Year 4

History Curriculum

Key Vocabulary

oracle bones

Fu Hao

jade

bronze

cowrie shells

locomotive

nationalised

passenger

privatised

railroad

civilisation

hieroglyphics

irrigation

the Nile

pharoah

tomb

ancient

Autumn 2 - Shang Dynasty

This unit of work will teach your children all about the Ancient Shang dynasty. The children will learn who the Ancient Shang people were, where and when they lived and locate Shang cities. They will also learn about the role of the king, the religious beliefs and rituals of the Shang people. They will also take a close look at the remarkable discovery of the first intact Shang tomb which belonged to the military general and high priestess Fu Hao.


Spring 2 - Railways

This unit of work will teach your children about the development of the Railways in Great Britain giving them the opportunity to find out about the history of the railways and significant early locomotives. They will also investigate some important historical events, such as the opening of the first passenger carrying railway lines and the Rainhill Trials and they will learn about some of the key people who were influential in the development of the railways. In addition to this they will learn about the development of locomotive technology and examine the differences between steam, diesel and electric locomotives. The children will also learn about the growth and development of the railway network in Great Britain and debate the positive and negative effects of the railways on different aspects of society

Summer 2 - Ancient Egypt

This Ancient Egypt unit will teach your children in depth about the achievements of this ancient civilisation. They will learn about how and where the ancient Egyptians lived, what was important to the daily lives of ancient Egyptians, who Tutankhamun was and how mummies were made. The children will also learn about how Egyptian people used hieroglyphs to communicate and compare the powers of different gods.