My World

My World: History, Geography and Science 

Aims

My World brings together History, Geography and Science to be one of the driving forces of the thematic curriculum. Our curriculum focusses on the areas of History, Geography and Science that we feel are the most important for our pupil’s to learn and understand about their World, particularly their local World around them.

  • Pupils develop an understanding of the World around them.
  • Pupils have opportunities to explore their local area.
  • Pupils become inquisitive about their World.
  • Pupils have opportunities to take part in practical experiments and outdoor learning to support understanding and encourage their skills to question and enquire.
  • Pupils develop Knowledge and are able to recall information.

Curriculum Intent

The curriculum delivery will depend upon the curriculum pathway and level of learning that the pupil is working within.

Explorers and Seekers

In the Explorers and Seekers classes learning is based on the Readiness for Further Learning ‘The World around us’.  Pupils explore their learning and their local environment to become familiar with places, routines and procedures so that they can feel safe interacting and exploring the World around them.  In these classes pupils will begin to develop their knowledge and understanding of their school and local community.

Discoverers

My World in the Discoverers Curriculum follows the half termly theme and is based on developing an understanding of My World around me.  It does not specifically look at History, Geography or Science but allows pupils to explore key life skills within the topics through visiting local places and identifying objects to develop their understanding through practical opportunities within school and their community.

Enquirers

 

Pupils complete a six week programme of learning based on the topic, this will either be from History, Geography or Science.  It takes the relevant aspects of the lower National Curriculum skills in order to give our pupil’s the key skills they need to have some understanding of the wider World put into a context that is relevant for our pupil’s. We aim to encourage enquiring minds and develop elements of Science that will help them to engage in their World around them.

Enquirers

KS 4

In KS 4 pupils develop aspects of these skills through the thematic curriculum as they continue to learn and understand the wider world through our My World curriculum.

Term

Cycle 3: Subject Intent linked to Thematic Learning

Assessment

1

Harbour Life: Geography - Poole Harbour, River Frome, The 5 islands. Looking at tourism, how it affects the town both positively and negatively. Studying local industry, the boat building trade, fishing and shipping. Examining the diverse range of flora and fauna around the harbour.  Observing and comparing physical differences and change in the harbour including tidal ranges and land use, (rural and urban settings.)

Self-assessment of own work and peer assessment of others work.

Pupil work, both self-written and worksheets.

Photographic evidence in file.

Evidence of learning sheet per pupil for each half term. 

Pupils levelled against the relevant ladder statement in the subject areas: History, Geography and Science.

 

2

Great Events: World Cups and World War 2 History – The history of the World Cup and its place as a great event. The countries, culture and celebration. Also looking at Poole and the Second World War. Finding out about what it was like to be an evacuee in Poole. Discovering the importance of Poole Harbour to the war effort, especially the Flying Boat bases and runways.

3

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Science - Categorizing materials, both natural and man-made. Exploring the importance of saving natural resources. Examining how materials can be reused. Upcycling and reusing materials to create art work, models and useful items. Exploring how to implement recycling initiatives in and around school.

4

May the force be with you: Science – Gravity as a force that causes things to fall.  Pushing and pulling, the science of energy and friction. Exploring cogs, gears and pulleys, manipulating forces through inventions and creations. Building catapults, a ballista and a battering ram. We are also finding out about unbelievable astronomical forces.

5

Roots, shoots and muddy boots: Science - Exploring the growth of plants from seed to plate. Nurturing and caring for plants. Planting flowers that attract bees and butterflies. Growing food from plants and healthy eating options. Investigating what plants need to survive. Comparing plant growth in different types of soil and environment, (sandy, boggy, meadow, rocky, sunny and shady.)

6

Oceanic Adventures: Geography - Exploring the oceans, deserts and jungles of the world. Learning about great adventurers of sea and land. New exploration of the depths of the oceans and the creatures never before seen that dwell there. Sea monsters and killer whales. Looking at why the ice caps are melting and how we can affect climate change for the better. Investigating the people and animals of the world’s jungles and deserts.

Cross-curricular links

How does My World support this?

STEAM

Science: Experimenting, questioning and experiencing practical activities that develop understanding of the World around them.

Technology: The use and understanding of a variety of equipment to support experiments and practical

Engineering: Developing an understanding of how man-made machines and structures, like cars, planes, robots and buildings, work.

Arts: The development of Art and music where appropriate to support understanding of the My World content

Maths: Linking Maths and Science together to help make sense of the World around them.

English Skills

 

 

Reading instructions: Reading information and stories that are related to the My World theme, close links with English to support the learning to make stories meaningful to the theme. There are many opportunities for pupils to develop their reading skills.

Writing: Completing written tasks within My World content.  Developing writing skills, being able to write well-structured sentences and show awareness of spellings about my adventures in the local community.  

Speaking and Listening – Topic discussion, surveys. Talking to and listening to unfamiliar people whilst on trips in the local community.  Learning to talk about what I see and hear whilst out and about.  Understanding what things are so that I can tell people about my experiences.

Maths Skills

 

Collating, sorting and counting relevant information about a topic.

Understanding patterns, using number to collate information and statistics to compare information.

SMSC and British Values

 

 

Moral: understanding how we look after our World and each other.  Understanding that we treat nature and each other with kindness so that everyone is able to flourish and develop to their potential.

Social: Understanding that there are certain expectations on behaviour towards each other, different social groups and when out and about on school visits to respond appropriately towards others.  

Cultural: Learning about different cultures and traditions, showing respect for different cultures. Understanding why people have different ways of living and respecting their beliefs.

British Values: Understanding what it is to be British and through trips and visits how we can further understand the World around us to be able to cope and thrive in our local community.

Extended Opportunities/ Celebration:

Exciting starters and fab finishes to share and celebrate the topic learning with the whole school and parents.  

It is paramount to this area of the curriculum that there are opportunities to have visitors come in to school relevant to each theme and take trips and visits out into the local community to develop pupils understanding of the World around them.