This half term, Year 5 have launched into an exciting new topic all about Dagenham – Past and Present. We’ve been exploring how our local area has changed over time, and the children have been fascinated to discover just how much history is on their doorstep!
To kick off our learning, we looked closely at photographs of different areas of Dagenham, comparing what they looked like in the past with how they appear today. The children did a fantastic job spotting similarities and differences and using their geographical skills to describe the changes they noticed.
One of the highlights so far has been learning about the Dagenham Idol – a wooden figure discovered right here in Dagenham and believed to be over 4,000 years old! The children were amazed that such an ancient artefact was found so close to home, and it has sparked lots of curiosity about who might have made it and what life was like all those years ago.
As the topic continues, we’ll be delving deeper into how Dagenham has developed, the lives of people in the past, and how our community continues to grow and change today.
