Year ¾ Science based unit – ‘Volcanoes’
Topic overview – children develop their map and atlas work by locating areas in the world where volcanoes are found. They focus on settlements; why people choose to live in certain places with a particular focus on areas near volcanoes. In history they learn about Pompeii and the effect volcanoes can have on settlements. They then look at various types of rocks and how they are formed in science. They investigate combining materials to create ‘eruptions’ and make their own volcanoes which erupt.
Geography skills / History skills•Ask and answer geographical questions about thephysical and human characteristics of a location.
•Explain own views about locations, giving reasons
•Use a range of resources to identify the keyphysical and human features of a location.
•Describe key aspects of:
physical geography, including: volcanoes and earthquakes
• human geography, including: settlementsand land use. / • Suggest causes and consequences of some of themain events and changes in history.
• Use evidence to ask questions and find answers toquestions about the past.
• Suggest suitable sources of evidence for historicalenquiries.
• Use more than one source of evidence for historicalenquiry in order to gain a more accurateunderstanding of history.
• Describe different accounts of a historical event,explaining some of the reasons why the accountsmay differ.
• Use dates and terms to describe events. including:
• time period
• change
Thinking scientifically skills / Science knowledge skills
• Ask relevant questions.
• Record findings using simple scientific language,drawings, labelled diagrams
• Report on findings from enquiries,
including written explanations
• Identify differences, similarities or changes relatedto simple, scientific ideas and processes.
• Use straightforward, scientific evidence to answerquestions or to support their findings. / • Compare and group together different kinds ofrocks on the basis of their simple, physicalproperties.
• Relate the simple physical properties of some rocksto their formation (igneous or sedimentary).
• Describe in simple terms how fossils are formedwhen things that have lived are trapped withinsedimentary rock.
• Recognise that soils are made from rocks andorganic matter.