This resource is meant to be used by children in Key Stage 2 (English objectives pitched to Years 5 and 6) to investigate instruments used by traditional societies in West Africa. After listening to music and investigating different instruments used and how they are designed and used, children will design their own thumb piano (mbira) before making it and evaluating it. Alternatively, after researching different instruments from West Africa, children can choose to make a different one instead of a thumb piano. The design, make, and evaluate sheets have been made as generic as possible to allow for this. A digital copy for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is provided with download.

This resource is meant to be used by children in Key Stage 2 (English objectives pitched to Years 5 and 6) related to the Ancient Kingdom of Benin. Children will first learn about the art that has made the study of the kingdom significant, as well as the removal of the art by the British forces in 1897 when they annexed the kingdom by force. Children will have to think critically about the art and who has rights to it, before writing a persuasive text that either argues that the British Museum should be able to retain the art, or that the government of Nigeria should be able to have the art back. A digital copy of the file for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is provided with download.

This resource is meant to be used by children in Key Stage 2 (English objectives pitched to Years 5 and 6) to investigate the history and significance of the commemorative heads made to honour the Oba of Ancient Benin. Children will first read about the heads through differentiated articles, then investigate the symbolism of different commemorative heads. They will then design their own commemorative head before carving it out of a bar of soap and evaluating their design. Lastly, children will write an explanation text about their commemorative head. Sequence of Sessions: Research Ancient Benin Investigating different examples of art commissioned by Obas of Ancient Benin Investigating the significance of animals in commemorative heads of Ancient Benin Obas Design own Oba head Carve own Oba head Evaluate own Oba head Features of an Explanation Text Write an Explanation Text There is also a digital file included for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw.

*Updated with new graphics This resource has been planned for a 6-week Half-Term. It connects the curriculums for Design Technology, Science, Art, English, and History. Children investigate light and how it travels while also studying the eye and the history of cinema, with a focus on special effects. A zip file with PDF units and links to digital files for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available with download.

*Updated with new graphics To introduce this Learning Outcome, we took the children outside with different materials to make shadow art. Some were given challenges, and some were left to explore. Children are then exposed to how shadow is moved to create fear in horror films before being challenged to design a movie trailer of their own. We used iMovie’s Trailer option, but the same project could be done with a variety of different software options. At the end, we invited parents in to school and served popcorn as we all watched the horror trailers made by the children in the year group. A digital copy of the outcome for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available by following the link provided with download.

*Updated with new graphics Children will participate in a science investigation about pupil dilation before doing a study of how light affects how we see. Children will write an explanation text about how the eye works, including diagrams, with scaffolds provided. This pack can be used alongside the pack for drawing an eye, which has an art focus as opposed to an English focus. A digital copy of the pack is available for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw by following the link provided with download.

*Update with new graphics Children study an object in detail using tones and shades before using the same skills on a sketch of their eye with detail. The same planning can be used with eyes of creatures or animals (we did dragons) instead of human eyes, which is also very effective. A digital copy of the pack is available for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw by following the link provided with download.

*Updated with new graphics Children study the similarities and differences between old and modern cinema, with a focus on special effects. Children then watch old and new versions of the same film (eg: King Kong) and write a movie review. They can either write a review of a new film for an old audience, or of an old film for a new audience. This resource links with two other Outcomes in the same Topic related to light and cinema: Writing a Report on special effects Planning and filming a silent horror movie trailer that uses light and shadow A digital copy for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available by following the link provided with download.

Children will look at popular avatars from different video games, including Super Mario, Bowser, Link, and Donkey Kong. They will look at how their design has changed over time, and will compare how characters are similar and different. Children will then design their own video game characters; a hero and an enemy. In the past I have used this alongside a unit on designing a video game on Scratch, where the children can include their avatar in their game. To do this, we took photos of the drawn characters and then edited them online before uploading them to the program. A link to digital resources for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available with download.

*Updated with new graphics Children will investigate different Mayan textiles, including colours used; what is shown; and what the textiles were used for. They will learn different stitches used for decoration and attaching materials before designing their own (using annotated, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams) before making and evaluating their textiles. In the past, I have focused on either a whole-class tapestry or have focused on worry dolls and/or worry doll bags, depending on how much time we have. This pack includes lesson plans, rubrics, and editable rubrics to support with the learning process. Lessons and objectives are aligned with objectives from the 2014 National Curriculum of England. A digital copy of the document for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available by following the link provided with download.

In this resource, children will participate in activities as they learn about the circulatory system and the heart in a hands-on and meaningful way before building an anatomical heart. In the past, I have taught these sessions in a carousel over several days, but they could be taught whole-class as well. A digital file for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available with download.