Integrated Curriculum

Integrated curriculum (History, Geography, Art & Design Technology)

Throughout the school children follow a different integrated curriculum topic each half term.
In Early Years children follow ten topics in Nursery and six half termly topics in Reception, (see table below for details).  The topics are chosen to compliment the requirements of the foundation stage curriculum and Early Learning Goals, whilst also reflecting the calender and church seasons.  Each topic allows the children to engage in activities in the seven key areas of learning and experience a wide range of themes throughout the year.

In Key Stages 1 and 2 these topics are either History or Geography centred and will also include an Art or Design Technology (DT) project.  See individual tables below

History

History projects are all designed to develop the generic skills of chronology and organising and presenting knowledge and understanding. Each topic then also focuses on one of three key historical skills:

1. Historical enquiry - using a different range of sources of primary and secondary evidence to find out about the past.
2. Looking at important historical events and understanding the lives of men and women and children from different periods in time. 
3. Understanding how things have changed and the reasons for and results of these changes.

The curriculum is further enhanced through visits to Museums and in-school, hands on, workshops.

 

Year 1   2 3 4 5 6

Autumn Ourselves Chronology-  using their own lives and families Events –Story of Bonfire Night Great Fire of London  Historical Enquiry – how do we know what happened by looking at different sources of evidence such as the diary of Samuel Pepys.  Romans Events and People – how the Romans invade Britain and what effect it had on the country including a visit to Verulanium Museum in St Albans. Tudors  Historical Enquiry – finding out about Henry V111 and life in Tudor times using a range of sources including a visit to Hampton Court. Ancient Greeks  Events and People – learning about the main features of Ancient Greek Culture and events such as the Battle of Marathon, including an Ufton Court workshop. Victorians  Change /People – focusing on the lives of working children and how they changed as a result of social reformers, including an Ufton Court workshop.

Spring Toys  Chronology/ enquiry – putting toys in order and knowing how we find out what life was like in the past People - Stories about famous Britons Canals Changes – what life is like on the canals and how their use has changed over time. Anglo Saxons and Vikings  Change – finding out how life changed in Britain with the invasion of the Anglo Saxons and Vikings including an Ufton Court workshop. World War 2 Events and People – learning how the events of WW2 had an impact on ordinary people, especially children, including an Ufton Court workshop and a visit to RAF Uxbridge Battle of Britain bunker. 1960s  Change – looking at how life changed after WW2, up to and including the 1960’s. British Explorers Events and People/Historical enquiry – children combine the skills developed throughout Key Stage 2 to carry out an independent project on the life and impact of a famous British Explorer of their choice.

Summer Famous People Events and People –learning about Florence Nightingale and her importance. Castles/Norman Conquest Events and People- looking at the impact of the Norman conquest Ancient Egypt Historical Enquiry – finding out about life in Ancient Egypt using a range of sources. Mayans  Change – studying Mayan culture and how it disappeared with the invasion of the Europeans. Local History  Historical enquiry – finding out about West Drayton’s past using a local area history walk, photographs, maps, census details and the internet. Stone Age To Iron Age Change / historical enquiry – learning about the major changes in life during this large timeframe and discovering how we know about what life was like.

Geography

All Geography projects are designed to develop maps skills, geographical vocabulary enquiry skills, including fieldwork, and then each topic focuses on one of three key geographical skills:

1. Having an understanding of places - where they are, what they are like and how they relate to each other.
2. Understanding physical and human patterns and processes such as weather and transport.
3. Sustainability - looking at how humans damage and seek to improve the environment.

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6

Autumn Our School Places / Sustainability – learning about our school and how we should look after it, including fieldwork opportunities around the school Antarctica Places – learning about the key features of the polar region using a range of resources. Extreme Climates Places – focusing on the differences between the physical and human features of desert and polar regions River Thames Places /Sustainability – what is the River Thames like and what is being done to keep it clean. Power of Nature Patterns and Processes – understanding the processes and reasons behind extreme events like earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis United Kingdom Places – learning more about the UK and focusing on map skills and learning about physical and human features

Spring United Kingdom Places / Skills – learning about the characteristics of the four regions of the UK while developing map skills. Weather Patterns and processes- looking at the seasonal differences of weather in the UK and carrying out weather surveys at home and school Rainforests Sustainability – investigating rainforests and what can and is being done to protect them. Transport Patterns and processes – understanding different forms of transport and how they help us connect with other locations, including the opportunity to carry out a traffic survey. Going Green Sustainability- understanding how we impact on the environment and how we also seek to improve it through initiatives such as renewable energy and recycling, including fieldwork around the school. Extreme Weather Patterns and processes- looking at the processes behind extreme weather such as hurricanes, tornadoes and blizzards.

Summer Kenya Places / Skills – learning about Kenya comparing it to the UK using a variety of geography skills. Our Local Environment  Sustainability – going out into the local area and looking for opportunities to improve it, especially in regards to traffic. India Patterns and processes – understanding why this vast country varies so much in climates and lifestyles Brazil/Faritrade Sustainability / Places – understanding the key features of the country and how fair-trade is part of building a more sustainable future. Down Under Places – learning about the physical and human features of Australia and New Zealand The European Union Places – looking at the development of the European Union and the features of some of the countries within it.

Art

Across the Key Stages, Art projects are planned so that children experience and develop skills in a range of media; drawing, painting, collage, digital art, printing and three-dimensional work. Whilst using these media children will also think about the key ideas of colour, pattern, texture, line and form.

Each project follows a simple process;

1. Researching the work of artists working in different times and cultures.
2. Learning and practising new skills related to the media being used.
3. Producing a piece of work.
4. Evaluating Outcomes.

Year 1 ​ 2 3 4 5 6

Autumn Drawing/Painting Portraits -experimenting with different media and paint whilst looking at shapes and looking at the work of Picasso Drawing Bonfire picture- Tone – light and dark Collage Christmas decorations – choosing shiny and reflective material Drawing/Collage Great Fire of London pictures Experimenting with colour mixing,media, lines and marks. Painting Extreme Landscapes pictures - Colour mixing and  painting techniques including learning about tints and tones Collage Tudor Portraits – investigating texture of different materials to recreate famous Tudor portraits by Holbein. 3D Clay Greek Pots – building on Year 2 work to create more sophisticated and accomplished clay pots with a focus on form and pattern. Painting/Drawing Landscape watercolour paintings- developing knowledge of  primary and secondary colours whilst also learning about perspective and composition

Spring Weaving Tartan – weaving different materials such as ribbon and paper inspired by Scottish and Irish tartan ​ 3D Pots Papier Mache pots - Making pots and painting them in the style of canal art Drawing Rainforest pictures –looking at work of Henri Rousseau and using colour pencils to experiment with tone and  shape Digital Media WW2 Propaganda Posters – using more advanced IT skills to combine text and graphics Printing Digital Media Andy Warhol portraits – using screen printing and digital photography programme to recreate work in style of Andy Warhol 3D Mod Roc and Wire  British Explorer sculpture – using wire and mod roc to create a sculpture pertinent to a Famous Briton.

Summer Printing African Patterns – simple basics of block printing to create African inspired repeated deigns. Painting Creating heraldic shields and building on paining skills taught in previous years Printing Indian printing – investigating pattern and line through repeated patterns using Lino Printing 3D Clay Clay Mayan Gods – using clay to form small models. Painting/Drawing Aboriginal art – looking at the pattern, line and colour of Aboriginal dot paintings Collage Famous European artists – recreating paintings by famous European Artists using carefully chosen materials.

Design Technology

In Key Stages 1 and 2, DT projects are planned so that children develop a number of skills using a range of media; food, textiles and sheet materials. Children may also be involved in designing procedures such as safety instructions.

These projects also follow a simple procedure:
Investigating products similar to the design brief.
Creating working, realistic plans.
Producing a product.
Testing and evaluating the product against the design brief.

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6

Autumn  Design Process Christmas decorations – an introduction to the design process through making a Christmas decoration linked to work in Science on light and dark Textiles Antarctic patch - Create a name patch/tag for a polar explorer using different materials and simple running stitch. Textiles A Roman purse – use different sewing stitches to design and make a purse use only materials the Romans would have had available to them. Sheet Materials Boats – design and make a model of boat suitable for a journey down the River Thames, ensuring joins are secure and water resistant. Process Emergency bag and plan – on paper design an emergency bag suitable for the aftermath of a natural disaster and make a plan for your family to follow in an event such as a fire. Mechanisms Moving Toys – learn about Victorian moving toys and use a simple mechanism to design and build own toy.

Spring Construction Vehicles – use kits to make simple wheeled vehicles Food Technology Fruit Salad – design and make fruit salad using ingredients that grow in countries whose weather they have been learning about.  Food Technology Bread – design and make bread a staple food in Anglo Saxon and Viking times. Construction  K’nex transport – design and build a model vehicle using K’nex construction materials Sheet Materials Eco-house -Design and make a model of an eco house using a range of materials and sophisticated joining techniques. No DT project due to Passion Play and SATs preparation.

Summer Mechanisms Moving picture Book – children create a simple page for a moving picture book as a way of learning about simple movement. Sheet Materials Castles – design and build a castle using card and join securely using different techniques. Mechanisms Levers – investigating how the Ancient Egyptians used different mechanisms such as levers and understanding how these work. Food Technology Fair-trade cakes – design and make cakes using only fair-trade foods available in the supermarket.  Computer Aided Design House of the future – use a simple CAD programme to design a house of the future linked to work on changes over time in the local area. Food Technology European meal – design and make a healthy dish inspired by the foods typical of a European Country.