A Celebration of Immigration

Coming to Doncaster; why then and why now?

In September, Year 3 and 4 began to consider the Guiding Question:

‘Coming to Doncaster: why then and why now?’

The Learning targets were:

Case Study 1 - History - Why did the Vikings come to Doncaster?

• Give a broad overview of life in Britain from ancient until medieval times.

• Place events, artefacts and historical figures on a timeline using dates.

• Understand the concept of change over time, representing this, along with evidence, on a timeline.

• Use dates and terms to describe events.

• Use appropriate historical vocabulary to communicate

• Use more than one source of evidence for historical enquiry in order to gain a more accurate understanding of history.

Case Study 2 - Geography - Why do people come to Doncaster today?

• Human geography, including: settlements and land use.

• Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features.

• Ask and answer geographical questions about the physical and human characteristics of a location.

Case Study 3 - Art - How can we use art to share our stories?

• Develop ideas from starting points throghout the curriculum.

• Collect information, sketches and resources.

• Adapt and refine ideas as they progress.

• Explore ideas in a variety of ways.

• Comment on artwork using visual language.

• Use different hardnesses of pencils to show line, tone and texture.

• Annotate sketches to explain and elaborate ideas.

• Use shadowing to show light and shadow.

• Use hatching and cross hatching to show tone and texture.

Our Learning:

During Autumn Term 1 and 2, LKS2 children began to consider the Guiding Question Coming to Doncaster: why then and why now?’ We were hooked into our Expedition, when we were able to create some clay dragon eyes, to reflect the mythology of the Vikings. To add to our excitement, we were able to make Viking pancakes, take part in Viking rap battles (also known as flyting) and participated in war chants, as well as war drumming. This really engaged us and allowed us to get into the Viking spirit. Further to this, we had a trip to Murton Park, near York, which allowed us to travel back through time and see how the Vikings lived their daily lives. We then travelled closer to home, by having a trip and experts tell us about the Viking burial site that was uncovered at Adwick and this brought home just how close the Vikings were to us!

As part of Case Study 1 (History), we were able to explore a range of ways that the Vikings impacted on Doncaster and Britain in general. We learned about who the Vikings were, whilst also thinking about what life was like in Britain prior to their arrival, in order to gain background knowledge and a chronological knowledge of where the Vikings fit into the timeline of history. To develop our knowledge further, we had to explore why the Vikings left their homes in Scandinavia and came to Doncaster, as well as pondering whether the Vikings were as terrifying as they are made out to be. We concluded that they didn’t just come to kill and plunder. Additionally, we investigated how the Vikings traveled to the British shores with their longboats and delved deeper into the Lindisfarne raid, which sparked the Viking conquest of Britain. We plotted the routes and thought about the impact of their journey to their well being. As Case Study 1 came to a close, we learned about further Viking raids, how Viking religious beliefs were treated and the use of law, more specifically Danelaw. Finally, we ended by seeing how Anglo-Saxon Kings treated the Viking ‘threat’, whilst seeing how the Viking age ended in Britain.

In Case Study 2 (Geography) deepened our understanding of migration and learnt that people today, like the Vikings, travel to Britain in seach of a better life. Like when learning about the Vikings, we wanted to understand the range of reasons that people have for travelling and setting up their lives in Doncaster and were able to reflect about what Britain, and Donaster specifically, has to offer to those seeking refuge, developing our understanding of human and physical geography. We also developed our skills as geographers, using maps, compass directions and technology to locate countries from across the world and plot migrant journeys using directional language and landmarks from across the world. As a way to understand the life of an immigrant, we wanted to understand what the perils were for immigrants coming from Third World countries, such as Afghanistan. We wondered whether we were actually that much different from the Vikings?

To end our Expedition, we completed Case Study 3 (Art), in which we developed our artistic knowledge and skills to help tell the stories of migration we learnt in Case Study 1 and case Study 2. Art is used to tell the personal storiess of people from across the world, envoking the emotions and empathy of those who view it to transport them to the moment in time and emotions felt in the art they are experiencing. We wanted to create art work that did this. This was a creative challenge that we certainly enjoyed!

Hooks / Learning Visits and Environments

• The children were hooked into their leanring through the completion of a number of engaging and exicitng activities in their first week. This focused on our first Case Study, with the children creating learning about the Vikings affinity with mythology and dragons. Children created dragon inspired art work using ancient techniques and clay, cooked using Viking recipes and investigated the chaos left behind when a dragon visited our school. The pictures and videos of this experience are ones not to miss!

• The children were hooked further into our first Case Study with a visit to Murton Park, York, to take part in an immersive Viking experience day. The children learnt about farming and food in the Viking age, pottery and household tasks. They took turns on guard duty and learnt how to defend the Viking village from attack.

• The children were hooked into Case Study 2 by a visit from the Conversation Club where they had the opportunity to meet refugees and migrants face to face and hear first-hand about their experiences. The children heard the varied reasons why these people chose to leave their homes, the challenges faced to make it to Doncaster and how their life has changed since they did so.

Assessment

• Children were able to hold discussions, which means that they have completed exit tickets to show how well they have understood that particular topic.

• Children also used silent conversations to be able to share their prior knowledge (per-learn for staff) and understanding of religions.

• Exit tickets were used regularly to ensure children could articulate their learning each lesson

Final Product

The final product of our expedition was a video created by, and featuring, the children celebrating the journey they had taken throughout the expedition and sharing the stories of the migration in Doncaster through time. This included pictures and videos of ther activities we completed, including our visits and experts, alongside voiceovers written and recorded by the chilren. We shared this video - as well as sharing our beautiful work - with parents and the community in our Celebration of Learning.