The Cornerstones project that the children in Class 2 will study during the Summer Term is Emperors and Empires. This is a History project teaches children about the history and structure of ancient Rome and the Roman Empire, including a detailed exploration of the Romanisation of Britain.

The learning throughout this project will enable us to answer the Big Question for this project: 'What value and significance did Great Britain have for the Romans?'.

In addition to our main History project, we will also be studying a range of companion projects throughout the Summer Term.

Science 1

This project teaches children about the requirements of plants for growth and survival. They describe the parts of flowering plants and relate structure to function, including the roots and stem for transporting water, leaves for making food and the flower for reproduction.

Science 2

This project teaches children about light and dark. They investigate the phenomena of reflections and shadows, looking for patterns in collected data. The risks associated with the Sun are also explored.

Art and Design 1

This project teaches children about the genre of botanical art. They create natural weavings, two-colour prints and beautiful and detailed botanical paintings of fruit.

Art and Design 2

This project teaches children about the history of mosaics, before focusing on the colours, patterns and themes found in Roman mosaic. The children learn techniques to help them design and make a mosaic border tile.

Design and Technology 

This project teaches children about the purpose, structure and design features of greenhouses, and compares the work of two significant greenhouse designers. They learn techniques to strengthen structures and use tools safely. They use their learning to design and construct a mini greenhouse.

RE

Buddhism

Vesak is an important Buddhist festival, which commemorates the birth, enlightenment and sometimes death of Prince Siddhartha, who became known as Buddha. Most Buddhists celebrate Vesak when there is a full moon in May or June because they believe his birth, enlightenment and death all happened at this time.

Buddhists may bathe a statue of Buddha with scented water, light lanterns, bring offerings to the template, meditate and learn more about the Buddha's life and teachings during Vesak.

Judaism

The word Shavuot means 'weeks' and the festival of Shavuot is celebrated 50 days (seven weeks) after Passover. Practising Jews celebrate the gift of the Torah and the Ten Commandments by visiting the synagogue, studying the Torah scrolls (sometimes all night) and possibly eating cheesecake. Shavuot is also a harvest festival that celebrates the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest in Israel.

Islam

The Hajj is a pilgrimage Muslims make to the holy city of Mecca. Pilgrims spend five days praying and worshipping both in Mecca and the surrounding desert. It is a spiritual pilgrimage that every adult Muslim must perform at least once in their lives if they are physically able and can afford it.

During the Hajj, pilgrims wear simple clothes and try not to argue. The pilgrims walk around the Kaaba, drink water from the Zamzam well and stone the pillars at Mina.

The Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.