hadrian’s Wall

o Ireland (Hibernia) not invaded

Large Roman Settlements

o Londinium

o Eboracum

Technological advances

o Road networks

o Sewage and water supply systems

o Literacy and written records

Roman archaeology

o Roman villa at Fishbourne near Chichester

o Roman baths at Bath

B. ROMANS LEAVE, 410

Economic decline

o Roman integration and intermarriage; Romans left cultural influence

o Romano-British culture; Romanisation of the language, e.g. centenary, mega, video

II. POST-ROMAN BRITAIN Teachers: After the departure of the Romans, the British Isles were subject to successive waves of

invasions from Northern Europe and Scandinavia. The Anglo-Saxon immigrations and invasions mixed with

the Romano-British to modify native culture. Encourage children to think about the significance of waves of

immigrations in forming cultures in the British Isles. Use maps to ensure children can understand where early

Kingdoms existed in Britain.

A. ANGLES AND THE SAXONS, INVASIONS FROM 490




Native Anglo-Saxon culture

o Legend of King Arthur

B. MULTIPLE KINGDOMS ACROSS BRITAIN

England and Wales included:

o Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Kent, East Anglia, Sussex, Essex

Scotland included:

o Pictland and Dál Riata

Struggles for power

o The rise of Wessex, Alfred the Great

III. CHRISTIANITY IN BRITAIN Teachers: Ensure the historical, rather than theological, importance of Christianity in Britain is emphasised.

Early Christianity helped form identity and social organisation. Pupils should be introduced to the idea that

Christian institutions and beliefs were of great importance to people’s lives and shaped their world.

A. CHRISTIANITY

Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire before the Romans left Britain

Roman Emperor Constantine and his conversion to Christianity in 312

B. SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY

Missionaries travelled throughout the Roman Empire to convert Anglo-Saxon pagans to Christianity

o St Augustine (of Canterbury), first Archbishop of Canterbury; King Aethelbert of Kent

o St. Patrick, Christian missionary to Ireland; Ireland’s patron saint

o St. Columba, Celtic Christianity to Scotland; monastery of Iona

o St. Aidan, Christianity in Northumbria; monastery at Lindisfarne

C. MONASTICISM IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE

Monasticism was the centre of cultural and scholastic life

o Monks studied grammar, logic, mathematics, canon law and medicine; some monasteries

become universities.

o The Venerable Bede wrote a historical account of England The Ecclesiastical History of the

English People

Illuminated manuscripts

o The Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels [Cross-curricular link with Visual Arts Year 2]

IV. THE VIKINGS Teachers: Encourage pupils to compare the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons with the influence of the Vikings.

Children should understand the different ways in which Viking attack, invasion, settlement and interaction

influenced Britain, as well as the extent of Viking exploration and its importance in Viking culture.

A. THE VIKINGS, SCANDINAVIAN EXPLORERS AND INVADERS

Viking culture, known for invasion and violence

o Culture of exploration and seafaring; extensive trading routes; migration and settlement

o Danegeld payments to the Vikings to convince them not to attack

Viking invasions of Britain

o Viking settlements of Jorvik (York) and Dublinia (Dublin)

The Danelaw: dominated Northumbria, East Anglia and parts of Mercia

o Kingdom of Wessex under Alfred the Great was the only native English Kingdom

o Alfred victorious over the Vikings




V. NORMAN BRITAIN Teachers: The Norman Conquest marks the final successful hostile invasion of Britain. Explain how it

ensured the continued existence of the fragile and newly unified England by the enforcement of a strong and

informed system of government and taxation.

A. NORMAN INVASION, 1066

Succession dispute, Harold Godwinson (Earl of Wessex), Harald III of Norway and William of

Normandy

o Battle of Stamford Bridge

Battle of Hastings, October 1066

o William of Normandy defeats Harold Godwinson

o Submission of the Anglo-Saxon ruling elites; crowned King of England

o The Bayeux Tapestry

B. DOMESDAY BOOK, 1086

Lists all settlements and lands in England and Wales

Important for governance and taxation

FEATURED GREAT EXPLORER

A. ROALD AMUNDSEN [builds on Year 2 History and Geography: Northern Europe]





appreciating art, and emphasise important artists, works of art, and artistic concepts. When appropriate,

topics in the visual arts may be linked to topics in other disciplines. While the following guidelines specify a

variety of artworks in different media and from various cultures, they are not intended to be comprehensive.

Teachers are encouraged to build upon the core content and expose children to a wide range of art and

artists, particularly incorporating those that either you or the children’s carers can take them to see.

I. ART OF ANCIENT EGYPT [Some of these pieces can be found with World History: Ancient Egypt]

Look at and discuss:

o The Great Sphinx (Giza, outside Cairo)

o A bust of Queen Nefertiti (head and shoulder portrait sculpture): examples in New York

(Metropolitan Museum) and London (British Museum)

o Mummy cases: Sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun, circa 1323 BC (National Museum of

Egyptian Antiquities, Cairo) or Nesperennub’s (British Museum, London)

o Animal gods in Egyptian art: such as Bronze statuette of a cat (Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford)

Find out about:

o The Rosetta Stone, Ptolemaic Period, 196 BC (Essential for the deciphering of

hieroglyphics, British Museum, London)

II. EARLY CHRISTIAN AND MEDIEVAL ART IN ENGLAND AND NORTHERN EUROPE [Cross curricular links with Year 2 British History and with Language and Literature: Aesop’s Fables. These

fables are illustrated in the borders of the Bayeux Tapestry, probably to reveal character traits of those

depicted in the main panels above them.]

Observe and describe the Celtic (also called Insular) style of illumination (manuscript decoration) as

seen in:

o The Lindisfarne Gospels, c. 715 (British Library, London)

o The Book of Kells c. 800 (Trinity College Library, Dublin)

Discover the variety of art treasures of England’s early medieval rulers (range of materials, foreign

influences, styles etc.) by observing:

o Sutton Hoo Ship Burial (burial treasure of an Anglo-Saxon King, 7th century, Sutton Hoo,

Suffolk). An example of an item to study is the Shoulder Clasp (British Museum, London)

o Bayeux Tapestry (embroidery showing events leading up to the Norman Conquest, probably

commissioned by Odo, Earl of Kent, for William the Conqueror, after 1067 or after, Musée de

la Tapisserie de Bayeux, Bayeux). [Located in History and Geography]

III. ELEMENTS OF ART: COLOUR, SHAPE AND TEXTURE Teachers: The generally recognised elements of art include line, shape, form, space, light, texture, and

colour. In Year 1 the children should have studied Colour and Line. In Year 2 build on these by examining

the following:

A. COLOUR

Teachers: Review, if necessary, ‘warm’ and ‘cool’ colours from Year 1.

Primary colours:

o Know that red, yellow and blue are commonly referred to as the primary colours, meaning

they are colours that cannot be made from mixing other colours together

Mixing primary colours—know that:

o Blue + yellow = green




o Blue + red = purple

o Red + yellow = orange

Secondary colours:

o Know that green, purple and orange (colours made from mixing primary colours) are

commonly referred to as the secondary colours

Observe and discuss the use of colour in:

o Claude Monet, The Beach at Trouville, 1870 (The National Gallery, London)

o James A. McNeill Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (also called ‘Portrait of the

Artist’s Mother’), 1871 (Musée dʼOrsay, Paris)

B. SHAPE

Recognise basic geometric shapes—square, rectangle, triangle, circle, oval—in nature, man-made

objects, and artworks including:

o in the work of Pablo Picasso, such as his images of Sylvette David from 1954 (various)

and additionally:

o old masters such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man of 1492 (Gallerie dell’Accademia,

Venice)

o in the work of Alexander Calder, such as Standing Mobile of 1937 (Tate Modern, London)

Look at and discuss the use of shape in:

o David Hockney, The Road to York Through Sledmere, 1997 (artist’s collection, on view

Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2012)

C. TEXTURE

Teachers: Provide opportunities for children to experience both ‘tactile’ and ʻvisualʼ texture by having them

describe qualities of texture in extant or real objects, which they can actually touch (tactile texture), and as

depicted or suggested in works of art (visual texture). You may find it helpful to introduce this by reviewing

art works from Year 1 with obvious textural differences, such as Degas’ Little Dancer.

Describe qualities of texture (as, for example, rough, smooth, ridged, etc.) in:

o The King’s Gold Belt Buckle (early 7th century from Sutton Hoo burial, now British Museum,

London)

o Albrecht Dürer, Young Hare, 1502 (Albertina, Vienna)

o Johannes Vermeer, The Music Lesson, 1662-65 (The Royal Collection, London)

IV. KINDS OF PICTURES: PORTRAITS AND SELF-PORTRAITS Teachers: Help the children become familiar with the terms we use to describe different kinds of paintings

by focusing on portraits and self-portraits (in Year 1 children looked at narrative paintings, and in Year 3

children will look at still lives and landscapes). Discuss examples, provide opportunities for children to create

their own works in the different ʻgenres’. When you look at the specified works, ask the children about their

impressions—what they notice first, who they think the pictures are of and how old the subject is , what

those painted are doing, wearing, feeling, and so on. Encourage the children to practice using the language

they have already learned about (line, shape, colour, texture, detail/s) to help them express what they can

see and share their ideas on why the artist chose to depict things in a certain way.

A. RECOGNISE AS A PORTRAIT (an artwork depicting a real person):

Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (Portrait of Lisa Gherardini), 1503-06 (Louvre, Paris)

Hans Holbein the Younger, Edward VI as a Child, 1538 (National Gallery of Art, Washington DC)

Additional works:

Sir Anthony van Dyck, Equestrian Portrait of Charles I, 1637-38 (National Gallery, London)

B. RECOGNISE AS A SELF-PORTRAIT (an artwork made by an artist of him/herself):

Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-portrait in a Flat Cap, 1642 (Royal Collection, London)

William Hogarth, Self-Portrait at an Easel, 1757 (National Portrait Gallery, London)




Vincent van Gogh, Self-portrait, 1889 (Musée d’Orsay, Paris)

V. TYPES OF ART: MURAL Teachers: Remind the children of the cave painting studied in Year 1, helping them to understand that cave

painting is a form of mural.

A. RECOGNISE AS A MURAL (a painting on a wall):

Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1495-98 (Refectory, Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan)

Paula Rego, Crivelliʼs Garden, 1990 (Sainsbury wing restaurant, National Gallery, London)

Additionally:

William Hogarth, The Pool of Bethesda (1736) and The Good Samaritan (1737), Staircase hallway,

St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London






music may be linked to topics in other disciplines.

The following guidelines focus on content, not performance skills, though many concepts are best learned

through active practice (singing, clapping rhythms, playing instruments, etc.).


A. ELEMENTS

Through participation become familiar with basic elements of music (rhythm, melody, harmony, form,

timbre, etc.).

o Recognise a steady beat, move to a beat, play a steady beat, recognise accents.



o Discriminate between fast and slow.

o Discriminate between obvious differences in pitch: high and low.

o Discriminate between loud and soft.

o Understand that melody can move up and down.

o Hum the melody while listening to music.

o Echo short rhythms and melodic patterns.

o Play simple rhythms and melodies.

o Recognise like and unlike phrases.

o Recognise that music has timbre or tone colour.

o Sing unaccompanied, accompanied and in unison.

A. NOTATION

Understand that music is written down in a special way and become familiar with the following

notation:

o Crotchet: one single beat

o Minim: the length of two crotchet beats

o Semi-breve: a long note, as long as four crotchet beats or two minims

II. LISTENING AND UNDERSTANDING Teachers: Expose children to a wide range of music, including children’s music, popular instrumental music,

and music from various cultures.

A. MUSICAL TERMS AND CONCEPTS

Composers

o Know that a composer is someone who writes music.

o Become familiar with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a composer who wrote what is known

as classical music, and listen to the Allegro (first movement) from A Little Night Music (Eine

kleine Nachtmusik).




Orchestra

o Become familiar with the families of instruments in the orchestra: strings, brass, woodwinds,

percussion [Children will review families of instruments and specific instruments in later

years].

o Know that the leader of the orchestra is called the conductor.

o Listen to Sergei Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf.

B. MUSIC CAN TELL A STORY

Opera

o Understand that opera combines music, singing and acting.

o Listening to selections from Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel: ‘Brother, Come Dance with

Me’, ‘I am the Little Sandman’ and ‘Children’s Prayer’.

Instrumental Music

o Listen to Paul Dukas, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Ballet

o Understand that ballet combines music and movement, often to tell a story.

o Listen to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite.

[If resources are available, read aloud to students the story behind Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, and either

attend a performance or show scenes from the ballet, which is available on DVD. You may also wish to

introduce children to the Suite from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, in relation to the story in English

Language and Literature, Sleeping Beauty.]

C. MUSICAL TRADITIONS

Jazz

o Understand that jazz is a kind of music that developed in America, with African and African

American roots, and that jazz musicians improvise.

o Recognise Louis Armstrong as a great early jazz musician.

III. SONGS Teachers: You may also wish to teach children the song ‘Brother, Come Dance with me’ in connection with

their introduction to the opera Hansel and Gretel:

Billy Boy

La Cucaracha

Drunken Sailor (Sea Shanty, also known as ‘What Should We Do with A Drunken Sailor?’)

Dry Bones

For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow

Frère Jacques/Brother John

I had a little Nut Tree

The Grand Old Duke of York

Lavenders Blue

Michael Finnigan

Michael, Row the Boat Ashore

Oh, John the Rabbit

On Top of Old Smoky

Polly put the Kettle on

Run Rabbit Run

She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain

Skip to My Lou

Ten Green Bottles

There’s a Hole in My Bucket

When the Saints Go Marching In

Yankee Doodle




Mathematics: Year 2


A. WHOLE NUMBERS

Read and write numbers to at least 100 in figures and words.

Count reliably at least 100 objects by grouping them, e.g. in tens, fives or twos.

Count on or back in ones, twos, fives or tens from any given number.

Recognise odd and even numbers to at least 100.

Recognise the place value of each digit in any two-digit number, and partition two-digit numbers into

multiples of 10 and 1.

Compare numbers to at least 100 using the <, >, and = signs.

Order a set of numbers to at least 100 and position numbers on a number line or grid.

Identify ordinal numbers, first (1st) to hundredth (100th).

Within the range 0 – 100, identify the number that is 1 or 10 more or less than a given number.

Estimate a number of objects, e.g. up to about 100 objects.

Round two-digit numbers to the nearest 10.

B. FRACTIONS

Find ½, ¼ and ¾ of shapes and sets of objects.



Recognise that addition can be done in any order.

Understand and use the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction.

Understand that more than two numbers can be added.

Recall pairs of numbers that total 20.

Recall all addition and subtraction facts for each number to at least 10.

Begin to recall all addition and subtraction facts for each number to 20.

Know addition and subtraction ‘fact families’ to 10, e.g. 2 + 3 = 5, 3 + 2 = 5, 5 – 3 = 2, 5 – 2 = 3.

Use known number facts and place value to mentally:

o add or subtract a one-digit number to or from a two-digit number, e.g. 14 + 7, 18 – 6;

o add a multiple of 10 to a one-digit or two-digit number, e.g. 60 + 4, 60 + 24;

o subtract a multiple of 10 from a two-digit number, e.g. 58 – 30.

Use informal written methods to add or subtract pairs of two-digit numbers, e.g. 35 + 68, 74 – 46.


Understand multiplication as repeated addition and arrays, using appropriate vocabulary.

Understand division as sharing and grouping (repeated subtraction), using appropriate vocabulary.

Recall multiplication facts for the 2, 5 and 10 times-tables, and the corresponding division facts.

Recognise multiples of 2, 5 and 10.

Understand and use the inverse relationship between doubling and halving, and multiplication and

division.

C. MIXED OPERATIONS

Use the +, –, x, and = signs to record calculations, including symbols such as , or to stand

for an unknown number, e.g. 5 + = 7, x 2 = 12.




Use knowledge of number facts, operations and inverse relationships to estimate and check

calculations.

III. MEASUREMENT

A. LENGTH, MASS, CAPACITY AND TEMPERATURE

Choose and use appropriate instruments to measure lengths, masses, capacities and temperatures.

Estimate, compare and measure lengths, masses, capacities and temperatures using standard units

(metre, centimetre, kilogram, litre, degrees Celsius).

Read relevant scales to the nearest numbered division and interpret the divisions between them.

Use a ruler to measure and draw lengths to the nearest centimetre.

B. TIME

Use units of time and know the relationship between them, e.g. second, minute, hour, day, week,

month, year.

Compare duration of events, including those that cross the hour.

Read the time to the quarter hour on an analogue clock and 12-hour digital clock and understand the

notation 5:45.

C. MONEY

Identify all coins and notes and begin to use £.p notation.

Find totals, give change and work out which coins to use.

Combine coins and notes to make a given value and show different combinations of coins and notes

that equal the same value.

IV. GEOMETRY


Visualise and name common 2-D shapes, including circle, triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon,

hexagon and octagon.

Visualise and name common 3-D solids, including cube, cuboid, sphere, cylinder, cone, square-

based pyramid and tetrahedron.

Use everyday language to describe features of common 2-D shapes, including the number of sides,

number of right angles and symmetry.

Use everyday language to describe features of common 3-D solids, including the shapes of faces,

number of faces, edges and vertices.

Compare and sort common shapes and solids, including those in different orientations and in the

environment.

Use shapes and solids to make patterns, pictures and models, including congruent shapes and

designs.


Use appropriate mathematical language to describe position, direction and movement.

Recognise and make whole, half and quarter turns to the left or right and clockwise or anti-clockwise.

Know that a right angle is a measure of a quarter turn and recognise right angles in rectangles.

C. SYMMETRY

Begin to recognise reflective symmetry.

V. DATA

Collect, process, represent, interpret and discuss data in simple ways, such as in a list, table,

diagram, pictogram or block graph.





Recognise and continue patterns involving numbers or shapes.

Describe relationships involving numbers or shapes.

Solve mathematical problems and puzzles involving numbers or shapes.

Solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication or division in the context of numbers or

measurements, including money.




Science: Year 2

I. LIVING THINGS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS Teachers: Introduce the idea of interdependence between living things and their environment.

A. HABITATS

Living things live in environments to which they are particularly suited.

Specific habitats and what lives there, for example:

o Forest (for example: oak trees, squirrels, foxes, badgers, snails, mice)

o Meadow and plains (for example: wildflowers, grasses, prairie dogs)

o Underground (for example: fungi, moles, worms)

o Desert (for example: cacti, lizards, scorpions)

o Water (for example: fish, oysters, starfish)

The food chain: a way of picturing the relationships between living things

o Animals: big animals eat little ones, big animals die and are eaten by little ones.

o Plants: nutrients, water, soil, air, sunlight

B. OCEANS AND UNDERSEA LIFE

Most of the Earth is covered with water.

Locate oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic

Oceans are salt water (unlike fresh water rivers and lakes)

Coast, shore, waves, tides (high and low)

Currents, the Gulf Stream

Landscape of the ocean floor: mountain peaks and deep valleys (trenches)

Diversity of ocean life: from organisms too small for the eye to see (plankton), to giant whales

Dangers to ocean life (for example, overfishing, pollution, oil spills)

C. ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND HABITAT DESTRUCTION

Environments are constantly changing, and this can sometimes pose dangers to specific habitats, for

example:

o Effects of population and development

o Rainforest clearing, pollution, litter

D. SPECIAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF ANIMALS

Herbivores: plant-eaters (for example, elephants, cows, deer)

Carnivores: flesh-eaters (for example, lions, tigers)

Omnivores: plant and animal eaters (for example, bears)

Extinct animals (for example: dinosaurs)

II. THE HUMAN BODY: SYSTEMS AND PREVENTING ILLNESS

A. BODY SYSTEMS

Teachers: Introduce the idea of body systems, and have children identify basic parts of the following body

systems:

Skeletal system: skeleton, bones, skull

Muscular system: muscles

Digestive system: mouth, stomach

Circulatory system: heart and blood

Nervous system: brain and nerves




B. GERMS, DISEASES, AND PREVENTING ILLNESS

Taking care of your body: exercise, cleanliness, healthy foods, rest

Vaccinations

III. MATTER Teachers: Introduce children to the idea that everything is made of matter, and that all matter is made up of

parts too small to see.

Basic concept of atoms

Names and common examples of three states of matter:

o Solid (for example, wood, rocks)

o Liquid (for example, water)

o Gas (for example, steam)

Water as an example of changing states of matter of a single substance

IV. PROPERTIES OF MATTER: MEASUREMENT Teachers: Have children describe and classify objects according to what they are made of, and according to

their physical properties (colour, shape, size, weight, texture, etc.)

Units of measurement:

o Length: centimetre, metre

o Volume: millilitre, litre

Temperature: degrees Celsius

V. INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRICITY

Teachers: Through reading aloud, observation and experiment, explore with children the basic principles of

electricity and safety rules.

Static electricity

Basic parts of simple electric circuits (for example, batteries, wire, bulb or buzzer, switch)

Conductive and nonconductive materials

Safety rules for electricity (for example, never put your finger or anything metallic in an electrical

outlet, never touch a switch or electrical appliance when your hands are wet or when you’re in the

bathtub, never put your finger in a lamp socket, etc.)

VI. INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY

Sun: source of energy, light, heat

Moon: phases of the moon (full, half, crescent, new)

The eight planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)

o Note that, in 2006, Pluto was classified as a dwarf planet.

Stars

o Constellations: the Plough

o The sun is a star.

Earth and its place in the solar system

o The Earth moves around the Sun; the sun does not move

o The Earth revolves (spins); one revolution takes one day (24 hours)

o Sunrise and sunset

o When it is day where you are, it is night for people on the opposite side of the Earth




VII. THE EARTH

A. GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE

The shape of the Earth, the horizon

Oceans and continents

North Pole and South Pole, Equator

B. WHAT’S INSIDE THE EARTH

Inside the Earth

o Layers: crust, mantle, core

o High temperatures

Volcanoes and geysers

Rocks and minerals

o Formation and characteristics of different kinds of rocks: metamorphic, igneous, sedimentary

o Important minerals in the Earth (such as quartz, gold, sulphur, coal, diamond, iron ore)

VIII. SCIENCE BIOGRAPHIES

Rosalind Franklin (often-overlooked woman scientist, discovered double-helix structure of DNA)

Thomas Edison (invented an electric light bulb)

Edward Jenner (found a way to stop smallpox)

Louis Pasteur (made milk safe to drink)





I. LISTENING AND SPEAKING Teachers: Traditional English language instruction has typically accorded little, if any, attention to the

ongoing development of children’s listening and speaking ability. This failure to focus on the development of

oral language in English Language instruction has been a serious oversight. Literacy, the ability to read and

write written language, is highly correlated with pupils’ oral language proficiency, and the ability to

understand a text read aloud is a prerequisite for making sense of the same text in printed form. It is

therefore essential that children build listening and speaking competency while also developing reading and

writing skills.


• Maintain attention and actively participate in age-appropriate discussions about a variety of topics,

ideas and texts, in both small and large group settings.


• Use agreed-upon rules for group discussions.

o For example: look at and listen to the speaker, raise hand to speak, take turns, say ‘excuse

me’ or ‘please,’ etc.

• Ask closed and open questions to clarify conversations, directions, exercises and/or classroom

routines.

• Carry on and participate in a conversation over at least six turns, staying on a topic, initiating

comments or responding to a partner’s comments, with either an adult or another child of the same

age.

• Participate in a conversation or group discussion by making reference to, or building upon, a

comment made by the other person.


• Understand and use language to express spatial and temporal relationships.

o For example: up, down, first, last, before, after, etc.

• Understand and use narrative language to describe people, places, things, locations, events,

actions.

• Understand and use common sayings and phrases such as ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ and

‘Better late than never’.

• Recognise and discuss body language; ‘read the signs’.





• Recite a nursery rhyme, poem or song independently, using appropriate eye contact, volume and

clear enunciation.

• Give oral presentations about personal experiences, topics of interest, stories and summaries of

factual information that have been presented orally, visually or through multimedia, using appropriate

eye contact, volume and clear enunciation.

C. COMPREHENSION AND DISCUSSION OF READ-ALOUDS: ALL TEXTS

Teachers: Written text makes use of richer vocabulary and more complex syntax than conversational

language. It is important that young children be exposed not only to the language of everyday conversation




but also to the richer and more formal language of books. This can be done by frequently reading aloud.

Helping young children develop the ability to listen to and understand written texts read aloud must be an

integral part of any initiative designed to build literacy.

In Year 3, pupils are becoming increasingly skilled as independent readers. Nevertheless, research indicates

that pupils’ reading comprehension ability does not catch up to listening comprehension until they are in Key

Stage 3. It is therefore still important to provide for children in Year 3 extensive reading experiences of both

fiction and non-fiction texts.

Careful consideration should be given to the selection of books read aloud to ensure that the vocabulary and

syntax presented is rich and complex, yet always accessible. Levelled texts will not provide the rich language

experience desired during read-alouds and should only be used as a starting point with pupils for whom

English is a second language.

Age-appropriate read-aloud selections for poetry and fiction are included below. Non-fiction read-alouds

should be selected on the basis of the history, science, music and visual art topics identified for Year 3 pupils

in the Core Knowledge Sequence UK, with emphasis on history and science selections. It is strongly

recommended that daily read-alouds focus on a single topic over a sustained period of time–about two

weeks–rather than intermingling read-alouds on a variety of subjects. Careful consideration should be given

to the order in which non-fiction read-alouds are presented, to ensure that knowledge about a topic builds in

a progressive and coherent way.

Following any reading, children should participate in rich, structured conversations with an adult in response

to the written text that has been read aloud. In this way, they can begin to practise orally comparing,

analysing and synthesising ideas in written text in much the same way as they will be expected to do as

independent readers in later years.



• Distinguish the following genres of literature:

o Fiction

o Non-fiction

o Reportage

o Drama.

• Grasp specific details and key ideas



o Answer questions requiring literal recall and understanding of the details and/or facts of a

read-aloud, i.e., who, what, where, when, why, etc.


o Summarise in one’s own words selected parts of a read-aloud.



scene or facts in read-aloud.

• Observe craft and structure






• Integrate information and evaluate evidence. (Note: prior to listening to a read-aloud, teachers

should identify what pupils know and have learned that may be related to the specific story or topic

to be read aloud. Use pictures accompanying the read-aloud to check and support understanding of

the read-aloud.)




o Make predictions prior to and during a read-aloud, based on the title, pictures, and/or text

heard thus far and then compare the actual outcomes to the predictions.




o Interpret information that is presented orally and then ask additional questions to clarify

information or the topic in the read-aloud.


C. COMPREHENSION AND DISCUSSION OF READ-ALOUDS: FICTION, DRAMA, AND POETRY

• Retell a story, using narrative language to describe characters, setting(s) and the plot of the story in

proper sequence.


• Describe characters in increasing depth by referring to dialogue and/or their actions in the story.


• Create and tell an original story, using narrative language to describe characters, setting(s) and the

plot of the story in a proper sequence.




creating own stories:

o Author

o Illustrator

o Characters

o Setting

o Plot

o Dialogue

o Personification

o Simile

o Metaphor

• Identify repetitions in phrases, refrains or sounds in poems or songs.


• Describe the use of rhyme, rhythm and sensory images used in poetry.

• Identify direct speech.

D. COMPREHENSION AND DISCUSSION OF READ-ALOUDS: NON-FICTION AND INFORMATIONAL

TEXT

Teachers: Select non-fiction read-aloud topics from the Year 3 history, science, music, and visual arts

topics, with emphasis on history and science.


• Answer questions about the details of a non-fiction text, indicating which part of the text provided the



• With assistance, create and interpret timelines and lifelines related to read-alouds.

• Interpret information presented in diagrams, charts, graphs, etc.






II. READING

A. READING COMPREHENSION: ALL TEXTS

Teachers: At the start of Year 3, pupils should be demonstrating ever-increasing code knowledge and

fluency in their independent reading, allowing them to focus more intently on the meaning of what they are

reading. This increased focus on reading comprehension is reflected in the number and complexity of the

objectives below, as compared to earlier years. However, it is important to remember that listening

comprehension still far exceeds reading comprehension and that children’s ability to talk about what they

have heard and/or read will exceed their ability to demonstrate that understanding in writing.

• Demonstrate understanding of text–the majority of which is decodable–after independent reading.

• Grasp specific details and key ideas

o Sequence four to six pictures illustrating events from a text that has been read

independently.

o Answer questions requiring literal recall and understanding of the details and/or facts (i.e.,

who, what, where, when, why etc.) about a text that has been read independently.

o Retell key details from a text that has been read independently.

o Summarise in one’s own words selected parts of the text.

o Ask questions to clarify information about a text that has been read independently.



• Observe craft and structure

o Identify basic features and what they mean, including title, author, table of contents, chapter

headings and captions.


o Compare and contrast similarities and differences within a single text or between multiple

texts read independently.

o Make personal connections to events or experiences in a text that has been read

independently and /or make connections among several texts that have been read

independently.

• Integrate information and evaluate evidence. (Note: prior to reading, teachers should identify what


pictures accompanying the written text to check and support understanding of the text.)

o Make predictions prior to and while reading, based on the title, pictures and/or text heard

thus far and then compare the actual outcomes to the predictions.


about what is heard in a read aloud, including answering ‘why’ questions that require


o Interpret information that is read independently and then ask additional questions to clarify

this information.


o Identify temporal words that link and sequence events, i.e., first, next, then, etc.

o Identify words that link ideas, i.e., for example, also, in addition.

o Identify words that contrast ideas, i.e., however, but.

B. READING COMPREHENSION: FICTION, DRAMA AND POETRY

• Retell or dramatise a story, using narrative language to describe characters, setting(s) and the plot of

the story in proper sequence.


• Describe characters in increasing depth by referring to or using dialogue and/or their actions in the

story.








creating own stories:

o Author

o Illustrator

o Characters

o Setting

o Plot

o Dialogue

o Personification

o Simile

o Metaphor

• Identify repetitions in phrases, refrains or sounds in poems or songs.

• Identify sensory language and how it is used to describe people, objects, places and events

• Describe the use of rhyme, rhythm and sensory images used in poetry.

C. READING COMPREHENSION: NON-FICTION AND INFORMATIONAL TEXT


• Answer questions about the details of a non-fiction text, indicating which part of the text provided the



• With assistance, create and interpret timelines and lifelines related to text read independently.

• Interpret information presented in diagrams, charts, graphs, etc.

• Distinguish text that describes events that happened long ago from those that describe


III. WRITING

Teachers: Pupils develop ever-increasing code knowledge and fluency in reading during Year 3 and, as a

result, most will also become increasingly comfortable and competent in expressing their thoughts and ideas

in writing.

Teachers should, however, have age-appropriate expectations about what Year 3 pupil writing should

resemble. Pupils’ spelling skills will often lag behind the code knowledge they demonstrate in reading. It is

reasonable to expect that the pupils will use the letter-sound correspondences they have learned thus far to

set down plausible spellings for the sounds in the word.

For example, a pupil who writes coller for collar, wate for wait or weight has set down a plausible spelling for

each sound in the word, using the code knowledge taught in this year. This should be seen as acceptable

spelling for this stage of literacy acquisition. With continued writing practice, pupils should begin to include

more dictionary-correct spellings for words that they read and write frequently. Dictionary correct spelling as

the rule will be a realistic goal when pupils have learned more spellings, have had repeated writing practice

opportunities and have learned how to use a dictionary to check spelling.

For Year 3 children, teachers should continue to model the use of a writing process, such as ‘Plan-Draft-

Edit’, as pupils learn to write in various genres. It is important, though, not to dampen pupil enthusiasm for

writing by rigidly insisting that all of a pupil’s writing be edited over and over again to bring the text to

‘publication’ stage. In Year 3, teachers should achieve a sensible balance that encourages children to use

their current level of skills when writing, as well as a simple editing rubric for review, without stifling creative

expression.

A. WRITING TO REFLECT AUDIENCE, PURPOSE AND TASK

• Add details to writing.

• Begin to use tools, including technology, to plan, draft and edit writing.




B. CONDUCTING RESEARCH

• Gather information from experiences or provided text sources

C. NARRATIVE WRITING

• Write a familiar story that includes setting(s), character(s), dialogue and, if appropriate, several

events, using temporal words and phrases to indicate the chronology of events.

• Write a personal narrative.

• Create a title and an ending that are relevant to the narrative.

D. INFORMATIVE/EXPLANATORY WRITING

• Write about a topic, including beginning and concluding sentences, facts and examples relevant to

the topic and specific steps (if writing explanatory text).

• Group similar information into paragraphs.

• Use linking words such as also, another, and, etc. to connect ideas within a paragraph.

E. PERSUASIVE WRITING (OPINION)

• Express an opinion or point of view in writing, providing reasons and supporting details for

preference or opinion.

• Use words to link opinions with reasons or supporting details, such as because, also, another.

• Create a title that is relevant to the topic or subject of the text.

• If writing about a specific book or read-aloud, refer to the content of the text.


A. SPELLING



• Write phonemically plausible spellings for words using current knowledge, e.g. write coller for collar.

• Write words, phrases, and sentences from dictation, applying phonics knowledge.

• Alphabetise words to the second letter.

• Use a children’s dictionary, with assistance, to check spelling and verify the meaning of words.

• Identify and use synonyms, antonyms, homophones and compound words.


• Form sentences and paragraphs to communicate thoughts and ideas.

• Recognise, identify and use correct noun-pronoun agreement orally, in written text and in own

writing.

• Recognise, identify and use common and proper nouns, orally, in written text and in own writing.

• Recognise, identify and use the articles a and an appropriately orally, in written text and in own

writing.

• Recognise, identify and use selected regular and irregular plural nouns orally, in written text and in

own writing.

• Recognise, identify and use selected regular and irregular past, present and future tense verbs

orally, in written text and in own writing.

• Recognise, identify and use subject, object and possessive pronouns, orally, in written text and in

own writing.

o For example: I, me, mine, you, yours, he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them,

theirs

• Recognise, identify and use adjectives orally, in written text, and in own writing.

• Recognise, identify and use possessive pronouns that function as adjectives, orally, in written text

and in own writing.

o For example: my, your, his, her, its, their

• Recognise, identify and use adverbs orally, in written text and in own writing.




• Recognise, identify and use subjects and predicates, orally, in written text and in own writing.

o For example (subject is in bold and predicate is in italics): Anna scored a goal.

• Recognise, identify and use statements, questions, and exclamations orally, in written text and in

own writing.

• Recognise, identify and use complete simple and compound sentences.


• Capitalise the first word in a sentence, the pronoun ‘I’, and proper nouns (e.g. names and places),

months, days of the week, titles of people and addresses.

• Recognise, identify and use abbreviations with correct punctuation for the months, days of the week,

titles of people and addresses.

• Identify and use end punctuation, including full stops, question marks and exclamation marks.

• Use commas appropriately in greetings and closings of letters, dates, items in a series and

addresses.

• Write a simple friendly letter.

• Use apostrophes to create contractions and indicate possession, i.e., dog’s paw.

• Use speech marks appropriately to designate direct speech.

V. POETRY • Become familiar with the following works:

o Bee! I’m Expecting You (Emily Dickinson)

o Caterpillars (Aileen Fisher)

o Conch Shell (Federico Garcia Lorca)

o Discovery (Harry Behn)

o Five Friendly Farmers (Anon)

o How To Find My House (Roger Stevens)

o Hurt No Living Thing (Christina Rossetti)

o The Answer (Allan Ahlberg)

o The Night Before Christmas (Clement Clarke Moore)

o On the Ning Nang Nong (Spike Milligan)

o Rickety Train Ride (Tony Mitton)

o Sing a Song of Sixpence (traditional)

o Something Told the Wild Geese (Rachel Field)

o There Is a Young Lady, Whose Nose (Edward Lear)

o There Was an Old Man with a Beard (Edward Lear)

VI. FICTION Teachers: The titles listed below are available in a variety of editions, including both adaptations for novice

readers and others that lend themselves to reading aloud to children–for example, Charlotte’s Web or ‘How

the Camel Got His Hump’. It is recommended that you provide a mixture of texts. Editions designed for

beginning readers can help children practise decoding skills. Texts, which children may not be capable or

reading on their own, can be understood when the words are read aloud and talked about with a helpful

adult. Such active listening to vocabulary and syntax that goes beyond the limits of age-appropriate reading

texts is an important part of developing an increasingly sophisticated verbal sense.

The titles below constitute a core of stories for Year 3. Expose children to as many more stories as possible,

including classic picture books, books to be read aloud, etc. (In schools, teachers across the year groups

should communicate their choices in order to avoid undue repetition.) Children should also be exposed to

non-fiction prose–biographies, books on science and history and books on art and music–and they should be

given opportunities to tell and write their own stories. We will also explore Ancient Greek myths and British

tall tales.

A. STORIES





o Beauty and the Beast (traditional)

o A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)

o The Emperor’s New Clothes (Hans Christian Andersen)

o The Fisherman and His Wife (Brothers Grimm)

o How the Camel Got His Hump (a ‘Just So’ story by Rudyard Kipling)

o The Magic Paintbrush (a Chinese folktale)

o Please Look After this Bear (Michael Bond)

o Selections from Peter Pan (James M. Barrie)

o The Story of the Seventh Daughter (a folktale from Bengal)

o Talk (a West African folktale)

o The Tongue-Cut Sparrow (a folktale from Japan)

B. MYTHOLOGY OF ANCIENT GREECE

[Builds on World History and Geography from Year 2: The Ancient Greek Civilisation.]

• Become familiar with the following Gods of Ancient Greece (and Rome):

o Zeus (Jupiter)

o Hera (Juno)

o Apollo (Apollo)

o Artemis (Diana)

o Poseidon (Neptune)

o Aphrodite (Venus)

o Demeter (Ceres)

o Ares (Mars)

o Hermes (Mercury)

o Athena (Minerva)

o Hephaestus (Vulcan)

o Dionysus (Bacchus)

o Hades (Pluto)

• Become familiar with Mount Olympus, the home of the gods.

• Become familiar with mythological creatures and characters:

o Centaurs

o Cerberus

o Pegasus

o Pan

• Become familiar with Greek Myths

o Prometheus (how he brought fire from the gods to men)

o Pandora’s Box

o Oedipus and the Sphinx

o Theseus and the Minotaur

o Daedelus and Icarus

o Arachne the weaver

o Swift-footed Atalanta

o Demeter and Persephone

o Hercules (Heracles) and the Labours of Hercules

C. BRITISH FOLK HEROES AND TALL TALES

[Builds on St George and King Arthur, which were introduced in Year 1.]

• Become familiar with the following folk heroes and tall tales

o Albion and Brutus

o Dick Whittington, Lord Mayor of London

o King Arthur

The Sword Excalibur




Guinevere

Merlin and the Lady of the Lake

Sir Lancelot

o Robin Hood

D. LITERARY TERMS

• Become familiar with the following terms:

o Limerick

o Myth

o Tall tale


another culture. For many children, this section may not be needed; they will have picked up these saying by

hearing them at home and among friends. However, this section on sayings has been one of the categories

most appreciated by teachers who work with children from home cultures that differ from British culture.

• Become familiar with the following sayings and phrases:

o Back to the drawing board

o Better late than never

o Cold feet

o Don’t cry over spilt milk

o Easier said than done

o Eaten out of house and home

o Get a taste of your own medicine

o Get out of the wrong side of the bed

o In hot water

o Keep your fingers crossed

o Practise what you preach

o Turn over a new leaf

o Two heads are better than one

o Where there’s a will there’s a way

o You can’t teach an old dog new tricks





GEOGRAPHY

I. THE LOCAL AREA/COMMUNITY Teachers: Pupils should learn to distinguish between the built and the natural environment. They should

learn to distinguish between different types of services available in the community and the functions of

different buildings and land. They should learn to identify different features of the landscape (which may lie

outside of larger urban areas).

Terms: region, community

Observe aerial/satellite photographs of the local area.

o Use these to identify settlements, physical features and points of interest.

o Discuss why things are located where they are, for example local buildings and services

(bank, post office, shops, garage)

o Discuss land-use types: parks, housing, industry, roads, farms.

Draw a map of the school grounds using basic symbols and a key.

o Use the map and the eight points of the compass to navigate around the school: north,

south, east, west, northeast, southeast, northwest and southwest [Cross-curricular

connection with Mathematics Year 4].

Use a simple coordinate grid to describe the location of objects and places on a map, using the eight

points of the compass.

Introduce scale: for example, fifty paces = 5 cm on a map.

Identify different types of residence

o Apartments, terraced housing, detached houses

Understand features of the natural environment

o Rivers, hills, coastline, vegetation, animals

Discuss ways in which the natural environment is managed and changed by people (e.g. park,

farming, reservoir, urban drainage).

II. WESTERN EUROPE Terms: temperate climate, alpine climate, agriculture, industry, Romance language, Germanic language

A. FRANCE, GERMANY, THE NETHERLANDS (HOLLAND), BELGIUM, AUSTRIA,

SWITZERLANDClimate and ecosystem

o Humid temperate/broadleaf forest and alpine climate/ecosystem

Landscape

o Alps, central highlands, lowlands, Rivers (Rhone, Rhine, Seine, Danube), Dutch floodplains

People and culture

o Germanic and Romance

o Protestant/Catholic Churches

o Classical music

Mozart [Cross-curricular links with Music, Years 2, 3, 4 and 5]

Vivaldi [Cross-curricular link with Music, Year 3]

Beethoven [Cross-curricular links with Music, Years 3 and 6]

o Famous artists

Vincent van Gogh [Cross-curricular links with Visual Arts, Years 1 and 2]

Claude Monet [Cross-curricular links with Visual Arts, Year 2]




The European Union

o Origins, members, trade, migration

o European Parliament in Brussels

Settlements

o Paris, Lyon, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Zurich, Amsterdam, Brussels

Economic activity

o Agriculture (cheese, wine, fruit and vegetables)

o Industry (cars)

o Services (tourism, restaurants, hotels)

III. SETTLEMENTS AND POPULATIONS Terms: urban, rural, conurbation, hamlet

Identify different types of settlement: hamlets, villages, towns, cities and conurbations.

Distinguish between rural, urban and suburban areas.

Know that green belts are used to control urban growth.

Use a local map to identify the site and situation of local settlements.

o Where are settlements found? In valleys, along coasts and at river crossings.

o Why did people choose these locations? Access to water, farmland, wood or for defence.

Examine population density

o Distinguish between areas where people are dispersed (rural) and crowded (towns and

cities).

IV. RIVERS AND BASINS Terms: river source, tributary, river mouth, floodplain, irrigation, watershed, drainage basin, estuary

A. UNDERSTAND THE WATER CYCLE

Evaporation from the sea/lakes, condensation, precipitation, run-off and groundwater

Discuss the different paths that water takes.

Discuss how urban areas modify the drainage of water.

B. RIVER BASINS

Understand that a river basin is an area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.

Identify features of a river basin: springs, mountain streams, channel, valley, floodplain, lakes,

estuary, coastline

Follow the course of a river from source to mouth while using a map.

o Discuss differences between mountain streams and lowland meandering rivers.

C. IDENTIFY MAJOR RIVERS AND THEIR BASINS

UK major rivers: Thames, Trent, Severn, Tyne, Ouse, Great Ouse, Wye, Tweed, Exe

Europe: Volga, Danube, Rhine

Asia: Ob, Yellow (Huang He), Yangtze (Chang Jiang), Ganges, Indus, Tigris, Euphrates

Africa: Nile, Niger, Congo

South America: Amazon, Parana, Orinoco

North America: Mississippi, Missouri, Colorado, Rio Grande, Yukon, Mackenzie, Churchill

Australia: Murray-Darling

V. GEOGRAPHY OF ASIA AND EARLY ASIAN CIVILISATIONS Teachers: Pupils are introduced to Asia through the countries of India, China and Japan. They should learn

where these countries are located and study their physical setting and culture.

Learn that Asia is the largest continent, with the most populous countries in the world




Himalayan mountain range includes some of the tallest mountains in the world. The tallest mountain

is Mt. Everest.

Locate the following countries:

o China

o India

o Japan

WORLD HISTORY

I. INDIA Teachers: Use the famous rivers in India to emphasise the importance of rivers for settlement and

civilisation. Since religion is a shaping force in the story of civilisation, the Core Knowledge Sequence UK

also introduces children to major world religions, beginning with a focus on geography and major symbols

and figures. The purpose is not to explore matters of theology but to provide a basic vocabulary for

understanding many events and ideas in history. The goal is to familiarise, not proselytise; to be descriptive,

not prescriptive. The tone should be one of respect and balance: no religion should be disparaged by

implying that it is a thing of the past.

A. INDUS RIVER AND GANGES RIVER

Settlements occur especially along these rivers.

B. HINDUISM

Belief in many gods.

Followers are called Hindus.

Become familiar with Hindu gods

o Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva

Become familiar with sacred Hindu books

o Rig Veda

o Ramayana, telling the story of Rama and Sita

C. BUDDHISM

Become familiar with how Prince Siddhartha becomes Buddha, ‘the Enlightened One’.

Understand how Buddhism evolved from Hinduism in India and then spread through many countries

in Asia.

Become familiar with King Asoka (also spelled Ashoka).

II. CHINA Teachers: Introduce children to Chinese geography and culture. Chinese civilisation has produced many

important inventions and discoveries.

Terms: merchant

A. GEOGRAPHY

Recognise the importance of the Yellow (Huang He) and Yangtze (Chang Jiang) Rivers.

Revisit the topic of the Great Wall of China and understand its historic significance [Cross-curricular

connection with World History and Geography: Year 1]

B. TEACHINGS OF CONFUCIUS

Become familiar with the teachings of Confucius, for example: honour your ancestors.

C. CHINESE INVENTIONS

Invention of paper




Importance of silk

D. CHINESE HOLIDAYS

Chinese New Year

III. JAPAN Teachers: Familiarise children with Japanese geography and modern culture, as well as the operation of

Japanese society under feudalism, while emphasising the importance of the regional family dynasties.

Terms: earthquake, monsoon, typhoon, tsunami, daimyo, shogun, samurai, bushido, chopsticks, origami,

kimono

A. GEOGRAPHY

Locate Japan relative to continental Asia.

o Understand why Japan is sometimes called the ‘land of the rising sun’.

Understand that Japan is made up of four main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu (largest), Shikoku,

Kyushu

Identify important features

Pacific Ocean, Sea of Japan, Mt. Fuji, Tokyo, The Pacific Rim

Typhoons, earthquakes

B. CULTURE

Recognise the Japanese flag

Understand the significance of big, modern cities that are centers of industry and business.

Become familiar with traditional Japanese culture

o Traditional craft: origami

o Traditional costume: kimono

C. FEUDAL JAPANESE HISTORY AND CULTURE

Emperor as nominal leader, but real power in the hands of shoguns

Samurai, code of Bushido

Rigid class system in feudal Japanese society

Japan closed to outsiders

Religion

o Buddhism: the four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, Nirvana

o Shintoism: reverence for ancestors, reverence for nature, kami

IV. ANCIENT GREECE Teachers: This ancient civilisation forms an important foundation of Western culture. Encourage children to

see how the politics, philosophies and myths of this civilisation have had a huge impact, even today. Explain

how the city-states of Ancient Greece provided the earliest examples of the ideas of citizenship and

democracy. [Cross-curricular connections with Language and Literature: Year 3]

Terms: democracy, tyrant, philosopher, Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Spartan

Recognise important features in Ancient Greek geography

o Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, Crete

Become familiar with Sparta and its warrior culture

Understand the importance of Athens as a city-state

o Athenian democracy

Become familiar with the Persian Wars

o Marathon and Thermopylae




Recognise the origin of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece.

Become familiar with Ancient Greek religion

o Worship of many gods and goddesses

o Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Athena, Hara, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Ares, Hermes,

Hephaestus

Identify great thinkers from Ancient Greece

o Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

Become familiar with Alexander the Great

o Growth of Hellenistic influence

o Gordian Knot

BRITISH HISTORY

I. THE RULE OF LAW AND MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL Teachers: Connect the reign of Henry II with earlier events covered in earlier stages of British History,

particularly the period of Norman Britain [Cross-curricular connection with British History: Year 2]. Encourage

children to see the importance of the legal developments in this period, and how it helped to form the modern

legal system. Make connections between conflicts between the church and the government in this period,

and later developments in this relationship.

A. HENRY II

First of the Plantagenet Kings

Henry II’s legal and judicial reforms

o Royal Magistrate Courts; Royal ‘circuit’ judges; extension of Royal influence in local, civil

cases

o Trial by jury; precedent for modern legal systems

o Henry’s conflict with the church over Thomas á Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who

challenged the King’s authority

o Murder of the Archbishop at Canterbury Cathedral

II. THE CRUSADES Teachers: Use the period of the Crusades to demonstrate the importance of religion to people in Britain,

Europe and the Middle East in this period, and how these violent conflicts were motivated by religious and by

political considerations.

A. THE CRUSADES, RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS IN THE HOLY LAND

Many Crusades from the 11th to 13

th centuries

The purpose of the Crusades was to gain control of the Holy Land – those sites in the Middle East

associated with the narrative of the New Testament – from Muslims

Third Crusade (1187-1192)

o Richard I of England, known as Richard the Lionheart, left his brother John in charge of

England while he went to the Holy Land. John is an unpopular ruler.

III. RESTRAINTS ON ROYAL POWER (1215-1265) Teachers: The Magna Carta and de Montfort’s parliament can be taught together as the first restrictions on

the power of the monarch. Explain to students how the legacies of these events helped to shape and define

the changing relationship between the people and the king, and how the influence of these events can be

seen in later events in British history. [Builds on History and Geography: Year 1]

Terms: democracy, elected

A. MAGNA CARTA




Richard I dies (1199)

King John reigns

o Dissatisfaction with King John because of unsuccessful foreign wars and his treatment of

nobles

Magna Carta was created by discontented barons, to be in effect in perpetuity

o The right not to be imprisoned without lawful judgement of peers

o Limits on the king’s power to collect money

o Initially ineffective and limited but has had long-term significance

o Provides precedent to question royal prerogative

King accepts the Magna Carta at the meeting at Runnymede on 15 June, 1215

o King rejected the Charter immediately afterwards

B. DE MONTFORT’S PARLIAMENT: THE FIRST ELECTED PARLIAMENT IN EUROPE

Simon de Montfort

o Simon de Montfort led the barons in rebellion (1263)

o King captured at the Battle of Lewes (1264); de Montfort constructs new system of

government

Each borough sent two elected representatives to parliament

o First time to have elected representatives in parliament

o Many barons felt de Montfort had gone too far and abandoned them

o Battle of Evesham (1265): de Montfort ambushed and killed and his system of government

was disbanded

Long term significance

o Precedent for inclusion of non-royals in politics

o De Montfort’s parliament was an antecedent of modern representative parliamentary

democracy

IV. WARS OF THE ROSES AND HENRY VII Teachers: The Wars of the Roses was a series of dynastic struggles that resulted in the stable Tudor

dynasty, and Henry VII’s governmental reforms. Use the story of the Princes in the Tower to help children

see how historians try to understand what happened in the past, and how there are many things that are

uncertain or unknown.

A. WARS OF THE ROSES

Houses of Lancaster and York

o Discontinuous conflict over succession (1455 and 1485)

Battle of St Albans (1455)

o Yorkist victory

Yorkist Edward IV dies (1483)

o Richard III seizes throne

The Princes in the Tower

o The Princes (Edward V and his brother Richard) have unknown fates; Richard III was one of

the main suspects

o Richard III was crowned king

Battle of Bosworth Field (1485)

o Henry Tudor (Lancastrian descendent) defeats Richard III

o Married Elizabeth of York; united the two houses

V. THE REFORMATION Teachers: Explain the Reformation as both a religious and a political development. Encourage children to

think about the impacts of the reformation, and how it caused religious conflicts across Europe during

subsequent centuries.




A. REFORMATION

Martin Luther was professor of theology at Wittenberg

o Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to church door (1517)

Protestantism

o Personal relationship with God; bible reading; opposed papacy

Legacy of the reformation

o Increased literacy

B. THE ENGLISH REFORMATION

William Tyndale’s Bible (1525)

Henry VIII (1509)

o Fear of not producing a male heir

Catherine of Aragon

o Birth of Mary

o Attempts at annulment

Anne Boleyn

o Birth of Elizabeth

o Beheading

Separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church

Legislation against the clergy

o Henry VIII becomes head of the Church in England

C. DISSOLUTION OF THE MONASTERIES

VI. RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS (1547-1558) Teachers: Encourage children to see how the intolerance and persecution of both Catholics and Protestants

under successive monarchs entrenched religious views and identities, increased hostilities and politicised

religious beliefs. These issues would be crucial in the 17th Century.

A. RELIGIOUS INSTABILITY AFTER DEATH OF HENRY VIII

Edward VI (1547)

o Christian symbols and art removed from churches

o Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer (1549)

B. MARY I (1553): REVERSES THE MEASURES TO SPLIT FROM ROME

Catholic Restoration

o Repealed Edward’s religious laws; returned papal jurisdiction

Married Philip II of Spain

o Failed to produce an heir; crown passed to sister Elizabeth

Marian Persecutions; ‘Bloody Mary’

o Heresy Acts prosecute Protestants

o Protestants burnt at the stake

VII. THE ELIZABETHAN ERA (1558-1603) Teachers: The Elizabethan Era was one of apparent relative stability due to the Elizabethan Religious

Settlement, ending the previous conflicts but confirming the state’s religion as opposed to Catholicism. Focus

on the social and cultural significance of this period, especially how developments in exploration led to a

growth in trade and eventually colonisation, as well as the cultural significance of William Shakespeare.

Terms: privateering / privateer, circumnavigate (the globe), colony, tragedy, history (in theatre), comedy

A. ELIZABETH I (1558): FINAL TUDOR MONARCH

Elizabethan Religious Settlement; uniting under moderate Protestant theology




o The Act of Supremacy (1559)

o Act of Uniformity (1558); new Book of Common Prayer.

o End of reformation; confirmation of Anglicanism as church of the state

Scottish Presbyterianism- a stricter form of protestantism

o Scottish parliament reject Catholicism (1560); John Knox

B. EARLY BRITISH NAVAL DOMINANCE

Henry VIII created Royal Navy

Strong Elizabethan Navy and privateers

Spanish Armada

o Philip II of Spain wanted to use the Spanish Armada to overthrow Elizabeth I.

o English fireships attack the Spanish Armada, which was pursued around the British Isles.

o Many ships from the Spanish Armada wrecked near Ireland due to storms.

Sir Francis Drake

o Circumnavigated the globe

o Atlantic privateering

Sir Walter Raleigh

o Colony at Roanoke Island

C. CULTURE IN THE ELIZABETHAN ERA

Christopher Marlowe, dramatist and poet who influenced William Shakespeare

Shakespeare

o Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon

o The Globe Theatre in London

o Publication of Shakespeare’s plays


A. MARCO POLO





appreciating art, and emphasize important artists, works of art, and artistic concepts. When appropriate,




artists, particularly those that you can either take the children to see, or they can access with their carers.

I. ELEMENTS OF ART: LINE, SYMMETRY AND FORM Teachers: The generally recognised elements of art include line, shape, form, space, light, texture, and

colour. In Year 3, continue to discuss qualities of line, shape, colour, and texture that children learned about

in Years 1 and 2. Develop children’s knowledge and understanding by considering line orientation, and begin

to explain how to recognise and describe the more theoretical elements of symmetry and form.

A. LINE

Recognise lines as horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.

Observe the use of line in:

o Paul Klee, Was Fehlt ihm? (What's wrong with him?), 1930 (Fondation Beyeler, Switzerland)

o Pablo Picasso, Mother and Child, 1922 (Baltimore Museum of Art)

o Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, 1829-33 (British Museum, London)

B. FORM

Explain that form, in the discussion of art, is a term useful for describing complex shapes, often

organic rather than geometric, as well as three-dimensional as opposed to flat shapes: the ʻformʼ of a

human figure, for example, or the form of a tree.

Help the children consider form in the works they have considered for their use of line (such as

Picasso's Mother and Child), and help them find ways to describe form in these additional works:

o George Stubbs, Whistlejacket, 1762 (National Gallery, London)

o Vincent van Gogh, Wheatfield with Cypress Trees, 1889 (National Gallery, London)

C. SYMMETRY

Recognise common objects and shapes (squares, faces, trees) as symmetrical (where a part of an

image or object is reflected or balanced in another side), or not symmetrical.

Observe the use of symmetry in:

o Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1495-98 (Refectory, Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan)

Additionally in:

o Meindert Hobbema, The Avenue at Middelharnis, 1689 (National Gallery, London)

II. KINDS OF PICTURES: LANDSCAPE AND STILL LIFE Teachers: When presenting the following works, ask the children to look before talking; then ask the children

what they can see, what details they notice that help them read what they are looking at, what the picture

makes them think of or feel and why. Go on to discuss lines, shapes, colours, textures, symmetry and form

(as appropriate).

A. LANDSCAPE

Recognise and discuss as landscapes (images of nature or the natural environment, from the Dutch

word ʻlandschapʼ):

o Jacob Ruisdael, Landscape with Bentheim Castle, 1653 (National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin)

o John Constable, Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, 1831 (National Gallery, London)

o Henri Rousseau, Surprised! A Tiger in a Tropical Storm, 1891 (National Gallery, London)




B. STILL LIFE

Recognise and discuss the following as still lives (images of one or more inanimate objects):

o Paul Cézanne, studies with fruit such as apples and/or oranges, for instance, Still Life with

Apples, 1877-78 (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge)

Additionally:

o Anon. (from Herculaneum, Italy), Still Life with Peaches and a Glass, AD 50 (Archaeological

Museum, Naples) [Teachers: point out that we know that still life has been a popular art form

since ancient times because works like this one have survived due to being long-lasting

fresco murals.]

III. KINDS OF PICTURES: MYTHOLOGICAL PAINTINGS

[Cross-curricular links with Year 3 Language and Literature: Mythology of Ancient Greece]

Understand that a mythological work of art depicts characters or a narrative from mythology. In

western European painting these are generally from classical mythology.

Recognise as images from classical mythology and identify the characters/setting/narrative

according to

The children’s knowledge of the depicted myths from their language and literature studies:

o Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Apollo and Daphne, c.1432-1498 (National Art Gallery, London)

Additionally:

o Frederic (Lord) Leighton, The Return of Persephone to Demeter, 1891 (Leeds City Art

Gallery, Leeds)

o Pablo Picasso, Minotaur and his Wife, 1937 (British Museum, London)

IV. TYPES OF ART: ARCHITECTURE [Cross-curricular links with World History]

Understand architecture as the art of designing buildings.

Understand symmetry and a line of symmetry as it applies to buildings; observe symmetry in the

design of some buildings which are familiar to you and/or the children (you could look at your school,

local houses, or focus on the Cathedrals studied previously).

Noting line, shape, and special features (such as columns and domes), look at and consider the

following structures in relation to World History:

o The Parthenon (including the Parthenon Frieze or so-called Elgin Marblesʼ, now at the

British Museum, London) 440 BC (Acroplis, Athens, Greece)

o Great Stupa, begun 3rd Century BC (Buddhist temple in Sanchi, Raien district, Madhya

Pradesh, India).

o Sir Christopher Wren, St Paul's Cathedral, 1675 (London)

Additionally:

o Inigo Jones, The Banqueting House, 1619-22 (Whitehall, London) [include Rubensʼs painted

ceiling, with its references to James I, the Union of England and Scotland, and the

Gunpowder Plot]

Consider an example of modern architecture, assessing what is traditional and what is innovative,

such as:

o Frank Gehry, Guggenheim Museum, 1997, Bilbao, Spain

o Eric Miralles, Scottish Parliament Building, 2004, Edinburgh, UK










A. ELEMENTS

Through participation, become familiar with basic elements of music (rhythm, melody, harmony,


o Recognise a steady beat, accents, and the downbeat; play a steady beat.



o Discriminate between fast and slow; gradually slowing down and getting faster.

o Discriminate between differences in pitch: high and low.

o Discriminate between loud and soft; gradually increasing and decreasing volume.





o Recognise like and unlike phrases.

o Recognise timbre (tone colour).

o Sing unaccompanied, accompanied, and in unison.

o Recognise verse and refrain.

o Recognise that musical notes have names.

o Recognise a scale as a series of notes.

o Sing the C major scale using ‘do re mi’ etc.

B. NOTATION

Review the following notation:

o Crotchet

o Minim

o Semi-breve

Understand the following notation:

o Stave




o Treble clef and names of lines and spaces in the treble clef

o Crotchet rest: silent for one beat

o Minim rest: silent for two beats

o Semibreve rest: silent for four beats


and music from various cultures. [In Year 4, students will take a closer look at the brass and woodwind

families.]

A. MANY KINDS OF MUSIC

Patriotic music

Folk Music

Classical Music

B. COMPOSERS AND THEIR MUSIC

Teachers: Provide brief, child-friendly biographical profiles of the following composers, and listen to

representative works:

Antonio Vivaldi, The Four Seasons

Johann Sebastian Bach, Minuet in G major (collected by Bach in the Anna Magdalena Notebook);

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring; Toccata and Fugue in D minor

Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 6 (‘Pastoral’): first movement and from final movement,

‘Thunderstorm’ to end of symphony

C. THE ORCHESTRA

Review families of instruments: strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion.

Become familiar with instruments in the string family—violin, viola, cello, double bass—and listen to

o Camille Saint-Saëns, from Carnival of the Animals: ‘The Swan’ (cello) and ‘Elephants’

(double bass)

o Antonio Vivaldi, The Four Seasons (see below, Composers and Their Music)

Become familiar with instruments in the percussion family—for example, drums (timpani, snare),

xylophone, wood block, maracas, cymbals, triangle, tambourine—and listen to Carlos Chavez,

Toccata for percussion, third movement.

[If you have recordings or other resources, also introduce African drumming and Latin American music

with percussion.]

D. KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS

Recognise that the piano and organ are keyboard instruments, and listen to a variety of keyboard

music, including:

o Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Rondo Alla Turca from Piano Sonata K. 331

o Ludwig van Beethoven, Fϋr Elise

o Felix Mendelssohn, Spring Song from Songs without Words

[See also below, Composers and Their Music, Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D minor (organ).]




III. SONGS

Bobby Shaftoe

Clementine

Do-Re-Mi (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, for the musical The Sound of Music)

The Happy Wanderer (words by Florenz Siegesmund, English translation by Antonia Ridge, music by Friedrich Wilhelm Möller)

The Hippopotamus Song (also known for its chorus: Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud) (Michael Flanders

and Donald Swann)

Oranges and Lemons

Who Killed Cock Robin?




Mathematics: Year 3


A. WHOLE NUMBERS

Read and write numbers to at least 1000 in figures and words.

Count on or back in single-digit steps or multiples of 10 from any given number.

Count on or back in steps of 10, 50 or 100 from any given number.

Recognise the place value of each digit in any three-digit number, and partition three-digit numbers

into multiples of 100, 10 and 1.

Compare numbers to at least 1000 using the <, >, and = signs.

Order a set of numbers to at least 1000.

Round two-digit or three-digit numbers to the nearest 10 or 100.

B. FRACTIONS

Recognise unit fractions such as 1/2,

1/3,

1/4,

1/5,

1/6 and

1/10.

Use diagrams to compare fractions and establish equivalents.

Begin to recognise simple fractions that are several parts of a whole, e.g. 2/3,

3/4 or

7/10, interpreting

the denominator as the parts of a whole and the numerator as the number of parts.

Identify pairs of fractions that total 1.

Find unit fractions of shapes, numbers or quantities, e.g. 1/5 of 20.



Recall sums and differences of multiples of 10.

Recall all addition and subtraction facts for each number to 20.

Know addition and subtraction ‘fact families’ to 20, e.g. 8 + 6 = 14, 6 + 8 = 14, 14 – 8 = 6, 14 – 6 = 8.


o add or subtract a one-digit number to or from a two-digit number, e.g. 63 + 7, 47 – 6;

o add a multiple of 10 or 100 to a one-, two- or three-digit number, e.g. 50 + 6, 400 + 347;

o subtract a multiple of 10 from a two-digit or three-digit number, e.g. 428 – 80;

o subtract a multiple of 100 from a three-digit number, e.g. 639 – 500;

o add or subtract pairs of two-digit numbers, e.g. 35 + 68, 74 – 46.

Use written methods to:

o add or subtract a two-digit number to or from a three-digit number, e.g. 647 + 36, 354 – 78;

o add or subtract pairs of three-digit numbers, e.g. 273 + 436, 364 – 189.


Understand and use the principles (but not the names) of the commutative, associative and

distributive laws as they apply to multiplication:

o example of commutative law: 6 × 15 = 15 × 6

o example of associative law: 6 × 15 = 6 × (5 × 3) = (6 × 5) × 3 = 30 × 3 = 90

o example of distributive law: 8 x 17 = 8 x (10 + 7) = (8 x 10) + (8 × 7) = 80 + 56 = 136

Recall multiplication facts for the 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10 times-tables, and the corresponding division

facts.

Recognise multiples of 2, 5 or 10 up to 1000.

Multiply one-digit and two-digit numbers by 0, 1, 10 or 100, and understand the effect.




Solve simple division calculations involving remainders, rounding up or down depending on the

context.

Use informal written methods to multiply or divide a two-digit number by a one-digit number, e.g. 24

x 3, 37 5.

C. MIXED OPERATIONS

Use the +, –, x, and = signs to record calculations, including symbols such as , or to stand

for an unknown number, e.g. 15 + = 47, 28 = 7.

Use knowledge of number operations and inverse relationships to estimate and check calculations.

III. MEASUREMENT


Recognise and use abbreviations for metric units of measure: km, m, cm, kg, g, l, ml, °C.

Estimate, measure and record lengths, masses, capacities and temperatures using standard units

(km, m, cm, kg, g, l, ml, °C).

Know the relationship between kilometres and metres, metres and centimetres, kilograms and

grams, litres and millilitres.

Read, to the nearest division and half-division, scales that are numbered or partially numbered.

B. TIME

Use a calendar to identify and record the date, day of the week, month and year.

Compare duration of events and calculate time intervals.

Read the time to 5 minutes on an analogue clock and 12-hour digital clock and understand the

notation 8:25.

Understand noon and midnight and distinguish time as am or pm.

C. MONEY

Recognise relative values of all coins and notes.

Begin to add and subtract amounts of money to find totals and give change, using £.p notation

where appropriate.

IV. GEOMETRY


Identify, visualise, describe, classify, draw and make 2-D shapes and 3-D solids.


Read and write the vocabulary of position, direction and movement.

Identify lines as horizontal, vertical, diagonal, perpendicular and parallel.

Describe and find the position of a square on a grid of squares with the rows and columns labelled.

Recognise and use the four compass directions. [Cross-curricular connection with Year 1

Geography]

Identify right angles in 2-D shapes and the environment.

Recognise whether an angle is greater or smaller than a right angle.

Recognise that a straight line is equivalent to two right angles.

Use a set-square to draw right angles.

C. SYMMETRY

Identify and draw lines of symmetry in simple shapes.

Recognise shapes with no lines of symmetry.

Draw the reflection of a shape or pattern in a mirror line along one side.




V. DATA

Collect, process, represent, interpret and discuss data in a tally chart, frequency table, pictogram or

bar chart.

Read, interpret and represent data:

o where symbols represent more than one unit, e.g. 2 or 5;

o where scales have intervals of differing step size, e.g. axis labelled in 2s or 5s.

Use Venn and Carroll diagrams to sort objects and data.


Identify and describe numerical and symbolic patterns and relationships.


Solve one-step and two-step problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division in

the context of numbers or measurements, including money.




Science: Year 3

I. CYCLES IN NATURE

A. SEASONAL CYCLES

The four seasons and Earth’s orbit around the Sun [Review from Year 1]

Seasons and life processes

o Spring: sprouting, sap flow in plants, mating and hatching

o Summer: growth

o Fall: ripening, migration

o Winter: plant dormancy, animal hibernation

B. LIFE CYCLES

The life cycle: birth, growth, reproduction, death

Reproduction in plants and animals

o From seed to seed with a plant

o From egg to egg with a chicken

o From frog to frog

o From butterfly to butterfly: metamorphosis (see below: insects)

C. THE WATER CYCLE

Most of the Earth’s surface is covered by water

The water cycle

o Evaporation and condensation

o Water vapour in the air, humidity

o Clouds: cirrus, cumulus, stratus

o Precipitation, groundwater

II. INSECTS

[Cross-curricular links with Year 3 Language and Literature: Poetry]

Insects can be helpful and harmful to people.

o Helpful: pollination; products like honey, beeswax, and silk; eat harmful insects

o Harmful: destroy crops, trees, wooden buildings, clothes; carry disease; bite or sting

Distinguishing characteristics

o Exoskeleton, chitin

o Six legs and three body parts: head, thorax and abdomen

o Most but not all insects have wings

Life cycles: metamorphosis

o Some insects look like miniature adults when born from eggs, and they moult to grow (for

example: grasshopper, cricket)

o Some insects go through distinct stages of egg, larva, pupa, adult (for example: butterflies,

ants)

Social Insects

o Most insects live solitary lives, but some are social (for example: ants, honeybees, termites,

wasps)

o Ants: colonies

o Honeybees: workers, drones, queen




III. THE HUMAN BODY: CELLS, SYSTEMS AND HEALTH

A. CELLS

All living things are made up of cells, too small to be seen without a microscope.

o Cells make up tissues.

o Tissues make up organs.

o Organs work in systems.

B. THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Teachers: Explore with children what happens to the food we eat by studying body parts and functions

involved in taking in food and getting rid of waste. Children should become familiar with the following:

Salivary glands, taste buds

Teeth: incisors, canines, premolars and molars

Oesophagus, stomach, liver, small intestine, large intestine

C. TAKING CARE OF YOUR BODY: A HEALTHY DIET

The ‘food pyramid’

Vitamins and minerals

IV. MAGNETISM Teachers: Magnetism was introduced in Year 1. Review and introduce new topics in Year 3, with greater

emphasis on experimentation.

Magnetism demonstrates that there are forces we cannot see that act upon objects.

Most magnets contain iron

Lodestones: naturally occurring magnets

Magnetic poles: north-seeking and south-seeking poles

Magnetic field (strongest at the poles)

Law of magnetic attraction: unlike poles attract, like poles repel.

The Earth behaves as if it were a huge magnet: north and south magnetic poles (near, but not the

same as, geographic North Pole and South Pole).

Orienteering: use of a magnetised needle in a compass, which will always point to the north

V. SIMPLE MACHINES Teachers: Examine with children how specific tools are made to perform specific jobs- for example,

hammers, screwdrivers, pliers, etc. Through observation and experimentation, examine with children how

simple machines help make work easier, and how they are applied and combined in familiar tools and

machines.

A. SIMPLE MACHINES

Lever

Pulley

Wheel and axle

o Gears: wheels with teeth and notches

o How gears work and familiar uses (for example, in bicycles)

Inclined plane

Wedge

Screw

B. FRICTION, AND WAYS TO REDUCE FRICTION (LUBRICANTS, ROLLERS, ETC.)

VI. SCIENCE BIOGRAPHIES

Archimedes (ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer) [Cross-

curricular link with History and Geography]




Aristotle (Greek philosopher: wrote on physics, biology, logic, poetry, theatre, rhetoric, politics and

ethics)

Anton van Leeuwenhoek (invented the microscope)

The Curie Family including Marie Curie (discovered radiation and two new elements)





I. READING AND WRITING Teachers: Many of the following objectives and outcomes are designed to help children achieve the overall

goal for reading in Year 4: to be able to read (both aloud and silently) with fluency, accuracy and

comprehension any story or other text appropriately written for Year 4.

In Year 4, children should be competent decoders of most one- and two-syllable words, and they should

become increasingly able to use their knowledge of phonemes, syllable boundaries, prefixes and suffixes to

decode multi-syllable words. Systematic attention to decoding skills should be provided as needed for

children who have not achieved the goals specified for Years 1, 2 and 3.

A. READING COMPREHENSION AND RESPONSE

• Independently read and comprehend longer works of fiction (‘chapter books’) and non-fiction

appropriately written for Year 4 children or beyond.

• Point to specific words or passages that are causing difficulties in comprehension.

• Orally summarise main points from fiction and non-fiction read-alouds.

• Ask and pose plausible answers to how, why and what-if questions in interpreting texts, both fiction

and non-fiction.

• Use a dictionary to answer questions regarding meaning and usage of words with which the child is

unfamiliar.

• Know how to use a table of contents and index to locate information.

B. WRITING

Teachers: Children should be given many opportunities for writing, both imaginative and expository, with

teacher guidance that strikes a balance between encouraging creativity and requiring correct use of

conventions. The following guidelines build on the Year 3 guidelines: please refer to these guidelines to

review and reinforce them as necessary to ensure children’s mastery in Year 4.

• Produce a variety of types of writing–such as stories, reports, poems, letters and descriptions–and

make reasonable judgements about what to include in children’s own written work, based on the

purpose and type of composition.

• Know how to gather information from basic print sources (such as a children’s encyclopaedia), and

write a short report presenting the information in his or her own words.

• Know how to use established conventions when writing a friendly letter: layout, heading, salutation

(greeting), closing and signature.

• Produce written work with a beginning, middle and end.

• Organise material in paragraphs and understand the following:

o How to use an introductory sentence

o How to develop a paragraph with examples and details

o That each new paragraph is indented

• In some writings, proceed with guidance through a process of gathering information, organising

thoughts, composing a draft, revising to clarify and refine the child’s meaning and proofreading with

attention to spelling, grammar and presentation of a final draft.




C. SPELLING, GRAMMAR AND USAGE

• Spell most words correctly or with a highly probable spelling, and use a dictionary to check and

correct spellings about which the child is uncertain.

• Use capital letters correctly.

• Understand what a complete sentence is.

o Identify main clause and subordinate clause in a sentence.

For example (main clause in bold) When I am older I will ride in a hot air balloon.

o Distinguish complete sentences from fragments.

• Identify and use different sentence types:

o Declarative (makes a statement)

o Interrogative (asks a question)

o Imperative (gives a command)

o Exclamatory (for example: ‘what a shot!’)

• Know the following parts of speech and how they are used

o Nouns (common, proper, collective, compound and abstract)

o Pronouns (singular and plural)

o Verbs: action verbs and auxiliary (helping) verbs

o Adjectives (including articles: a before a consonant, an before a vowel, and the)

o Adverbs

• Know how to use the following punctuation:

o End punctuation: full stop, question mark or exclamation mark

o Comma: between city and county in an address; in a series; after yes and no)

o Apostrophe: in contractions; in singular and plural possessive nouns

• Recognise and avoid the double negative.

D. VOCABULARY

• Know what prefixes and suffixes are and how they affect word meaning (see below).

• Prefixes:

o re meaning ‘again’ (as in ‘reuse’, ‘refill’)

o un meaning ‘not’ (as in ‘unfriendly’, ‘unpleasant’)

o dis meaning ‘not’ (as in ‘dishonest’, ‘disobey’)

o un meaning ‘opposite of’ or ‘reversing in action’ (as in ‘untie’, ‘unlock’)

o dis meaning ‘opposite of’ or ‘reversing in action’ (as is ‘disappear’, ‘dismount’)

• Suffixes:

o er and or (as in ‘singer’, ‘painter’ and ‘actor’)

o less (as in ‘careless’, ‘hopeless’)

o ly, (as in ‘quickly’, ‘calmly’)

• Know what homophones are (for example: by, buy; hole, whole) and correct usage of homophones

that commonly cause problems:

o There, their, they’re

o Your, you’re

o Its, it’s

o Here, hear

o To, two, too

• Recognise common abbreviations (for example, St., Rd., Mr., Mrs., Dr., U.K., ft., in., km., kg.) [Cross-

curricular link with Year 3 and Year 4 Mathematics]




II. POETRY Teachers: The poems listed here constitute a core of poetry for this year group. You are encouraged to

expose children to more poetry, old and new, and to have children write their own poems. To bring children

into the spirit of poetry, read it aloud and encourage them to read it aloud so they can experience the music

in the words. At this age, poetry should be a source of delight; technical analysis should be delayed until

later years.


o At the Zoo (William Makepeace Thackeray)

o By Myself (Eloise Greenfield)

o Catch a Little Rhyme (Eve Merriam)

o Colonel Fazackerley (Charles Causley)

o The Crocodile (Lewis Carroll) [In Alice in Wonderland]

o The Dragon on the Playground (Kenn Nesbitt)

o Daddy Fell into the Pond (Alfred Noyes)

o Dream Variations (Langston Hughes)

o Ducks’ Ditty (Kenneth Grahame) [Cross-curricular connection to 'Wind in the Willows' story]

o Eletelephony (Laura Richards)

o Father William (Lewis Carroll) [In Alice in Wonderland]

o For want of a nail, the shoe was lost… (traditional)

o Happiness (A. A. Milne)

o Topsy-Turvy World (William Brighty Rands)

o Trees (Sergeant Joyce Kilmer)

III. FICTION Teachers: The titles here constitute a selected core of stories for this year group. Expose children to many

more stories, and encourage children to write their own stories. Children should also be exposed to non-

fiction prose: biographies, books about science and history, books on art and music, etc. Also, engage

children in dramatic activities, possibly with one of the stories below in the form of a play. Some of the

following works, such as Alice in Wonderland and The Wind in the Willows, lend themselves to reading aloud

to children.

A. STORIES


o Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)

o The Arabian Nights: Ali Baba and Aladdin (traditional)

o The Butterfly Lion (Michael Morpurgo)

o The Hunting of the Great Bear (an Iroquois legend about the origin of the Big Dipper)

o The Legend of Finn MacCool (traditional Irish story)

o The Little Match Girl (Hans Christian Andersen)

o William Tell (traditional)

o Selections from the Wind in the Willows: ‘The River Bank’ and ‘The Open Road’ (Kenneth

Grahame)




B. MYTHS AND MYTHICAL CHARACTERS

• Become familiar with the following from Norse Mythology:

o Asgard (home of the gods)

o Valhalla (heaven or afterlife)

o Hel (Underworld)

o Odin

o Thor

o Trolls

o Loki and the Gift from the Gods

o Norse gods and English names for days of the week: Tyr, Odin [Wodin], Thor, Frigg [Freya]

• Become familiar with additional myths and legends of Ancient Greece and Rome [Builds on English

Language and Literature from Year 3 and World History and Geography from Year 2: The Ancient

Greek Civilisation.]

o Jason and the Golden Fleece

o Perseus and Medusa

o Orpheus and Eurydice

o The Sword of Damocles

o Damon and Pythias

o Androcles and the Lion

o Horatius at the Bridge

C. LITERARY TERMS

• Become familiar with and able to use the following literary terms:

o Biography and autobiography

o Fiction and non-fiction

IV. SAYINGS AND PHRASES Teachers: Every culture has phrases and proverbs that make no sense when carried over literally into


hearing them at home and among friends. However, this section on sayings has been one of the categories



o Actions speak louder than words.

o His bark is worse than his bite.

o Beat around the bush

o Beggars can’t be choosers.

o Clean bill of health

o Cold shoulder

o Crossing the Rubicon [found in Year 4 World History: Ancient Rome]

o Et tu, Brute? [found in Year 4 World History: Ancient Rome]

o A feather in your cap

o Last straw

o Let bygones be bygones.

o One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel.

o On its last legs

o Rule the roost

o The show must go on.

o Touch and go

o When in Rome do as the Romans do. [cross-curricular connection with Year 4 World

History: Ancient Rome]

o Rome wasn’t built in a day. [cross-curricular connection with Year 4 World History: Ancient

Rome]

o A stitch in time saves nine.

o The writing is on the wall




o Veni vidi vici (I came, I saw, I conquered) [cross-curricular connection with Year 4 World

History: Ancient Rome]




History and Geography: Year 4 Teachers: The study of geography embraces many topics throughout the Core Knowledge Sequence UK,

including topics in history and science. Geographic knowledge includes a spatial sense of the world, an

awareness of the physical processes that shape life, a sense of the interactions between humans and their

environment, an understanding of the relations between place and culture, and an awareness of the

characteristics of specific regions and cultures.


I. SPATIAL SENSE

Draw maps of the local area using symbols and a key. For example, have pupils draw a map of their

route to school.

Use the points of the compass: north, south, east, west.

Review scale and discuss how they will show this on their maps.

Identify changes to a locality over time, sequence of change, and spread or growth. For example,

study aerial photographs of a local place taken in different years.

Use an atlas and online resources to find geographical information.

On a globe, identify the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and understand their significance.

II. MEDITERRANEAN EUROPE

A. GEOGRAPHY OF MEDITERRANEAN EUROPE (SOUTHERN FRANCE, PORTUGAL, SPAIN, ITALY,

GREECE, MALTA, CYPRUS)

The climate of Europe: A Mediterranean climate.

Food grown in southern Europe

o Grapes, olives, oranges, lemons, dates, other fruits and vegetables

Landscape

o Alpine mountain system (Sierra Nevada, Pyrenees, Alps, Apennines, Balkans)

o Coastline, islands and beaches

Turkey

o Gateway to the Middle East, Istanbul, the Bosphorus.

Settlements

o Lisbon, Madrid, Rome, Milan, Venice, Athens.

B.

III. EASTERN EUROPE

A. ALBANIA, ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN, BELARUS, BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA, BULGARIA, CZECH

REPUBLIC, CROATIA, ESTONIA, GEORGIA, HUNGARY, KOSOVO, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, MOLDOVA,

MONTENEGRO, POLAND, ROMANIA, SERBIA, SLOVAKIA, SLOVENIA, UKRAINE

Russia: borders China in the East and Finland in the West, Ural mountains, Ural river, Moscow, St

Peterburg

The Baltic Countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland

The Balkan Countries: Croatia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Kosovo

Landscape: lowlands and river valleys (Danube, Dniester), Balkan Mountains

Religion and alphabet: Cyrillic alphabet




UK GEOGRAPHY

Teachers: Pupils should study each region of the UK including: climate, landscape, resources, ecosystems,

population distribution, people, cultural practices, economic activities, political status (Scotland, Wales and

Northern Ireland) and places of interest. The aim is for pupils to develop their knowledge of the geography of

the UK in more detail. The lists of regional geography are by no means extensive or final. They are included

as examples of geographical knowledge that pupils might study. The regions covered in Years 4-6 can be

taught in any order. In Year Four, teachers may like to begin with the region in which the school is located

and then study a different region. The remaining regions should be taught in Years 5 and 6.

I. LONDON AND THE SOUTH EAST

Greater London, Surrey, East Sussex, West Sussex, Kent, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire,

Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Isle of Wight

o Transport, River Thames, Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral.

Buckingham Palace, Thames Barrier, Dover, Channel Tunnel, Battle of Hastings, Brighton,

Southampton and Portsmouth, Titanic, hi-tech industry, M4 corridor.

II. SOUTH WEST

Dorset, Wiltshire, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset

o For example: South Downs, Exmoor, Bodmin Moor, Dartmouth National Park, Lands End,

dairy/sheep/arable farming, thatched cottages, Stonehenge, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Bath,

Bournemouth, Great Western Railway, rural, coastline, wave erosion, tides,

limestone/granite/chalk, caves (e.g. Cheddar Gorge), holiday resorts, Durdle Door

o Monuments: Stonehenge, Tintagel Castle, Glastonbury Tor

III. NORTHERN IRELAND

Part of the UK, separate from the Republic of Ireland

Lough Neagh, Lough Erne, Sperrin Hills, Mourne Mountains, limestone (Marble Arch caves), Basalt

(Ring of Gullion), peat bogs, Giant’s Causeway, Glens, Belfast, Londonderry, Gaelic, ship building,

farmland, dairy

WORLD HISTORY

I. ANCIENT ROME

Background

o Our calendar; a gift from Rome

o Define B.C. / A.D. and B.C.E. / C.E.

o The legend of Romulus and Remus

o Latin as the language of Rome

o Worship of gods and goddesses

Largely based on Greek religion

o The Republic

Senate, Patricians, Plebeians

o Punic Wars

Carthage, Hannibal

The Empire

o Julius Caesar

Defeats Pompey in civil war; becomes dictator

‘Veni, vidi, vici’ (‘I came, I saw, I conquered’)

Cleopatra of Egypt

Caesar assassinated in the Senate, Brutus




o Augustus Caesar

o Life in the Roman Empire

The Forum: temples, marketplaces, etc.

The Colosseum: circuses, gladiator combat, chariot races

Roads, bridges, and aqueducts

o Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

Destruction of Pompeii

o Persecution of Christians

The ‘decline and fall’ of Rome

o Weak and corrupt emperors

Legend of Nero fiddling as Rome burns

o Civil wars

o City of Rome sacked

The Eastern Roman Empire: Byzantine Civilisation

o The rise of the Eastern Roman Empire, known as the Byzantine Empire

o Constantine

Emperor who made Christianity the official religion of Rome

Constantinople (now called Istanbul) merges diverse influences and cultures.

o Justinian, Justinian’s Code

BRITISH HISTORY

I. JAMES I AND JAMES VI (1567-1625) Teachers: Important aspects to emphasise include the origins of the Civil War, the importance of the union

of crowns between England and Scotland, and the growth of trade and global exploration to connect to the

growth of the British Empire in later years

MONARCHS OF THE HOUSE OF STUART

THE UNION OF THE CROWNS

King of Scots as James VI from 1567

King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24

March, 1603

o Belief in the Divine Right of Kings

o Gunpowder Plot, 1605

o Parliament unwilling to grant the King money; dissolved by the King

II. CHARLES I AND THE ORIGINS OF THE CIVIL WAR (1625-1642)

[Builds on Year 1 British History and Geography]

Teachers: Demonstrate how the causes of the Civil War connect religion and politics together. The cost of

financing war was again a significant cause of political conflict and popular unrest.

A. ORIGINS OF CIVIL WAR IN THE REIGN OF CHARLES I

Charles I came to the thrones of England and Scotland in 1625

o Believed in the Divine Right of Kings

o Charles taxed without parliamentary consent

‘Eleven Years tyranny’ or ‘Charles’ Personal Rule’; did not call parliament

William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury

o Advocated High Anglicanism and opposed Puritanism




III. THE CIVIL WAR (1642-1649) Teachers: Emphasise the social as well as the political and military aspects of the Civil War, how families

were divided and many suffered, with large casualties on both sides during what was a series of bloody

conflicts across England, Scotland and Ireland.

A. LEAD-UP TO THE CIVIL WAR

Charles confronts parliament, 1641

o Charles forcibly enters parliament to arrest five members

o Parliament refuses; Speaker William Lenthall; Charles left powerless

o Charles flees London; Parliament in control of London

B. THE CIVIL WAR

In general, cities and the Royal Navy supported Parliament; rural communities supported the King

o Roundheads (Parliamentarians) and Cavaliers (Royalists)

o Edgehill, 1642; Charles withdraws to Oxford

o Battle of Marston Moor, 1644, victory for Parliamentarians

New Model Army; first permanent national standing army in Britain

o Oliver Cromwell

o The Rump Parliament

C. THE TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF CHARLES I

Beheaded on the 30th January, 1649

Charles II proclaimed King in Scotland

Battle of Worcester; Charles escaped to France

D. THE COMMONWEALTH, 1649-1660

An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth was passed

Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate, 1653; Rump Parliament dissolved

o Cromwell becomes Lord Protector in December 1653

o Son Richard becomes Lord Protector in 1658

IV. THE RESTORATION: POLITICS Teachers: Explain how popular attachment to the idea of monarchy is reaffirmed with the Restoration, but

the opposing political ideas are not properly reconciled until the Glorious Revolution.

A. THE RESTORATION

Overthrow of Richard Cromwell

Parliament invites Charles II to return from France

Charles crowned King in London

VI. THE RESTORATION: SCIENCE Teachers: Emphasise the importance of the peace that followed the restoration in the flourishing of scientific

activity.

A. SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

Francis Bacon (1561-1626); Scientific Method

o Scientific discoveries through empirical observation and inductive reasoning; not relying on

accepted assumptions and ancient authority

Royal Society founded, 1660

o Scientific forum for new discoveries

o Isaac Newton and Gravity




VII. THE RESTORATION: PLAGUE AND FIRE

A. THE GREAT PLAGUE

Outbreak of plague in London during very hot summer

Nearly 100,000 die before cold weather in October kills it off

B. THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON

Fire breaks out in Pudding Lane on 2 September 1666

By the time it is extinguished five days later, more than three quarters of the City has been destroyed

Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke in charge of rebuilding. Wren designs many new churches and

St Paul’s Cathedral

VIII. THE RESTORATION: RELIGION Teachers: Demonstrate how connections between religion and politics continue to dominate in Britain,

especially establishment hostility towards Catholics and dissenters. Continued divisions between Catholics

and Protestants led to the following:

JAMES II BECOMES KING IN 1685

Monmouth rebellion defeated

James’ actions create concern

o James suspended parliament and it was never recalled

o Wanted to repeal the Test Act for Catholics

Declaration of Indulgence, 1687

o Trial of seven opposing Bishops, including the Archbishop of Canterbury

James’ Catholic son, James Francis Edward Stuart, born in June 1688

o Possibility of a Catholic monarchy becomes real

IX. THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS

[Builds on Year 1 History and Geography]

Teachers: Explain the importance of the real restrictions that were placed on the power of the monarch.

Introduce the idea, supported by some at the time, that political power is based on the consent of the people

A. GLORIOUS REVOLUTION

William of Orange; Protestant opponent of Catholicism

The invitation to invade

o William landed at Torbay and marched to London; welcomed by crowds

o James fled to France

William and Mary crowned joint monarchs

B. BILL OF RIGHTS

The Bill passed in December 1689

o No taxation without parliamentary consent

o No standing army during peacetime

o Free and fair elections

Wider significance

o Officially curtailed royal power; gave parliament financial power

o Still a long way from Constitutional monarchy or democracy

Shaped political landscape and language over the next two centuries


A. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE [Builds on History and Geography, Year 3]









artists, particularly those which may be locally accessible to the children and their carers.

I. ELEMENTS OF ART: LIGHT, SPACE AND DESIGN Teachers: The generally recognised elements of art include line, shape, form, space, light, texture, and

colour. In Year 4, build on what the children have learned in earlier years as you introduce concepts of light,

space and design.

A. LIGHT

Observe how artists use light and shadow (to focus our attention, create mood, etc.) in:

o Caravaggio, Supper at Emmaus, 1601 (National Gallery, London) [Explain that Caravaggio

pioneered a very dramatic lighting contrasting dark shade with bright light, known as

ʻchiaroscuroʼ, combining the Italian words for light and dark.]

o Rembrandt van Rijn, Belshazzarʼs Feast, 1636 (National Gallery, London)

o Johannes Vermeer, The Milkmaid, c. 1658 (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)

o Joseph Mallord William Turner, The Fighting Temeraire, 1859 (National Gallery, London)

B. SPACE IN ARTWORKS

Understand the following terms: two-dimensional (height, width), and three-dimensional (height,

width, depth). [Note: perspective will be considered in Year 6.]

Observe the relationship between two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes: square to cube,

triangle to pyramid, circle to sphere and cylinder.

Observe how artists can make what they depict look three-dimensional, despite working in two-

dimensions, by creating an illusion of depth. Also examine the foreground, middle ground, and

background in paintings, including:

o Pieter Bruegel the Younger, The Peasant Wedding, 1620 (National Gallery of Ireland,

Dublin)

o Jean-François Millet, The Gleaners, 1857 (Musée dʼOrsay, Paris)

C. DESIGN: HOW THE ELEMENTS OF ART WORK TOGETHER

Examine design—how the elements of art work together to create a balanced or coherent whole—in:

o Henri Matisse (collage): The Fall of Icarus (from Jazz), 1943 (Tate, London; Metropolitan

Museum of Art, New York)

Additionally in:

o Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893 (National Gallery, Oslo)

o Anthony van Dyck, Portrait of Charles I, Henrietta Maria and their Children, 1632 (Royal

Collection, Buckingham Palace, London) [Cross-curricular links with Year 4 English History]

II. TYPES OF ART: EMBROIDERY AND NEEDLEWORK Teachers: Embroidery and needlework are important aspects of art and sewing is also a practical life skill for

children to learn.

Understand the basic principles of sewing techniques. Children can experiment with making their

own cross-stitch design and appreciate the time and effort involved in needlework.

Understand the basic principles of weaving.

Recognise embroidery and tapestry and discuss examples:




o Kate Farrer, Icarus, 2012 (Artist’s Collection, now on display at the Royal School of

Needlework at Hampton Court) [Cross-curricular connections with Icarus by Matisse and

with Year 3 and Year 4 Language and Literature: Ancient Greek and Roman Mythology]

o Christ’s Charge to Peter tapestry commissioned by King Charles I and made in Mortlake

(Forde Abbey, Boughton House, Belvoir Castle and Chatsworth House) and original

cartoons by Raphael (Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

o Norman Hartnell, Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation Robes (Royal Collection)

o Royal School of Needlework, Queen Elizabeth II’s Robes of Estate (Royal Collection)

o Royal School of Needlework, Kate Middleton’s Wedding Dress (Royal Collection)

III. MONUMENTS OF ROME AND BYZANTIUM [Cross-curricular links with Year 4 World History]

Become familiar with the public monuments of ancient Rome such as:

o Trajanʼs Column (113 AD) [Note: there is a cast in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.]

o The Pantheon (126 AD)

o The Arch of Constantine (dedicated in 315 AD)

Become familiar with the public monuments of ancient Byzantium such as:

o Hagia Sofia (537 AD)

o The Great Palace of Constantinople (330 AD)

o The Walls of Constantinople (4th to 5th centuries AD)

Explore how Emperors used and adapted these monuments to display their images, show power and represent history.

Observe examples of Christian art works of the later Roman Empire (or Byzantium), such as the

mosaics of Ravenna:

o Justinian I and Theodora, mosaic panels in the apse of San Vitale, 548 AD (Ravenna, Italy)










A. ELEMENTS Through participation, become familiar with basic elements of music (rhythm, melody, harmony,


o Recognise a steady beat, accents, and the downbeat; play a steady beat.

o Move responsively to music.










o Recognise harmony; sing rounds.


o Continue work with timbre and phrasing.

o Review names of musical notes; scale as a series of notes; singing the C major scale using

‘do re mi’ etc.

B. NOTATION

Review the following notation

o Crotchet

o Minim

o Semi-breve

o Stave





o Crotchet rest

o Minim rest

o Semibreve rest

Understand the following notation

o Bar line, dividing the staff into measures

o Quaver: the length of half a crotchet

o Time signature: 4 quadruple time, as in four crotchet beats 4

o Time signature: 2 duple time, as in two crotchet beats 4

o Time signature: 3 triple time, as in three crotchet beats 4

o Soft: p

o Very soft: pp

o Loud: ƒ

o Very loud: ƒƒ




II. LISTENING AND UNDERSTANDING

Teachers: Expose children to a wide range of music, including children’s music, popular instrumental music,


[See below, re brass instruments, Composers and Their Music: Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common

Man, and Edward Elgar, Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4. See also English Language and Literature 4:

William Tell.]

A. THE ORCHESTRA

Review families of instruments: strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion.

Become familiar with brass instruments—trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba—and listen to:

o Gioacchino Rossini, William Tell Overture, finale (trumpet)

o Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, selections from the Horn Concertos (French horn)

Become familiar with woodwind instruments—flute and piccolo (no reeds), clarinet, oboe, bassoon

(with reeds)—and listen to:

o Claude Debussy, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (flute)

o Opening of George Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue (clarinet)

o Jean Sibelius, The Swan Of Tuonela (cor anglais)

B. COMPOSERS AND THEIR MUSIC



Peter Tchaikovsky, Suite from Swan Lake

Edward Elgar, Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4

Gustav Holst, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune from The Planets Suite

C. MUSICAL CONNECTIONS

Teachers: Introduce children to the following in connection with topics in other disciplines:

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, part one: The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship from Scheherazade,

III. SONGS

Aiken Drum

All Through the Night

Alouette

Annie Laurie

Cockles and Mussels

London’s Burning

On Ilkley Moor Baht ’At




Mathematics: Year 4


A. WHOLE NUMBERS

Read and write numbers to at least 10 000 in figures and words.

Recognise and extend number sequences formed by counting on or back from any number in steps

of constant size.

Identify Roman numerals from 1 to 20 (I - XX).

Recognise odd and even numbers to at least 1000.

Recognise the place value of each digit in any four-digit number, and partition four-digit numbers into

multiples of 1000, 100, 10 and 1.

Compare numbers to at least 10 000 using the <, >, and = signs.

Order a set of numbers to at least 10 000.

Round numbers to at least 10 000 to the nearest 10, 100 or 1000.

Understand what negative numbers are in relation to familiar uses (such as temperatures below

zero).

Position positive and negative numbers on a number line.

B. FRACTIONS

Recognise unit fractions to 1/10 and fractions whose denominator is 10 or 100.

Compare fractions with like denominators, using the signs <, >, and =.

Interpret mixed numbers, e.g. 2½.

Recognise the equivalence of simple fractions, e.g. 1/2 =

3/6.

Find fractions of shapes, numbers or quantities, e.g. 1/3 of 12,

2/3 of 18.

C. DECIMALS

Understand decimal notation and place value for tenths and hundredths, and use it in context.

Compare and order decimals, and position decimals on a number line.

Recognise the equivalence between the decimal and fraction forms of one half, quarters, tenths and

hundredths.



Understand and use the principles (but not the names) of the commutative and associative laws as

they apply to addition.

Consolidate recall of all addition and subtraction facts for each number to 20.

Add more than two one-digit or two-digit numbers, e.g. 13 + 8 + 22


o derive sums and differences of multiples of 10, 100 and 1000, e.g. 40 + 80, 300 + 500

o add or subtract pairs of two-digit numbers, e.g. 35 + 68, 74 – 46


o add or subtract pairs of three-digit or four-digit numbers, e.g. 1982 + 726, 2846 + 1427, 746 –

317, 4298 – 2784

o add more than two numbers, e.g. 376 + 716 + 123

o add or subtract calculations involving money, e.g. £5.58 + £7.84, £9.32 – £4.77





Use the principles (but not the names) of the commutative, associative and distributive laws as they

apply to multiplication:

o example of commutative law: 8 × 24 = 24 × 8

o example of associative law: 8 × 24 = 8 × (6 × 4) = (8 × 6) × 4 = 48 × 4 = 192

o example of distributive law: 9 × 26 = 9 x (20 + 6) = (9 x 20) + (9 × 6) = 180 + 54 = 234

Recall multiplication facts up to 10 x 10 and the corresponding division facts.

Recognise multiples of numbers to 10 up to the tenth multiple.

Recall doubles of all two-digit numbers, multiples of 10 and 100, and the corresponding halves.

Multiply and divide whole numbers to 1000 by 0, 1, 10 or 100, and understand the effect.


o multiply a two-digit or three-digit number by a one-digit number, e.g. 472 x 6

o divide a two-digit or three-digit number by a one-digit number, including division with remainders,

rounding up or down depending on the context, e.g. 263 8

C. MIXED OPERATIONS

Use knowledge of rounding, number operations and inverse relationships to estimate and check

calculations.

III. MEASUREMENT


Estimate, measure and record lengths, masses, capacities and temperatures using standard units

(km, m, cm, mm, kg, g, l, ml, °C).

Convert between different units of measure, e.g. km to m, m to cm, cm to mm, kg to g, l to ml or vice

versa.

Begin to use decimal notation to record and convert measurements, e.g. 2.3 kg = 2300 g, or vice

versa.

Read and interpret intervals and divisions on partially numbered scales.

Use a ruler to measure and draw lengths to the nearest millimetre.

B. TIME

Read a simple timetable.

Calculate time intervals from clocks, calendars and simple timetables.

Read the time to the nearest minute on an analogue clock and 12-hour digital clock.

Use am and pm and 12-hour clock notation, e.g. 5:24.

C. MONEY

Add and subtract amounts of money to find totals and give change, using £.p notation.

D. PERIMETER AND AREA

Measure and calculate the perimeter of a rectilinear shape.

Measure and calculate the area of rectangles and related compound shapes using counting methods

and the standard unit cm2.

IV. GEOMETRY





Draw polygons and classify them using criteria such as the number of right angles, whether or not

they are regular, and their symmetrical properties.

Visualise 3-D solids and objects from 2-D drawings.


Read and plot coordinates in the first quadrant.

Recognise and use the eight compass directions. [Cross-curricular connection with Geography: Year

4]

Know that angles are measured in degrees and that:

o one whole turn is 360o (four right angles);

o a half turn is 180o (two right angles or a straight line);

o a quarter turn is 90o (or one right angle);

o half a right angle is 45o.

Compare and order angles less than 180o.

C. SYMMETRY

Draw the reflection of a shape or pattern in a mirror line parallel to one side, where all sides of the

shape or pattern are parallel or perpendicular to the mirror line.

V. DATA

Collect, process, represent, interpret and discuss data in a tally chart, frequency table, pictogram or

bar chart.

Read, interpret and represent data:

o where symbols represent more than one unit, e.g. 2, 5, 10 or 20;

o where scales have intervals of differing step size, e.g. axis labelled in 2s, 5s, 10s or 20s.


Identify, describe and use numerical and symbolic patterns and relationships.


Investigate a general statement involving numbers or shapes.

Solve one-step and two-step problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division in

the context of numbers or measurements, including money and time.




Science: Year 4

I. INTRODUCTION TO CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS

Scientists classify animals according to the characteristics they share, for example:

o Cold-blooded or warm-blooded

o Vertebrates (have backbones and internal skeletons) or invertebrates (do not have

backbone or internal skeletons)

Different classes of vertebrates

Teachers: Children should become familiar with examples of animals in each class and some basic

characteristics of each class, such as:

Fish: aquatic animals, breath through gills, cold-blooded, most have scales, most develop from eggs

that the female lays outside her body

Amphibians: live part of their life cycle in water and part on land, have gills when young, later

develop lungs, cold-blooded, usually have moist skin

Reptiles: hatch from eggs, cold-blooded, have dry, thick, scaly skin

Birds: warm-blooded, most can fly, have feathers and wings, most build nests, hatch from eggs,

most baby birds must be fed by parents and cared for until they can survive on their own (though

some, like baby chickens and quail, can search for food a few hours after hatching)

Mammals: warm-blooded, have hair on their bodies, parents care for the young, females produce

milk for their babies, breathe through lungs, most are terrestrial (live on land) though some are

aquatic

II. ECOLOGY Teachers: Some topics here, such as habitats, were introduced in Year One. In this year, these topics will

be covered in more detail and new areas will be studied.

Habitats, interdependence of organisms and their environment

The concept of a ‘balance of nature’ (constantly changing, not a static condition)

The food chain: producers, consumers, decomposers

Ecosystems: how they can be affected by changes in environment (for example, rainfall, food supply,

etc.) and by man-made changes

Fossils and how they can tell us about the environment long ago

Man-made threats to the environment

o Air pollution: emissions, smog

o Water pollution: industrial waste, run-off from farming

Measures we can take to protect the environment (for example, conservation, recycling)

III. THE HUMAN BODY: SYSTEMS, VISION AND HEARING

A. THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM

Muscles

o Involuntary and voluntary muscles

B. THE SKELETAL SYSTEM

Skeleton, bones, marrow

Musculo-skeletal connection

o Ligaments

o Tendons, Achilles tendon

o Cartilage




Skull, cranium

Spinal column, vertebrae

Joints

Ribs, rib cage, sternum

Scapula (shoulder blades), pelvis, tibia, fibula

Broken bones, X-rays

C. THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Brain: medulla, cerebellum, cerebrum, cerebral cortex

Spinal cord

Nerves

Reflexes

D. VISION: HOW THE EYE WORKS

Parts of the eye: cornea, iris and pupil, lens, retina

Optic nerve

Farsighted and nearsighted

E. HEARING: HOW THE EAR WORKS

Sound as vibration

Outer ear, ear canal

Eardrum

Three tiny bones (hammer, anvil and stirrup) pass vibrations to the cochlea

Auditory nerve

IV. LIGHT AND OPTICS Teachers: Through experimentation and observation, introduce children to some of the basic physical

phenomena of light, with associated vocabulary.

The speed of light: light travels at an amazingly high speed.

Light travels in straight lines (as can be demonstrated by forming shadows).

Transparent and opaque objects

Reflection

o Mirrors: plane, concave, convex

o Use of mirrors in telescopes and some microscopes

The spectrum: use a prism to demonstrate that white light is made up of a spectrum of colours.

Lenses can be used for magnifying and bending light (as in magnifying glass, microscope, camera,

telescope, binoculars).

V. SOUND Teachers: Through experimentation and observation, introduce children to some of the basic physical

phenomena of sound, with associated vocabulary.

Sound is caused by an object vibrating rapidly.

Sounds travel through solids, liquids and gases.

Sound waves are much slower than light waves.

Speed of sound: Concorde

Qualities of sound

o Pitch: high or low, faster vibrations = higher pitch, slower vibrations = lower pitch

o Intensity: loudness and quietness

Human voice

o Larynx (voice box)

o Vibrating vocal chords: longer, thicker vocal chords create lower, deeper voices

Sound and how the human ear works

Protecting your hearing




VI. ASTRONOMY

The ‘Big Bang’ as one theory

The universe: an extent almost beyond imagining

Galaxies: Milky Way and Andromeda

Our solar system

o Sun: source of energy (heat and light)

o The nine planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

[Note that, in 2006, Pluto was classified as a dwarf planet]

Planetary motion: orbit and rotation

o How day and night on Earth are caused by the Earth’s rotation

o Sunrise in the east and sunset in the west

o How the seasons are caused by the Earth’s orbit around the sun, tilt of the Earth’s axis

Gravity, gravitational pull

o Gravitational pull of the moon (and to a lesser degree, the sun) causes ocean tides on Earth

o Gravitational pull of ‘black holes’ prevents light from escaping

Asteroids, meteors (‘shooting stars’), comets, Halley’s Comet

How an eclipse happens

Stars and constellations

Orienteering (finding your way) by using North Star, Big Dipper

Exploration of space

o Observation through telescopes

o Rockets and satellites: from unmanned flights

o Apollo 11, first landing on the moon: ‘One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind’

o Space shuttle

VII. SCIENCE BIOGRAPHIES

Alexander Graham Bell (invented the telephone)

Copernicus (had new sun-centred idea about the solar system)

Galileo Galilei (‘Father of modern science’, provided scientific support for Copernicus’s theory)

Caroline Herschel (German-British astronomer, discovered several comets, worked with brother

William)

Isaac Newton (English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher and alchemist)





I. WRITING, GRAMMAR, AND USAGE Teachers: Children should be given many opportunities for writing, both imaginative and expository, but

place a stronger emphasis than in previous years on expository writing, including, for example, summaries,

book reports and descriptive essays. Provide guidance that strikes a balance between encouraging creativity

and requiring correct use of conventions. Children should be given more responsibility for (and guidance in)

editing for organisation and development of ideas and proofreading to correct errors in spelling, usage and

mechanics. In Year 5, children should be able to spell most words or provide a highly probable spelling, and

know how to use a dictionary to check and correct words that present difficulty. They should receive regular

practice in vocabulary enrichment.

A. WRITING AND RESEARCH

• Produce a variety of types of writing–including stories, reports, summaries, descriptions, poems and

letters–with a coherent structure of storyline.

• Know how to gather information from different sources (such as in encyclopaedias, magazines,

interviews, observations, atlases and the Internet), and write short reports presenting the information

in his or her own words.

o Understand the purpose and audience of the writing.

o Define a main idea and stick to it.

o Provide an introduction and a conclusion.

o Organise material in coherent paragraphs.

o Document sources in a rudimentary bibliography.

• Organise material in paragraphs and understand the following:

o How to use a topic sentence

o How to develop a paragraph with examples and details

o That each new paragraph is indented

B. GRAMMAR AND USAGE

• Understand the components of a complete sentence.

o Identify the subject and predicate in single-clause sentences.

For example (subject is in bold and predicate is in italics): Anna scored a goal.

o Distinguish complete sentences from fragments.

• Identify the subject and verb in a sentence and understand that they must agree.

• Identify active and passive verbs

• Identify and use different sentence types: declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory.

• Know the following parts of speech and how they are used: nouns, pronouns, verbs (action verbs

and auxiliary verbs), adjectives (including articles), adverbs, conjunctions (and, but, or), prepositions

and interjections.

• Know how to use the following punctuation:

o End punctuation: full stop, question mark or exclamation mark

o Colons and semi colons: causing a break in a sentence, linking ideas together

o Comma: between city and county in an address, in a series, after yes and no, before

conjunctions that combine sentences, inside speech marks in dialogue.

o Apostrophe: in contractions, in singular and plural possessive nouns

o Quotation marks: for titles of poems, songs, short stories and magazine articles.




o Speech marks for dialogue/direct speech

• Understand what synonyms and antonyms are, and provide synonyms and antonyms for given

words.


• Prefixes

o im, in (as in ‘impossible’, ‘incorrect’)

o non (as in ‘non-fiction’, ‘non-violent’)

o mis (as is ‘misbehave’, ‘misspell’)

o en (as in ‘enable’, ‘endanger’)

o pre (as in ‘prehistoric’, ‘premature’)

• Suffixes

o ily, y (as in ‘easily’, ‘speedily’, ‘tricky’)

o ful (as in ‘thoughtful’, ‘wonderful’)

o able, ible (as in ‘washable’, ‘flexible’)

o ment (as in ‘agreement’, ‘amazement’)

• Correct usage of problematic homophones [Review from Year 4]

o There, their, they’re

o Your, you’re

o Its, it’s

o Here, hear

o To, too, two

II. POETRY Teachers: The poems listed here constitute a selected core of poetry for this year group. You are

encouraged to expose children to more poetry, old and new, and to have children write their own poems. To

bring children into the spirit of poetry, read it aloud and encourage children to read it aloud so they can

experience the music in the words. At this age, poetry should be a source of delight; technical analysis

should be delayed until later years.

A. POEMS


o Dreams (Langston Hughes)

o Fog (Carl Sandburg)

o The Lady of Shallot (Alfred, Lord Tennyson)

o Monday’s Child Is Fair of Face (traditional)

o The Pobble Who Has No Toes (Edward Lear)

o The Rhinoceros (Ogden Nash)

o Sky in the Pie (Roger McGough)

o A Tragic Story (William Makepeace Thackeray)

B. LITERARY TERMS

• Become familiar with and able to use the following literary terms:

o Stanza and line

o Rhythm

o Rhyme

o Mood

III. FICTION Teachers: In Year 5, children should be fluent, competent readers of appropriate materials. Decoding skills

should be automatic, allowing the children to focus on meaning. Regular practice in reading aloud and

independent silent reading should continue. Children should read outside school for at least 20 minutes

daily.




The titles below constitute a selected core of stories for this year group. Teachers and parents are

encouraged to expose children to many more stories, and to encourage children to write their own stories.

Children should also be exposed to non-fiction prose: biographies, books about science and history, books

on art and music, etc. Also, engage children in dramatic activities, possibly with one of the stories below in

the form of a play. Some of the stories below, such as Gulliver’s Travels and Robinson Crusoe, are available

in editions adapted for younger readers.

A. STORIES


o The Fire on the Mountain (an Ethiopian folktale)

o ‘A voyage to Lilliput’’ from Gulliver’s Travels (Jonathan Swift)

o The Happy Prince (Oscar Wilde)

o The Wonderful Chuang Brocade (a Chinese folktale)

o Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe)

o Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stephenson)

B. MYTHS AND MYTHICAL CHARACTERS


o Sir Gawain and the Green Knight




V. SAYINGS AND PHRASES Teachers: Every culture has phrases and proverbs that make no sense when carried over literally into


hearing them at home and among friends. However, this section of sayings has been one of the categories



o Prevention is better than cure.

o As the crow flies

o Beauty is only skin deep.

o The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

o Birds of a feather flock together.

o Blow hot and cold

o Break the ice

o Bull in a china shop

o Bury the hatchet

o Can’t hold a candle to

o Don’t count all your chickens before they hatch.

o Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

o Gone to pot

o Half a loaf is better than none.

o More haste less speed

o Laugh and the world laughs with you.

o Lightning never strikes twice in the same place.

o Live and let live.

o Make ends meet.

o Make hay while the sun shines.

o Money burning a hole in your pocket.

o Once in a blue moon

o One picture is worth a thousand words.

o Run-of-the-mill

o Seeing is believing.

o Shipshape and Bristol fashion

o Through thick and thin

o To go to Timbuktu

o It never rains but it pours

o You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.





WORLD HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY Teachers: The study of geography embraces many topics throughout the Core Knowledge Sequence,




characteristics of specific regions and cultures. Many geographic topics are listed below in connection with

historical topics.

I. SPATIAL SENSE Teachers: Review as necessary map-reading skills and concepts, as well as geographic terms, from

previous years

Relief maps: identify elevated areas, depressions and river basins.

Compare aerial photographs and maps. Identify the ways in which maps represent and simplify the

real world.

Read maps and globes using latitude, longitude, coordinates and degrees.

Scale: measure distances using map scales.

Identify the Prime Meridian, the 1800 line (International Date Line), the Eastern and Western

Hemispheres.

II. MOUNTAINS OF THE WORLD Teachers: Children should learn the names of some of the world’s mountain ranges. They should also

become familiar with the terms peak meaning the highest point of a mountain and range meaning a

connected group of mountains.

The Alps

The Himalayas

The Andes and The Appalachian Mountains

The Atlas Mountains

III. THE SPREAD OF ISLAM AND THE HOLY WARS Teachers: Since religion is a shaping force in the story of civilisation, the Core Knowledge Sequence

introduces children in the early years to major world religions, beginning with a focus on geography and

major symbols and figures. In Year 5 the focus is on history, geography, and the development of a

civilisation. The purpose is not to explore matters of theology but to understand the place of religion and

religious ideas in history. The goal is to familiarise, not proselytise; to be descriptive, not prescriptive. The

tone should be one of respect and balance: no religion should be disparaged by implying that it is a thing of

the past. A review of major religions introduced in earlier years in the Core Knowledge Sequence UK is

recommended: Judaism/Christianity/Islam (Year 2) and Hinduism/Buddhism (Year 3).

A. ISLAM

Muhammad: the prophet

Allah, Qur’an

Sacred city of Makkah, mosques

‘Five pillars’ of Islam

o Declaration of faith

o Prayer (five times daily), facing toward Makkah

o Fasting during Ramadan




o Help the needy

o Pilgrimage to Makkah

Arab peoples unite to spread Islam in Northern Africa, through the eastern Roman Empire, and as

far west as Spain.

B. DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAMIC CIVILISATION

Contributions to science and mathematics: Avicenna (Ibn Sina), Arabic numerals

Thriving cities as centres of Islamic art and learning, such as Cordoba (Spain)

C. WARS BETWEEN MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS

The Holy Land, Jerusalem

The Crusades

Saladin and Richard the Lionheart

Growing trade and cultural exchange between east and west

V. AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC

A. GEOGRAPHY

South Pacific Ocean

Major rivers: the Murray and the Darling (Australia)

Contrasting climate in different regions:

o Australia: climate differs regionally—dry outback, greener coastal areas

o New Zealand: hot in the North Island (farther from the South Pole and closer to the Equator),

snow in Arthur’s Pass on the South Island

o South Pacific islands are very hot

Settlements located along the coasts, especially on the East Coast of Australia and coasts of New

Zealand

B. AUSTRALIA

Large cities: Canberra, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Perth, Alice Springs

Important features: Ayers Rock, outback, Great Barrier Reef (world’s largest coral reef), tropical

rainforest, beaches

Aboriginal people: traditional music and dance, strong oral history, importance of ancestors, historic

art including aboriginal rock engravings [cross-curricular connection with Year 4 Visual Arts]

Unique animals: koala, kangaroo, platypus, emu, kookaburra bird

History

o British explorer James Cook was the first European to make contact with Australia (on

eastern coastline)

o Australia used as a penal colony for British prisoners

o Gold rush in the 1850s and subsequent importance of mining

o Australia became an independent country that was a dominion of the British Empire (1907)

o New architecture: Sydney harbour bridge and the Sydney Opera House are well-known

modern architectural pieces

C. NEW ZEALAND

Large cities: Auckland, Christchurch

Important features:

o Geysers in Rotorua on the North Island[cross-curricular connection with Year 2 History and

Geography: geysers in Yellowstone National Park in the US and in Iceland]

o Geographic isolation and unique species of plants and animals (e.g. kiwi fruit and kiwi bird);

some plants and animals were threatened by the arrival of new plants and animals brought

through colonisation (e.g. rabbits and ferrets that threatened the kiwi bird and other animals)




Māori people and culture: elaborate mythology, traditional dancing (see rugby and the haka below),

History

o British explorer James Cook was the first to circumnavigate New Zealand

o New Zealand as a member of the British Commonwealth

o First country in the world to grant all women the right to vote (1893)

Sports

o Mountaineering: Sir Edmund Hillary (from New Zealand) and Tenzing Norgay (from Nepal)

were the first to climb Mt. Everest (world’s tallest mountain) in 1953 [cross-curricular

connection with Year 3 History and Geography]

o Rugby: All Blacks rugby team, Māori participation in rugby and the national team’s

performance of the haka (traditional Māori challenge) before matches

D. SOUTH PACIFIC ISLANDS

James Cook as an explorer and a cartographer who was the first to map South Pacific Islands from

New Zealand to Hawaii

Melanesia: islands include New Guinea, New Caledonia, Fiji, Solomon Islands

Micronesia: islands include Guam, Marshall Islands

Polynesia: islands include New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, the Cook

Islands, French Polynesia, Easter Island

UK GEOGRAPHY

I. EAST ENGLAND

A. HERTFORDSHIRE, BEDFORDSHIRE, CAMBRIDGESHIRE, NORFOLK, SUFFOLK, ESSEX

Flat or rolling land, climate, vegetable farming, Norfolk Broads, Cambridge, port of Felixstowe,

Sutton Hoo

II. THE MIDLANDS

A. EAST MIDLANDS: NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, DERBYSHIRE, LEICESTERSHIRE, RUTLAND,

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE AND MOST OF LINCOLNSHIRE

B. WEST MIDLANDS: STAFFORDSHIRE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE, WEST

MIDLANDS, WARWICKSHIRE, HEREFORDSHIRE

Birmingham, Spaghetti Junction, Grand Union Canal, mining industry (much declined), Peak District,

Sherwood Forest, The Trent, Rolls-Royce (engines), car plants, food processing, Leicester,

Nottingham, Derby, Bourneville; home of Cadbury’s chocolate, Malvern Hills, farming

III. YORKSHIRE AND HUMBERSIDE

A. YORKSHIRE, HUMBERSIDE, PART OF LINCOLNSHIRE

Peak District, N Yorkshire Moors, Yorkshire Dales, River Humber, port of Hull, coal, iron and steel

works, City of York

BRITISH HISTORY

I. 18TH CENTURY BRITAIN Teachers: The Act of Union in 1707 created Great Britain, a new nation, but it did not yet create ‘Britons’.

Encourage students to think about the nature and formation of national identity, and identities in general.




Explain how this period sees the development of political institutions that are still familiar today, and use the

Jacobite rebellions as a reminder of the continued importance of religion in political and social life.

A. JAMES I AND VI HAD BEEN ATTEMPTING TO FORM A FULL POLITICAL UNION, BUT FAILED

In Scotland, opinion over union was divided

o The Act secured the line of succession through protestants

The Act of Union, 1707

o The Scottish parliament voted itself out of existence

o Robert Burns’ famous line: ‘bought and sold for English gold’

o Scotland managed to retain her legal and university structures; the Church of Scotland

remained Presbyterian

The creation of Great Britain was one of necessity, with mutual hostility and mistrust on both sides

o Great Britain into an international power; global empire

o Scotland developed financially; the loss of power and status helped cause the Scottish

Enlightenment

B. DEVELOPMENT OF PARTY POLITICS; PARLIAMENT MORE IMPORTANT AFTER THE BILL OF

RIGHTS

Anne becomes Queen (1702) after the death of William III

o Spanish War of Succession; the Duke of Marlborough and the Battle of Blenheim

Accession of George I in 1714; House of Hanover

Detached approach to government, visited Hanover frequently

o Decline of monarchical power and influence

Robert Walpole came to the fore in Parliament [Builds on Year 1 History and Geography]

o Appointed First lord of the Treasury by George I in 1721

o Referred to as the ‘Prime Minister’

C. JACOBITE REBELLIONS; RETURN OF THE HOUSE OF STUART

1715, first Jacobite Rising (The Latin word for James is Jacobus)

1745, second, larger Jacobite Rising; Jacobite forces to Derby

o Charles Edward Stuart, known as the ‘Young Pretender’ or ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’

o Support in areas of Scotland and north of England

o Battle of Culloden

o ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ escaped to Skye with Flora MacDonald

II. HOW DID BRITAIN GAIN AN EMPIRE?

Global trade

o Colonies established abroad where Britain had built forts and towns for merchants and

soldiers to live

o British merchants exchanged British-made goods for new exotic luxuries

o British ports including Liverpool, Glasgow and Bristol became rich

The Seven Years War

o 1756 French invaded the British colony of Minorca, off the coast of Spain

o Britain went to war with France, battles were fought in trading colonies around the world

o Canada; The Battle of Quebec, General Wolfe

India

o East India Company

o Mughal Empire crumbling

o Battle of Plassey

Rule Britannia

o 1759 ‘The Year of Miracles’ and the birth of the British Empire




The Royal Navy

o Impressment; forcing men to serve in the Royal Navy

o Life of a sailor; diet, scurvy, punishments

III. AMERICAN REVOLUTION Teachers: Connect the American Revolution to the ideas of ‘liberty’ and royal power that students looked at

when studying Britain during the 17th Century, as well as the political thought from the Enlightenment in the

previous section. The American Revolution can be used to discuss ideas such as representation and

democracy. Explain the wider impact of the Revolution in Britain and across Europe, particularly in France.

Also raise and discuss issues about the nature and formation of national identity.

A. PROVOCATIONS

British taxes, ‘No taxation without representation’

o Boston Massacre

o Boston Tea Party

B. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

Declaration of Independence; adopted July 4, 1776

o The proposition that ‘All men are created equal’

o The responsibility of government to protect the ‘unalienable rights’ of the people

o Natural rights: ‘Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’

o The ‘right of the people... to institute new government’

C. THE REVOLUTION

Paul Revere’s ride

George Washington chosen as commander of the rebel army

The French enter the war in support of the Americans

British surrender at York Town

Creation of the USA with George Washington as President

IV. FRENCH REVOLUTION Teachers: The French Revolution can be seen as a watershed moment in the history of the western world,

undermining traditional aristocratic and monarchical hierarchies, and children should understand why it has

been seen as so significant. Also discuss its impact in Britain, and across Europe, in spreading radical

ideologies about democracy and republicanism, and inspiring egalitarian ideas and organisations.

Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette at Versailles

Division between rich and poor

o Marie Antoinette “Let them eat cake!”

o Only the poor working people paid taxes

o Debts from funding the American War of Independence led to a rise in taxes

14th July 1789 people of Paris stormed a prison called the Bastille and released its prisoners

Revolution began followed by a reign of terror

King and Queen beheaded and France becomes a republic (a nation ruled without a monarch)

V. NAPOLEON Teachers: The rise of Napoleon should be treated in connection with events studied in the French

Revolution section. Discuss the nature of Napoleon’s power in contrast with the ideas of the Revolution, and

encourage students to look at his impact across Europe, especially in connection with the growth of

European nationalisms.




A. NAPOLEON BONAPARTE AND THE FIRST FRENCH EMPIRE

Napoleon as military genius

In 1804 he made himself ‘Emperor’ of France

Planned invasion of England

o Horatio Nelson, admiral in the Royal Navy led the attack on Napoleon’s navy

o Napoleon defeated at the Battle of Trafalgar (off the Spanish Coast at Cape Trafalgar)

o Death of Nelson

Napoleon invades Spain

Battle of Waterloo

Napoleon sent into exile on the island of St Helena in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where he dies

seven years later

VI. ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE TRADE Teachers: Explain the efforts to stop slavery in the context of its huge and extensive operation across the

world, particularly in the Americas. Encourage students to think about the personal and psychologically

damaging effects of slavery, as well as the reasons why people opposed abolitionism.

A. ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE

Slaves transported from Africa to plantations in the Americas

o Conditions on slave ships

o Ill treatment of slaves on plantations

Beginning of movement for the abolition of slavery

o Thomas Clarkson

o William Wilberforce

o Olandah Equiano

1807 Bill for the Abolition of the Slave Trade

1833 Slavery abolished throughout the British Empire

VII. GEORGIAN BRITAIN Teachers: The Georgian Era was a period of British history during which successive kings named ‘George’

ruled. 1714 to 1837 saw the reign of King George I, King George II, King George III and King George IV.

Following the Georgian Era was the Victorian Era which saw George IV’s niece take the throne and reign for

over sixty years.

The class system

o Aristocracy

o Middling Sort

o Poor

The position of women

Crime


A. JAMES COOK [Builds on UK History—The Age of Reason, History and Geography, Year 5]









artists, particularly any that they may be able to view first-hand.

In studying the works of art specified below, and in creating their own art, students should review, develop,

and apply concepts introduced in previous years, such as line, shape, form, space, texture, colour, light,

design, symmetry, etc.

I. LANGUAGE OF ART: STYLE Teachers: In Years 1 - 4 students have learned a great deal about the elements of art and how to talk about

works of art and architecture. In Year 5 extend this knowledge by helping children also consider and express

styles as they see them in works of art and architecture. They should already be familiar with the term from

Language and Literacy.

Understand the meaning of ʻstyleʼ as a noun and, in the context of art, as a term to refer to how

something looks.

Practice applying the term ʻstyleʼ to describe contrasting works of art already known to students,

comparing two works, for example:

o Stubbsʼs Whistlejacket [from Year 3 - Form] (often described as smooth in style since no

brushstrokes are visible and the colours have been carefully blended)

o Munchʼs The Scream [from Year 4 - Design] (which can be described as rough or broad in

style as the brushstrokes are evident and the paint appears to have been hastily applied and

the colours are unmixed)

Rococo Vs Modernism

o Antoine Watteau, The Pilgrimage to the Isle of Cythera, 1717 (Louvre Museum, Paris,

France)

o Thomas Chippendale, Ribbon-backed Chair, made 1850-1880 from Chippendale’s design of

1754 (V&A Museum, London, UK)

Modernism and Abstract Art

o Colour theory

o Theo van Doesburg, Contra-Composition of Dissonances XVI (Haags Gemeentemuseum?

The Hague, Netherlands

o Marcel Breuer, Wassily Chairs, 1925-1926 (Bauhaus) Dessau, Germany

II. ISLAMIC ART AND ARCHITECTURE [Cross-curricular links with Year 5 World History]

Become familiar with examples of Islamic art, including illuminated manuscripts and illumination of

the Qurʼan (Koran).

Note characteristic features of Islamic architecture, such as domes and minarets, in:

o The Dome of the Rock (Mosque of Omar), initial construction completed in AD 691

(Jerusalem)

o The Alhambra Palace, 1527 (Granada, Spain)

o The Taj Mahal, 1632 (Agra, India)

III. THE ART OF AFRICA [Cross-curricular links with Year 5 World History: Early and Medieval African Kingdoms]

Note the spiritual purposes and significance of many African works of art, such as masks used in




ceremonies. In addition, recognise cultural changes that are reflected in artwork. For instance, in

parts of West Africa where Portuguese traders arrived in the 16th century, many works of art display

Portuguese influence in the materials and techniques used, as well as in what was depicted in the

art.

Become familiar with examples of art from specific regions and peoples in Africa. The following

suggestions can be found in the British Museum in London:

o Antelope headdresses of Mali

o Ivory carvings from Ife and Benin

o Bronze sculptures and panels from Benin

V. TYPES OF ART: PRINTS AND PRINTMAKING Teachers: Prints and printmaking provides an excellent opportunity to allow your students to create original

artworks using the media and techniques they are examining. Specialist equipment is not necessary to

experience print-making; mono-printing, for example, requires little other than paint, wooden sticks and

paper, and desks or tablets that can be wiped down!

Understand that printmaking is an indirect art form, where the artist usually creates a design on a

block or plate (or wood, plastic or metal), or even on a screen of silk, and this is transferred to a

support—usually paper—after a pressing with ink. Printmaking can be a positive (relief), negative

(intaglio) or stencil process.

Appreciate that the benefit of printmaking is that it allows the creation of multiple versions of the

same design. Artists like Rubens and Hogarth realised they could use this to spread their images to

a wider audience, not least because paper prints were generally cheap and comparatively quick to

produce.

Find out about some of the various printmaking techniques, ranging from mono-printing, engraving,

etching, screen-printing to lithography and brass rubbing.

Recognise as products of printmaking (prints), and discuss:

o Albrecht Dürer, The Rhinoceros (woodcut) 1515 (British Museum, London)

o Paulus Pontius after Rubens, Self-Portrait (of Rubens), 1630 (British Museum, London)

o William Hogarth, Industry and Idleness Plate 1: The Fellow ‘Prentices at their Looms, Plate

12: The Industrious ‘Prentice Lord Mayor of London, 1747 (Tate Britain, London)

o Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Troupe de Mlle Églantine, 1896 (colour lithograph), (V&A,

London)

ADDITIONAL UNIT: THE ART OF THE EAST: CHINA [Cross-curricular links with Year 5 World History: China - Dynasties and Conquerors and Year 3 World

History: China]

A. CHINA

Become familiar with examples of Chinese art, including:

o Silk scrolls

o Calligraphy (the art of brush writing and painting)

o Porcelain (such as Ming ware)

o Jade Carving (for statuary and jewellery)










A. ELEMENTS Through participation, become familiar with basic elements of music (rhythm, melody, harmony,


o Recognise a steady beat, accents, and the downbeat; play a steady beat and a simple

rhythm pattern.




o Understand legato (smoothly flowing progression of notes) and staccato (crisp, distinct

notes).


o Recognise harmony; sing simple rounds and canons.

o Recognise verse and chorus

o Continue work with timbre and phrasing.

o Recognise theme and variations, and listen to Mozart, Variations on ‘Ah vous dirai-je

Maman’ (familiarly known as ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’).

o Sing or play simple melodies.

A. NOTATION Review the following notation

o Crotchet

o Minim

o Semi-breve

o Stave





o Crotchet rest

o Minim rest

o Semibreve rest

o Bar line

o Double bar line, bar, repeat signs

o Quaver

o Time signature: 4 quadruple time 4

o Time signature: 2 duple time 4

o Time signature: 3 triple time 4

o Soft: p

o Very soft: pp

o Loud: ƒ

o Very loud: ƒƒ

Understand the following notation:

o Moderately soft: mp

o Moderately loud: mf

o Middle C in the treble clef




o Tied notes

o Dotted notes

o Sharps

o Flats

o Da Capo (D.C.): meaning ‘from the beginning’

o Da Capo al fine (D.C. al fine): meaning ‘repeat from beginning to the fine (end) mark’



A. THE ORCHESTRA

Review the orchestra, including families of instruments and specific instruments, by listening to

Benjamin Britten, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.

B. VOCAL RANGES

Teachers: Students should learn to recognise and name the different vocal ranges, and apply their

knowledge by beginning part singing.

Recognise vocal ranges of the adult female voice:

o High = soprano

o Middle = mezzo soprano

o Low = alto

Recognise vocal ranges of the male voice:

o High = tenor

o Middle = baritone

o Low = bass

C. COMPOSERS AND THEIR MUSIC


representative works.

George Frederic Handel, ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ from The Messiah

Franz Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 94 (‘Surprise’)

Scott Joplin, Maple Leaf Rag

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The Magic Flute, selections, including:




o Overture

o Introduction, Zu Hilfe! Zu Hilfe! (Tamino, Three Ladies)

o Aria, Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja (Papageno)

o Recitative and Aria, O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn! (Queen of the Night)

o Area, Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen (Papageno)

o Duet, Pa-pa-gena! Pa-pa-geno! (Papageno and Papagena)

o Finale, Recitative and Chorus, Die Strahlen der Sonne! (Sarastro and Chorus)

D. MUSICAL CONNECTIONS

Teachers: Introduce children to the following in connection with topics in other disciplines:

Music of the Middle Ages

Gregorian chant

III. SONGS

Auld Lang Syne [Cross-curricular connection with Year 5 British History]

Bear Necessities

British Grenadiers

Heart of Oak [Cross-curricular connection with Year 5 British History]

I Wanna Be Like You

Loch Lomond [Cross-curricular connection with Year 5 British History]

Skye Boat Song [Cross-curricular connection with Year 5 British History]

Waltzing Matilda [Cross-curricular connection with Year 5 Geography - Australia]

With a Little Help From My Friend




Mathematics: Year 5


A. WHOLE NUMBERS

• Read and write numbers to at least 1 000 000 in figures and words.

• Recognise and extend number sequences formed by counting on or back from any number in whole

number or decimal steps of constant size, extending beyond zero when counting backwards.

• Identify Roman numerals from 1 to 100 (I – C).

• Recognise the place value of each digit in any number to at least 1 000 000, and partition such

numbers.

• Round numbers to the nearest 10, 100 or 1000.

• Compare positive and/or negative integers using the <, >, and = signs.

• Order a set of positive and/or negative integers and position them on a number line.

B. FRACTIONS

• Compare fractions with like or unlike denominators, using the signs <, >, and =.

• Order a set of fractions with like or unlike denominators and position them on a number line.

• Identify mixed numbers and improper fractions and convert improper fractions to mixed numbers and

vice versa.

• Recognise and find equivalence fractions, e.g. 2/3 =

8/12.

• Express a smaller number as a fraction of a larger number, e.g. 3 out of 4 as 3/4.

• Add or subtract fractions with like denominators, converting totals that exceed 1 to a mixed number.

• Find fractions of numbers or quantities, e.g. 3/4 of 12,

1/100 of £8.

C. DECIMALS

• Explain what each digit represents in decimals with up to two decimal places, and partition such

numbers.

• Compare decimals with up to two decimal places using the signs <, >, and =.

• Order a set of decimals with up to two decimal places and position them on a number line.

• Round a decimal with one decimal place to the nearest whole number, and a decimal with two

decimal places to the nearest tenth and whole number.

• Relate fractions to their decimal representations, e.g. 0.45 = 45

/100.

D. PERCENTAGES

• Recognise the per cent sign (%) and understand percentages as the number of parts in every 100.

• Express one half, one quarter, three quarters, tenths and hundredths as percentages:

o e.g. 3/4 = 0.75 = 75%,

4/10 = 0.4 = 40%,

27/100 = 0.27 = 27%.

• Find simple percentages of numbers or quantities, e.g. 10% of 60, 5% of £20.



Use the principles (but not the names) of the commutative and associative laws as they apply to

addition.

Use known number facts and place value mentally to:

o find the difference between two near multiples of 100 or 1000, e.g. 809 – 496, 3006 – 1993;

o add or subtract a multiple of 100 to or from a three-digit or four-digit number, e.g. 458 + 500,

1357 – 600;

o add or subtract three-digit multiples of 10, e.g. 470 + 240, 570 – 390.




Use efficient written methods to add and subtract whole numbers and decimals with up to two

decimal places.


Use the principles (but not the names) of the commutative, associative and distributive laws as they

apply to multiplication:

o example of commutative law: 15 × 33 = 33 x 15

o example of associative law: 15 × 33 = (5 × 3) × 33 or 15 × (3 × 11) = 495

o example of distributive law: 34 × 98 = 34 x (100 – 2) = (34 x 100) – (34 × 2) = 3400 – 68 = 3332

Recall quickly multiplication facts up to 10 x 10 and the corresponding division facts.

Recall square numbers and square roots, and recognise the notation for square (2) and square root

().

Identify multiples, common multiples, factors and common factors.

Know the meanings of prime number, prime factor and composite number.

Use known number facts and place value to multiply pairs of multiples of 10 or 100, e.g. 50 x 30.

Multiply and divide whole numbers and decimals by 0, 1, 10, 100 or 1000, and understand the effect

(including understanding that division by 0 is impossible).

Use efficient written methods to:

o multiply a three-digit or four-digit number by a one-digit number, e.g. 2814 x 7

o multiply a two-digit or three-digit number by a two-digit number, e.g. 57 x 42

o multiply decimals with one or two decimals places by a one-digit number, e.g. 8.3 x 7, 15.6 x 8,

£4.23 x 6

• Divide a two-digit or three-digit number by a one-digit number, including division with remainders,

rounding up or down depending on the context, e.g. 574 9

C. MIXED OPERATIONS

• Use knowledge of rounding, number operations and inverse relationships to estimate and check

calculations.

• Begin to use brackets to solve multi-step calculations.

III. MEASUREMENT

A. LENGTH, MASS, CAPACITY, VOLUME AND TEMPERATURE

• Estimate, measure and record lengths, masses, capacities and temperatures using standard units

(km, m, cm, mm, kg, g, l, ml, °C) to a suitable degree of accuracy.

• Convert between different units of measure using decimals to one or two places, e.g. 3.25 litres =

3250 ml, or vice versa.

• Interpret a reading that lies between two unnumbered divisions on a scale.

• Understand basic equivalencies between metric and common imperial units still in everyday use.

• Know abbreviations for common imperial units.

• Recognise volume in practical contexts, for example using 1cm3 blocks or interlocking cubes.

B. TIME

• Read the time on a 24-hour digital clock and use 24-hour clock notation, e.g. 17:42.

• Read a timetable using 24-hour clock notation.

C. MONEY

• Use all four operations to solve problems involving money.


• Measure and calculate the perimeter of regular polygons.

• Calculate the area of rectangles and related compound shapes using standard unit cm2 or m

2.

• Use the formula for the area of a rectangle.




IV. GEOMETRY

A. 2-D SHAPES AND 3-D SOLIDS

• Identify, visualise and describe properties of triangles, quadrilaterals, regular polygons and 3-D

solids.

• Use knowledge of properties to draw 2-D shapes and make nets of common 3-D solids such as a

cube, cuboid, pyramid and triangular prism.

o E.g. The drawing shows how the 3-D solid would look if opened out and unfolded into a flat

shape.


• Use coordinates in the first quadrant to read and plot specified points, and to draw sides to complete

2-D shapes.

• Draw the position of a shape after a translation.

• Identify, estimate and order acute and obtuse angles.

• Use a protractor to draw and measure angles.

C. SYMMETRY

• Complete symmetrical patterns with up to two lines of symmetry.

• Draw the reflection of a shape or pattern in a mirror line parallel to one side, where all sides of the

shape or pattern are not parallel or perpendicular to the mirror line.

V. DATA

• Collect, process, represent, interpret and discuss data in a tally chart, frequency table, pictogram,

bar chart or line graph.

• Read, interpret and represent data:

o where symbols represent more than one unit, e.g. 2, 5, 10, 20 or 100

o where scales have intervals of differing step size, e.g. axis labelled in 2s, 5s, 10s, 20s or 100s


• Identify, describe and use numerical and symbolic patterns and relationships.

• Solve mathematical problems and puzzles involving numbers or shapes.

• Propose and investigate a general statement involving numbers or shapes.

• Solve one-step and two-step problems involving whole numbers and decimals, and all four

operations, in the context of numbers or measurements, including money and time.




Science: Year 5 Teachers: Effective instruction in science requires hands-on experience and observation. While experience

counts for much, book learning is also important, for it helps bring coherence and order to a child’s scientific

knowledge. Only when topics are presented systematically and clearly can children make steady and secure

progress in their scientific learning. The child’s development of scientific knowledge and understanding is in

some ways a very disorderly and complex process, different for each child. But a systematic approach to the

exploration of science, one that combines experience with book learning, can help provide essential building

blocks for deeper understanding at a later time.

I. THE HUMAN BODY: CIRCULATORY AND RESPIRATORY SYSTEMS

A. THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

Pioneering work of William Harvey

Heart: four chambers (atrium/atria or atriums [plural] and ventricle/ventricles), aorta

Blood

o Red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, haemoglobin, plasma, antibodies

o Blood vessels: arteries, veins, capillaries

o Blood pressure, pulse

Filtering function of liver and spleen

Fatty deposits can clog blood vessels and cause a heart attack.

Blood types (four basic types: A, B, AB, O) and transfusions

B. THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

Process of taking in oxygen and getting rid of carbon dioxide

Nose, throat, voice box, trachea (windpipe)

Lungs, bronchi, bronchial tubes, diaphragm, ribs, alveoli (air sacs)

Smoking: damage to lung tissue, lung cancer

II. CHEMISTRY: BASIC TERMS AND CONCEPTS

A. ATOMS

All matter is made up of particles too small for the eye to see, called atoms

Scientists have developed models of atoms; while these models have changed over time as

scientists make new discoveries, the models help us imagine what we cannot see.

Atoms are made up of even tinier particles: protons, neutrons, electrons.

The concept of electrical charge

o Positive charge (+): proton

o Negative charge (-): electron

o Neutral (neither positive or negative): neutron

o ‘Unlike charges attract, like charges repel’ (relate to magnetic attraction and repulsion).

B. PROPERTIES OF MATTER

Mass: the amount of matter in an object, similar to weight

Volume: the amount of space a thing fills

Density: how much matter is packed into the space an object fills

Vacuum: the absence of matter

C. ELEMENTS

Elements are the basic kinds of matter, of which there are a little more than one hundred.

o There are many different kinds of atoms, but an element has only one kind of atom.




o Familiar elements, such as gold, copper, aluminium, oxygen, iron

o Most things are made up of a combination of elements.

D. SOLUTIONS

A solution is formed when a substance (the solute) is dissolved in another substance (the solvent),

such as when sugar or salt is dissolved in water; the dissolved substance is present in the solution

even though you cannot see it.

Concentration and saturation (as demonstrated through simple experiments with crystallisation)

III. ELECTRICITY Teachers: Through reading and observation, and experiment, examine the following:

Electricity as the charge of electrons

Static electricity

Electric current

Electric circuits, and experiments with simple circuits (battery, wire, light bulb, filament, switch, fuse)

o Closed circuit, open circuit, short circuit

Conductors and insulators

Electromagnets: how they work and common uses

Using electricity safely

IV. GEOLOGY

A. THE EARTH’S LAYERS

Crust, mantle, core (outer core and inner core)

Movement of tectonic plates

Earthquakes

o Faults, San Andreas fault

o Measuring intensity: seismograph and Richter scale

o Tsunamis

Volcanoes

o Magma

o Lava and lava flow

o Active, dormant and extinct

o Famous volcanoes: Vesuvius, Krakatoa, Mount St. Helens

Hot springs and geysers: Old Faithful (in Yellowstone National Park, US)

Theories of how the continents and oceans were formed: Pangaea and continental drift

B. HOW MOUNTAINS ARE FORMED

Folded mountains, fault-block mountains, dome-shaped mountains

C. ROCKS

Formation and characteristics of metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rock

D. WEATHERING AND EROSION

Physical and chemical weathering

Weathering and erosion by water, wind and glaciers

The formation of soil: topsoil, subsoil, bedrock

V. METEOROLOGY

The water cycle (review from Year 3): evaporation, condensation, precipitation

Clouds: cirrus, stratus, cumulus (review from Year 3)

The atmosphere

o Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere




o How the Sun and the Earth heat the atmosphere

Air movement: wind direction and speed, prevailing winds, air pressure, low and high pressure, air

masses

Cold and warm fronts: thunderheads, lightning and electric charge, thunder, tornadoes, hurricanes

Forecasting the weather: barometers (relation between changes in atmospheric pressure and

weather), weather maps, weather satellites

Weather and climate: ‘weather’ refers to daily changes in temperature, rainfall, sunshine, etc., while

‘climate’ refers to weather trends that are longer than the cycle of the seasons

VI. EVOLUTION

Animals have offspring that are of the same kind but often offspring have different appearances

Animals and plants have adapted to suit the environment within which they live

Adaptation may lead to evolution: Darwin’s finches

VI. SCIENCE BIOGRAPHIES

Michael Faraday (chemist and physicist, developed the electric motor and electric generator)

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (English physician and feminist, first Englishwoman physician and

surgeon)

Florence Nightingale (pioneering woman nurse during the Crimean War who later established the

Nightingale Training School for nurses at St Thomas' Hospital in London)

Charles Drew (American doctor and medical researcher)

Charles Darwin (English naturalist known for his theory of evolution called Natural Selection)





I. WRITING, GRAMMAR, AND USAGE

Teachers: Children should be given many opportunities for writing with teacher guidance that strikes a

balance between encouraging creativity and requiring correct use of conventions. The teacher must continue

to develop imaginative writing but place a stronger emphasis than in previous years on expository writing

including, for example, summaries, book reports, essays that explain a process and descriptive essays. In

Year 6, it is appropriate to place a greater emphasis on revision, with the expectation that pupils will revise

and edit to produce (in some cases) a finished product that is thoughtful; well-organised; and reasonably

correct in grammar, mechanics and spelling. In Year 6, pupils should be reasonably competent spellers and

in the habit of using a dictionary to check and correct words that present difficulty. They should regularly

practise vocabulary enrichment.

A. WRITING AND RESEARCH

• Produce a variety of types of writing–including reports, summaries, letters, descriptions, informative

and persuasive writing, stories, poems–with a coherent structure or story line.

• Know how to gather information from different sources (such as an encyclopaedia, magazines,

interviews, observations, atlas, and the Internet) and write short reports synthesising information

from at least three different sources, presenting the information in his or her own words.

o Understand the purpose and audience of the writing.

o Define a main idea and stick to it.

o Provide an introduction and a conclusion.

o Organise material in coherent paragraphs.

o Illustrate points with relevant examples.

o Document sources in a rudimentary bibliography.

B. GRAMMAR AND USAGE

• Understand the components of a complete sentence.

• Identify the subject and verb in a sentence and understand that they must agree.

• Know the following parts of speech and how they are used: nouns, verbs (action verbs and auxiliary

verbs), adjectives (including articles), adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions and interjections.

• Understand that pronouns must agree with their antecedents in case (nominative, objective and

possessive), number and gender.

• Correctly use punctuation studied in earlier years, as well as the colon before a list.

• Categories of nouns

• Verbs and objects

• Interjections

• Personal pronouns

o Agreement in case

o Possessive case

o Agreement in gender

o Agreement in number

• Punctuation: commas and brackets

• Prefixes and suffixes




C. VOCABULARY


• Prefixes:

o anti (as in ‘anti-social’, ‘anti-bacterial’)

o co (as in ‘co-education’, ‘co-worker’)

o fore (as in ‘forefather’, ‘foresee’)

o il, ir (as in ‘illegal’, ‘irregular’)

o inter (as in ‘interact’, ‘interchange’)

o mid (as in ‘midnight’, ‘midway’)

o post (as in ‘postpone’, ‘postwar’)

o semi (as in ‘semicircle’, ‘semi-precious’)

• Suffixes

o ist (as in ‘artist’, ‘pianist’)

o ish (as in ‘stylish’, ‘foolish’)

o ness (as in ‘forgiveness’, ‘happiness’)

o tion, sion (as in ‘relation’, ‘extension’)

II. POETRY Teachers: The poems listed here constitute a selected core of poetry for this year group. Expose children to

more poetry, old and new, and have children write their own poems. To bring children into the spirit of poetry,

read it aloud and encourage them to read it aloud so they can experience the music in the words. At this

age, poetry should be primarily a source of delight. This is also an appropriate age at which to begin looking

at poems in more detail, asking questions about the poet’s use of language, noting the use of devices such

as simile, metaphor, alliteration, etc.

A. POEMS


o A Ballad of London (Richard Le Gallienne)

o The Eagle (Alfred Lord Tennyson)

o If (Rudyard Kipling)

o Into My Heart an Air that Kills (A. E. Housman)

o Jabberwocky (Lewis Carroll)

o The Listeners (Walter de la Mare)

o Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf (Roald Dahl) o Macavity - The Mystery Cat (T. S. Eliot)

o Some Opposites (Richard Wilbur)

o The Tiger (William Blake)

B. LITERARY TERMS

• Become familiar with the following literary terms:

o Onomatopoeia

o Alliteration




III. FICTION AND DRAMA Teachers: In Year 6, pupils should be fluent, competent readers of appropriate materials. Regular

independent silent reading should continue. Pupils should read outside of school for at least 30 minutes

daily. The titles below constitute a selected core of stories for Year 6. Expose children to many more stories,

and encourage children to write their own stories. Children should also be exposed to non-fiction prose:

biographies, books about science and history, books on art and music, etc. Some of the works below, such

as Kidnapped and A Midsummer Night’s Dream are available in editions adapted for younger readers. There

are also some versions that are graphic novels.

A. STORIES


o Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes)

o The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)

o Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens)

o The Death of Arthur (Sir Thomas Malory)

B. DRAMA


o A Midsummer Night’s Dream (William Shakespeare)

o The Tempest (William Shakespeare)

• Become familiar with the following literary terms:

o Tragedy and comedy

o Shakespeare’s language

C. MYTHS AND LEGENDS

• Become familiar with the following:

o The Samurai’s Daughter (Japanese)

D. LITERARY TERMS

• Become familiar with the literary term:

o Pseudonym (pen name)

• Become familiar with the following literal and figurative language terms:

o Imagery

o Metaphor and simile

o Symbol

o Personification




V. SAYINGS AND PHRASES Teachers: Every culture has phrases and proverbs that make no sense when carried over literally into


hearing them at home and among friends. However, this section of sayings has been one of the categories



o Birthday suit

o Bite the hand that feeds you

o Chip on your shoulder

o Count your blessings

o Eleventh hour

o Eureka!

o Every cloud has a silver lining

o Few and far between

o Forty winks

o The grass is always greener

o To kill two birds with one stone

o Lock, stock and barrel

o Make a mountain out of a molehill

o A miss is as good as a mile

o It’s never too late to mend

o Out of the frying pan and into the fire

o A penny saved is a penny earned

o Read between the lines

o Sit on the fence

o Steal his/her thunder

o Take the bull by the horns

o ‘Till the cows come home

o Time heals all wounds

o Tom, Dick and Harry

o Vice versa

o A watched pot never boils

o Well begun is half done

o What will be will be




History and Geography: Year 6 Teachers: The study of geography embraces many topics throughout the Core Knowledge Sequence,




characteristics of specific regions and cultures. Many geographic topics are listed below in connection with

historical topics.


Teachers: Review as necessary map-reading skills and concepts, as well as geographic terms, from

previous years.

I. SPATIAL SENSE

A. READ MAPS AND GLOBES USING LONGITUDE AND LATITUDE, COORDINATES, DEGREES

Time zones:

o Prime Meridian (O degrees); Greenwich, England; 180° Line (International Date Line)

Arctic Circle (imaginary lines and boundaries) and Antarctic Circle

From a round globe to a flat map

o Mercator projection, Gall-Peters projection, conic and plane projections

Terms: glaciers, industry, agriculture, services, tourism, recreation, tundra, steppe

UK GEOGRAPHY

I. NORTH EAST

A. NORTHUMBERLAND, TYNE AND WEAR, DURHAM

Northumberland National Park, Cheviot Hills, Hadrian’s Wall, former ship building (Sunderland,

Newcastle-upon-Tyne), Durham

II. NORTH WEST

A. CUMBRIA, LANCASHIRE, GREATER MANCHESTER, MERSEYSIDE

Lancashire Moors, Lake District, Scafell Pike (largest peak in England), William Wordsworth, Beatrix

Potter, Sellafield nuclear power station, textile industry, Liverpool, Manchester

III. SCOTLAND

Border regions, lowlands, uplands (granite, quartzite, schist, sandstone), volcanic islands,

peninsulas, lochs (Loch Lomond, Lock Ness), glens, straths, Great Glen faultline, estuaries (Firth of

Clyde, Firth of Forth), The Trossachs, Gaelic, Cairngorms National Park, bogs, fishing harbours,

Scottish parliament, Robert Burns, clans, coal, iron ore, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Edinburgh festival,

castles (Edinburgh, Balmoral), Stirling, Motherwell, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands

IV. WALES

Snowdonia, Cambrian Mountains, Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons, Cardigan Bay, Isle of

Anglesey, Welsh valleys, coal, iron and steel works, railways, canals, slate mines, Welsh language,

Wye valley, Rhondda valley, Merthyr Tydfil, Cardiff, docks, Welsh Assembly, Swansea, Dylan




Thomas, Gower Peninsula, seaside resorts, Pembrokeshire Coast national park, St. David’s

(Britain’s smallest city), wind farms

WORLD GEOGRAPHY

I. NORTH AMERICA Teachers: Introduce pupils to the North American continent.

A. USA, CANADA, MEXICO

Climates

o Arid, humid temperate, humid cold, tundra, Mediterranean (California/Southern Florida).

Landscape

o Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, plains, prairies, Great Lakes (Superior, Huron,

Michigan, Erie, Ontario)

o Important rivers: Mississippi and major tributaries (for example, Missouri River), Mackenzie,

Yukon, Lawrence

People and culture

o Indigenous Native American communities

o European settlers

o Latino settlers

o Asian settlers

o The USA as a nation of immigrants, melting pot of cultures

The United States

o 48 continuous states, plus Alaska and Hawaii

Canada

o French and British heritage

o French-speaking Quebec

o Divided into provinces

Settlements

o New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Houston,

Miami, Seattle, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Mexico City

Economic activity

o The USA as the largest economy in the world

o American consumption (houses, cars, energy)

o Migrant labour from Latin American countries

II. SOUTH AMERICA AND CENTRAL AMERICA

South American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Falkland Islands

(UK), French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela

Central American countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico,

Nicaragua, Panama

Important geographical features: Panama Canal, Amazon River, Amazon rainforest, Andes

mountains, Patagonia, Galapagos Islands

Indigenous peoples: Maya (Mexico, Guatemala), Quechua (Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia)

Music and dancing: salsa, bachata, merengue, tango

Biodiversity of animals: Galapagos Islands of Ecuador; Amazon Rainforest

History

o Ancient Inca civilization: Machu Picchu, Pisac ruins, Nazca Lines

o Colonisation from 1493, primarily by Spain and Portugal

o Legend of El Dorado

o Independence of many countries in the 19th century, but lasting impact of colonisation




WORLD HISTORY

III. THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR: CAUSES, CONFLICTS, CONSEQUENCES Teachers: The American Civil War was a formative event in American history that contributed in many ways

to the structure of American national identity (and regional identities). In addition to the issue of slavery,

emphasise other political factors in the incitement of conflict, and ways in which the catastrophic loss of life

gave the conflict an unassailable place in American national memory.

A. TOWARDS THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

Industrial North versus agricultural South

Slavery

o Slave life and rebellions

o Abolitionists: William Lloyd Garrison and, Frederick Douglass

o Importance of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Lincoln elected president

o Southern states secede

B. THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

Yankees, representing the Union, blue

o Ulysses S. Grant

Rebels, representing the Confederacy, grey

o Jefferson Davis chosen as first president

o Robert E. Lee, General ‘Stonewall’ Jackson

Soldiers and the misery of war

The Emancipation Proclamation (Gettysburg Address)

Richmond (Confederate capital) falls to Union forces

o Surrender at Appomattox

Assassination of President Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth

C. RECONSTRUCTION (1865 - 1877)

The South in ruins

Freedmen’s Bureau

o ‘40 acres and a mule’

13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution

BRITISH HISTORY

I. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE ECONOMY Teachers: Emphasise how the Industrial Revolution was one of the most significant social and demographic

changes in history. Discuss how the mechanisation and electrification of industry and transport created, for

the first time, wealth for the many who were not landowners, and changed the social structures of Britain.

The demographic and social changes it necessitated caused a reassessment of ideas about the role of the

state and political representation.

A. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Early technological developments

o James Watt’s steam engine, 1778

Transport developments

o George Stephenson’s Rocket; Stockton-Darlington Railway




o Canals; aqueducts

Mechanisation of Industry

o Invention of the power loom (1784), cotton mills in Lancashire; steam power

o Gas lighting on streets

Coal mining

o Particularly, the northeast of England, south of Scotland , Wales and the Midlands,

Social changes

o Poor conditions, working hours and pay in factories, collieries and mills

o Young children in factories, collieries and mills

o Unionisation of workforce

Rapid urbanisation

o Mechanisation of agriculture, surplus population moved to cities

o Liverpool as transport hub, shipbuilding in Glasgow, and manufacturing in Manchester and

Birmingham

o Political representation not adapted

o Housing conditions very poor

o Cholera epidemics were common

.

II. VICTORIAN ERA Teachers: Queen Victoria reigned throughout a period of rapid economic growth and dramatic social and

political changes. Discuss the widespread confidence of the Victorian period, reinforced by prominence in

manufacturing and trade, as well as the British Empire, and the results of this British exceptionalism. Make

connections with both the previous and subsequent sections.

A. QUEEN VICTORIA

Young Queen, Coronation at 18 in 1837

o First monarch to live at Buckingham Palace

o Marries first cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg Gotha

Reign of 63 years

o Longest reigning British monarch

B. OVERSAW PERIOD OF BRITISH ECONOMIC AND IMPERIAL GROWTH

The Great Exhibition, 1851

o Showcased global exhibits

o Emphasised British manufacturing capabilities

C. VICTORIAN PARTY POLITICS

Sir Robert Peel and the Peelites reject High Tories

o Peelites join Whigs and Radicals to form Liberal Party

William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli

o Gladstone and the development of ‘Liberalism’

o Disraeli and close relationship with Queen Victoria

III. SOCIAL AND POLITICAL REFORM Teachers: Discuss the effects of the socio-economic changes caused by the Industrial Revolution, the

growing disquiet about living conditions and the gap between the rich and poor. From the 1832 Reform Act

onwards, government gradually became less dominated by the aristocratic landowning classes. The Labour

party also developed at this time. Discuss ideas about popular involvement in government, and the changing

roles and responsibilities of government in society.

A. SOCIAL PROBLEMS CAUSED BY INDUSTRIALISATION

Wide and evident gap between rich and poor

o Urbanisation




Paternalist Industrialists

o Robert Owen; New Lanark; Utopian Socialism

o Cadbury’s Bourneville; Lever’s Port Sunlight

B. POLITICAL REFORM

Battle of Peterloo (‘Peterloo Massacre’)

The 1832 Great Reform Act

o Limited middle class enfranchisement

o Precedent; first break in unreformed system

C. SOCIAL REFORM

Social reforms after the 1832 Great Reform Act

o 1833 Factory Act; minimum age to work; limited hours for children; 1847 Factory Act (the

‘Ten Hours Act’)

o 1834 Poor Law reform; workhouses and ‘less eligibility’

Health problems

o Cholera epidemics

o Public Health Act 1848; general and local boards of health

o Improving sanitary conditions; London sewerage system

D. POPULAR REFORM

Chartism

o The Charter; six points; democratic ambitions

o 1848 meeting, Kennington Common

Post 1850s: liberal and humanitarian motivations gain prominence

o National Elementary Education Act, 1870; state education provision until age 12

Representation of the People Acts, 1867; 1884

o Growing enfranchisement

IV. THE BRITISH EMPIRE Teachers: Explain how British influence and control expanded across the globe. Initially based on the

expansion of trade, the British Empire developed into a colonial empire that held territory across Africa, the

Indian subcontinent and Australia. Discuss the motivations for forming and maintaining a global empire, as

well as the consequences for the native populations. Discuss the development of nationalism and national

self-determination.

A. GROWTH OF BRITISH EMPIRE

Early exploration and trade

o Plantation of Ireland

o East India Company

Americas

o Caribbean colonies; Barbados; Jamaica; Bahamas

o Jamestown 1607; colony of Virginia (see Year 2)

o Foundation of the ‘Thirteen Colonies’

James Cook discovers Australia in 1770

o Establishment of penal settlement; convict transportation

o Australian colonies valuable for wool and gold

B. EAST INDIA COMPANY

Trading outposts on Indian subcontinent

o Growth in power and decline of Mughal rulers

o British influence across Asia through the East India Company (EIC) and Royal Navy

Indian Rebellion of 1857




o Indian soldiers mutiny: long-term grievances and issue of tallow-greased cartridges

o Siege of Delhi; Skirmishes at Cawnpore and Lucknow

British retaliation

o Massacre of Delhi

British Raj

o End of the British East India Company

o British Crown takes control; Government of India Act 1858

o Queen Victoria crowned Empress of India

C. SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA

British colonial rule

o Ghana

o Sudan

o South Africa

V. IRISH FAMINE

Teachers: Use the Famine to discuss Ireland’s close but ambiguous and troubled relationship with Britain.

Ireland’s Great Famine and subsequent mass emigration not only shaped Ireland, her national identity and

diaspora, but also impacted heavily on the development of British politics in the period. Emphasise

nationalism, religious identities, emigration and the role of the state as some of the major themes of this unit.

A. THE IRISH FAMINE AND INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS

Background: Irish political and social situation

o Protestant Ascendancy

o Wolfe Tone and the United Irish rebellion of 1798

Act of Union in 1800

o Ireland joins Britain as part of the United Kingdom

Outbreak of Famine

o Potato blight

o Actions of the landlords

o Death toll

Government responses

o Sir Robert Peel and American maize; corn laws

o Lord John Russell and Charles Trevelyan; soup kitchens

o Charitable responses

Emigration

o United States and Great Britain

o Development of Irish Diaspora

Legacy

o Importance of memory of Famine in Ireland and diaspora

o Creation of an Irish identity

o Migration and depopulation

VI. THE BOER WARS Teachers: The conflict was a large and bloody one, and involved the largest British military force abroad so

far. It was notable as one of the final expansionist military campaigns of the British Empire, and for the

negative reactions of the British public to British operations.

A. ATTEMPTS TO ANNEX THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC (TRANSVAAL) AND THE ORANGE FREE

STATE

First Boer war in 1880

o Boers successfully resisted annexation

Discovery of gold




o Influx of foreign immigrants; more British interest in annexation

B. SECOND BOER WAR DECLARED IN OCTOBER 1899

Initial Boer offensive

o Boers besiege British settlements

British offensive

o The republics were formally annexed in 1900

Boer guerrilla attacks on British supply lines

o British scorched earth policy and concentration camps

Public opinion in Britain turned against the war

o Horrified at treatment of Boer civilians

Conflict came to an end in May, 1902

o South African Republic and Orange Free state became part of the British Empire

VII. DEATH OF VICTORIA: THE END OF AN ERA Teachers: The death of Victoria signalled the end of the Victorian period. She had presided over a period of

British history that had seen huge economic growth, a process of social and political democratisation and an

extension of political influence worldwide.

A. QUEEN VICTORIA

Reigns for 63 years and 7 months

Death of Prince Albert

o Retires from public life

Golden and Diamond Jubilees

Death in 1901; end of Victorian Era


A. DAVID LIVINGSTONE









artists, particularly those which they may visit at first-hand.

In studying the works of art specified below, and in creating their own art, students should review, develop

and apply concepts introduced in previous years, such as line, shape, form, space, texture, colour, light,

design, symmetry and style.

I. THE LANGUAGE OF ART

A. UNDERSTAND AND BE ABLE TO APPLY APPROPRIATELY THE FOLLOWING TERMS:

Renaissance: comes from the Italian word ʻRinascitaʼ (meaning re-birth), applied to describe a

regeneration of the arts along classical lines, which took place after the Middle—or so-called ʻDarkʼ

Ages

Figurative: refers to the style of works of art which attempt to depict convincing reality or life-like

forms

Abstract: the opposite of figurative, referring to artworks wherein the depicted reflects an idea or

suggestion of something, rather than the thing itself

Genre: a term to describe distinct types of subject matter, applicable in literature as well as art, such

as landscape or portrait

Perspective: in art refers to the mathematical techniques, and linear arrangements used to

rationalise space in two-dimensional art works

II. ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE [Cross-curricular links with Year 5 World History]

Teachers: you could introduce the students to Renaissance art by reviewing previously observed works and

also looking at:

Leonardo da Vinciʼs Vitruvian Man (Year 2: Shape), Mona Lisa (Year 2: Portraits) and Last Supper

(Year 2: Murals)

Bruegelʼs Peasant Wedding (Year 4: Space in Artworks)

Dürerʼs Self-Portrait (Year 2: Portraits and Self-Portraits)

Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino), The School of Athens, 1510-1511 (Vatican Museums and

Galleries), Vatican City

A. UNDERSTAND THE TERM RENAISSANCE

See section I, part A, above

Recognise that Renaissance art is not only defined by style but reflects new attitudes, achievements

and influences; namely:

o A shift in world view from medieval to Renaissance art, with a new emphasis on humanity

and the natural world

o The influence of Greek and Roman art on Renaissance artists (a return to classical subject

matter; idealisation of the human form; balance and proportion in design; the literal re-

discovery of classical art works, such as Laocoon Group by Michelangelo, or Apollo

Belvedere)




o The development of linear perspective during the Italian Renaissance (the vantage point or

point-of-view of the viewer; convergence of lines toward a vanishing point; the horizon line)

B. OBSERVE AND DISCUSS A RANGE OF PAINTINGS BY ITALIAN RENAISSANCE ARTISTS

Consider what makes them ʻRenaissanceʼ works, including:

o Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, c. 1485 (Uffizi, Florence)

o Raphael, Madonna of the Pinks (La Madonna dei Garofani), 1506-7 (National Gallery,

London)

o Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel decorations, 1508-12 (Vatican, Rome)

C. BECOME FAMILIAR WITH RENAISSANCE SCULPTURE

Consider what makes sculptures ʻRenaissanceʼ, including:

o Donatello, Saint George, (Bronze cast after stone original), c. 1415-17 (Orsanmichele—the

Kitchen Garden of St Michael, Florence)

o Michelangelo, David, 1504 (Galleria dellʼAccademia, Florence)

D. BECOME FAMILIAR WITH RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Consider—where possible—who the buildings were designed and built by, who used them and what

for, and how they were decorated (often with works by important Renaissance artists):

o Il Duomo (Florence Cathedral), particularly Brunelleschiʼs Dome which completed it in 1436

(consider the role of Cosimo de Medici as a patron, supporting Brunelleschi to win the

commission over Ghiberti)

o Palazzo Pitti, Florence, begun 1458, (from 1549 chief residence of the Medici and the ruling

families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany)

o The Basilica of St Peterʼs, Vatican City, Rome, 1506 (includes Michelangeloʼs Pietà, and

later additions by Bernini)

o Villa Farnesina, 1506-10 (Trastevere, Rome) (Retreat of Papal banker Agostino Chigi, who

commissioned decorations from Raphael, del Piombo and Guilio Romano)

III. VICTORIAN ART

Augustus Welby Pugin ‘a Catholic town in 1440’ and ‘a town in 1840’, Contrasts: Or A Parallel

between the Noble Edifices of the Middle Ages and Corresponding Buildings of the Present Day,

1836 (Cambridge University Press, 2013)

Gothic Revival: a return to the gothic style of architecture from the Middle Ages

The Houses of Parliament: designed in a gothic style

William Morris: wallpaper, tiles, furniture, fabrics and books

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, The last sleep of Arthur in Avalon, 1881-98 (Museo de Arte de

Ponce), Puerto Rico










A. ELEMENTS

Through participation, become familiar with basic elements of music (rhythm, melody, harmony,


o Recognise a steady beat, accents, and the downbeat; play a steady beat, a simple rhythm

pattern, and syncopation patterns.

o Discriminate between fast and slow; gradually slowing down and getting faster; accelerando

and ritardando.


o Discriminate between loud and soft; gradually increasing and decreasing volume; crescendo

and diminuendo

o Understand legato (smoothly flowing progression of notes) and staccato (crisp, distinct

notes).


o Recognise harmony; sing rounds and canons; two- and three-part singing.


o Recognise theme and variations.

B. NOTATION

Review the following notation

o Crotchet

o Minim

o Semi-breve

o Stave


o Crotchet rest




o Minim rest

o Semibreve rest

o Bar line

o Double bar line, bar, repeat signs

o Quaver

o Time signature: 4 quadruple time 4

o Time signature: 2 duple time 4

o Time signature: 3 triple time 4

o Soft: p

o Very soft: pp

o Loud: ƒ

o Very loud: ƒƒ

o Moderately soft: mp

o Moderately loud: mf

o Middle C in the treble clef

o Tied notes

o Dotted notes




o Sharps

o Flats

o Da Capo (D.C.): meaning ‘from the beginning’

o Da Capo al fine (D.C. al fine): meaning ‘repeat from beginning to the fine (end) mark’

Understand the following notation and terms: o Time signature 4 can be expressed as C (‘Common’ time)

4

o Semi-quavers: the length of a quarter of a crotchet (or half of a quaver)

o The number of beats for semi-breves, minims, crotchets, quavers, and semi-quavers



A. COMPOSERS AND THEIR MUSIC



Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 [Builds on children’s first introduction to Beethoven in Year

3.]

Ralph Vaughn Williams, Greensleeves




B. MUSICAL CONNECTIONS

Teachers: Introduce children to the following::

Polyphonic Music

Canons and Rounds

III. MUSICAL TRADITIONS

A. ENGLISH FOLK MUSIC

Listen to Vaughan Williams English Folk Song Suite.

Understand that folk music is passed on by each generation and generally not written down.

Recognise folk songs that are still familiar today:

o Early One Morning

o Drunken Sailor (revise from Year 2)

o Scarborough Fair

A. SPIRITUALS

Sorrow songs

IV. SONGS

A. WORKS OF MUSIC

The Blaydon Races [Cross-curricular connection with Year 6 British History]

Food Glorious Food

Greensleeves

Lean On Me

The Mountains of Mourne

Sumer is Icumen In

Swing Low

Widdecombe Fair




Mathematics: Year 6


A. WHOLE NUMBERS

Read and write whole numbers in figures and words.

Know what each digit represents in whole numbers and partition, compare, order and around these

numbers.

Recognise and extend number sequences formed by counting on or back from any number in whole

number or decimal steps of constant size, extending beyond zero when counting backwards, e.g. a

sequence of square or triangular numbers.

Identify Roman numerals from 1 to 1000 (I – M), and recognise years written in Roman numerals.

Find the difference between a positive and a negative integer, or two negative integers, in context

such as the number line or temperature.

B. FRACTIONS

Order a set of fractions by converting them to fractions with a common denominator.

Convert improper fractions to mixed numbers and vice versa.

Express a larger whole number as a fraction of a smaller one, e.g. 7/3 = 2

1/3.

Reduce a fraction to its simplest form by cancelling common factors.

Determine the lowest common denominator (LCD) of fractions with unlike denominators.

Add or subtract mixed numbers, e.g. 23/4 + 4

5/6.

Add or subtract fractions with like or unlike denominators, e.g. 1/5 +

2/5,

3/4 –

2/3.

Identify the reciprocal of a given fraction and know that the product of a given number and its

reciprocal equals 1.

Multiply simple unit fractions by fractions, e.g. 1/4 x

2/3, and multiply a pair of proper fractions, e.g.

3/4 x

2/3, expressing the answer in its simplest form.

Divide proper fractions by whole numbers, e.g. 2/3 4, expressing the answer in its simplest form.

Use a fraction as an operator to find fractions of numbers or quantities, e.g. 5/8 of 48,

7/10 of £50.

Associate a fraction with division to calculate a decimal fraction equivalent.

C. DECIMALS

Explain what each digit represents in decimals with up to three decimal places, and partition such

numbers.

Compare decimals with up to three decimal places using the signs <, >, and =.

Order a set of decimals with up to three decimal places and position them on a number line.

Round decimals to the nearest whole number, tenth and hundredth.

Relate fractions to their decimal representations, e.g. 0.45 = 45

/100.

D. PERCENTAGES

Recall, derive and use equivalences between fractions, decimals and percentages.

Find percentages of whole numbers or quantities, e.g. 45% of 160, 15% of £70.

E. RATIO AND PROPORTION

Use the vocabulary of ratio and proportion to describe the relationship between two quantities.

Scale numbers or quantities up or down.

Create simple scale drawings.

Recognise equivalent ratios and reduce a given ratio to its simplest form.






• Use the principles of the commutative and associative laws as they apply to addition.

• Use known number facts and place value to mentally add or subtract decimals, e.g. 3.6 + 8.7, 9.4 –

5.8.

• Use efficient written methods to add and subtract whole numbers and decimals.


• Use the principles of the commutative, associative and distributive laws as they apply to

multiplication:

o example of commutative law: 8.4 × 7 = 7 x 8.4

o example of associative law: 16.8 × 50 = 16.8 x (10 x 5) or (16.8 x 10) x 5 = 168 x 5 = 840

o example of distributive law: 7.6 × 95 = 7.6 x (100 – 5) = (7.6 x 100) – (7.6 × 5) = 760 – 38 =

722

• Recall quickly multiplication facts up to 12 x 12 and the corresponding division facts.

• Recall square numbers to 12 x 12, e.g. 122, and the corresponding square roots, e.g. 144, and use

known square numbers to derive squares of multiples of 10.

• Identify and use multiples, common multiples, lowest common multiples (LCM), factors, common

factors and highest/greatest common factors (HCF/GCF).

• Know and use the meanings of prime number, prime factor and composite number.

• Use known number facts and place value to mentally multiply or divide decimals by a one-digit

number, e.g. 5.8 x 6, 8.6 3.

• Use efficient written methods to:

o multiply a two-, three- or four-digit number by a two-digit number, e.g. 574 x 42;

o multiply decimals with one or two decimals places by a one-digit or two-digit number, e.g. 6.8 x

12, £9.25 x 8;

o divide a three-digit or four-digit number by a two-digit number, including division with remainders,

rounding up or down depending on the context, e.g. 465 16;

o divide decimals with one or two decimals places by a one-digit or two-digit number, e.g. £14.65

4, 54.6 12.

C. MIXED OPERATIONS

• Use knowledge of rounding, number operations and inverse relationships to estimate and check

calculations.

• Use brackets to solve multi-step calculations.

III. MEASUREMENT

A. LENGTH, MASS, CAPACITY, VOLUME AND TEMPERATURE

• Estimate, measure and record lengths, masses, capacities and temperatures using standard units

(km, m, cm, mm, kg, g, l, ml, °C) to a suitable degree of accuracy.

• Convert between different units of measure using decimals to three places, e.g. 2.475 kg = 2475 g,

or vice versa.

• Read and interpret scales on a range of measuring instruments.

• Understand and use equivalencies between metric and common imperial units still in everyday use.

• Use the formula, and the standard units cm3 and m

3, to calculate the volume of cubes and cuboids.

B. TIME

• Read a timetable using 24-hour clock notation and calculate time intervals.

C. MONEY




• Use all four operations, fractions and percentages to solve problems involving money.


• Measure and calculate the perimeter of regular and irregular polygons.

• Use the formula, and a variety of standard units (mm2; cm

2; m

2; km

2), to calculate the area of

rectangles and related compound shapes.

• Use the formulae to calculate the area of triangles and parallelograms.

• Use the formulae to calculate the surface area of cubes and cuboids.

IV. GEOMETRY

A. 2-D SHAPES AND 3-D SOLIDS

• Identify, visualise, describe and classify triangles, quadrilaterals, regular polygons and 3-D solids.

• Make and draw shapes with increasing accuracy and apply knowledge of their properties.

• Illustrate and name the parts of a circle including radius, diameter, circumference, arc and chord.


• Use coordinates in all four quadrants to read and plot specified points.

• Draw the position of a shape after one or two translations on a coordinate plane.

• Estimate angles, and use a protractor to draw and measure angles with increasing accuracy.

• Calculate angles in a straight line, in a triangle, in a quadrilateral and around a point.

C. SYMMETRY

• Draw the reflection of a shape:

o in a mirror line touching the shape at a point, where all sides of the shape are not necessarily

parallel or perpendicular to the mirror line;

o in two mirror lines at right angles, where the sides of the shape are parallel or perpendicular to the

mirror line.

• Identify all the symmetries of 2-D shapes, cubes, cuboids and other common 3-D solids, including

prisms.

V. DATA

A. DATA

• Collect, process, represent, interpret and discuss data in a frequency table, bar chart (with grouped

discrete data), line graph or pie chart.

• Find and interpret the mode, range, median and mean of a set of data.

B. PROBABILITY

• Use the language of probability to describe the chance or likelihood of particular events.

• Express the probability of a given event as a fraction or percentage, or on a probability scale from 0

to 1.


• Represent and interpret numerical and symbolic patterns and relationships.

• Solve mathematical problems and puzzles involving numbers or shapes.

• Suggest and test hypotheses involving numbers or shapes.

• Solve multi-step problems involving whole numbers, decimals, fractions and percentages, in the

context of numbers or measurements, including money and time.

VII. PRE-ALGEBRA

• Construct and use simple expressions and formulae expressed in words then symbols.

• Generate and describe linear number sequences.




• Recognise variables and solve basic equations using variables, e.g. What is 7 - c if c is 3.5?




Science: Year 6

I. CHEMISTRY: MATTER AND CHANGE

A. ATOMS, MOLECULES, AND COMPOUNDS

Basics of atomic structure: nucleus, protons (positive charge), neutrons (neutral), electrons (negative

charge)

Atoms are constantly in motion, electrons move around the nucleus in paths called shells (or energy

levels).

Atoms may join together to form molecules or compounds.

Common compounds and their formulas:

o Water H2O

o Salt NaCl

o Carbon Dioxide CO2

B. ELEMENTS

Elements have atoms of only one kind, having the same number of protons. There are a little more

than 100 different elements.

The periodic table: organises elements with common properties

o Atomic symbol and atomic number

Some well-known elements and their symbols

o Hydrogen H

o Helium He

o Carbon C

o Nitrogen N

o Oxygen O

o Sodium Na

o Aluminium Al

o Silicon Si

o Chlorine Cl

o Iron Fe

o Copper Cu

o Silver Ag

o Gold Au

Two important categories of elements: metals and non-metals

o Metals comprise about 2/3 of the known elements

o Properties of metals: most are shiny, ductile, malleable, conductive

C. CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL CHANGE

Chemical change changes what a molecule is made up of and results in a new substance with a new

molecular structure. Examples of chemical change: rusting of iron, burning of wood, milk turning sour

Physical change changes only the properties or appearance of the substance, but does not change

what the substance is made up of. Examples of physical change: cutting wood or paper, breaking

glass, freezing water




II. CLASSIFYING LIVING THINGS Teachers: As the children study animal classifications, discuss: why do we classify? How does classification

help us understand the natural world?

Scientists have divided living things into five large groups called kingdoms, as follows:

o Plant

o Animal

o Fungus (Mushrooms, yeast, mould, mildew)

o Protist (algae, protozoans, amoeba, euglena)

o Prokaryote (blue-green algae, bacteria)

Each Kingdom is divided into smaller groupings as follows:

o Kingdom

o Phylum

o Class

o Order

o Family

o Genus

o Species

o Variety

When classifying living things, scientists use special names made up of Latin words (or words made

to sound like Latin words), which help scientists around the world understand each other and ensure

that they are using the same names for the same living things

o Homo Sapiens: the scientific name for the species to which human beings belong to (genus:

Homo, species: Sapiens)

o Taxonomists: biologists who specialise in classification

Different classes of vertebrates and major characteristics: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals

(review from Year 4)

CELLS: STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES

All living things are made up of cells

Structure of cells (both plant and animal)

o Cell membrane: selectively allows substances in and out

o Nucleus: surrounded by nuclear membrane, contains genetic material, divides for

reproduction

o Cytoplasm contains organelles, small structure that carry out the chemical activities of the

cell, including mitochondria (which produce the cell’s energy) and vacuoles (which store

food, water, or wastes)

Plant cells, unlike animal cells, have cell walls and chloroplasts.

Cells without nuclei: monerans (bacteria)

Some organisms consist of only a single cell: for example, amoeba, protozoans, some algae.

Cells are shaped differently in order to perform different functions.

Organisation of cells into tissues, organs, and systems:

o In complex organisms, groups of cells form tissues (for example: in animals, skin tissue or

muscle tissue; in plants, the skin of an onion or the bark of a tree).

o Tissues with similar functions form organs (for example: in some animals, the heart,

stomach, or brain; in some plants, the root or flower).

o In complex organisms, organs work together in a system (recall, for example, from earlier

studies of the human body, the digestive, circulatory, and respiratory systems).

TAXONOMIES

Teachers: Introduce an example of how an animal is classified, in order for students to become familiar with

the system of classification, not to memorise specific names. For example, a collie dog is classified as

follows:

Kingdom: Animalia




Phylum: Chordata (Subphylum: Vertebrata)

Class: Mammalia (mammal)

Order: Carnivora (eats meat)

Family: Canidae (a group with doglike characteristics)

Genus: Canis (a coyote, wolf, or dog)

Species: Familiaris (a domestic dog)

Variety: Collie (a breed of dog)

IV. PLANT STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES

A. STRUCTURE: NON-VASCULAR AND VASCULAR PLANTS

Non-vascular plants (for example: algae)

Vascular plants

o Vascular plants have tube-like structures that allow water and dissolved nutrients to move

through the plant

o Parts and functions of vascular plants: roots, stems and buds, leaves

B. PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Photosynthesis is an important life process that occurs in plant cells, but not animal cells (photo =

light; synthesis = putting together). Unlike animals, plants make their own food, through the process

of photosynthesis.

Role in photosynthesis of: energy from sunlight, chlorophyll, carbon dioxide and water, xylem and

phloem, stomata, oxygen, sugar (glucose)

V. LIFE CYCLES AND REPRODUCTION

A. THE LIFE CYCLE AND REPRODUCTION

Life cycle: development of an organism from birth to growth, reproduction, death

o Example: Growth stages of a human: embryo, foetus, newborn, infancy, childhood,

adolescence, adulthood, old age

All living things reproduce themselves. Reproduction may be asexual or sexual.

o Examples of asexual reproduction: fission (splitting) of bacteria, spores from mildews,

moulds, and mushrooms, budding of yeast cells, regeneration and cloning

o Sexual reproduction requires the joining of special male and female cells, called gametes, to

form a fertilised egg.

B. SEXUAL REPRODUCTION IN ANIMALS

Reproductive organs: testes (sperm) and ovaries (eggs)

External fertilisation: spawning

Internal fertilisation: birds, mammals

Development of the embryo: egg, zygote, embryo, growth in uterus, foetus, newborn

C. REPRODUCTION IN PLANTS

Asexual reproduction

o Example of algae

o Vegetative reproduction: runners (for example: strawberries) and bulbs (for example:

onions), growing plants from eyes, buds, leaves, roots, and stems

Sexual reproduction by spore bearing plants (for example: mosses and ferns)

Sexual reproduction of non-flowering seed plants: conifers (for example: pines), male and female

cones, wind pollination

Sexual reproduction of flowering plants (for example: peas)

o Functions of sepals and petals, stamen (male), anther, pistil (female), ovary (or ovule)




o Process of seed and fruit production: pollen, wind, insect and bird pollination, fertilisation,

growth of ovary, mature fruit

o Seed germination and plant growth: seed coat, embryo and endosperm, germination

(sprouting of new plant), monocots (for example: corn) and dicots (for example: beans)

VI. THE HUMAN BODY: HORMONES AND REPRODUCTION

A. HUMAN GROWTH STAGES

Puberty

o Glands and hormones (see below, Endocrine System), growth spurt, hair growth, breasts,

voice change

B. THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

Females: ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina, menstruation

Males: testes, scrotum, penis, urethra, semen

Sexual reproduction: intercourse, fertilisation, zygote, implantation of zygote in the uterus,

pregnancy, embryo, foetus, newborn

C THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

The human body has two types of glands: duct glands (such as the salivary glands), and ductless

glands, also known as the endocrine glands.

Endocrine glands secrete (give off) chemicals called hormones. Different hormones control different

body processes.

Pituitary gland: located at the bottom of the brain; secretes hormones that control other glands, and

hormones that regulate growth

Thyroid gland: located below the voice box; secretes a hormone that controls the rate at which the

body burns and uses food

Pancreas: both a duct and a ductless gland; secretes a hormone called insulin that regulates how

the body uses and stores sugar; when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, a person has

a sickness called diabetes (which can be controlled).

Adrenal glands: secrete a hormone called adrenaline, especially when a person is frightened or

angry, causing rapid heartbeat and breathing.

VII. SCIENCE BIOGRAPHIES

Tim Burners-Lee (inventor of the World Wide Web)

Humphry Davy (chemist and inventor; discovered alkaline earth metals, chlorine and iodine)

Dorothy Hodgkin (British chemist, confirmed the structures of penicillin and vitamin B12)

Carl Linnaeus (botanist and ‘Father of taxonomy’ who standardised the classification system)


years 1-6 all subjects - core knowledge uk

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