Cycle A

In the Through the Ages project, your child will learn about three different periods of British prehistory: the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. They will discover terminology relating to time and sequence dates to make a timeline. They explore the changes to people, homes and lifestyle throughout the different periods and investigate examples of prehistoric settlements, monuments, burials and artefacts in detail. They will also study how technology improved over time, including how the discovery of different metals changed the way that people lived.

In the Rocks, Relics and Rumbles project, your child will learn about the different layers of the Earth, including plate tectonics and their potential effects on the Earth's surface. They will investigate different types of rock to learn about their uses and properties. They will also investigate soil and fossils, including learning about the work of Mary Anning. They will have the opportunity to use maps to learn about the lines of latitude and longitude and a compass to learn about the cardinal and intercardinal points. They will also learn about volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis and the long and short-term consequences that these can have.

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.

Cycle B

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.

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.

In the Emperors and Empires project, your child will learn about the growth and decline of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. They will discover the absolute power of the Roman emperors and study the hierarchies of Roman society and the Roman army. They will study the first invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC and the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43. They will learn about Boudicca’s rebellion, Hadrian’s Wall and the Romanisation of Britain, including how Christianity came to Britain and investigate the legacy of Roman Britain in their local area.