Autumn 1 – MTP - Year 5 and 6
Title: Ancient China
Timescale: 8 Weeks
Rationale: This block provides the children with key information about the geography of the Shang Dynasty kingdom, their kings and the key dates of their rule. They will look at where
modern China is on a map and where the Shang Dynasty ruled; produce a timeline of the Shang rulers; research some of the Shang kings and the evidence we have for them and finally
test their friends understanding and knowledge of Shang rulers by playing a ‘Would I lie to you’ style team game. Next will be the farming and cookery of the Shang Dynasty. They will
recreate the irrigation farming of the Shang Dynasty in miniature; explore and describe Chinese ingredients; devise a Shang recipe of their own using a selection of ingredients that the
Shang farmers would have grown; look back at what they have learnt about Shang farming and the silk worm before composing and painting a picture of an aspect of this series of
sessions onto silk. If they love problem solving, brain teasers and languages they will love this block about the writing and calendar of the Shang Dynasty. They will learn how Chinese
writing works and then write their name in Chinese; learn how to say their name in Mandarin Chinese; address research questions about writing and oracle bones in the past; research
some Shang characters found on oracle bones; work out the meaning of Shang characters; Learn how and why people in the Shang Dynasty made calendars; make their own Shang
cyclical calendar; try their hand at deciphering some Shang texts found on oracle bones; make replica oracle bones from wood, plastic or bone; inscribe them with their own Shang
inscription. This will make a display of all their Shang writing creations
The children will not only research the Shang bronze manufacture process and the amazing Shang bronze vessels, they will have chance to try a similar process for themselves; examine the
decorative features used on Shang bronze vessels and make sketches of decoration on bronze vessels in a sketchbook. They will discover how bronze vessels were made in the Shang period
and use clay to create a sculpture of a vessel; make a mould from a blank model of a vessel; follow instructions to cast a vessel using their mould and jelly, ice or chocolate; set up their
own museum to explain how bronze vessels were made in the Shang period; write museum labels and information boards and make presentations to visitors to their classroom. They will
research different sources and consider what makes a historical source valid and reliable; take turns being the principal characters, Jie, Tang and the historian in a hot seat activity; learn
about the Shang army and then play a strategy game; become generals in the Shang army trying to keep the kingdom loyal, and to conquer other peoples to enlarge the kingdom;
evaluate the validity and reliability of texts that describe the Battle of Muye; improvise a piece of drama that explains the Battle of Muye and conclude by creating a performance, based
on all their learning in this block, that explains the story of the rise and fall of the Shang.
The children will learn about the Shang beliefs regarding death, burial rituals, divining the future, folk religion and ancestor worship. They will then learn about the tomb of Fu Hao, leader
and priestess and create their own time capsule; design an exciting Shang civilization board game based on research into the cities and societies of this dynasty; develop some design
criteria for their game; research the lives and roles of King, Queens, High Priest, Priests, Nobles, Craftspeople, Citizens, Peasants, Slaves; give a well-structured description of the person or
group of people; give an explanation of what roles they could play in the role-playing game; create sketches and prototypes for their design; use a wide range of appropriate materials for
building and creating their Shang Dynasty game; evaluate their game design based on design criteria; finally demonstrate the game and explain the nature of Shang cities and society to
an invited audience. n this creative block, they will find out about the instruments (bells, pipes, cymbals, flutes) and music made by the Shang people – make simple instruments and
compose a piece of instrumental music about the final days of the Shang Dynasty.
The Big Questions: What was the Shang Dynasty? When did it happen and where? How did their society work?
Hook: A mini Chinese feast!
Take-Away Task: Take a shoe box and create a Chinese diorama under a theme of their choice.
Autumn 1 – MTP - Year 5 and 6
Educational Visits/Global/Cultural Link: Chinese ancient and modern culture
Main Subjects Covered: History and Geography
RE Topic for the Half Term: The Bible
Concept: Authority / Identity / Ritual
Science Topic for the Half Term: Animals including Humans
PSHE/SMSC Link: Chinese ancient and modern culture. Nickie to give PSHE input whilst Nic teaches Spanish
Link to the Value: Respect of another person’s culture and heritage
Autumn 1 – MTP - Year 5 and 6
Numeracy
WEEK 1
WEEK 2
WEEK 3
1. Place value and
2. Decimals and
written addition
written addition
3. Subtraction
WEEK 4
WEEK 5
WEEK 6
WEEK 7
Week 8
4. 2D shape and
5. Mental x and
6. Place value and
7. Fractions, x and
mental x
fractions
written x
division
8. Place Value,
decimals and
subtraction
Plan 1A: Recounts
Plan 2A: Biographies and autobiographies
Plan 1A: Classic fiction
Required texts:
Required texts:
Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Singing for Mrs Pettigrew/Homecoming by
Just So stories by Rudyard Kipling
Description:
Chn explore the charm and challenge of classic fiction. Chn write a
modern-day Jungle Book story, Just So Stories diary entries, and tell
Literacy
Week one activities
outrageous lies, courtesy of conjunctions. The unit ends with chn
performing their own Just So Story in Kipling's style.
Grammar focus:
UFOs and Aliens: Investigating
Extraterrestrial Visitors – Extreme! by Paul
Mason
Michael Morpurgo
UFO Diary by Satoshi Kitamura
Various biographies of two authors
Description:
Description:
Using the context of UFOs, chn explore
Use biographies of Roald Dahl & Michael
Morpurgo (both books & online) & their
autobiographical writing to identify features
of biographies & autobiographies. Use the
texts to study dialogue, noun phrases &
1. Learn the grammar in App.2 specifically using a range of
Required texts:
recounts: investigating genuine documents;
discussing famous sightings & researching
notorious hoaxes. Chn write a diary entry
and create their own hoax UFO photo and
report. A presentation to parents completes
the unit.
complex sentences. Write autobiographies
conjunctions to create compound and complex sentences.
online.
Grammar focus:
2. Use relative clauses.
Grammar focus:
1. Learn the grammar in App.2 specifically
3. Use commas correctly, including to clarify meaning, avoid ambiguity
1. Learn the grammar in App.2 specifically
and to indicate parenthesis.
4. Use correct punctuation to indicate speech.
using adverbials of time, space and number
using a range of conjunctions to create
2. Use commas correctly, including to clarify
compound and complex sentences.
meaning, avoid ambiguity and to indicate
parenthesis.
2. Use expanded noun phrases to convey
complicated information concisely
3. Use expanded noun phrases to convey
complicated information concisely
Grammar
Spelling
Converting nouns and
adjectives into verbs
-cious
Use of verb prefixes
Use of verb prefixes
-tious
-cial
Relative clauses
Modal verbs
-ant,-ance and -
-ent, -ence and -
ancy
ency
Within paragraph
Across paragraph
cohesion
cohesion
-able and -ably
-ible and -ibly
Parenthesis
Recap
Autumn 1 – MTP - Year 5 and 6
Session A
Science
The heart
Computing
Session B
Double circulation
Session C
The lungs
E Safety
Session D
Blood
Session E
Effect of exercise on
pulse rate
Session F
Session G
Healthy bodies
Staying healthy
Using ICT and Computing Creatively mini projects
The Bible
RE
History
Geography
Blue
Block A: The Shang
Block B: Farming and
Block C: Writing and
Timeline
Food
the Shang Calendar
Numbers 1 to 10
Colours
Block D: Technology
Block E: Warfare
Block F: Worship
Colours
Days of the Week
Months of the Year
name is
Recap of animals
Clothes
Clothes
Spanish
Green
Authority / identity /
ritual
Block G: Cities
Week One Activities
Greetings and my
Recap of numbers
Assessment
Recap of colours
Recap of days and
months
Numbers to 30
Date
Buying clothes
Block H: Music