2024/25
Spring term 2
Year 3/4 - The Rise and Fall of Rome.
Key end points of this unit are:
• To understand that the Punic Wars allowed Rome to become more powerful
• To know that Julius Caesar was one of the most influential people in world history
• To know that Brutus and Cassius assassinated Julius Caesar.
• To know that Augustus was Rome’s first emperor, and the Pax Romana was a long period of peace
• To begin to understand that the Roman Empire came to an end in the 5th century as it became weakened and unable to keep out invaders
Building on knowledge of Ancient Rome from the previous unit, the children will now look in more depth at the Roman Empire, how it expanded and ultimately fell. This unit will help children to understand how power and influence were important to the success of the Roman Empire, but ultimately how the struggle for power led to the fall of the Empire. Children will explore concepts such as empire, civilisation, conflict, and religion in this unit.
The unit begins by looking at the Punic Wars, three major wars fought over 118 years between the Romans and the Carthaginians. Children will learn about the significant historical figure Hannibal, and will learn that he is thought to have taken elephants across the Alps to attack Rome.
They will learn that after being victorious in the third Punic War, the Roman Empire gained power and influence and was able to spread. The children will also learn about the historically significant Julius Caesar, including his life and his assassination.
They will learn the phrase ‘crossing the Rubicon’ and will understand that Julius Caesar led his armies across the Rubicon River, making a decision to attack Rome and committing a crime that he could never undo. Children will learn the significance of this military decision. This unit explains what led to Caesar’s assassination by senators who conspired to kill him to stop his reign as ‘dictator for life’, and the impact of this.
They will learn about the spread of Christianity and Emperor Constantine’s vision of the cross. Finally, the unit explores the reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire, including power struggles, invasions, civil war and the exile of Romulus Augustus, the last Roman emperor.
Year 5/6 - World War II
Key end points of the ‘World War II’ unit are:
• To know that WW2 was a war fought around the world by many countries from 1939 to 1945
• The war was fought between two sides: The Allied Powers (including the UK, the Soviet Union, France, USA) and Axis Powers (including Germany, Italy and Japan).
• The Battle of Britain was fought in the skies and won by the British RAF • Britain was heavily bombed in the war-known as the Blitz.
• The Code-breakers at Bletchley Park played a significant role in helping the allies win the war.
• The Holocaust is the name given to the genocide that took place at this time, where the Nazis killed millions of people, predominately Jewish people.
• The Home Front also played a significant role and the government used propaganda to encourage the people to support the war.
Children begin by recalling the causes and outbreak of World War II. Throughout this unit, children will be encouraged to make connections between what they learnt about World War I and other wars in the past. The unit begins by securing essential background knowledge about the war before looking in more depth-including when and where it took place, and who was involved.
The concept of ‘conquer’ will be built upon, looking at the countries conquered by Germany. The children will look in some depth at the Battle of Britain - a battle fought entirely in the skies- and the Blitz- a strategy used by the German air force to try and force Britain to surrender.
In previous units, including ‘World War I’, children have learnt about the lives of soldiers, including life in the trenches, and have discussed how battles took place on land, in the air and at sea. In this unit, the children will look in more depth at the role that intelligence and code-breaking played in winning the war. They will learn about the code-breakers at Bletchley Park (75% of them were women), including some significant people who played a vital role in supporting the war effort-Alan Turing and Mavis Batey.
While a significant emphasis of this unit is on Britain and the war, time will also be dedicated to learning about a related event of global significance that took place at this time-the Holocaust. The children will build upon their knowledge of Nazi Germany, and look at what happened following the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. This unit will introduce a new concept: genocide. They will look at the atrocities committed, interpreting sources with a focus on learning about what life was like for Jewish people at that time.