Focus Narrative:

Flashbacks

Key Text/Stimulus:

The Piano (Animation)

Replay (Animation)

Writing Outcomes:

Focus Grammar

Adverbials, parenthesis and tense

• Single words, phrases and clauses in fronted adverbials
• Parenthesis: brackets, dashes and commas
• Synonyms, antonyms, prepositions and adverbs
• Sentences in the simple, progressive and perfect present, past and future tense
• Further study of modal verbs

Consolidation from Y4

Consolidation from Y5
 

Overview

In this unit, children explore how writers can move between the present and the past using flashbacks. Inspired by animations such as The Piano and Replay, they will consider how significant objects can unlock memories, reveal important events and gradually deepen the reader’s understanding of a character.

Writing Task

The Power of Objects

Write a narrative in which a special object, such as a piano, clock, photograph or toy, triggers a series of memories. Move between the present day and carefully chosen flashbacks to reveal the object’s importance and gradually uncover part of the character’s past.

Writing Focus

Use flashbacks confidently and clearly, controlling the movement between different points in time. Create atmosphere through precise description of setting, character and emotion, using sensory details and carefully chosen vocabulary. Vary sentence structure and pace to shape key moments, and use cohesive devices and shifts in tense to make transitions between the present and the past clear and purposeful.

Focus Non-Narrative:
Information Text - Blogs

Key Text/Stimulus:

London

Writing Outcome:

Overview

In this unit, children explore blogs as a form of non-fiction writing, considering how writers combine factual information with personal experience, opinion and description to engage a reader.

Writing Task

London Through Our Eyes

Write a blog about your trip to London, sharing the places you visited, what you experienced and your reflections on the day. Organise your writing into clear sections and combine accurate information with personal observations to make the blog informative, lively and engaging.

Writing Focus

Write for a clear audience and purpose, using an appropriate informal but informative tone. Organise ideas using headings, paragraphs and cohesive devices, selecting relevant details from the trip. Use precise vocabulary, description and personal reflection to bring experiences to life, while varying sentence structures and punctuation to maintain the reader’s interest.

Hot-seating as characters

Freeze frame - thoughts/feelings

Present Blogs to audience

Cross-curriculum support genres:

Explanation Texts

Recounts

Pathway: Architecture - Dream Big or Small?🔗

Explore the responsibilities architects have to design us a better world. Make your own architectural model.

Disciplines:

Architecture, Drawing, Sketchbooks

Medium:

Foamboard, Ink, Card

Artists:

Shoreditch Sketcher, Various Architects

How do architects use form, structure, and materials to meet the needs of a design?Architects choose shapes, materials, and structures carefully to make buildings strong, useful, and beautiful. These design decisions help buildings work well for the people who use them and the environment they’re in.

Architecture – The art and science of designing and constructing buildings and structures.

Model – A small-scale version of a building or structure used to explore or present design ideas.

Scale – The size relationship between a model and the real building it represents.

Jigsaw RE

How did Jesus create a "New Covenant" and what does that mean to Christians today?🔗

Northumberland Agreed Syllabus Unit U2.4 How do Christians decide how to live? ‘What would Jesus do?’

Group discussions/debate

Covenant – A special promise or agreement between God and people.

New Covenant – The Christian belief that through Jesus, God offers love and forgiveness to those who trust and follow Him.

Forgiveness – Letting go of wrongdoings; Christians believe God forgives those who are truly sorry.

Trust – Believing in God’s promises and relying on Him.

Teachings – The messages and guidance Jesus gave about how to live a good and loving life.

National Curriculum:

a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066  

Study: Transforming Cities: How Wren and Haussmann Changed London and Paris

As part of our study of an aspect of British history beyond 1066, pupils will explore how cities have been shaped by significant individuals through a comparative study of Christopher Wren’s reconstruction of London after the Great Fire of 1666 and Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s redesign of Paris in the 19th century. This unit will allow pupils to examine how both figures responded to challenges in their cities through ambitious urban planning and architectural design, and how their work influenced the daily lives of citizens. By comparing the transformation of London and Paris, pupils will develop their understanding of change, significance, and the impact of ideas across Europe, as well as draw contrasts between British and non-British history. The unit also supports cross-curricular links with art and design through the study of cityscapes and architectural styles. 

What problems did Wren and Haussmann try to solve in their cities?After the Great Fire of London in 1666, Christopher Wren aimed to rebuild the city with safer, wider streets and more durable buildings. In 19th-century Paris, Haussmann worked to solve problems like overcrowding, poor sanitation, and traffic by redesigning the city layout. Both men used planning and design to improve how their cities functioned. Their projects responded to the needs and challenges of their time.

How were Wren’s and Haussmann’s approaches to city planning different?Wren focused on restoring and enhancing a historic city after a disaster, keeping many medieval street patterns but adding new landmarks like St Paul’s Cathedral. Haussmann, however, demolished large parts of old Paris to create a completely new network of straight boulevards, parks, and public squares. Wren worked within traditional styles, while Haussmann embraced large-scale modernisation. Their methods reflected the priorities and powers of their governments.

How did Wren and Haussmann influence the future of city design?Wren’s blend of classical architecture and urban design shaped the identity of post-fire London. Haussmann’s work in Paris became a model for other cities around the world, inspiring future planning with wide roads, green spaces, and efficient layouts. Their ideas about how cities should look and work continue to influence modern architecture and planning. Studying their legacy shows how city design can shape the lives of future generations.

Urban planning – The design and organisation of buildings, streets, and spaces within a city to improve how it works and looks.

Architecture – The art and science of designing buildings; Wren and Haussmann are known for their influential architectural styles.

Reconstruction – Rebuilding something that has been damaged or destroyed, like Wren’s work after the Great Fire of London.

Impact – The effect or influence that a person, event, or idea has on people or places over time.

Comparison – Looking at similarities and differences between historical events or figures, such as Wren in London and Haussmann in Paris.

National Curriculum:

describe and understand key aspects of: human geography, including: economic activity including trade links

locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities (Paris/London)

How and why do people trade goods and services with each other around the world?People trade by buying, selling, and exchanging goods and services, which helps different countries get the things they need and grow their economies.

What are the key environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics of London? London's key environmental regions include the Thames River Basin and green spaces like the Royal Parks; its key physical characteristics include the River Thames and a generally low-lying landscape, while its key human characteristics include its dense population, historic landmarks, diverse economy, and extensive transport network.

Trade – The buying, selling, or exchanging of goods and services between people or countries.

Goods – Physical items that are made, sold, or bought, such as food, clothes, or electronics.

Physical features – Natural parts of the landscape, like rivers, hills, and climate (e.g. the River Seine or River Thames).

Human features – Things built or created by people, such as buildings, roads, population, and transport systems.

Region – An area of land defined by its physical or human characteristics (e.g. the Thames River Basin or northern France).

Pathway: Gymnastics
Focus: Matching and mirroring🔗

This unit will enable pupils to explore what we mean by matching and mirroring movements. Pupils will be able to create sequences of movements with accuracy and fluidity using a range of apparatus. Pupils will effectively evaluate their sequences and find ways to improve and develop them further.

Peer feedback/instructions

Pathway: AthleticsFocus: Athletic challenges refined (Lesson 1-2)🔗

This unit will challenge pupils to apply their knowledge and skills into a series of competitions. Pupils will experience competition across multiple areas of athletics and will have to work individually and collaborate together in teams to apply the correct techniques in order to be successful.

Do we have a positive or negative effect on our environment?

Children carry out a survey of single-use plastic in school. Once data is collected they could scale up, if this is the amount used in one day, how much in one year? Using their results, children think about actions/steps that could be taken to make our school a ‘Plastic Clever’ school.

What will happen when we bounce two balls together?

Comparative and fair testing

Children to plan an investigation to answer the question. Focus on how to ensure the test is a fair test and think about the variables.

National Curriculum:
Working Scientifically

Discussions, Sharing ideas/views, explanations, presenting results.

Online Safety

Lesson 2: Sharing Online 🔗

Learning about privacy settings and exploring the positive and negative effects of sharing online.

Computing systems

Understanding hardware, networks and security🔗 (link to follow)

Singing together

Pathway: music that comments on social change🔗

This unit explores how music can communicate powerful messages, express ideas and bring people together. Pupils learn how composers manipulate musical elements to communicate meaning and emotion, then draw on these ideas to compose their own song about a cause they feel strongly about.

Instrument Tuition

Steel Pans

What I and others do: the verb 'hacer'🔗

Lessons 1-5

In this unit, pupils use ‘hacer’ to understand short texts and ask and answer questions about birthdays and other celebrations. They learn to use ‘hacer’ meaning be with weather expressions and extend their sentences using the subordinating conjunction ‘cuando’, meaning 'when'.