Project Based Learning
Please see below for more information on our projects and visit our blog to see these in action.
Our project driving question is “why should we not judge others” and this links to our Vincentian value ‘We do not judge others’. We will explore our own values as well as the values of the superheroes when we discuss what their superpowers and values are. The children will be enthused by the project as many children have a favourite fictional superhero who inspires them to do good for others. They can relate to saving the world and saving others from harm. The children will then be encouraged to think about real life superheroes and discussions will be held about how real life superheroes help us in our everyday life.
Our entry event will be a superhero dress up day where children can come to school as the superhero of their choice. Throughout the project, children will design their own superheroes including their abilities and personalities. They will also work collaboratively to design and create a superhero city using arrays to support counting in twos, fives and tens. We will use a variety of rich texts in Literacy, as well as ‘helicopter’ storytelling to support children understanding the structure of a story. To support and develop the children’s writing we will introduce ‘Talk for writing’ which focuses on the principles of how children learn. They will then apply this knowledge to create their own storyboards and narratives for their invented superheroes.
The primary goal of this project is to introduce and instil the value of non-judgmental attitudes amongst students. By fostering a culture of empathy and acceptance, the project aims to help young learners recognize the importance of treating others with kindness and understanding. Our children will be looking at historical figures to understand how we can treat each other more fairly and to ensure we do not discriminate for any reason. The children will also explore how they feel about themselves and create a collage portrait of how they think and look. Children will explore what it means to stay safe online and share their opinions online without judgement. Investigations will take place on different groups of peoples and animals and how each individual has different views, desires and needs to become the best that they can.
Our driving question for this project is ‘Why should we not judge others?’
It links with our Vincentian value of ‘We do not judge others’ and supports our Catholic Social Teaching element of ‘The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers’ and ‘Option for the poor and vulnerable’
The children will be given the opportunity to learn what judgement is and the skills and will gain a deeper insight into how judgements can affect both themselves and other people, enabling them to be better equipped with the life skills to refrain from making assumptions based on first impressions. It will also help the children develop empathy for others by thinking about how they would feel if they were in that person’s position.
We will look at historical figures who fought for justice and equality in the past, impacting us as a society today.
We will study the Stone Age , where the children will be given the opportunity to learn about the past, including significant figures, investigating who has shown the above traits and how, as well as explaining how society has changed over time and the impact this has had on communities and lifestyles.
Our Science learning will give the children the opportunity to explore judgement through a study on Animals, including humans, where we will gain deeper insight into food chains and the hierarchy of producers, predators and prey. We will also be looking at the functions of the digestive system and teeth in humans.
Throughout the project, children will be given the opportunity to explore a range of fiction and non fiction texts based around judgement , to gain a deeper understanding of what judgement is and how we can be better equipped to refrain from judgement in all areas of our lives. We will also be exploring poetry around the same theme.
In this project, UKS2 will explore judgement of others through a study of Ancient Greece. We will begin by unpicking what it means to judge others, how it feels to be judged and our entry event teaches about Racial Justice, Equality and Diversity in an immersive way. As Catholics, we are taught to treat others as we would like to be treated, and have respect for the dignity of the individual – we will work together to unpick scenarios and share ideas on how to ensure that everyone in our community feels respected and welcome. This will lead to finding out about life in Ancient Greece including researching their hobbies, diet and lifestyle with a focus on the hierarchy of people and those who were treated differently depending on their status in society. Whilst researching, we will explore staying safe online and find out about how to recognise reliable sources of information. This information will be shared with pupils in KS1 during their project lessons in the ICT suite so that they too can be safe online and find out how to know if something is true or not.
Following on from this, we will compare the lifestyles of the Ancient Greeks with our own lifestyles today in a non-judgemental way. This will lead onto a body of work about healthy lifestyles and the circulatory system, including Hippocrates’ own thoughts on the human body. We will come to learn about healthy choices and non-healthy choices and will share our own experiences in an effort to improve our lifestyles. We will reflect on the development of knowledge over time and how early ‘fathers’ of medicine are respected for their work, even though we know they are not correct by today’s standards.
Next, we will explore Anaximander’s thoughts on evolution and the story of evolution as told by Charles Darwin alongside our knowledge of creation from our faith. We know that animals and plants have adapted to suit their environment over time in different ways – this links back to our earlier work on Racial Justice, Equality and Diversity, and how we should respect and not judge others based on our differences. We finish the project by learning about the Ancient Greeks judgement of others – through their character and how they treated others in their lifetime. As we will finish our project in the run up to Easter, we have time for personal reflection on our own characters and we treat others. Our exploration of the Gospels and the teachings of Jesus will motivate and inspire us to treat others as we would like to be treated, living in the footsteps of Christ.
Starting school can be a huge event for children and many children worry about it, for example making friends or doing something wrong. In this term the children will be learning about themselves and each other, they will be starting a project which will enable them to explore the qualities needed to be successful at school. As the children progress through their first project they will learn that working hard and developing perseverance are important qualities to make them successful learners. The children will look at examples of when people real and imagined make mistakes and learn from them.
Our driving question is: ‘How can we work hard and learn from our mistakes?’ This links to our Vincentian value of ‘ We believe in practical hands-on hard work and we learn from our mistakes. The texts used to support the children’s understanding will reflect on kindness, compassion , emotions, developing confidence, resilience, working hard and making good choices.
The children will have an opportunity to practise skills daily and identify what they are good at and what they need more support with. Our entry event will be talking about what they were like or could do as a baby and what they can do today. Children will be able to discuss the changes they have made and with hard work they have learnt to achieve so many things such as talking, sitting, crawling, walking, running, writing their name etc.
Throughout the project, children will explore how to treat others, how to persevere and how to be resilient. And that with hard hard work they will be able to achieve. The children will be rewarded with class dojo points and praised for developing these skills and will be aware of their own and others achievements.
We will use a variety of rich texts in Literacy, as well as ‘helicopter’ storytelling to support children’s understanding and the structure of a story. One of the stories the children will experience is ‘Pumpkin Soup’ and the children will experience working together and making their own soup. In discussions with the children we will explore different recipes from around the world and we encourage families to share this with us to create a cookery book. During the second part of the term, the children will be introduced to the book ‘Riley Can be Anything’, and ‘Riley knows he can’ and explore how trying different things and making mistakes can actually improve what we do and help us more. At the end of the project the children will take part in a Nativity play to the whole school and parents to show their understanding of the birth of Jesus.
This term, Key Stage one will be investigating ‘ In what practical ways can we learn from our mistakes?’. Our project question links with our Vincentian Value ‘We believe in practical, hands-on hard work and learning from our mistakes’. They will begin their project by focusing on what mistakes are and reflecting on what mistakes they have made, how they felt and what they learnt from them.
Throughout our project the children will be learning about the Great Fire of London. They will be given the opportunity to think about the mistakes that were done in the past that led to the Great Fire of London, what was learnt from those mistakes and what impact that has made on the fire service today.
Our science learning will give the children the opportunity to plan and carry out their own investigation into the different components of a fire and what sustains a burning fire. Children will develop their skills of working scientifically through asking simple questions, observing closely and carrying out simple tests.
Our driving question for this project is ‘In what practical ways can we learn from our mistakes?’
It links with our Vincentian value of ‘We believe in practical, hand on hard work and learning from our mistakes’ and supports our Catholic Social Teaching element of ‘The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers’ and ‘Call to Family, Community, and Participation’
The children will be given the opportunity to learn what a mistake is and the skills we acquire through making these mistakes. We will look at successful historical figures who have made mistakes in the past, impacting us today.
We will study the Vikings, where the children will be given the opportunity to learn about the past, including monarchs and significant figures, investigating who has shown the above traits and how, as well as explaining how society has changed over time and the impact this has had on communities and lifestyles.
Our Science learning will give the children the opportunity to make mistakes through exploring sound, including experimenting and investigating how sound travels and changes.
Throughout the project, children will be given the opportunity to explore a range of fiction and non fiction texts based around mistakes, to gain a deeper understanding of what a mistake is and how we can be better equipped to learn from our mistakes in a practical way. We will also be exploring poetry around the same theme.
After the impact of covid, children and adults have struggled with making mistakes, learning from them and building resilience. UKS2 pupils will begin by engaging in a hands-on challenge: building the tallest marshmallow and spaghetti tower in groups. Through this activity, they will learn the value of making mistakes and how to learn from them, emphasising the importance of working together as a team. The focus will be on understanding the concept of mistakes, cultivating a growth mindset, and discovering how the lessons from mistakes can benefit them in their journey beyond primary school and throughout their lives.
Throughout the project, the children will work together as a community and participate in a set of practical tasks in the forest where they will go through specific tasks teaching them the importance of teamwork, communication and failure through the journey of mistakes to success using article 12 – you have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously.
The children will delve into the lives of significant individuals who made mistakes, with a particular focus on the STEM industry. Through this exploration, they will gain insights into the world of science and innovation. The adventure continues with a historical exploration of Earth and space, uncovering key events and the valuable lessons learned from past mistakes in space exploration. By exploring the culture in America in the 1960s, we will explore how the rights of workers were not being respected. The film Hidden Figures illustrated the plight of Katherine Gobels-Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson and the racial segregation which provided a barrier to their success in the space race. This led us to focus on black history and the mistakes we made as a culture to not respect article 2 – you have the right to protection against discrimination and article 30 – you have the right to enjoy your own culture.
To ignite their creativity and narrative writing skills, the children will also read ‘Cosmic’, a story about a boy’s set of mistakes which leads him to be the first child in space, providing inspiration for their own imaginative storytelling. They will also explore the short film ‘One Small Step’ about a girl, Luna, who dreams of becoming an astronaut and overcomes barriers to achieve this dream.
In this space-themed learning experience, pupils will embark on a creative journey to explore the wonders of outer space. They will engage in hands-on activities such as crafting miniature space suits for dolls, allowing them to bring their imagination to life and deepen their understanding of the story’s setting. Additionally, they will learn a space-themed song and dance, enhancing their connection to the theme and fostering a fun and interactive learning environment.
From this project, the children should improve on having more positive relationships and fostering a safe space for making mistakes. They will understand the importance of resolving conflicts in a constructive manner, emphasising the need for positive resolutions in their relationships. The aim is for the children to use these skills in their life at home, in school and beyond primary school. Through discussions and activities inside the classroom and outside in the forest, they will be more confident in understanding how to support one another and develop valuable interpersonal skills alongside our values, rights and catholic social teaching elements. This is explored through article 29 – you have the right to education which tries to develop your personality and abilities as much as possible and encourages you to respect other people’s rights.
Reception’s project this half term is ‘Journeys’ and our driving question is ‘How can we be stewards of our environment and of one another?’ Through the project, children will learn about the different types of journeys we can take in life, developing their understanding that journeys can be learning and spiritual as well as physical. The project links with the Vincentian Value of ‘We are stewards of our environment and one another’ as we reflect on how everyone is at different stages in their individual journey as well as how journeys can affect our wider world. We will look at a range of focus texts and poems in literacy about transport as well as texts which depict a character’s personal journey and reflect on how they change along the way. The children will create character descriptions which illustrate this transformation. We will develop understanding of the world through travel agent role play and exploration of our school grounds, where the children will get to create their own maps. Children will explore different methods of travelling available to them in their local environment and visit different museums. The children will also have the opportunity to design, build and evaluate their own method of transport through junk modelling which will be showcased as their end product for EYFS parents.
This term, Key Stage one will be investigating ‘How can we be stewards of our environment and of one another?’. To answer the driving question, the children will participate in an entry event in which they receive a very special delivery of caterpillars. Pupils will have to apply their understanding of what it means to be a good steward to look after the caterpillars until they become butterflies. The children will then consider how they can find out more information through observation of the weather, seasons and life cycles of animals and plants. They will be introduced to leading examples of people who are passionate about the environment and the impact they have made. After finding out this information, the children will look at ways they can enjoy, develop and sustain our environment. Throughout the project the children will have opportunities to explore how we can celebrate the environment through music, poetry and art.
Our driving question for this project is ‘How can we be stewards of our environment and of one another?’
It links with our Vincentian value of ‘We are stewards of our environment and one another’ and supports our Catholic Social Teaching element of ‘Life and dignity of the human person’’ and ‘Care for God’s Creation’.
Throughout the project, children will be given the opportunity to explore a range of fiction and non-fiction texts about our environment to gain a deeper understanding of what makes up our environment and how we can be better equipped to look after all its elements. We will also be exploring poetry around the same theme.
We will research the effects of pollution and litter on our local environment and the children will be given the opportunity to plan, design and make their own effective waste collectors in order to be stewards of the school environment.
We will study the Aztecs, including looking at historical figures and the way these people made changes to their environment and identified the impacts of challenges caused by humans such as pollution and deforestation. As the Aztec empire could have been considered as one of the more sustainable empires in history, this study will enable the children to make comparisons with modern society.
This study will inform our electricity unit, where children will explore the components that make a working circuit and understand how electricity contributes to modern life and the impact on society.
The children will be given the opportunity to further develop their computing skills to research and create presentations on pollution and how we can look after our local environment and community. This will consolidate learning and enable the children in LKS2 to showcase their work to others, spreading the message and answer our driving question to other children in the school and families.
The children will be studying what it means to be a steward of the environment and one another by learning about sustainability. They will be using our own Forest School to help redevelop the new site with a focus on helping the biodiversity of the area through creating specific areas for different wildlife species. The ultimate aim of this summer term project will be to produce an information board and video for visitors which highlight the different areas of the Forest and how they have been created with sustainability and biodiversity in mind. The children will also be creating a piece of artwork highlighting the issue of sustainability using a variety of materials.
As this year will be the 125th anniversary of St Vincent’s School, the children will be learning about the relationship of our school with the Daughters of Charity and how they, along with St Vincent himself, have been role models as stewards to others. We will be studying why we should be stewards of our environment and one another through exploring the Catholic Social Teaching elements of “Care for God’s Creation” and “Life and dignity of the human person”.
