Year 6 Africa Cross curricular project – May and June 2025

In Year 6, pupils undertake a core curriculum piece of work focusing on the continent of Africa.  This begins with classroom work on the geographical aspects of the continent and also includes a core study of the ancient kingdom of Benin.

In order to explore the topic in greater depth this term, the pupils’ textile lessons have been dedicated to exploring African textiles and prints.  This began with working on design details and then progressed to paper designs and then batik printing.  This has enabled them to develop a range of textile design skills whilst also expanding the cross-curricular links for this cohort of children.

In language lessons, the children have continued this theme of food, but developing it through focusing on the issues of hunger and thirst, which present themselves on the continent of Africa.  Children have developed their linguistic knowledge using online dictionaries and also worked on British Council materials about zero hunger.  We wanted the children to have a chance to put their questions to an expert in the field, so we arranged for a video call with an aid worker who has done a range of projects across the continent, and they put their own questions to her based on work from the Zero Hunger Resources.  The final task is to create a floating garden to showcase a solution to the threat to food and farming during the monsoon season.

It has been important to challenge the children to think beyond stereotypical views of Africa during this project and to stimulate them to be curious and ask deeper questions.  Over the course of this work, the children have linked ideas together and made connections in their learning between their own experiences of having plenty to eat and African children who may be much more restricted in their diet.