KS1 Topic: Oceans and Seas
Through a series of lively and interesting activities the children will build their knowledge of oceans and
seas around the world. They will begin to understand the different environments these represent and
how they affect life on land as well as at sea. They will develop their geographical skills and build up
their knowledge of food chains, exploration, and evolution!
Block
Block A
Oceans and
Seas of the
World
[5 sessions]
Key NC Objectives
Art, Geography, Music, Maths, Science and History
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Use a range of materials creatively to design and make products.
Use drawing and painting to develop and share their ideas,
experiences and imagination.
Interpret a range of sources of geographical information,
including maps, globes and aerial photographs.
Name and locate the world’s 7 continents and 5 oceans.
Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key physical
features, including ‘sea’, ‘ocean’ and ‘weather’.
Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United
Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents
and oceans studied at this key stage.
Use voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and
speaking chants and rhymes.
Add and subtract one-digit and two-digit numbers to 20.
Compare, describe and solve practical problems for lengths and
heights [for example, long/short, longer/shorter, tall/short,
double/half].
Discuss and clarify the meanings of words, linking new meanings
to known vocabulary.
Discuss their favourite words and phrases.
Observe closely, use simple equipment and perform simple tests.
Use observations and ideas to provide answers to questions.
Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change,
cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance,
and use them to make connections.
Learn about the lives of significant individuals in the past who
have contributed to national and international achievements.
Main Creative Outcomes
Learn about the seas that
surround the UK. Develop
knowledge of the oceans and
continents of the world.
Investigate how waves are
caused and how they move.
Inspired by the stormy
seascapes of J. M. W. Turner,
use a variety of techniques to
create textured watercolour
paintings and turn them into
sea-storm collages.
Art, Science, Geography and Maths
Block B
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Atlantic
Underwater 
World
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[4 sessions]
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Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their
experiences.
Become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art,
craft and design techniques.
Use a range of materials creatively to design and make products.
Use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their
ideas, experiences and imagination.
Develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using
colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space.
Ask simple questions and recognise that they can be answered in
different ways.
Observe closely, using simple equipment.
Perform simple tests.
Use their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions.
Gather and record data to help in answering questions.
Identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their
habitats, including micro-habitats.
Identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are
Through a range of exciting
activities, find out about the
fascinating life of the Atlantic
Ocean. Develop an
understanding of how life is
adapted to living in the Atlantic.
Understand waterproofing,
study how pattern is used for
camouflage and understand
about food chains. Finally
create a sculpture of the many
ocean creatures and plants
researched.
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.
KS1 Topic: Oceans and Seas
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suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic
needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they
depend on each other.
Describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other
animals, using the idea of a simple food chain, and identify and
name different sources of food.
Find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including
humans, for survival (water, food and air).
Develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally
significant places, both terrestrial and marine, including their
defining physical and human characteristics and how these
provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of
processes.
Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key physical
features, including ‘beach’, ‘cliff’, ‘coast’, ‘forest’, ‘hill’,
‘mountain’, ‘sea’, ‘ocean’, ‘river’, ‘soil’, ‘valley’, ‘vegetation’,
‘season’ and ‘weather’.
Recognise and name common 2-D and 3-D shapes.
Identify and describe the properties of 3-D shapes.
Geography, Science, English and Art
Block C
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Pacific
Underwater 
World
[4 sessions]
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Develop knowledge about diverse places, resources and natural
and human environments.
Develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally
significant places, both terrestrial and marine.
Interpret a range of sources of geographical information,
including maps, globes and aerial photographs.
Name and locate the world’s 7 continents and 5 oceans.
Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key physical
features, including sea, ocean and weather.
Identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are
suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic
needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they
depend on each other.
Identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their
habitats, including micro-habitats.
Describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other
animals, using the idea of a simple food chain, and identify and
name different sources of food.
Choose relevant information to create a non-fiction nonchronological report.
Adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding
appropriately to others in role.
Become more familiar with and confident in using language in a
variety of situations and for a variety of role play situations.
Use a range of materials creatively to design and make products.
Use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their
ideas, experiences and imagination.
Develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using
colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space.
Learn about the fascinating
underwater world of the Pacific
Ocean and the Great Barrier
Reef. Make maps and create
diagrams of food chains, roleplay an underwater expedition,
make short documentaries
about researched creatures.
Finally use colour-wash and 3D
sculpture techniques to create a
Great Barrier Reef display.
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.
KS1 Topic: Oceans and Seas
English, Music and PE
Block D
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Sea
mythology
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[4 sessions]
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Develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and
understanding by listening to, discussing and expressing views
about a wide range of contemporary and classic poetry, stories.
Recognise simple recurring literary language in stories and poetry.
Discuss and clarify the meanings of words, linking new meanings
to known vocabulary.
Discuss their favourite words and phrases.
Develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing.
Evaluate their writing with the teacher and other pupils.
Adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding
appropriately to others in role.
Become more familiar with and confident in using language in a
variety of situations and for a variety of role play situations.
Play tuned and untuned instruments musically.
Listen with concentration and understanding to a range of highquality live and recorded music.
Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the
inter-related dimensions of music.
Develop fundamental movement skills, become increasingly
competent and confident, and access a broad range of
opportunities to extend their agility, balance and coordination,
individually and with others.
Work co-operatively on physical activities, in a range of
increasingly challenging situations.
Perform dances using simple movement patterns.
Inspired by sea monsters and
mythological creatures, listen to
sounds of the sea and write a
powerful poem. Examine the
voyage of Odysseus and create
a sequence of sounds matched
to events from his journey.
Finally, storyboard dance
movements inspired by
Odysseus and the sea monsters
he meets, and perform dance to
a piece of sea-themed music.
Geography, D&T, English and Maths
Block E
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Fantasy
Islands
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[4 sessions]
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Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United
Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents
and oceans studied at this key stage.
Recognise simple recurring literary language in stories and poetry.
Discuss and clarify the meanings of words, linking new meanings
to known vocabulary.
Discuss their favourite words and phrases.
Develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by:
writing poetry writing for different purposes.
Evaluate their writing with the teacher and other pupils.
Adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding
appropriately to others in role.
Become more familiar with and confident in using language in a
variety of situations and for a variety of role play situations.
Design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves
and other users based on design criteria.
Select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform
practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and
finishing].
Evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria.
Use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
Use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their
ideas, experiences and imagination.
Use mathematical vocabulary to describe position, direction and
movement, including movement in a straight line.
Write a fantasy island poem
inspired by a message in a
bottle from a shipwrecked
sailor. Develop map reading
skills and knowledge of compass
points. Learn how to talk like a
pirate; design treasure maps;
create treasure island models
complete with characters,
creatures and shelters.
Celebrate the work achieved in
this block with a pirate themed
day.
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.
KS1 Topic: Oceans and Seas
Geography, D&T, Science, English and Maths
Block F
Boats and
ships
[9 sessions]
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Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change.
Identify similarities and differences between ways of life in
different periods.
Learn about events beyond living memory that are significant
nationally or globally; to understand historical concepts such as
continuity and change; to identify similarities and differences
between ways of life in different periods.
Learn about changes in living memory; to identify similarities and
differences between ways of life in different periods.
Observe closely, using simple equipment; to perform simple tests;
to identify and classify; to use observations and ideas to suggest
answers to questions.
Say sentences out loud before writing them; to re-read what they
have written to check that it makes sense; to write for different
purposes; to use simple connectives to join clauses.
To write for different purposes.
Recognise and use language relating to dates, including weeks,
months and years; to compare intervals of time; to read numbers
to 100 in numerals; to use place value and number facts to solve
problems.
Measure and begin to record mass/weight; to choose and use
appropriate standard units to measure mass (kg/g) to the nearest
appropriate unit, using scales.
Construct simple pictograms; to answer simple questions by
counting the number of objects in each category and sorting the
categories by quantity; to ask and answer questions about
totalling and comparing categorical data.
Recognise, identify and describe the properties of 2-D shapes,
including the number of sides and line symmetry in a vertical line.
Explore and use mechanisms in their products; to design
purposeful, functional, appealing products based on design
criteria; to select from and use a range of tools and equipment to
perform practical tasks; to select from and use a wide range of
materials and components according to their characteristics; to
evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria.
Research the development of
boats and ships, changes in
their power sources, changing
length of voyages, the history of
regattas and the life of
seafarers. Paint, make sketches,
write journal entries, use code
and write ship telegrams. Carry
out floating and sinking
experiments, construct boats
and finally put on a regatta with
sandwiches and prizes!
Geography, History, English, Art, Science and DT
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Block G
The
Galapagos
Islands and
Charles
Darwin
[5 sessions]
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Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United
Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents
and oceans studied at this key stage.
Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to: key physical
features, including: volcano, vegetation, season and weather.
Identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United
Kingdom and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in
relation to the Equator.
Knowledge of the lives of significant individuals in the past who
have contributed to national and international achievements.
Discuss and clarify the meanings of words, linking new meanings
to known vocabulary.
Develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by:
writing information and non-fiction reports
Evaluate their writing with the teacher and other pupils.
To adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding
appropriately to others in role.
Become more familiar with and confident in using language in a
variety of situations and for a variety of role play situations.
To choose relevant information to create a non-fiction non-
Enter the world of famous
naturalist Darwin and his
discoveries. Research the
Galapagos Islands and create a
fact-file. Meet Darwin, learn
about adaptations, create
Naturalist’s Notebooks similar
to those of Darwin. Collect plant
samples, make sketches and
notes like a real naturalist.
Make a documentary to
introduce others to the world of
Darwin.
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.
KS1 Topic: Oceans and Seas
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chronological report.
Design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves
and other users based on design.
Select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform
practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and
finishing].
Evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria.
Identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are
suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic
needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they
depend on each other.
Identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their
habitats, including micro-habitats.
Describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other
animals, using the idea of a simple food chain, and identify and
name different sources of food.
To use a range of materials creatively to design and make
products.
To use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their
ideas, experiences and imagination.
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.