2024/25
Spring term 1

 

Year 3/4 - Life in Ancient Rome

Year 3/4 will learn about the changing political context of Rome, beginning by being governed by an absolute monarchy, to later the Republic and finally the Empire. Pupils will build on their substantive knowledge of the concepts of government and democracy, and, during this unit, will analyse how Rome was ruled compared with other Unit Rationale ancient and modern civilisations, and how the role of democracy varied during the Roman Empire compared to Britain today.

Year 3/4 will also look at the social context of Ancient Rome and will learn about Rome’s social classes, comparing the lives of patricians, plebeians and slaves. 

The leisure activities that Roman citizens engaged in, such as chariot racing, visiting the forum, Roman public baths and gladiator fights, will also be studied. This unit also highlights the role sources & evidence play in adding to the discipline of history. The third lesson focuses on the artefacts that were found at Pompeii, and how these artefacts helped archaeologists and historians to interpret what life was like during the time of the Ancient Romans.  During this unit, pupils should be given the opportunity to look at images of real artefacts found at Pompeii and use their knowledge of the Romans to interpret what the artefact teaches us about life in Ancient Rome. In the final lesson, pupils will study one of the important legacies of Ancient Rome, the Latin language. They will explore Latin words and look at how Latin has influenced many world languages, including the English language.

Y3/4 will build upon their knowledge of Ancient Rome in their next unit on the Rise and Fall of Rome.

 

Year 5/6 - The Rise and Fall of Hitler

Having previously studied ‘World War I’, the pupils would have learnt about the signing of the Armistice officially ending the war, in 1918. The Armistice was an agreement between Germany and the allies to end the fighting.

In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles outlined the punishments and reparations imposed on the German nation. In this unit, the pupils will examine the impact the Armistice and the Treaty of Versailles had on German citizens, many of whom believed the punishments to be harsh and unjust.

Y5/6 pupils will learn about the rise of Adolf Hitler, and how the surrender of Germany in 1918 shocked him. As previously discussed in Year 5 ‘The French Revolution’, pupils grapple with the idea that during times of political instability, there is growth in dictatorship.

They will learn about the nationalist political party known as the Nazi party, and their racist ideology. Pupils will learn how the Nazis controlled many aspects of life in Germany during this period, including roles of men and women and education.

They will learn about Adolf Hitler and how he blamed Jewish people for things that were wrong and commanded that the German people avoid Jewish businesses, ordered books by Jewish authors to be burned, banned marriages between Jews and Germans and stopped Jewish children attending school. Kristallnacht, or ‘Night of the Broken Glass’, will be studied and pupils will learn about how Jewish homes, businesses and Synagogues were attacked by rioters and the authorities did nothing to prevent the destruction, and instead, arrested 30,000 Jewish people and sent them to concentration camps.

Many Jews tried to leave Germany to seek refuge elsewhere. When learning about this, pupils will read primary sources from people who witnessed this event, including diary entries. Unit Rationale In 1939, Germany invaded Poland to regain land, enslave Polish people and take power. Later that year, Britain declared war on Germany as a response to the invasion of Poland. The final lesson in this unit, supports pupils with accessing the first lesson on their next history unit: World War II.