BedlingtonStation PrimarySchool

Portal Design:

Light and Shadows

Year 3 Term 1A

CONTEXT

Woah, man! Seraphina Huesplash here. I love all things arty. I've been asked by Olive Stein at Portal Design to lead you, my new team of designers, to create a new theatre show using puppets! It's gonna be wild, wild and free, just like the sea! I have some cool ideas about using light to create a story... yeah, light! Can you believe it. It's going to be groovy! Peace and love!

BROADENING EXPERIENCE

Preparing for Bonfire NightTake One Book Week

CLASS READER

The Iron Man by Ted Hughes

Jigsaw PSHE
'Being Me in My World'We will be learning about; Setting personal goals, Self-identity and worth, Positivity in challenges, Rules, rights and responsibilities, Rewards and consequences, Responsible choices, and Seeing things from others' perspectives

Curriculum Overview

Oracy Development Opportunities

ENGLISH

Focus Narrative:

Adventure stories

Key Text/Stimulus:

The Firework-Maker’s Daughter by Philip Pullman

Writing Outcome:

Write a retelling of The Firework Competition and Grand Display part of the story.

Focus Grammar

  • Expanded noun phrases to expand and specify
  • Full stop, capital letters, exclamation marks, question marks
  • Questions, commands, exclamations, statements
  • Commas in a list
  • Apostrophe to contract
  • Apostrophe to mark singular possession

Acting story of The Firework-Maker’s Daughter

Grammar recap - word types - video explanations

Focus Non-Narrative:Persuasive writingKey Text/Stimulus:DT - Shadow puppets

Writing Outcome:

Write persuasive text for a poster  to encourage people to attend a shadow puppet show.

Cross-curriculum support genres:

Labels, lists & captions

Instructions

ART

Pathway: Shadow Puppets

Artists use their creative skills to re-see and re-imagine the world. Explore how you can transform a familiar object into new and fun forms.

Disciplines:

Making, Drawing, Sketchbooks

Medium:

Paper, Construction Materials

Artists:

Lotte Reiniger, Matisse, Wayang Shadow Puppets, Phillipp Otto Runge, Pippa Dyrlaga, Thomas Witte

How can artists take ideas from other cultures and make them their own?Artists often look at traditions like Malaysian shadow puppets or the work of Lotte Reiniger for inspiration. They then use their own ideas, tools, and materials to create something personal that reflects their culture or story.

How do artists improve their art and design skills?Artists improve their skills by practising different techniques like drawing, cutting, and joining materials. They test out ideas, make changes, and think carefully about how to make their work better each time.

 

Silhouette – A dark shape or outline of something, often shown against a light background.

Articulate – To make parts move using joints (e.g. split pins).

Influence – An idea or style that inspires an artist’s own work.

RE

Jigsaw RE

What do some deities tell Sanatanis (Hindus) about God?

(Northumberland Agreed Syllabus - Unit L2.7 What do Hindus believe God is like?)

What does Sanatanis believe about Brahman? That Brahman can appear in many different ways but is always the one supreme being. He is present in the Trimurti and all other deities.

Who do Sanatanis believe Shiva and Parvati to be?They are believed to be parents to Ganesha. Due to him not realising Ganesha was his son, Shiva cut off his head so replaced it with the head of the nearest sleeping animal which was an elephant. He also granted Ganesha great wisdom and a power to remove any obstacles that come in the way of all people who truly worship him.

Who do Sanatanis believe Lakshmii to be? Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and good fortune. She is also the wife of Vishnu.

Brahman – The one supreme being in Hinduism, who can appear in many forms but is always the same ultimate power.

Deity – A god or goddess worshipped in Hinduism, such as Shiva, Parvati, or Lakshmi.

Trimurti – The three main forms of Brahman: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the protector), and Shiva (the destroyer).

Ganesha – The elephant-headed god, son of Shiva and Parvati, known as the remover of obstacles and giver of wisdom.

Lakshmi – The goddess of wealth and good fortune, and wife of Vishnu.

HISTORY

National Curriculum:

a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066 (The gunpowder plot)

 

Hot-seating as Guy Fawkes

Who was Guy Fawkes?  
Guy Fawkes was one of the 13 Catholic conspirators involved in the Gunpowder Plot.

What was the gunpowder plot?This was a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. His target was King James I and his government.  The reason for Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder Plot was that, with King James I on the throne. England was a Protestant country but Guy Fawkes and the plotters were Catholic.They thought killing King James I would return England to the Catholic faith. He went to war in Spain and was called Guido  

Why do we remember, remember the 5th of November?  The plan didn’t work!  One of the group of plotters had written a letter to his brother-in-law warning him to stay away from the Houses of Parliament on the 5th of November.  One of the King’s supporters discovered this letter and the King’s guards broke into the cellars where Guy Fawkes and the plotters were hiding.  Guy Fawkes and the plotters were arrested, tortured and executed for treason.

Plot – A secret plan to do something, often something bad or sneaky.

Parliament – The group of people who make the laws for the country.

Gunpowder – A special powder that explodes when lit; it was used in the plot.

Treason – The crime of trying to hurt or betray your own country or king.

Bonfire – A big fire outside that people light to celebrate or remember something special.

GEOGRAPHY

National Curriculum:

No focus  

 

Content:

Locations linked to Gunpowder Plot.

PE

Real PE Unit:

Unit 1

Cog Focus

  • Personal Skills

Fundamental Movement Skills

  • Coordination: Footwork
  • Static Balance: One Leg

Sport:

Tag Rugby

Football

DT

National Curriculum:

Focus objectives:

DESIGN OBJECTIVES

MAKE OBJECTIVES

EVALUATE OBJECTIVES

apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures

Acting with puppets

What is a sewing?Sewing is the process of using a needle and thread to join pieces of fabric together to make or fix things like clothes or crafts.

Needle – A sharp tool used to sew fabric.

Thread – A thin string used to join pieces of fabric.

Stitch – The loop made when sewing fabric together.

Content:

Sewing - Hand puppets

Shadow puppet/theatre
 

SCIENCE

Discussions, debates, explanations

National Curriculum:

recognise that they need light in order to see things and that dark is the absence of light

notice that light is reflected from surfaces

recognise that light from the sun can be dangerous and that there are ways to protect their eyes

recognise that shadows are formed when the light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object

find patterns in the way that the size of shadows change

Investigations:

Shadows over a daily period

Sorting light and non light sources

Comparing shadows  

Which material is the most reflective?

 

WOW! Wonder Launch

Explore which objects form shadows when light is shone on them using torches.

Why do we need light to see things?We need light to see because our eyes can only see objects when light reflects off them. In the dark, there is no light, so we can't see anything—this is called the absence of light. Light can come from natural sources like the sun or artificial ones like lamps and torches. Without light, everything would look completely black.

How do we see objects around us?We see things when light reflects off their surfaces and into our eyes. Smooth, shiny surfaces like mirrors reflect more light, while dull surfaces reflect less. This reflection helps us recognise colours, shapes, and details. That’s why lights are important in dark places—to help light bounce off things so we can see them clearly.

Why can sunlight be dangerous and how can we protect our eyes?Sunlight gives us natural light, but it can also be harmful to our eyes and skin. Looking directly at the sun can damage your eyes, even if it doesn’t hurt. We can protect our eyes by wearing sunglasses, hats, or staying in the shade. It's important to enjoy the sun safely.

How are shadows made and why do they change size?A shadow forms when light is blocked by an object that light can't pass through—this is called an opaque object. The shadow is the dark shape that appears behind the object where the light can’t reach. Shadows can change size depending on how close the object is to the light source. The closer the object is to the light, the bigger the shadow becomes.

Light source – Something that makes its own light, like the sun, a torch, or a lamp.

Reflection – When light bounces off an object and into our eyes so we can see it.

Opaque – A material that light cannot pass through, which causes shadows.

Shadow – A dark shape made when something blocks light from reaching a surface.

Sunlight – Natural light from the sun that helps us see but can also be harmful to eyes and skin.

COMPUTING

Creating Media

Unit 3.2 - Stop-frame animation

Capturing and editing digital still images to produce a stop-frame animation that tells a story.

MUSIC

Steel Pans

Specialist music teacher

 

SPANISH

Language Angels Unit

  • Phonetics 1
  • I am Learning Spanish

Speaking aloud

Write a Story

Retell your favourite story. Make sure you write in full sentences using full stops, capital letters and any other punctuation that you know.

Make a Puppet

Create a simple stick puppet using paper and a straw or stick. Stage a puppet show for your family! Tell the story of The Gunpowder Plot!

Shadow Play

On a sunny day or using a lamp, place a toy or object on a piece of paper so it casts a shadow. Trace around the shadow and then colour it in to create your own shadow artwork.

Collect some Autumn leaves and throw them up in the air.

Paint pictures on the ground using water.

Bake a cake and lick the spoon!

Have a no technology weekend.

Help your family by doing a chore.

Build an indoor den!

Number BondsPractise your number bonds to 100.

Times TablesPractise your times tables.

Reading
Don't forget to read every night for at least 10 minutes. Complete your bookmark each time you read. It should take you 3 weeks to fill a whole book mark.You can read anything - books, comics, websites and your phonics book!

Topic Vocabulary

These are words you will come across this half term in the work you will be doing. Take some time to find out what the mean and discuss them with your grown ups at home. This will help you when in school.

Light

Dark

Light source

Shadow

Reflect

Opaque

Translucent

Transparent

Shiny

Matt

Parliament

Guy Fawkes

Plot

Explosives

King James 1