Key Stage 2
Our Key Stage Two curriculum continues the progressive learning journey from Key Stage One, building strongly on the individual and collective foundations already established.
Our broad and balanced curriculum continues the theme of developing confident, independent learners by providing further opportunities for children to transfer and apply their core Literacy and Numeracy skills across the curriculum within a wider variety of areas.
Children benefit from a progressive, 21st Century primary approach, remaining with their Class Teacher for the majority of the school day, whilst experiencing a gradual increase in the use of specialist teachers and facilities as they progress through the Key Stage.
This is a significant additional benefit for children at this age as, on a national level, many pupils would not expect to experience such a wide range of specialist areas, resources and opportunity until they enter Secondary School.
Such early access to quality specialist resources, combined with our ‘through school’ approach to transition allows a more advanced development of pupils’ confidence and specialist skills, well in advance of their entry into Key Stage 3.
In year 5 we welcome an additional intake of children, joining us from several local lower schools. Our experience of planning and teaching a 4 year KS2 curriculum, coupled with the forging of extremely close relationships with our partner school (through B.C.U.S: the Biggleswade Community Union of Schools) ensures pupils ‘hit the ground running’ and experience a smooth transition whenever they join us.
Summer Term
Introduction to Computational Thinking:
The basics of algorithmic thinking including what algorithms are (abstraction, decomposition, debugging), along with computer programming to include coding and problem solving.
Music - Enjoying Improvisation:
Exploring melody through song, improvising with instruments.
Music - Opening Night:
Performance skills.
Art - Natural Materials - Rainforest Art:
Pupils will learn how to mix secondary colours, particularly greens, along with an understanding of the animals and birds that live in the rainforest. This will enable them to paint a rainforest in the style of Henri Rousseau.
Design Technology - Healthy Snacks:
The seasonality of fruit and veg, plus growing conditions linked to nutrients.
Know about portion size and storage.
Apply hygiene and safety to prepare healthy snacks.
Relationships:
Friendships, staying safe online, being a global citizen.
Changing Me:
What do babies need? Where do babies grow? What changes will happen to the inside of my body when I grow?
Reading:
Continue to explore a range of extracts from popular fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts to focus on vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval and summarising.
Writing:
The Wright Stuff - exploring poetry and media.
Rewriting ‘The Sound Collector’ by Roger McGough and turning ‘The Blue Umbrella’ short film into a story.
Spellings:
These will be sent out every two weeks.
Seasons, Classroom instructions, fruit and plurals.
There is also a novel study of the ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ but in French!
Mountains, Earthquakes and Volcanoes:
Pupils will appreciate the global significance and location of the world’s key mountains/ranges, volcanoes and where earthquakes have occurred.
Romans:
Pupils will learn about the Roman invasion of Britain, why it happened and what made the Romans successful.
The topic will conclude by exploring the impact that the invasion has had on Britain that we live in today.
Angles & Perpendicular Lines:
Use angles to explore turns and shapes.
Identify parallel and perpendicular lines.
Mass, Volumes & Mixed Units:
Exploring mass & capacity, reading scales and estimating, including solving problems.
Six & Eight Times Tables:
Securing multiplication and division.
Exploring Calculation Strategies & Place Value:
Mental strategies for add and subtract (doubling/rounding/adjusting/partitioning), multiply and divide, plus exploring 4-digit numbers.
Gymnastics:
Devise simple sequences and further develop basic skills, being introduced to new equipment.
Tag Rugby:
Develop handling and running skills, working effectively as a team.
Orienteering:
Teamwork, problem solving, map skills and instructions in a physically active manner.
Sports Hall Athletics:
Applying endurance, speed, techniques and skills in athletic tasks.
Football:
Explore control, possession, attack and rules.
Christianity:
Exploring the miracles of Jesus.
Sikhism:
How Sikhs live a good life.
Plants:
Identifying the functions of different parts of flowering plants.
Exploring the requirements of plants for life and growth, nutrients from soil, and how they vary from plant to plant.
Investigate how water is transported within plants.
Light:
Recognising that darkness is the absence of light and light is reflected from surfaces.
Recognising that light from the sun can be dangerous, with shadows forming when the light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object.
Summer Term
Introduction to Networks:
We will be taking a look at what networks are and how they work.
Pupils will also further their understanding of the Internet and the WWW.
Control Systems:
Pupils will build on their understanding of designing, writing and debugging programmes to achieve specific outcomes. Using the program Flowol, they will put this into practice by using physical simulations.
Music - Jazz:
Children will be focusing on the basics of a recorder, learning simple notes and putting them together in familiar songs.
They will continue with their work on Charanga, developing confidence with improvisation & performance.
Art - Picasso Portraits:
This is a project to introduce pupils to creating abstract portraits using different ideas and techniques. Then, making portrait collages using cubist abstract style, working with cardboard and colour.
Design Technology - Fabric - Mini Monsters:
Pupils develop their basic fabric and sewing skills by making two products. The first is a felt mini monster, mostly focusing on sewing. The second is a small wall hanging looking at different decorative techniques used in textiles.
Pupils will follow the same format in both products. They will design, develop and then evaluate the products made.
Relationships:
The roles and responsibilities within families and friendships, learning about emotions (e.g. jealousy) and memories we cherish in life.
Changing Me:
Identify links in genetics and characteristics, along with understanding developments of puberty.
Discuss responsibilities of parenthood and choice of having children.
Reading:
Continue to develop an understanding of how authors imply actions and feelings through word choice/vocabulary, summarising events.
Use reading skills, such as skimming and scanning to answer inference questions with speed and reference to text.
Writing:
Using 'The Write Stuff' strategies to learn about different writing genres.
We will also continue to focus on the key SPAG elements required to make our writing more appealing for our reader.
We will begin to look at objects around the classroom.
Children will also learn how to describe the weather and put it into practice by having verbal conversations with each other.
They explore other Francophone countries around the world.
Economic Activity:
In this unit, we will look at the following: land use (farming and distribution to factories etc.), economic activity, trade links and distribution of food, minerals and water.
World War II:
We will be learning about World War II, including the outbreak of war, evacuation, rationing, the role of women, the Holocaust and other key events of the time.
Solving Measure & Money Problems:
Convert and select units of measure.
Use trial and improvement strategies to investigate problems.
Work systematically to organise lists and tables.
Shape & Symmetry:
Classify, compare and order angles, 2-D shapes and lines of symmetry.
Position & Direction:
Use coordinates to describe and plot info, describing translations.
Reasoning With Patterns & Sequences:
Place value of other number systems, including Roman numerals up to 100.
Number sequences and patterns.
3D Shapes:
Use knowledge of 3D shapes.
Identify 3D shapes from 2D representations.
Athletics:
Develop a variety of movements with technique and skill.
Work collaboratively and individually to improve self.
Kwik Cricket & Rounders:
Develop stamina and endurance, applying skills in running, collaborative working/team work and strategies for batting and fielding.
Tennis:
Develop skills in batting, catching and sending balls, along with coordination and using equipment.
Hinduism:
Develop an understanding of how Sanatanis develop their relationship with God and work within society, leading to a good life. (Focus on drama & creativity).
Christianity:
Take a look at some of the rites (or Sacraments) that are performed in churches and investigate how and why Christians might worship in a church.
Sound:
In this unit, pupils will be taught how sounds are made and heard and how sound travels and can be changed.
Electricity:
During this unit, pupils will be taught how to construct a simple series circuit which incorporates the use of switches, conductors and insulators.
Summer Term
Children will continue to develop their knowledge of Excel.
In the second half of the term, they will look at hyperlinked presentations in PowerPoint for non-linear navigation.
Music - Identifying Musical Elements:
Read time signatures and explore rhythmic patterns.
Learn the ukulele; composing, improvising and performing.
Explore using instruments and voice.
Art:
Study the work of street artists, e.g. Banksy and Basquiat.
Use their experiences and knowledge of Street Art to inspire their own art in any form, taking inspiration from Basquiat or Banksy.
Design Technology – Fabric:
Use a sewing machine effectively and safely.
Design and make a personalised beanie hat, including a range of machine stitching, a hem and hand-sewn detail.
Food Tech:
Learn about food hygiene to wash up efficiently.
Prepare some basic foods, practise measuring, peeling and chopping.
What makes a healthy lunch box?
STEM:
Ergonomics (3D glasses) - children will use their measuring skills to create their own 3D glasses.
Relationships:
The importance of self-esteem and mental health in relation to online gaming and Social Media.
We will look at the dangers of being online.
Changing Me:
Learn more about puberty in both girls and boys, pupils will also understand that sexual intercourse can lead to conception. We will continue to look at body image and self-esteem.
Spelling & Handwriting:
Continue exploring KS2 spelling rules and a fluent joined style of writing.
Reading:
Comparing and using fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts to; make connections, sequence and recall, retrieve information and implied meaning, further develop scanning and skimming speed and fluency.
Using evidence from texts to support our ideas.
Writing:
Two week focus on spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Book study of 'The Longest Night of Charlie Noon' by Christopher Edge.
Narrative writing based on the picture book 'Journey' by Aaron Becker, creating narratives for the book.
Writing letters to our teachers to enquire about Year 6, showcasing what we have learnt.
Family, Pets & Describing Yourself:
Explore spoken French phrases, answer simple questions, understand and read familiar written phrases and write phrases to describe themselves.
Natural Resources:
Why we need natural resources to produce power.
We will look at a range of natural resources including renewable and non-renewable.
Crime & Punishment:
Crime and punishment across time periods - Anglo-Saxons to present day.
Comparing different time periods and societies, using different sources to organise information and exploring key historical figures.
Calculate With Whole Numbers & Decimals:
Use all four operations to solve measuring problems with decimal notation and scaling.
Solve problems with numbers to three decimal places.
Use written methods to multiply two numbers.
Multiply and divide whole numbers and those with decimals by 10, 100 & 1000.
2D & 3D Shapes:
Know ‘regular’ refers to shapes with equal sides.
Know the properties of common 2D shapes (including angle sizes and lengths) and 3D shapes, including 2D shapes as faces of 3D shapes.
Volume:
Know ‘volume’ is measured in cubed cm (m, km etc.) and involves multiplication.
Know ‘capacity’ is the total amount something can hold, recognise and use cube numbers and the notation.
Athletics:
Activities to develop confidence and expertise, providing opportunity to develop resilience and a commitment to improve.
Kwik Cricket & Rounders:
Play in a competitive game, identifying improvements.
Know and follow rules.
Select and combine skills and techniques in batting and fielding.
Tennis:
Develop skills needed to serve and return a shot in a game.
Sikhism:
Exploring how far a Sikh would go for their religion followed by a unit on how sacred teachings and stories are interpreted by Sikhs today.
Earth & Space:
Describe the Sun, Earth and Moon as approximately spherical bodies, the movement of the Earth and planets, as well as the movement of the Moon relative to the Earth.
Use the idea of the Earth’s rotation to explain day and night.
Living Things & Their Habitats:
Describe the life process of reproduction in some plants and animals, the differences in the life cycles of a mammal, an amphibian, an insect and a bird.
Understand that not all mammals have the same life cycle.
Compare the process of metamorphosis in amphibians and insects.
Know the importance of documenting living things and their decline.
Summer Term
Text Programming:
Pupils will be using Microsoft Small Basic to program.
They will be coding inputs and outputs and constructing different programs.
Models:
Pupils will be using SketchUp to create different models in 2D and 3D formats.
Music:
Learn musical notes on a keyboard, practising tunes.
Improvise with confidence and apply performance skills.
Art - Comic Books:
Create and draw their own protagonist and/or antagonist, bringing them to life in their own unique comic book page.
Delve into the history and core elements of comics and animated illustrations throughout history.
Design Technology – Fabric:
Make a small bag to showcase sewing machine skills and hand embellish (include a fastener).
STEM - Rocket & Rocket Science:
Pupils look into all the parts of a rocket, how they fly and then create their own through a range of different practical elements and test processes.
Food Tech:
Understand a balanced diet and how to improve diets.
Use vegetable knives to learn basic skills and cutting techniques.
Make savoury and sweet recipes using the ‘rub in’ method.
Relationships:
We will be looking at mental health and how to take care of our own mental well-being.
We will talk about the cycle of grief and the different causes of grief or loss.
We will talk about people who can try to control us or have power over us.
We look at online safety, learning to judge if something is safe and helpful.
We learn how to communicate in a positive and safe way online.
We also look at changes in the body during puberty and how this affects our relationships.
Reading:
In April/May, we will be preparing for SATs.
After this, we will be studying the novels Skellig and Kensuke’s Kingdom.
Writing:
In the first half term, we will be studying the novel Skellig, which will include writing a dialogue and a biography of Charles Darwin.
After half term, we will be writing a story inspired by the short film, ‘Road’s End’.
We will also be creating non-chronological reports linked to the planet Pandora.
Spelling & Handwriting:
We will be focusing on spelling plurals and the year 5/6 common exception words.
In Town and at the Cafe:
Conclude learning of places in a town, developing further by giving opinions.
Second half term learn new vocab linked to French cafés, including food and drink.
The Galápagos Islands:
Pupils will be learning about the Galápagos Islands and their unique features.
They will be learning about volcanic land formations and how eco-tourism is helping to protect fragile ecosystems around the world.
The Tudors:
Pupils will be learning about how power changed throughout the Tudor monarchs.
They will be using sources of evidence to consider contrasting arguments and interpretations of each of the Tudor monarchs and consider the implications on this period of time as well as modern life.
In preparation for their SATs, pupils will be revising all of the units covered within Key Stage 2.
This will start with formal written methods of the four operations.
Pupils will be exploring shape and measurement, revising algebra, ratio and proportion and practising converting and finding the equivalents for fractions, decimals and percentages.
After SATs, pupils will be completing projects that use their arithmetic and problem solving skills.
Our final half term will involve preparing pupils for their transition into secondary school, ensuring pupils feel confident with all areas of the KS2 maths curriculum.
Athletics:
Activities to develop confidence and expertise, providing opportunity to develop resilience and a commitment to improve.
Kwik Cricket & Rounders:
Work collaboratively to apply defence and attack tactics.
Compare and improve performance.
Develop fluency in running, throwing and catching skills and technique.
Tennis:
Play in singles and doubles games, developing skills in serving and a variety of shots.
Islam:
Pupils will be learning about the main beliefs of Muslims, how these compare to other religions and how Muslims live a good life.
Evolution & Inheritance:
Pupils will be learning about evolution and inheritance.
They will investigate how evolution and natural selection has affected animals and plants over millions of years and how fossils prove the existence of this theory.
Looking After Our Environment:
Pupils will be learning about looking after our environment.
They will learn about climate change and how this affects the world around us.