Medium Term Topic Planning

Medium Term Topic Planning – Autumn Term
Explorers
Where’s my perfect home?
12 weeks
Year group (s) – 1 and 2 / Date: Autumn Term / Teacher(s):EC/VG/HS/CB/DT
Geography:
·  Name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans
·  Name, locate and identify characteristics of the 4 countries and capital cities of the UK and surrounding seas
·  Similarities and differences of a small area in a contrasting non-European country (Rainforest-Australia)
·  Location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the equator and the North and South poles
·  Use basic geographical vocabulary
·  Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify countries continents and oceans
·  Use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West)
·  Describe the location of features and routes on a map
·  Use aerial photographs to recognise physical and human features
·  Devise a simple map with symbols in a key
History:
·  The lives of significant individuals in the past (Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong)
Design and Technology: Cooking and Nutrition
·  Use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes
·  Understand where food comes from.
Music:
·  Use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
·  Played tuned and unturned instruments musically
·  Listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high quality live and recorded music
·  Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds
Computing:
·  E-safety
·  Online
Aim/Final Activity:
Outcome: / ‘Share their work afternoon’ invite parents to come into class at the end of the day and complete ‘Kahoot’ quiz. They look at the children’s own suitcases and vote where they think the meerkat should live.
Minor Focus (from NC) / ·  COMPUTING – Multimedia and E-safety
·  RE – What do people say about God? – How and why are some stories about God special/sacred and important in religion?
·  PE- Gymnastics and Games (Real PE)
·  Science – How can Sunny get from one area to another? Which material is best for Sunny’s glasses? Which material is the best for Sunny’s boat?
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES (CAN BE COMPLETED IN ANY ORDER)
WOW!
Children to receive an invitation from a Meerkat asking them to come and rescue him from the zoo because he is not happy living there. / Enquiry Where do we live?
Directed Activity
Where do they live in the UK – locate on map and start to locate UK capital cities.
Introduce the areas of the classroom. Find the challenge signs. Model what to do in each area and how to tick off when they have completed each area.
Directed Instruction
Use play dough and UK maps to explore outline of the UK – label using matchstick flags.
Self Initiated
Construction and Creative area – Build or paint their house.
Writing area – Write their address on an envelope/ luggage label.
Outside – Den Building – build their house
Y1 Introduce design sheets
Beebots around the UK map. / Trip to Blackpool zoo –follow map around zoo to find meerkats and mark where the animals are from on a world map. Take photographs showing what they can see N,S,E,W as part of field work.
Read text BUT DON’T read final pages where Sunny realises there’s no place like home!!!!
Enquiry What is the world?
Directed Activity
Label continents and oceans
Write a recount of school trip to zoo (cross curricular writing) Create a tourist leaflet/ picture map of what they saw.
Y1 list the animals/write picture captions for a class diary.
Directed Instruction
Play dough World map exploration
Draw the world on a balloon – photograph evidence and write observational notes. Papier mache balloon and mark equator.
Y1 draw a picture map/make a jigsaw
Self Initiated
Access to globes and maps.
Spinner game.
Continent snap.
On Monday pm children receive a letter from an animal asking them to come and rescue them from the zoo! It states he’s packed a suitcase and they have to find him.
Enquiry Can we help Sunny? (Follow up from zoo) (Art week)
FIELD WORK – Produce squares showing compass points/emotions etc.
Directed Activity
Look at map from the zoo with differentiated co-ordinates and find where specific animals are, using the key. Discuss the route we took.
Directed Instruction
Make suitcases for Sunny’s adventures. Make a list of items that Sunny will need to take with him on his adventure around the world
Self-Initiated
Writing Area – Make a passport / Enquiry Could Sunny live in Europe?
Directed Activity Could Sunny live in Europe? (Spain/Portugal)
Locate on map and add to balloon world. Produce a fact file under the headings – weather, location, food and animals (did they see any animals in the zoo from Europe?)
Y1 cut up pictures of Europe and write captions
Directed Instruction
Produce an item to put in Sunny’s case that he would need to survive living in Europe.
Self-Initiated – Ask questions on the ‘Grafiti Wall’ to find out answers.
Enquiry Could Sunny live in Africa?
Directed Activity
Where is Africa – can we locate Madagascar?
Research facts about Madagascar
Directed Instruction
Produce an item to put in Sunny’s case that he would need to survive living in Madagascar
Y1 write a list of animals and features. Sort pictures of Locking Stumps with photos from Africa and label them
Self-Initiated – Passports from around the world. / Enquiry Could Sunny explore North America with Christopher Columbus? Compare with Ellen MacArthur (what difference do computers make?)
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/famouspeople/christopher_columbus
Directed Activity Who is Christopher Columbus?
What did he explore? Where did he set sail from (Portugal funded it)
Start a timeline of explorers to mark Christopher Columbus’ voyage with an explanation. Was he a hero or a rubbish sailor? Conscience alley- gather evidence.
Y1 make a picture map of the story/ design a fact ship.
Directed Instruction
Using a map can you plot the route Christopher Columbus took on one of his voyagers and give directions using compass points.
Y1 what is the best material for Sunny’s boat
Self-Initiated – Creative Area and Water area – Make and sail boats
Enquiry Could Sunny live in South America?
Directed Activity Where is the Amazon rainforest? (Brazil)
Read ‘The Great Kapok Tree’ / Year 1 design a fact poster
Directed Instruction
Produce similarities and differences of a Rainforest and Madagascar.
Y1 compare photos and write captions. Compose rainforest music
Self-Initiated – Rio art. / Enquiry Could Sunny live in Asia?
Directed Activity
Where is India?
What food would Sunny eat if he lived in India. Prepare and make a chicken curry (speak to Donna- budget)
Locate Mount Everest and plot the route that Sir Edmund took.
Y1 sari patterns listen to music make Indian snacks
Directed Instruction
Physical and Human features of India – mark features on a map using P/H.
Self-Initiated
Look at aerial photographs – can they guess which continent?
Enquiry Could Sunny live in Australasia?
Directed Activity Where is Australasia? – Where the Rainforest meets the sea text. (can we locate New Zealand?)
What is the best material for Sunny’s sunglasses?
Directed Instruction
Write a postcard from Australia explaining what the country is like- compare to UK.
Self-Initiated – Video clips from Europe/ Australia – what do they notice? / Enquiry Could Sunny live in Antarctica with Shackleton/Scott?
Directed Activity
North and South pole – what is it like to live in cold place?
Y1 make a 3d map How can Sunny get from one area to another?
Directed Instruction
Compare the Antarctic with the Rainforest. Y1 artwork.
Self-Initiated – A day in the life of an explorer through Antarctica.
Enquiry Could Sunny live in Space with Neil Armstrong?
Directed Activity
What is Space? Look at Google Earth and get perspective of continents from space.
Who is Neil Armstrong? Research and produce a fact sheet to present back to the class.
Y1 research rockets and simple sentences to go with pictures
Neil Armstrong timeline/ write questions for Neil Armstrong and act out the story
Compare with Tim Peake and look specifically at clothes/food/use of computers.
Directed Instruction
Draw and Label the Planets.
In the creative area make their own planet what features would it have?
Produce a Neil Armstrong fact sheet
Moon Landing Newspaper Article
Self Initiated
Creative area – Make rockets. / Enquiry Could Sunny live in the Ocean with Jacques Cousteau
Directed Activity
What is an ocean? What would Jacques have seen in the Ocean? Name and Label all the oceans in the world.
Y1 design and make a boat for Jacques and Sunny.
Directed Instruction
Write a postcard from the ocean describing what he can see.
Self-Initiated – Sail Sunny around the world.
Enquiry Which continent should Sunny live in?
Directed Activity
Evaluate their work over this topic
Choose a continent and give reasons to why they think Sunny should live here under the headings – Weather, Food, Habitats and
Directed Instruction
Produce a poster – Sunny should live here …
Displays
·  Art week to produce art work for main corridors.
·  Also to change class boards in classroom.
·  Where in the world (HWK postcards) / Additional activities (from discussions with children)
Cross curricular writing:
·  Recipes
·  Fact files
·  Recount
·  Postcards
·  Meerkat story
COMPUTING
·  Multimedia and E-safety / See additional planning / Learning outside the classroom / Blackpool Zoo
Outside area
Playground / Tree area. / Use of Experts / Zoologist