Emperors and Empires!

Welcome to our topic for the Summer Term... Emperors and Empires!

In this project, your child will learn about the growth and decline of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. They will discover the absolute power of the Roman emperors and study the hierarchies of Roman society and the Roman army. They will study the first invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC and the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43. They will learn about Boudicca’s rebellion, Hadrian’s Wall and the Romanisation of Britain, including how Christianity came to Britain and investigate the legacy of Roman Britain in their local area.

Reading and Writing

We will be looking at a range texts for this topic, varying between narrative and non-narrative styles of writing to learn about the Romans. Roman Tales: The Goose Guards by Terry Deary and My Story: Roman Invasion by Jim Eldridge are two of the texts we will be looking at during this topic. We will also look at a range of non-narrative texts to learn all about the emperors and empires during the Roman times.

We will be looking at a variety of different writing styles, such as...

• Biographies
• Letters
• Myths
• Poetry

Maths

During the Summer Term, we will begin by looking at ‘Fractions' and these skills will then support the children as we move onto 'Time', they will be able to see the links within the Maths skills being taught.  We will intriduce both 12 hour clocks aswell as 24 hour time as children become more familiar with the correct use of language and understanding the meaning of a.m and p.m.

As the term progresses, we will move onto looking at ‘Geometry', looking at the properties or 2D and 3D shapes. As we start to approach the end of the year, we will then progress into focussing on 'Mass and Capacity' and applying these skills by carrying out our own investigations.

Additional Learning Opportunities

As well as focusing on the core subject areas we will be looking at key foundation subjects. The focus will be on the skills which link to our topic. Here's what we will be focusing on...

History

We will learn about what everyday life was like in Ancient Rome as well as social hierarchy and significant emperors!

Geography

Our focus will be learning about maps and how to use a compass.

Science

We we be learning all about plants and how they grow as well as light and understanding how shadows are formed.

Art

This project will teach children about the history of mosaics, before focusing on the colours, patterns and themes found in Roman mosaic. The children learn techniques to help them design and make a mosaic border tile.

Computing

We will be using Purple Mash to learning about how we can create our own simulations and graphs.

PE

We will be learning new skills in cricket and rounders, aswell practicing our athletic skills ready for Sports Day!

RE

Summer 1 Concept: Neighbour

• Theme: Chritianity

Summer 2 Concept: Creation

• Theme: Creation stories (Christianity & Hinduism)

PSHE

Physical Health and Mental Wellbeing - Healthy choices and habits and how we can express our feelings.

Growing and Changing - Personal strengths and achievements and how we can manage setbacks.

Keeping Safe - Identifying risks and hazards and staying safe in our local environment.

How you can help at home

Parents can support by encouraging children to read lots of information books about Roman Emperors and Empires! Below are some useful websites which the children may want to explore...

• https://www.historyforkids.net/roman-emperors.html
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zwmpfg8
• https://planbee.com/blogs/news/romans-facts-for-ks2-children-and-teachers

As well as this, it is important that your child reads their book at least twice a week and brings it back to school so we can monitor their progress. Reading at home will help enhance children’s reading skills as well as their writing.  Homework will be given out every Friday and asked to be returned on Wednesday.  It will be linked to what your child has been learning about in school that week so discussing their home learning with them would be a great way to help with their speaking and listening skills too!  Alongside this, spelling tasks will be sent home for children to practise. 

Thank you for your support, any questions please ask!