Year 4

In our first line of inquiry, the children learnt: How the structures of societies shaped a culture. They used their computing skills to research information about how the Ancient Greeks have lived and more importantly, how they have impacted our present day life, comparing how they lived to how they are living now. They have been able to transfer this information on a timeline, to understand the chronology of events, and to understand time order in relation to our present day life. They were fascinated by the fact that even though the Ancient Greek lived long ago, they lived a civilised life, and most importantly, civilisation first appeared in that location. Once the children completed their research, they produced some informative non-chronological reports applying their English skills to express their knowledge.

Moving on with our learning journey, the second line of inquiry investigated: how decisions and laws influence democracy. The children learned how the Ancient Greeks established their government system, learning how the two most developed states (Athens and Sparta) structured their governments differently. They participated in a debate about which state they would like to live in and why. They appreciated that Athen was the first state to introduce democracy and that it played an important part in how we organise our government today. Incredibly, they were able to produce some amazing Ode poems focusing on the use of similes, metaphors and alliterations to engage readers.

Our third line of inquiry is how invasion can lead to new communities. The children investigated who Alexander the Great was, the countries he invaded and how he influenced new cultures and communities. Using map keys, the children used their geographical skills to map its route to gain a clearer understanding of the countries he invaded as well as identifying the historical and modern names of those locations.