5H South Parade

Dear Parents
Over the next five weeks those of us in class 5H will be following a unit of work on a theme which focuses on our understanding of history. This unit will be about the ‘big historical picture’ – putting all their knowledge and understanding of different times, people, events, cultures and civilisations into a time frame.
This unit of work is part of the International Primary Curriculum. This new curriculum sets out very clearly what children will learn – the learning goals – in three different areas:
The subjects of the curriculum. The learning goals for each of these subjects are at least as challenging as anything taught in the curriculum taught in your child’s own country. In many cases, the learning goals are more challenging.
Personal development – the characteristics which will help children become responsible, independent learners.
International understanding – which will help children develop both a sense of the independence of their own country and culture and the interdependence between countries and cultures.
Each unit of work is based around specific targets derived from the learning goals for one or more of the subjects.
During this unit we will be focusing on history (of course), geography, art, information and communication technology and exploring international perspectives.
In history we’ll be finding out:
• How historical time can be measured
• How historical time can be recorded
• How we can sort, sequence and order the past
• What happened at different times in different cultures
In geography we’ll be finding out:
• Where in the world history took place
• How to locate and record this information
In art we’ll be finding out:
• How history can be told through art
• How the work of some artists helps us to understand their particular time in history
We’ll also be finding out how to use ICT to research, order and record our understanding of historical time, and how the lives of people in one country or group are affected by the activities and behaviour of other countries or groups.
All of the work we are going to do has been specially written to help your child reach the learning goals. Children will be reading, researching, writing, illustrating, working on their own and working in groups. We will be checking how well your child has learned through particular activities and by asking children to explain their work, perhaps to you.
We already know the interest you take in your child’s work. If you can, please discuss with your child the work they have done as the term progresses and let them teach you if they can. If your child has some work to research please help them – but without actually doing the work!
In particular, you will be able to help your child research some of the important events in the history of their country and the world and in discussing with them the important dates of your own, personal, history. If you have any historical documents at home which relate to your family or other issues then please share these with your children if you haven’t already done so.
By the end of the unit, we hope your child will have achieved all of the learning targets. We hope they have had an enjoyable time in the classroom. And we hope you have enjoyed seeing your child work with enthusiasm. If you have any comments about the work your child has done, please get in touch.

Mr Hatfield