How did life change in the Late Stone Age as people began farming and living in settlements such as Skara Brae?In the Late Stone Age (Neolithic period), people began to settle in one place rather than moving around to hunt and gather food. They grew crops, kept animals and built permanent homes. Settlements such as Skara Brae show that people lived together in organised communities, with stone houses, furniture and places to store food.

How did religion, technology and travel develop during the Bronze Age?During the Bronze Age, people developed new skills in metalworking and used bronze to make tools, weapons and jewellery. People travelled and traded over longer distances, exchanging materials and ideas. Religious beliefs were also important, and monuments such as Stonehenge were used for gatherings, ceremonies and rituals.

What was life like in Iron Age hillforts and tribal kingdoms?During the Iron Age, people lived in tribal kingdoms and many communities were built around hillforts for protection. Farming was important, with people growing crops and keeping animals. Iron was used to make stronger tools and weapons, while decorated metalwork, pottery and jewellery show that art and culture were also important parts of Iron Age life.

Hunter-gatherer – A person who gets food by hunting animals and gathering plants, fruit, and nuts.

Settlement – A place where people live for a long time; in the Neolithic period, people began building permanent homes.

Farming – Growing crops and keeping animals for food, which started in the Neolithic period.

Stonehenge – A famous prehistoric stone monument, believed to be used for worship and tracking seasons.

Bronze Age – A time when people started using metal (bronze) to make tools, jewellery, and weapons, leading to big changes in daily life.

Pathway: Gymnastics🔗

Focus: Running, Jumping & Dodging (Lessons 7-12)

The unit will use pupils' prior knowledge of how to run and jump, developing pupils' motor competence linked to dodging and jumping. In this unit pupils will be challenged to use and apply dodging skills in games and jump in combination rather than just in isolation. Pupils will also be able to use their prior learning from ball skills and team games to be able to successfully apply their initial jumping and dodging skills in this unit. Foundations are then laid for subsequent units on ball skills as pupils will already have a strong understanding of the movement skills required.

Newcastle United Foundation:

Modified Team Games

Discussions, debates, explanations

Big Question: Are all rocks the same?

Science Enquiry Focus: Identifying, Classifying and Grouping

Outline: Turn the sand pit into a rock excavation site, with a variety of rocks hidden beneath the sand. Children become Rock Detectives, carefully digging to uncover the mystery specimens. Once collected, they examine their rocks closely and decide how to sort them into groups based on observable features such as colour, texture, size and appearance.

What to Wonder? Encourage children to wonder why the rocks they discovered look and feel different, where they might have come from, what they are made of and how we can use their properties to identify and group them.

Can We Make Our Own Fossil?

Focus: Identifying, classifying and grouping

Children press shells, leaves and model animal shapes into clay or modelling material to create impressions. They examine the different “fossils” and compare the shapes and patterns left behind, considering how real fossils can provide evidence about living things from long ago.

What Is Hiding in Our Soil?

Focus: Identifying, classifying and grouping

Children examine samples of soil using trays and magnifying glasses. They carefully separate and classify what they find, such as small pieces of rock, sand, roots, leaves and other organic matter, discovering that soil is a mixture of different materials.

Which Soil Lets Water Through Fastest?

Focus: Comparative and fair testing

Children pour the same amount of water through equal amounts of different soils and collect the water that drains through. They compare how quickly the water travels through each sample and use their observations to investigate how different soils behave.

National Curriculum:

Rocks

compare and group together different kinds of rocks on the basis of their appearance and simple physical properties

describe in simple terms how fossils are formed when things that have lived are trapped within rock

recognise that soils are made from rocks and organic matter

How can we compare and group different types of rocks?Rocks can be grouped by looking at what they look like and how they feel. Some rocks are hard and smooth, like granite, while others are soft and crumbly, like chalk. We can also compare their colour, texture, and whether they let water through. These properties help us decide how rocks can be used.

What are fossils and how are they formed?Fossils are the remains or shapes of plants and animals that lived a long time ago. They are formed when something that once lived gets buried in mud or sand, which turns into rock over millions of years. The hard parts, like bones or shells, leave a shape or impression in the rock. Fossils help us learn about life from the past.

What is soil made from?Soil is made from tiny pieces of rock mixed with dead plants and animals, which is called organic matter. Rocks break down over time into small grains, and the remains of living things add nutrients. These ingredients make soil good for growing plants. Different soils have different textures and colours depending on the rocks and organic matter in them.

Rock – A hard, natural material found on Earth that can be smooth, rough, hard, or crumbly.

Fossil – The preserved remains or shape of a plant or animal that lived a long time ago.

Soil – A mix of tiny pieces of rock and dead plants and animals, used to grow plants.

Texture – How something feels, like rough, smooth, gritty, or crumbly—used to describe rocks and soil.

Permeable – When water can pass through a material, like some types of rock or soil.