Manor Green Primary and Nursery School
Key Stage 2
Year 3 Autumn 2
Thematic Curriculum – Medium Term Planning
Theme Title:
Theme subject focus:
Science
Rocks and soils / volcanoes
Visits / visitors /
enhancements / WOW
factor!
Home links – family project
about volcanoes
You tube clip (see music)
Investigate different kinds of
rocks and soils (including
those in local environment)
What makes the Earth angry?
Key Questions / Learning Challenges (Skills / Concepts)
 Can I describe how volcanoes and earthquakes are created and why they happen?
 Can I locate and name some of the world’s most famous volcanoes?
 Can they explain how people’s lives vary due tho the weather?
 Can they name and locate some well-known European countries / cities?
 Can I describe how volcanoes can have an impact on people’s lives?
 Can I use maps and atlases appropriately by using contents and indexes?
 Can I compare / group together different rocks on the basis of their appearance / physical properties?
 Can I describe and explain how different rocks can be useful to us?
 Can I describe how fossils are formed when things that have lived are trapped within rock?
 Do I recognise that soils are made from rocks and organic matter.
Cross- curricular elements overview;
English
Record and present what they have found out using scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams and tables. The story
of Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii. Non-fiction reading and writing. Empathetic writing ‘Frozen in Time’– first person account.
Beast Quest by Adam Blade (author work). – link Greek myths Theseus and the Minotaur.
Computing Weather / natural disaster report. (Green screen) Slideshow presentation – Pompeii (information text, pictures and animation)
Mathematics Using and applying their knowledge of graphs / Venn and Carroll diagrams to classify rocks and soils.
Art + design Images of Mount Fuji by Katshshki Hokusai – creating pictures using pastels. Collage of erupting volcanoes.
Music
Music reflecting angry weather, tsunamis, natural disaster such as volcanoes + earthquakes. Video clips – pupils to create
their own music to represent the images. The four seasons by Vivaldi.
P.E.
R.E.
SMSC
Languages
Sports coach–games (acquiring and developing skills) Dance–compose Volcano dance in groups (link Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii?)
The meaning of gifts at Christmas. Why do Christians and Hindus give gifts at Diwali?
Awe/ wonder – investigating different rocks and soils. Artist – Hokusai, Musician – 4 seasons. The impact of the eruption of
Mount Vesuvius on people who lived in Pompeii (discuss feelings about the disaster)
French language and culture
Manor Green Primary and Nursery School
Key Stage 2
Year 3 Autumn 2
Thematic Curriculum – Medium Term Planning
Theme Title:
What makes the Earth angry?
Theme focus: Science / Design Technology
Focus
Science
Investigations with different types
of rocks and soils
Programme of study
Pupils should be taught to:
 compare + group together different kinds of rocks
on the basis of their appearance + simple physical
properties (eg grains, crystals etc)
 describe in simple terms how fossils are formed
when things that have lived are trapped within rock
 recognise that soils are made from organic matter.
 understand why buildings and gravestones change
over time
Resources
Rocks and soils packs
Magnifying / hand lens
Internet search engine
Visit to local churchyard
(gravestones – made with
different rocks such as marble,
granite limestone, sandstone)
Geography
Locating volcanoes, countries and Pupils should be taught to:
cities.
 describe and understand key aspects of volcanoes
and earthquakes
Locate and name the capital cities  understand the reasons why people settle where
of neighbouring European
they do.
countries
 use maps, atlases, globes and digital / computer
mapping to locate countries and describe features
studied
 begin using four figure grid references
 recognise the 8 points of the compass
 explain why a locality has certain human
features eg reservoir etc
Atlases
Globes
Ipads (atlas app)
Google maps
Investigative
opportunities
Challenge
Can the pupils decide how
to record their findings?
Can they use Venn or
Carroll diagrams to classify
the rocks?
Can the pupils describe and
explain the difference
between sedimentary and
igneous rock?
Can pupils explain how
natural disasters / severe
weather can affect people’s
lives?
Can they identify physical
and human features on a
map? (own research)
Manor Green Primary and Nursery School
Key Stage 2
Year 3 Autumn 2
Thematic Curriculum – Medium Term Planning
Theme Title:
What makes the Earth angry?
Knowledge, Skills and Understanding breakdown for Working Scientifically Year 3
Planning

Obtaining and presenting evidence
Considering evidence and evaluating
Can they use different ideas and
suggest how to find something
out?
 Can they make and record a
prediction before testing?
 Can they plan a fair test and
explain why it was fair?
 Can they set up a simple fair test
to make comparisons?
 Can they explain why they need
to collect information to answer a
question?
Year 3 (Challenging)

Planning
Obtaining and presenting evidence
Considering evidence and evaluating



Can they suggest how to improve their work if they did it again?

Can they offer suggestions to other pupils about how they could
improve their work?1
Can they record and present
what they have found using
scientific language, drawings,
labelled diagrams, bar charts
and tables?





Can they measure using different
equipment and units of measure?
Can they record their observations in
different ways? (labelled diagrams,
charts etc)
Can they describe what they have
found using scientific words?
Can they make accurate
measurements using standard units?
Can they explain their findings in
different ways (display, presentation,
writing)?
Can they use their findings to draw a
simple conclusion?
Can they suggest improvements and
predictions for further tests?

Can they explain what they have found out and use their
measurements to say whether it helps to answer their question?

Can they use a range of equipment (including a data-logger) in a
simple test?
Manor Green Primary and Nursery School
Key Stage 2
Year 3 Autumn 2
Thematic Curriculum – Medium Term Planning
Theme Title:
What makes the Earth angry?
Cross-curricular elements: English, mathematics, art+design, music, P.E. R.E. computing
Focus
ENGLISH
Recount – ‘Frozen in Time’
Writing from the point of view of
a person in Pompeii (24th
August AD 79)
Myth – Theseus and the
Minotaur (Link author work
Beast Quest)
Explaining their scientific
findings in different ways
Programme of study
Pupils should be taught to:
plan their writing by:
 discussing writing similar to that which they are planning
to write in order to understand and learn from its
structure, vocabulary and grammar
 discussing and recording ideas
 use drama to give them more insight into character
motives and feelings
draft and write by:
 composing and rehearsing sentences orally (including
dialogue), progressively building a varied and rich
vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence
structures (English Appendix 2)
 organising paragraphs around a theme
 in non-narrative material, using simple organisational
devices [for example, headings and sub-headings]
evaluate and edit by:
 assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’
writing and suggesting improvements
 proposing changes to grammar and vocabulary to
improve consistency, including the accurate use of
pronouns in sentences
 proof-read for spelling and punctuation errors
 read aloud their own writing, to a group or the whole
class, using appropriate intonation and controlling the
tone and volume so that the meaning is clear.
Resources
Investigative
opportunities
Challenge
Sample text type (recount)
examples of story starts
Can the pupils use more
sophisticated conjunctions +
connectives in their writing?
Collection of ideas /
vocabulary
I can statements for
different text types
Can they create a picture of
the setting using effective
vocabulary and figurative
language?
Thesaurus
Dictionary
Spellchecker
Peer marking criteria
(steps to success)
Can the pupils ‘mark’ a
piece of text like a teacher?
(teaching them how to
assess objectively)
Can they identify the ‘step it
up’ for the pupils ot act
upon?
Manor Green Primary and Nursery School
Key Stage 2
Year 3 Autumn 2
Thematic Curriculum – Medium Term Planning
Theme Title:
Focus
MATHEMATICS
Carroll and Venn diagrams
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Why do Christians give gifts at
Christmas?
Do Hindus give gifts at Diwali?
ART AND DESIGN
Images of Mount Fuji by
Katshshki Hokusai in pastels
Using a different range of
materials to create a volcano
collage
MUSIC
Music to represent different
natural events + disasters
and extreme weather.
Create own ‘Volcano’ music
What makes the Earth angry?
Programme of study
Resources
Pupils should:
 be taught to interpret and present data using bar charts,
pictograms and table
 continue to interpret data presented in many contexts
Cardboard hoops (Venn
diagrams)
Carroll diagrams
Images of different rocks
(Actual rocks if necessary)
Pupils should be taught:
 how to investigate different religions and beliefs
 how to ask relevant questions
 about the stories of Jesus (Christianity) and those of
other religions
 to reflect on their own beliefs and values.
Tameside locally agreed
syllabus
DVD /books
Story of the Christmas
gifts
Hindu gifts (clips on BBC
website)
Knowledge
Pupils should be taught to:
 compare the work of different artists
 explore work from other periods of time
 explore works from other cultures
 produce own work inspired by an artist
Collage
 cut a range of materials accurately
 experiment with different colours and materials
Pictures / photos of work
by Hokusai
Sugar paper
Pastels
Pencils
Tissue, crepe, cellophane,
Sequins, coloured papers
of different thicknesses
and textures, glue
Pupils should:
 be able to recognise the work of some famous
composers (Vivaldi)
 create repeated patterns with different instruments
 combine different sounds to create specific moods or
effects.
 use musical words to describe pieces of music
The ‘Four Seasons’ by
Vivaldi
‘You tube’ clips of
volcanoes with
accompanying music
Eruption at Bardarbunga –
DJI Feats
Kilauea Into the night volcan
Pitch, dynamics, texture,
rhythm, timbre and tempo.
Investigative
opportunities
Challenge
Can pupils use Venn or
Carroll diagrams to sort
different kinds of data?
(own choice)
How could pupils give the
gift of love, joy or peace to
another person?
Can pupils choose their
favourite ‘view’ of Mount
Fuji and explain why they
have chosen it?
Can pupils find a creative
way of producing lava on
their collage?
Listen to other piece of
music and see what
pictures come into your
mind – which ones reflect
weather, volcanoes
erupting, earthquakes etc?
Can pupils explain their
reason
Manor Green Primary and Nursery School
Key Stage 2
Year 3 Autumn 2
Thematic Curriculum – Medium Term Planning
Theme Title:
Focus
COMPUTING
Creating a presentation
Presenting the weather
(Green screen)
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Dance – linked to theme
‘Volcano’ dance in groups
Weekly sessions of games
(with Coach)
What makes the Earth angry?
Programme of study
Pupils should be taught:
 to combine text, images and sounds and show
awareness of audience
 create a presentation that moves from slide to slide
 reflect on their own learning / evaluate own and others’
work
 to save work to their own folder
Games
Pupils should be taught;
 to throw and catch with control
 to be aware of space within a games situation
Dance
 to share and create phrases with a partner and small
groups
 Evaluate their own and others’ performance
Resources
Computers
Prepared presentation to
serve as a model for the
children
Balls of different sizes
Bibs for games
Music to stimulate
improvisation
Ipad to record own dances
Investigative
opportunities
Challenge
Can pupils will include
music in their
presentations?
Pupils will remember the
phrases created to perform
own dance ‘routine’ with
partner or group