In the Ancient Civilisations project, your child will learn about three of the earliest civilisations in the world; ancient Sumer, ancient Egypt and the Indus Valley civilisation. They will study the ancient Sumerian and ancient Egyptian civilisation in detail, to discover how crucial factors like water sources and farming helped them to develop and thrive. They will find out about important inventions and the growth of cities. They will also study the lives of different people in society, including the roles of kings and pharaohs. The children will reflect on their learning by identifying the similarities and differences between the two civilisations, before studying the Indus Valley civilisation independently. They will explore sources of evidence about the location of the Indus Valley, cities and trade, and note the reasons why historians know less about the Indus Valley than other ancient civilisations. The children will then compare all three civilisations, before learning about the causes and consequences of each civilisation’s decline. They will also consider whether or not these civilisations left a lasting legacy.

Ssh … What’s that noise? Is it a bash, a crash, a shake or a hum?

This half term, we’ll listen to a live musical performance, picking out the different sounds and techniques. Roger McGough’s poem, The Sound Collector, will inspire us to go on a sound walk around school. We’ll investigate the volume of sounds and make vibrations using different equipment. Our toes will be tapping along to all kinds of music, and we’ll be listening to song lyrics to get lots of ideas to write our own. We’ll create artwork that represents jazz music, and look at famous, jazz-influenced art. We’ll find out how our ear works, how sound travels and learn about pitch. In D&T, we’ll investigate how musical instruments work and enjoy making our own. We’ll share our favourite music and explore how music is used in everyday life. As a challenge, we’ll create an uplifting celebration song.

It’s time for our encore! We’ll write information leaflets about pop stars and invite you to a performance to show off our musical and dancing skills.

In the Misty Mountain, Winding River project, your child will learn about the characteristics and physical processes of rivers, including how they shape the landscape over time, their significance around the world and the impact of flooding. They will learn how to use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and a key to locate and plot geographical places and features on a map, as well as how contour lines are used to show the topography of an area. They will have the opportunity to learn about the stages of the water cycle and about mountains and their different formations, studying mountain ranges in the United Kingdom and around the world. They will also learn about habitats and how human and natural influences can have an impact on the environment.

Open wide – let’s look inside! We’re on a voyage of discovery to investigate the busy world inside your body.

This half term, we’ll visit a dentist and ask lots of questions. We’ll find out about different dental procedures and learn new scientific vocabulary. At school, we’ll use this information to write toothy fact files. There will be lots of investigating as we learn about our different teeth, how to brush them and how sugary drinks affect them. We’ll examine the amount of sugar in different foods and create images of ourselves with healthy and unhealthy teeth. We’ll write a story describing the journey a piece of food takes through the digestive system. In science, we’ll learn about the organs involved in digestion and make our own wearable digestive systems in D&T. We’ll learn about digestion in different animals and handle a range of digestive organs.

At the end of the project, we’ll write persuasive texts to convince people to eat healthily and share these with you. We’ll use what we’ve learned to play a scientific game and create healthy snack packs for our friends. We’ll also write to our digestive systems, promising to keep them healthy.

Grab your wetsuit! We’re going on a deep sea adventure.

This half term, we’ll visit an aquarium to gain an insight into the ocean world. We’ll sketch different creatures and create clay sculptures of our favourite. Writing poems inspired by our favourite sea creatures will help us to develop a rich vocabulary. Using maps, globes and atlases, we’ll identify the world’s oceans and seas. We’ll also find different ways of grouping living things. Diving back into the 1800s, we’ll learn all about the HMS Challenger. We’ll research Jacques Cousteau and write biographies about his exciting explorations. As a challenge, we’ll create model submarines using recycled materials and program an onscreen submarine. We’ll study Antony Gormley’s Another Place sculpture and write reviews. After locating the Great Barrier Reef on a map, we’ll learn about the risks it faces.

At the end of the ILP, we’ll listen to the soothing sounds of whale song and write ballads about whales. We’ll invite you to visit our ‘Oceans art gallery’ and deliver workshops about sustainability.

In the Invasion project, your child will explore the effects of the Roman withdrawal and the chronology and geography of subsequent invasions. They will study the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings in detail, examining their reasons for invading, their settlements and their everyday life. Your child will also look at monasteries and the Anglo-Saxon legacy. They will consider how we know about life in this period and investigate the Sutton Hoo ship burial. They will learn about Athelstan, an Anglo-Saxon king, and what happened after his death, before ending the project by learning about the Norman invasion of 1066.