Over the next 7 weeks those of us in Year 3/4 will be following a unit of work on the theme of development. It is called “Different Places, Different Lives”.

This unit of work is part of the International Primary Curriculum. This new curriculum sets out very clearly what children will learn - the learning goals - in three different areas.

1. The subjects of the curriculum — the learning goals for each of these subjects are at least as challenging as anything taught in the current National Curriculum. In many cases, the learning goals are more challenging.
2. Personal development — the characteristics which will help the children become responsible, independent learners.
3. International understanding — which will help children develop a sense of the independence of their own country and culture and the interdependence between countries and cultures.

Each unit of work is based around specific targets derived from the learning goals for one or more of the subjects.

During this unit we will be focussing on geography, history, science, information and communication technology, technology, art, music and society.

We will be learning about how people live around the world. The children will be finding out about the things that people have in common and the things that are different. They will be finding out about other countries from sources such as reference books, artefacts, internet research and visitors. In Literacy we will be focusing on non –fiction report writing using the information we collect and our literacy sessions will culminate in the making of a DVD documentary on one of the countries studied.

The children will be learning about the United Kingdom and four other countries: Canada, New Zealand, Ghana and India. If you have any artefacts or resources linked to these areas please do send them in after half term. If you have visited any of these countries please let me know so we can use your first hand experiences and knowledge.

If children have visited other countries other than those mentioned above please do let them bring in any postcards, artefacts, photographs, etc that they can talk about during the first week when we begin the topic.

In Geography, We'll Be:

• looking at four different countries to find out about what the land is like and what people grow and eat there
• finding out about weather and climate
• looking at the climate in our four chosen countries and how it affects the ways people live (this will link to our science work and experiments on insulation)

In History, We'll Be:

• finding out about important people in the countries we are studying and the important changes that have happened because of these people
• making a timeline for the country to show how and why it has changed over the last 100 years

In ICT, We'll Be:

• using e-mail
• (hopefully) finding an e-pal in another country to write to in order to find out about how our lives are different and similar to theirs
• finding out about different types of ICT and whether these are available throughout the world
• discussing the good and bad aspects of ICT

In Technology, We'll Be:

• finding out about the ways in which food and water are transported
• making a raft to transport some fish
• discussing how useful the things are that we use in everyday life

In Music and Art, We’ll Be:

• looking at and listening to art and music from the four countries before trying to reproduce our own.

In Society, We'll Be:

• finding out about how other children live in different countries
• finding out about celebrations in other countries (this will also link in with our RE work)

In International, We’ll Be:

• looking at the rich / poor divides throughout the world
• We will be thinking all the time about why places are different and why people have different lives.
• We will try to work out what the terms “developing country” and “developed country” mean.

All of the work we are going to do has been written to help your child reach the learning goals. Children will be reading, researching, writing, illustrating, performing, working on their own and working in groups. We will be checking to see how well your child has learned through particular activities and by asking children to explain their work, sometimes to you.

We already know the interest you take in your child's work. If you can, please discuss with your child the work they have done as the unit progresses and let them teach you if they can.

If your child has some work to research, please help them - but without actually doing the work! If you have the chance to further their interest in the ideas of this theme please take it — but your enthusiasm and interest are most important.

By the end of the unit, we hope your child has achieved all of the learning targets. We hope they have had an enjoyable time in the classroom. And we hope you have enjoyed seeing your child work with enthusiasm. If you have any comments about the work your child has done, please get in touch.

Thank you

Nicola Stephenson Barr