KS1 Topic:Oceans and Seas

Through a series of lively and interesting activitiesthe children will build their knowledge of oceans and seas around the world. They will begin to understand the different environments these represent and how they affect life on land as well as at sea. They will develop their geographical skills and build up their knowledge of food chains, exploration, and evolution!

Block / Key NC Objectives / Main Creative Outcomes
Block A
Oceans and Seas of the World
[5 sessions] / Art, Geography, Music, Maths,ScienceandHistory
  • Use a range of materials creatively to design and make products.
  • Use drawing and painting to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination.
  • Interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, globes and aerial photographs.
  • Name and locate the world’s 7 continents and 5 oceans.
  • Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key physical features, including ‘sea’, ‘ocean’ and ‘weather’.
  • Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage.
  • Use voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes.
  • Add and subtract one-digit and two-digit numbers to 20.
  • Compare, describe and solve practical problems for lengths and heights [for example, long/short, longer/shorter, tall/short, double/half].
  • Discuss and clarify the meanings of words, linking new meanings to known vocabulary.
  • Discuss their favourite words and phrases.
  • Observe closely, use simple equipment and perform simple tests.
  • Use observations and ideas to provide answers to questions.
  • Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections.
  • Learn about the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements.
/ Learn about the seas that surround the UK. Develop knowledge of the oceans and continents of the world. Investigate how waves are caused and how they move. Inspired by the stormy seascapes of J. M. W. Turner, use a variety of techniques to create textured watercolour paintings and turn them into sea-storm collages.
Block B
Atlantic Underwater World
[4 sessions] / Art,Science,GeographyandMaths
  • Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences.
  • Become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
  • Use a range of materials creatively to design and make products.
  • Use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination.
  • Develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space.
  • Ask simple questions and recognise that they can be answered in different ways.
  • Observe closely, using simple equipment.
  • Perform simple tests.
  • Use their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions.
  • Gather and record data to help in answering questions.
  • Identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their habitats, including micro-habitats.
  • Identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they depend on each other.
  • Describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals, using the idea of a simple food chain, and identify and name different sources of food.
  • Find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including humans, for survival (water, food and air).
  • Develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places, both terrestrial and marine, including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes.
  • Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key physical features, including ‘beach’, ‘cliff’, ‘coast’, ‘forest’, ‘hill’, ‘mountain’, ‘sea’, ‘ocean’, ‘river’, ‘soil’, ‘valley’, ‘vegetation’, ‘season’ and ‘weather’.
  • Recognise and name common 2-D and 3-D shapes.
  • Identify and describe the properties of 3-D shapes.
/ Through a range of exciting activities,find out about the fascinating life of the Atlantic Ocean. Develop an understanding of how life is adapted to living in the Atlantic.Understand waterproofing,study how pattern is used for camouflage and understand about food chains. Finally create a sculpture of the many ocean creatures and plants researched.
Block C
Pacific Underwater World
[4 sessions] / Geography, Science,EnglishandArt
  • Develop knowledge about diverse places, resources and natural and human environments.
  • Develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places, both terrestrial and marine.
  • Interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, globes and aerial photographs.
  • Name and locate the world’s 7 continents and 5 oceans.
  • Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key physical features, including sea, ocean and weather.
  • Identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they depend on each other.
  • Identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their habitats, including micro-habitats.
  • Describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals, using the idea of a simple food chain, and identify and name different sources of food.
  • Choose relevant information to create a non-fiction non-chronological report.
  • Adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role.
  • Become more familiar with and confident in using language in a variety of situations and for a variety of role play situations.
  • Use a range of materials creatively to design and make products.
  • Use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination.
  • Develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space.
/ Learn about the fascinating underwater world of the Pacific Ocean and the Great Barrier Reef. Make maps and create diagrams of food chains, role-play an underwater expedition, make short documentaries about researched creatures. Finally use colour-wash and 3D sculpture techniques to create a Great Barrier Reef display.
Block D
Sea mythology
[4 sessions] / English, MusicandPE
  • Develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by listening to, discussing and expressing views about a wide range of contemporary and classic poetry, stories.
  • Recognise simple recurring literary language in stories and poetry.
  • Discuss and clarify the meanings of words, linking new meanings to known vocabulary.
  • Discuss their favourite words and phrases.
  • Develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing.
  • Evaluate their writing with the teacher and other pupils.
  • Adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role.
  • Become more familiar with and confident in using language in a variety of situations and for a variety of role play situations.
  • Play tuned and untuned instruments musically.
  • Listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music.
  • Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.
  • Develop fundamental movement skills, become increasingly competent and confident, and access a broad range of opportunities to extend their agility, balance and coordination, individually and with others.
  • Work co-operatively on physical activities, in a range of increasingly challenging situations.
  • Perform dances using simple movement patterns.
/ Inspired by sea monsters and mythological creatures, listen to sounds of the sea and write a powerful poem.Examine the voyage of Odysseus and create a sequence of sounds matched to events from his journey. Finally, storyboard dance movements inspired by Odysseus and the sea monsters he meets, and perform dance to a piece of sea-themed music.
Block E
Fantasy Islands
[4 sessions] / Geography, D&T, English andMaths
  • Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage.
  • Recognise simple recurring literary language in stories and poetry.
  • Discuss and clarify the meanings of words, linking new meanings to known vocabulary.
  • Discuss their favourite words and phrases.
  • Develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by: writing poetry writing for different purposes.
  • Evaluate their writing with the teacher and other pupils.
  • Adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role.
  • Become more familiar with and confident in using language in a variety of situations and for a variety of role play situations.
  • Design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria.
  • Select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing].
  • Evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria.
  • Use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
  • Use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination.
  • Use mathematical vocabulary to describe position, direction and movement, including movement in a straight line.
/ Write a fantasy island poem inspired by a message in a bottle from a shipwrecked sailor. Develop map reading skills and knowledge of compass points.Learn how to talk like a pirate; design treasure maps; create treasure island models complete with characters, creatures and shelters.Celebrate the work achieved in this block with a pirate themed day.
Block F
Boats and ships
[9 sessions] / Geography, D&T, Science, English andMaths
  • Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change.
  • Identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.
  • Learn about events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally;to understand historical concepts such as continuity and change; to identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.
  • Learn about changes in living memory; to identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.
  • Observe closely, using simple equipment; to perform simple tests; to identify and classify; to use observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions.
  • Say sentences out loud before writing them; to re-read what they have written to check that it makes sense; to write for different purposes; to use simple connectives to join clauses.
  • To write for different purposes.
  • Recognise and use language relating to dates, including weeks, months and years; to compare intervals of time; to read numbers to 100 in numerals; to use place value and number facts to solve problems.
  • Measure and begin to record mass/weight; to choose and use appropriate standard units to measure mass (kg/g) to the nearest appropriate unit, using scales.
  • Construct simple pictograms; to answer simple questions by counting the number of objects in each category and sorting the categories by quantity; to ask and answer questions about totalling and comparing categorical data.
  • Recognise, identify and describe the properties of 2-D shapes, including the number of sides and line symmetry in a vertical line.
  • Explore and use mechanisms in their products; to design purposeful, functional, appealing products based on design criteria; to select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks; to select from and use a wide range of materials and components according to their characteristics; to evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria.
/ Researchthe development of boats and ships, changes in their power sources, changing length of voyages, the history of regattas and the life of seafarers. Paint, make sketches, write journal entries, use code and write ship telegrams.Carry out floating and sinking experiments, construct boats and finallyput on a regatta with sandwiches and prizes!
Block G
The Galapagos Islands and Charles Darwin
[5 sessions] / Geography, History, English, Art, Scienceand DT
  • Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage.
  • Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to:key physical features, including: volcano, vegetation, season and weather.
  • Identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United Kingdom and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator.
  • Knowledge of the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements.
  • Discuss and clarify the meanings of words, linking new meanings to known vocabulary.
  • Develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by: writing information and non-fiction reports
  • Evaluate their writing with the teacher and other pupils.
  • To adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role.
  • Become more familiar with and confident in using language in a variety of situations and for a variety of role play situations.
  • To choose relevant information to create a non-fiction non-chronological report.
  • Design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design.
  • Select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing].
  • Evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria.
  • Identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they depend on each other.
  • Identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their habitats, including micro-habitats.
  • Describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals, using the idea of a simple food chain, and identify and name different sources of food.
  • To use a range of materials creatively to design and make products.
  • To use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination.
/ Enter the world of famous naturalist Darwin and his discoveries. Research the Galapagos Islands and create a fact-file. Meet Darwin, learn about adaptations, create Naturalist’s Notebooks similar to those of Darwin.Collect plant samples, make sketches and notes like a real naturalist. Make a documentary to introduce others to the world of Darwin.

© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.

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