Focus Narrative:

War Stories

Key Text/Stimulus:

Bedknobs & Broomsticks (film)🔗

Writing Outcomes:

Focus Grammar

• Relative clauses
• Modal verbs
• Indicating degrees of possibilities
• Parenthesis

Overview

In this unit, children explore the role of villains in traditional fairy tales and fantasy stories. Using Howl's Moving Castleas inspiration, they will investigate how authors create memorable antagonists through carefully chosen vocabulary, powerful imagery and precise description. They will analyse how appearance, actions and atmosphere combine to reveal a character's true nature before creating an original villain for their own fairy tale.

Writing Tasks (Independent & Edited)
The Journey to the UnknownWrite the opening of a story about a child being evacuated during the Second World War. Begin in the crowded, noisy city as families gather to say emotional goodbyes before boarding the train. Follow the journey as the train leaves behind the smoke and destruction of the city and travels through the changing landscape towards the quiet countryside, where an uncertain future awaits.

Secrets at the Evacuee HouseWrite a story about a group of evacuees settling into their new countryside home during the Second World War. As they begin to explore the old house and its surroundings, they discover that their evacuee home is hiding a mysterious secret. Decide what they find and how it leads them into an unexpected adventure.

The Unexpected VisitorWrite a suspense story about an evacuee whose peaceful life in the countryside is interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious stranger. The visitor seems ordinary at first, but something doesn't quite add up. Decide who they are and what happens next.

Writing Focus

Use dialogue purposefully to advance the action and develop the plot, ensuring conversations reveal important information and move the story forwards. Create vivid descriptions of the setting, characters and atmosphere to immerse the reader in the world of the story and establish an authentic wartime mood. Build suspense and tension by carefully controlling the pace of the narrative, revealing information gradually and keeping the reader wondering what will happen next.

Hot-seating

Freeze frame

Conscience alley

Focus Non-Narrative:
BiographiesKey Text/Stimulus:History - Anne Frank

Writing Outcome:

Cross-curriculum support genres:

Letters

Imagery Poems

Overview

Linked to their History learning about the Second World War and the Holocaust, children explore the life of Anne Frank and the historical context in which she lived. They examine key events in her life, considering how these were shaped by the wider events of the war and the persecution of Jewish people.

Writing Tasks (Independent & Edited)

Children will write a biography of Anne Frank, using the historical knowledge they have gained throughout the unit. Their biography should present the key events of Anne Frank's life in chronological order, explaining her experiences before, during and after going into hiding, while also reflecting on the significance of her diary and the lasting impact of her story. The finished biographies should inform the reader through clear organisation, accurate historical detail and a formal, engaging writing style.

Writing Focus

The writing will focus on organising information into clear sections with appropriate headings, using chronological order and cohesive devices to link ideas across paragraphs. Children should use formal language, include factual detail and select precise vocabulary to explain events clearly. They should also use a range of sentence structures, including relative clauses and passive voice where appropriate, to create an informative and authoritative biography.

Pathway: Brave Colour🔗

Exploring the work of installation artists who use light, form and colour to create immersive environments. Creating 2D or 3D models to share our vision of imagined installations with others.

Disciplines:

Installation Art, Sketchbooks

Medium:

Paper, Card, Paint, Light (coloured filters)

Artists:

Olafur Eliasson, Yinka Ilori, Morag Myerscough, Liz West

What is installation art and how is it different from a painting or drawing?Installation art is a type of artwork that fills a space and often surrounds the viewer. It can include 3D objects, colour, light, and even sound to make people feel like they are “inside” the artwork.

Why do artists experiment with colour and materials before making their final piece?

Artists test ideas to see how colours and materials work together. Experimenting helps them make choices that match their vision and lets them take creative risks without worrying about getting it “wrong.”

Installation Art– A large-scale artwork that transforms a space using objects, colour, light, and sometimes sound.

Immersive – Something that fully surrounds or involves the viewer, making them feel part of the experience.

Brave Colour – Using bold, unexpected, or personal colour choices that express feeling or break traditional rules.

Group discussions/debate

Judaism

Enquiry: Are Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur important to Jewish children?🔗

In this enquiry, children look at how Jews try to solve any problems that have arisen in the previous year. They will reflect on what they might like to solve in the recent past

(Covering Northumberland Agreed Syllabus - Unit U2.9 Why is the Torah so important to Jewish people?)

Rosh Hashanah – The Jewish New Year; a time for reflection, celebration, and asking for a good year ahead.

Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement; the holiest day in Judaism, focused on prayer, fasting, and seeking forgiveness.

Repentance – Saying sorry for wrong choices and trying to make things right.

Shofar – A ram’s horn blown during Rosh Hashanah to signal reflection and renewal

.Forgiveness – Letting go of past wrongs and starting fresh, a key part of both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Cross Curricular Writing Opportunity:

Children will write a biography of Anne Frank, using the historical knowledge they have gained throughout the unit. Their biography should present the key events of Anne Frank's life in chronological order, explaining her experiences before, during and after going into hiding, while also reflecting on the significance of her diary and the lasting impact of her story. The finished biographies should inform the reader through clear organisation, accurate historical detail and a formal, engaging writing style.

Why and when did WW2 begin? Began 1939 ended 1945. Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933. Treaty of Versailles and what it imposed on Germany. Hitler's treatment of the Jewish community.Hitlers invasion of Poland.

What was the land army? Many women had to take to factories and farms as the men were fighting the war.

What was rationing? Which food was rationed (sugar, eggs, milk, bacon etc. This was necessary because of trade not coming into England so had to grow our own.

What was the Holocaust? The Holocaust was a terrible event during World War II when millions of Jewish people, along with other groups, were killed by the Nazis simply because of who they were. Many were sent to concentration camps, where they suffered from starvation, forced labor, and mass killings, but some survived and shared their stories to help the world remember. They were killed because of their beiefs and religion. They were not allowed to live freely in Poland and could not ride a bike. There civil rights were severely restricted.

Who was Anne Frank?Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who went into hiding with her family during the Second World War to escape Nazi persecution. While in hiding, she wrote a diary that became one of the most important personal accounts of the Holocaust.

Rationing – A system used during World War II to make sure everyone had a fair share of food and essential supplies when they were in short supply.

Holocaust – The persecution and murder of around six million Jewish people by the Nazis during World War II, along with millions of other people they targeted.

Genocide – The deliberate attempt to destroy a group of people because of their nationality, ethnicity, race or religion. The Holocaust is an example of genocide.

Content:

investigate changes to local area/environment between WW2 and now.

Sport:

Swimming

Peer feedback/instructions

Newcastle United Foundation:

Dance

Big Question: What colour is light?

Science Enquiry Focus: Pattern seeking

Outline: Ask the children to decide what colour they think light is by standing beside a coloured sheet placed around the classroom. Without revealing the answer, give each group a torch, prism and white card and challenge them to find evidence. As they shine the light through the prism, they will discover that white light separates into the colours of the spectrum. Finish by returning to the original question and discussing whether anyone would change their answer.

What to Wonder? Encourage children to wonder why a prism creates a rainbow, why white light contains so many different colours, and where else they might see light split into its different colours in the world around them.

Can Light Travel Around Corners? (Comparative and fair testing)

Children investigate whether light always travels in straight lines by using torches, card with holes, mirrors and different obstacles. They will carry out a fair test by changing one variable, such as the position of the holes or the angle of a mirror, and record whether the light reaches a target. Using their results, they explain how light travels and why mirrors can change its direction.

How Does the Distance Between an Object and a Light Source Change Its Shadow? (Pattern Seeking)

Children use a torch to create shadows of the same object at different distances from the light source and measure the size of each shadow. They look for patterns in their results and use these to explain why shadows become larger or smaller. They make links to the idea that light travels in straight lines and that shadows keep the same shape as the object casting them.

How Can We Explain Why We See Things? (Researching Using Secondary Sources)

Children use books, diagrams, animations and reliable websites to research how light travels from a source to our eyes, either directly or after reflecting from objects. They gather information to answer the big question and produce a labelled diagram or simple explanation showing the journey of light, explaining why we can see luminous and non-luminous objects.

Discussions, Sharing ideas/views

How does light travel, and what does this mean for how we see objects?Light travels in straight lines. This means we see objects because light either comes directly from a light source into our eyes or reflects off objects into our eyes.

Why do objects appear visible to us?Objects appear visible because they either give out light (if they are a light source) or reflect light from another source into our eyes.

Why do shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them?Shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them because light travels in straight lines and cannot bend around the object, creating a shadow with the same outline as the object blocking the light.

Light source - An object that produces its own light, such as the Sun, a torch or a light bulb.

Reflect - When light bounces off the surface of an object and travels into our eyes.

Shadow - A dark area formed when an opaque object blocks light travelling in straight lines.

Online Safety

Lesson 1: Life Online 🔗

Understanding the positive and negative effects of the internet and exploring ways to overcome negative feelings from being online.

Computing systems and networks

Bletchley Park and the history of computers 🔗

Exploring code-breaking at Bletchley Park, historical figures in computing, the evolution of computers, designing a computer of the future and creating an audio advert.

Sing, play, perform

Pathway: accompanying songs with polyrhythms🔗

In this unit, pupils will develop their ability to layer multiple rhythms, building on previous units in which they layered different parts in songs, instrumental accompaniments and composed ostinati. The pupils utilise previously studied rehearsal skills and reflect on previous learning around effective ensemble practice, building on these rehearsal skills for a more effective performance. Pupils are introduced to the term polyrhythms.

Language Angels Unit 🔗

La fonética (Phonics & Pronunciation)

In these 4 sequential lessons pupils will learn a selection of the key phonemes to facilitate accurate and authentic pronunciation as part of their language learning experience. Each of the 4 lessons is accompanied by a song that pupils will be encouraged to actively participate in, as well as a mouth mechanics guide video.