Hoylandswaine Primary School
Class 3
Miss Oates/Mrs Sayles
Summer term 2014
Our topic for the summer term is ‘Castles’ and will have a historical focus. Other areas of
work will also link to this theme.
Literacy
We will be reading the story of King Arthur and the knights of the round table and creating
our own stories set in imaginary kingdoms. The children will generate their own questions
about life in medieval times and then research answers from a range of sources, in order to
make a factual presentation to the class. During the topic we will collect information from
first-hand experience and secondary sources to write our own version of a visitor leaflet for
Conisbrough castle.
Later in the term we will be looking at examples of play scripts and writing small group plays
using medieval characters.
Science
Our main focus will be forces. This will include work to investigate pushes and pulls and the
effect of gravitational attraction. To link with the medieval theme we will explore the
workings of a medieval mangonel and trebuchet in order to design and make own version of a
catapult mechanism.
ICT
We will conduct web site searches to find answers to questions and practise highlighting key
points and images to copy, paste and save for later work. We will use our word processing
skills to present our findings in factual and appealing ways and also learn how to create a
PowerPoint presentation to share with the class.
History
We will begin by asking the question, ‘what were castles for?’, and look at examples of
different castles around the world. This is a fascinating topic and therefore, questions
generated by the children, will also direct our work. The children will use a range of sources
to find out about the structure, positioning and parts of a castle, the people who lived there
and their daily life, the value of land in medieval times and the battles that took place to
defend and conquer it.
Art and Design
There will be many opportunities for drawing and painting as part of our investigations of
different types of castle and the people who lived there. The children will refine their
drawing skills by using different grades of pencil and cross hatching to show tone and texture
in their work. They will also experiment with different brush sizes and paints. We will be
learning about the significance of the coat of arms and using drawing, painting and textiles to
design and create one of our own.
CLASS VISIT
We are planning a visit to Conisbrough Castle, near Doncaster. The castle is an example of
Norman architecture and has recently undergone a scheme of re-development. There are
some weekend family events organised in June which may be of interest to you. Further
information can be found by visiting www.conisbroughcastle.org.uk/events
RE/PSHE
The children will continue to learn about Christianity as we explore the crusades that took
place in medieval times. We will investigate reasons for these holy wars between Christian
knights and Muslim warriors and look at key elements of both Christianity and the Islamic
faith.
We will also be covering aspects of the Relationship and Sexual Health curriculum relating
to each particular year group.
PE
The children will continue to benefit from the provision of the Sports Coach on
Wednesday afternoons and will require their PE kit in school on this day. We hope that
with the warmer weather, more of the activities will be outside, including games on the
field, and therefore trainers are essential. Warmer clothing such as track suit bottoms
and a long sleeved top are also still advisable for now.
We encourage the children to have water bottles in school daily but particularly stress the
importance of drinking water as part of their P.E. sessions.
If you have any queries or wish to discuss anything at all about your child or this terms
work please do not hesitate to contact us.