Autumn Term 1 - History Focus

This term, our Year 5/6 cohort have been fully immersed in our World War Two history unit, exploring what life was like during the Blitz, the evacuation of children, and the use of propaganda. We have investigated how families in Britain coped during bombing raids, what it must have felt like to leave home as an evacuee, and how powerful posters and broadcasts were in shaping people’s attitudes during the war.  Using real eyewitness accounts, we have gained an authentic sense of the fear, resilience and courage of ordinary people living through extraordinary times, before writing our own pieces in the style of first-hand testimonies.

A highlight of our reading work was reading a moving poem about a man still haunted by his memories of the Blitz, which helped us to reflect on the long-lasting impact of war. Alongside this, we have been enjoying our class novel, Letters from the Lighthouse, which has kept us gripped with its story of evacuees, family secrets and bravery. The book has tied together many of our themes and sparked brilliant class discussions.

Inspired by all of our History learning, we wrote persuasive pieces in English where we argued either for wanting to be evacuated to safety in the countryside or for staying behind with our families in the city. We also stepped into the shoes of wartime children by writing diary entries about the moment we were told we would be evacuated.