Topic Overview
Castles
Key Question?
What if the Normans never invaded England?
At Archibald First School, we believe that learning comes alive when children can connect their studies to the world around them. This term, our whole-school curriculum focus is “History on Our Doorstep” — an exciting exploration of the rich historical tapestry that has shaped the North East of England. Children will engage with the people, places and events that have influenced our region, experiencing history in meaningful, tangible ways. Through immersive activities and local connections, they will see, feel and reflect on the past that surrounds them. As they journey through this topic, pupils will develop key historical skills through our core concepts: understanding chronology and change, exploring cause and consequence, evaluating historical significance, and using evidence to build interpretations. This approach not only deepens their knowledge of the past, but also empowers them to think critically and see themselves as young historians.
History
This half term, we will be historians and learn all about the Norman Invasion and how it impacted our lives today. We will bring our learning to life by acting out significant events like the Battle of Hastings and realising how and why these events changed the country we live in today.
We will explore how castles have changed and this will help us to understand chronology and change over time. With our main focus as cause and consequence, we will build the skills to answer our enquiry question, ‘What if the Normans never invaded England?’
We will visit Newcastle Castle Keep on Thursday 20th November to gain an insight into life within a castle and find out more about how and when it was built and the impact it has had on our city!
Key Vocabulary:
- castle
- conquer
- invasion
- defend
English
We will have a focus on independent writing this half term. We will encourage all children to continue to be brave, use their phonics and punctuation taught so far.
We will write in different forms this half term; writing poems, retelling Rapunzel, writing labels and captions and writing a recount of our trip to Newcastle Castle.
Please continue to read daily. We encourage the reading of any books at home, as well as our Little Wandle books. When reading with your child, please try to discuss what has happened and how characters are feeling. It would be great if you could predict what may happen and encourage expression.
Thank you for your support!
Key Vocabulary:
- Full Stop
- Capital Letter
- Finger space
Phonics
Phonics continues to be taught daily in Year 1. At school we use the Little Wandle program and there is a great part of the website just for parents/carers: https://www.littlewandle.org.uk/resources/for-parents/ Take a look at the following resources:
Maths
We will look at addition and subtraction this half term, working practically and using part-whole and bar models. We will look at fact families and the relationship between digits.
This half term the children will consolidate the place value of numbers. We will work together to sort, represent and count numbers, before partitioning numbers into tens and ones.
Children will develop their understanding of the place value of two-digit numbers, for example, the 2 in 23 means 20 and not simply 2! We will continue to practise recording digits correctly. What creative ways can you do this at home?
In shape, space and measure we will look at length and height; comparing objects and using non-standard units of measurement.
Websites:
- Log onto Numberbots - your log in has been sent home
Key Vocabulary:
- addition, add, plus
- subtraction, takeaway, minus
- Tens
- Ones
Science
We will focus this half term on materials and their properties. The children will conduct experiments to test if materials are waterproof and begin to look at why. We will also conduct a series of Christmas themed experiments by observing and fair testing.
As we move from Autumn to Winter, we will observe changes in the weather, how day length varies and link to the Earth’s movement in space. We will gather data and observe changes to help our understanding of this.
Key Vocabulary:
- waterproof
- rigid
- absorbent
- dull
- rough
Computing
This half term the children will develop their coding skills by programming the BeeBots. They will plan a simple set of instructions for the BeeBots to follow and tinker with them to ensure they work correctly. We will also have a visit from GEM education to develop our understanding of programmable resources further.
Art and Design Technology
Each half term the children will have a week dedicated to art and/or DT. During art week, we will collapse the curriculum and deliver a full arts week.
Art: This half term we will look at the work of various artists and explore their use of shape and colour. Using primary colours, the children will mix secondary colours and apply this to their finished piece which will be inspired by Jasper Johns.
Design Technology:In DT we will prepare our very own smoothies. Leading up to this, we will explore a variety of fruits and vegetables including classifying them, looking at where they grow, which part of the plant we eat and what they taste like. We will practise our cutting and juicing skills and look at which flavours work together before designing our own smoothie.
PE
This half term, the children will be working on their gymnastics skills focussing on their balance and agility. They will travel in different ways; making shapes, jumps and rolls with increasing control. We will look at the children’s understanding of the benefits of exercise and a healthy lifestyle.
They will continue to visit Forest School and take part in weekly forest fun sessions. As the weather changes, please ensure children have warm coats and wellies.
PSHE and Religious Education
PSHE
Our big questions this half term are:
- How can I keep safe?
- How can I show good manners?
We will consider what it means to keep something private, including parts of the body that are private. To do this, we will identify different types of touch and how they make people feel. We will think about permission, and how to respond if being touched makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe. We will also think about how different behaviours can make people feel and think about ways to be polite and respectful.
Religious Education
The children will think about how Christians express their sense of belonging.
We will be focusing on celebrations through our exploration of both Christmas and Hannukah.
Our Values
Please Instagram us @archibald_1st if you see your child being #AFSCurious #AFSCaring #AFSCreative or #AFSCourageous
If you would like any further details about this half term's curriculum, please speak to your child's teacher.