Welcome to Geography and History

Welcome!

In this booklet you will find a snapshot of the excellent

History and Geography practice taking place at Knaphill

Junior School.

On the following pages, evidence can be found of all

year groups enjoying and achieving in this subject area.

This portfolio will regularly be updated with current work

by the subject leader.

Whole-school

evidence of

History and Geography in action

Year 3 Autumn Term

The ‘Stone Age’ topic in Year 3 was a brilliant introduction to

human history. It gave the children many opportunities to explore

both the historical and geographical aspects of prehistory. The

children learned about where humans originated, and created

maps to show their migration across the globe. They also looked at

how the world had changed since the Stone Age, and wrote some

fantastic newspaper articles about the tsunami which covered

Doggerland.

An archaeologist paid year 3 a much enjoyed visit, in which the

children were able to study real Stone Age artefacts, and consider

the different uses for tools and weapons. Their trip to Butser Farm

was also a great success, with children engaging in hands on

activities and learning so much about the Stone Age way of life

along the way.

Children even had the chance to become hunter-gatherers, and

taste a range of Stone Age foods during their Stone Age themed

day!

Year 3 Spring Term

As part of their Romans topic, year 3 learned about the rise

and fall of the Roman Empire, exploring different aspects of

the roman army, the invasions of Great Britain and the legacy

Rome left behind. They produced some fantastic pieces of

writing based around this learning, including letters from a

Roman soldier and some brilliant newspaper reports on the

building of Hadrian’s Wall.

They enjoyed an informative trip to Fishbourne Roman

Palace, learning about the Roman way of life, including

buildings and mosaics, food and clothing and much more.

Roman day gave the children a chance to dress up as Roman

people, taking a closer look at how the Romans lived,

learning about and tasting Roman food, making their own

bread, and even building their own miniature Hadrian’s wall!

Year 3 Summer Term

Year 3 studied ‘Our local area’ as their topic for the summer

term. They took a look into the history of Knaphill, learning

about its origins and how it has changed over time, including

the construction of the canals and Brookwood railway station.

They also improved their map skills, looking at the location of

Knaphill within Surrey, within England, within Europe and

within the world.

The children enjoyed a fascinating visit from two local

residents, who spoke about what Knaphill village and Knaphill

School were like while they were growing up in the 1960’s.

Year 4 Autumn Term

The focus for the year 4 Autumn Term was Africa. Within this

topic children looked at the geography of the continent,

learning which countries it is made up of, and locating key

African landmarks within them, studying and recording

differences in climates and vegetation, looking specifically at

rainforests. They also looked at tourism in the continent,

debated both the positive and negative effects it can have on

different people, and the country itself.

Key events in African history were looked at, including

apartheid, and the children explored how they shaped Africa

as it is today. The children also learned about important

people in African history, taking a closer look into the lives of

Nelson Mandela and William Wilberforce, and how they

influenced change within African culture.

Year 4 Spring Term

‘Kings and Queens’ was year 4’s spring term topic, and within

this the children were able to look at the chronology of

English history, sequencing the events which shaped Britain

as we know it.

The children looked at events such as the Battle of Bosworth,

War of the Roses and the Battle of Hastings, studying maps

to identify the routes which were taken though the country.

The children also looked at the importance of Tudor

exploration of the globe, and significant events in the history

of London itself, such as the plague and the great fire of

London, and how these events changed our capital.

Year 4 Summer Term

As part of Year 4’s ‘Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Scots’ topic,

the children created a working timeline to

The children explored life as an Anglo-Saxon, looking into

villages, jobs and the development of the different kingdoms.

They looked into the invasion of different lands by the Anglo-

Saxons, thinking about the reasons behind the invasions, and

what impact they had on the landscape of Britain.

Year 4 were also involved in an interactive workshop, in

which they learned more about Anglo-Saxon weaponry,

invasions and the legacy they left behind, including the origins

of place names around the country. They participated in a

range of activities including artefact examination, an Anglo-

Saxon quiz, battle re-enactment and a dramatization of

Beowulf.

Year 5 Autumn Term

As part of their ‘Space Quest’ topic, year 5 pupils created an

engaging non-fiction report about the history of space

exploration. Children had the opportunity to identify key

events in the history of space exploration when they created

an informative time-line of the last half century.

Map skills were also used in Year 5, when children learnt

about which countries across the world had invested most

heavily into space travel. Children used an atlas to identify

these countries and they used reasoning skills to give

reasons why certain areas of the world might have sent

astronauts to space.

Year 5 Spring Term

Year 5’s ‘Active Planet’ topic has given the children a

fantastic opportunity to explore a huge range of geographical

topics. Children learnt a great deal about natural disasters:

labelling parts of a volcano cross-section; identifying fault-

lines on a map and learning about how seismic waves are

used to measure the size of earthquakes.

Children were very hands-on and had great fun using big tubs

of water to learn about how the vibration of tectonic plates

can have an effect on water. Informative newspaper articles

were written about the devastating Japanese tsunami.

Year 5 created environmental campaigns, where parents

were invited to listen to the children’s great suggestions and

vote for the most effective ideas!

Year 5 Summer Term

As part of their ‘Ancient Greece’ topic year 5 pupils learnt

about Greek Myths and Legends and even created their own

mythical creatures! Children created a timeline to sequence

historical events and wrote beautiful description of traditional

Ancient Greek houses.

As part of their ‘Ancient Greece’ topic year 5 pupils learnt

about the Ancient States of Sparta and Athens and compared

their positions on maps of Ancient Greece. Children even had

a chance to have a go at becoming a Spartan soldier during

their Greek Day workshop

Year 6 Autumn Term

As part of their ‘London’ topic, year 6 pupils have used many

geography and history skills, combing them to create cross-

curricular links in many lessons. They have been using

atlases to identify key places in London and using maps to

compare how land use has changed over time. They have

also used their understanding of how much London has

changed over the past century to design their own version of

what London might look like in another 100 years!

Year 6 have also completed some fantastic work on the

history of the Suffragette movement. Children became very

passionate about the topic, and delivered some great

speeches, where they gave their own points of view on how

effective the Suffragettes were in helping women to get the

vote!

Year 6 Spring Term

As part of their ‘Victorians’ topic, year 6 pupils learnt about

Queen Victoria’s reign: a Victorian timeline highlighted the

key events during her reign; research was carried out to

discover the history of her family tree and atlas skills were

used to identify the different countries that made up her

empire.

Year 6 pupils took part in a fantastic Victorian workshop,

where they experienced life as a Victorian child and had the

opportunity to have a feel for life as a child in a Victorian

school! Some truly fabulous writing took place in History

lessons, such as setting descriptions and diary entries of life

in the workhouse.

Year 6 Summer Term

As part of their ‘Ancient Egypt’ topic year 6 pupils delved into

the history of Howard Carter – the archaeologist who

discovered many of the great Ancient Egyptian artefacts; they

also learnt about the curses that were set upon anyone who

dared enter the sacred tombs! Another fantastic activity

involved the children learning about the gruesome process of

mummification, creating their own guides: ‘Mummies for

Dummies’!

As part of their ‘Ancient Egypt’ topic, year 6 pupils found out

about the importance of the River Nile to life in Ancient Egypt.

Map skills were used to identify the areas which the Nile runs

through, and how many job roles in Ancient Egyptian times

relied heavily on the famous body of water. Children also

wrote lovely poems about the natural beauty of the Nile.