History curriculum  

“One acid test for a curriculum is whether it enables even lower-attaining or disadvantaged pupils to clamber into the discourse and practices of educated people, so that they gain the powers of the powerful”– Christine Counsell 

Term 1 

Term 2 

Term 3 

Term 4 

Term 5 

Term 6 

Year 1 

Children learn about significant people through oral storytelling and the books read aloud to them.  Examples given in the national curriculum: Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong, William Caxton and Tim Berners-Lee, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and LS Lowry, Rosa Parks, Emily Davison, Mary Seacole, Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell.  Other significant people include but are not limited to Hatshepsut, Boudicca, Charlemagne, Alfred the Great, Mansa Musa, Guy Fawkes 

Using common words and phrases about the passage of time in everyday contexts 

Technology today and in the past. 

Stories about Queen Elizabeth II: her childhood, living through the war, her coronation 

King Charles III: our monarch, comparing his coronation with that of Queen Elizabeth II 

Stories about the distant past  

Aethelfrlaed, Lady of Mercia (England)  

Robert the Bruce (Scotland)  

St Patrick (Ireland)  

Owain Glyndwr (Wales)   

Using photographs to understand our recent, local past.    

Ships and seafarers through time  

The recent past through communities and families 

Year 2 

Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale  

What impact did Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale have on nursing? 

Seafaring over time 

How has seafaring changed over time and why?  

Stone Age  

Year 3 

Ancient Egypt 

How much did Ancient Egypt change over time? 

Cradles of Civilisation How similar and how different were Ancient Egypt and Ancient Sumer? 

The Indus Valley 

How do we know about the Indus Valley civilisation? 

Persia and Greece 

What did Greek city-states have in common?  

Ancient Greece 

What can historians learn from the sources from Ancient Greece?   

Alexander the Great 

How did Alexander the Great conquer so much land?  

Year 4 

 The Roman Republic 

How much power did the senate have in the Roman Republic? 

 The Roman Empire 

What can sources reveal about Roman ways of life? 

 Roman Britain 

What kinds of knowledge about Roman Britain have historian been able to build from the sources?

Christianity in three empires (300-600CE) 

What made each Christian state special? 

 Islamic Civilisations 1: Arabia and early Islam 

What kind of change did Muhammad bring about in Arabia? 

 Islamic Civilisations 2: Cordoba – city of light 

How did worlds come together in Muslim Cordoba? 

Year 5 

Islamic Civilisations 3 

Why were there so many restless minds in Cordoba and in Baghdad? 

Anglo-Saxon Britain 

How have historian learned about Anglo-Saxon Britain? 

Vikings in Britain 1: Lady of Mercians 

How did the Vikings change England? 

Norse Culture 

What connections and similarities did the Norse peoples have with other peoples? 

Vikings in Britain 2: Changing Rulers, Changing Worlds 

How did Angles, Saxons and Vikings shape England and Scotland? 

Local history study 

Year 6 

The Maya 

How do historian know about the Maya? 

Medieval African kingdoms 

How similar and how different were medieval Ethiopia and Benin? 

Cities through time 1: Shock cities (The story of 19th century industrial Manchester) 

What can one man’s story reveal about a city? 

Cities through time 2 

What do cities over time seem to have in common?  

Britain in the era of the Second World War 

Local history study 

Geography Curriculum  

“One acid test for a curriculum is whether it enables even lower-attaining or disadvantaged pupils to clamber into the discourse and practices of educated people, so that they gain the powers of the powerful”– Christine Counsell 

Term 1 

Term 2 

Term 3 

Term 4 

Term 5 

Term 6 

Year 1 

Daily weather patterns and seasonal changes 

Describing and mapping, comparing and contrasting the world around us 

Field trip to Uphill 

The United Kingdom and its four countries  

Our world: the seven continents 

Following maps 

Describing and contrasting a coastal town with a city. 

Field trips to Weston-super-Mare seafront and Bristol. 

Learning  simple compass directions and locational/directional language 

Mapping the school’s locaility 

Working hard  

Year 2 

Jamaica 

How is life different in Jamaica? 

North and South Pole 

What is it like at the North and South Poles? 

Hot Climates 

Where are the hot climates in the world and what are they like? 

Year 3 

River 

How do rivers, people and land affect each other? 

Mountains 

How do mountains and people affect each other? 

Settlements 

How are settlements similar and different? 

Agriculture 

How are we connected to farmers? 

Volcanoes 

How do volcanoes affect a place? 

Climate and Biomes 

How does the climate affect the way people live? 

Year 4 

Rhine & Mediterranean 

How are different parts of the Rhone and Mediterranean used by people? 

 Population 

How and why does population distribution vary across Britain? 

Coastal processes and landforms 

How does the location of west Wales affect its coast? 

Tourism 

How do tourists interact with a place? 

Earthquakes 

How do earthquakes affect people and environments? 

Deserts 

Why are deserts located where they are? 

Year 5 

Why is California so thirsty? 

How have the actions of people affected the drought in California? 

Oceans 

How can oceans affect human behaviour and settlements? 

Migration 

Why do people migrate? 

North and South America 

What are the pros and cons of living in a megacity? 

The Amazon 

In what ways does the geography of South America affect life in the Amazon? 

Interconnected Amazon 

How does agriculture in the Amazon interact with other parts of the world?  

Year 6 

Energy and climate change 

How do local actions in the UK affect global climate? 

Ethiopia 

How do global changes affect local places in Ethiopia? 

Changing Birmingham 

How did Birmingham change between  1750 and the present day? 

Jamaica 

What is a preferable future for Jamaica’s tourist industry? 

Local area enquiry 

How geographers investigate a place? 

Local area enquiry 

How geographers investigate a place? 

Religion and Worldviews Curriculum  

“One acid test for a curriculum is whether it enables even lower-attaining or disadvantaged pupils to clamber into the discourse and practices of educated people, so that they gain the powers of the powerful”– Christine Counsell 

Term 1 

Term 2 

Term 3 

Term 4 

Term 5 

Term 6 

Year 1 

Cycle B 

Christianity  

What did Jesus teach? Is it possible to be kind to everyone all the time? 

Christanity  

Why do christians believe God gave Jesus to the world? 

Islam 

Does prayer at regular intervals help a Muslim in his/her everyday life?  

Christianity  

How important is it to Christians that Jesus came back to life after his crucification? 

Islam  

Does going to a mosque give Muslims a sense of belonging? 

Islam 

Does completing Hajj make a person a better Muslim? 

Year 2 

Christianity  

What did Jesus teach? Is it possible to be kind to everyone all the time? 

Christanity  

Why do christians believe God gave Jesus to the world? 

Islam 

Does prayer at regular intervals help a Muslim in his/her everyday life?  

Christianity  

How important is it to Christians that Jesus came back to life after his crucification? 

Islam  

Does going to a mosque give Muslims a sense of belonging? 

Islam 

Does completing Hajj make a person a better Muslim? 

Year 3 

Hinduism 1: A Hindu Story – Rama and Sita 

What does the story of Rama and Sita mean to Hindu peoples? 

Hinduism 2: More Hindu Stories 

What do Hindus learn from Vishnu’s stories and symbols? 

Hinduism 3: Living Hindu Traditions 

How do Hindus show their devotion? 

Judaism 1: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob 

Why is the Promised Land so important in Judaism? 

Judaism 2: Joseph, Moses and the Exodus 

Why do Jews celebrate the festival of Passover? 

Judaism 3: The Kings, The Temple and Living as a Jew 

How do Jews today show the importance of the Jewish Temple and the kingdom of Israel? 

Year 4 

Christianity 1: The family of Jesus 

Why is the idea of ‘Messiah’ so important to Christians? 

Christianity 2: the birth of Jesus 

How do Christians express their beliefs about Jesus at Christmas time? 

Christianity 3: Life and teachings of Jesus 

How does the life and teaching of Jesus affect the way in which Christians live? 

Christianity 4: The death and resurrection of Jesus 

What do the death and resurrection of Jesus mean in Christian traditions 

 Christianity 5: The message of Jesus spreads 

How did Christianity develop in the early Church and how do we know? 

 Islam 1: Ramadan 

What does Ramadan ean to Muslims today? 

Year 5 

Islam 2: Stories of the prophets 

What do muslims learn from their stories? 

Islam 3: Living Muslim traditions 

What lies behind the traditions of hajj? 

Christianity 6: Christian traditions and practices 

How are Chritian beliefs and practices around the world similar and different? 

Christianity 7: Christian sites and spaces  

including visit to local church 

Buddhism 1: The pronce who became the Buddha 

How dies the life and teaching of Siddartha Gotama affect the way in which Buddhists live? 

Buddhism 2: Buddhist stories and teachings 

What do Buddhist stories teach Buddhists about enlightenment? 

Year 6 

Sikhism 1: The teaching of the gurus 

How do Sikhs use their stories and sayings in their everyday lives? 

Sikhism 2: Living Sikh provisions 

How do Sikh traditions show Sikh beliefs? 

Holy spaces and places  

A study of a religious site: One site from any other world religion 

Stories which point to truth  

What can we learn from Aesop’s fables about living a moral life? 

Reason and Revelation  

What questions have people asked about what we can and cannot know? 

Christianity 8: Christians create – two worlds of art and music 

How has art expressed belief?