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Year 6
As your child starts their journey in Year 6, they are on the verge of becoming young adults, developing inquisitive minds ready to question and challenge the world around them. We aim to encourage them to have a love of learning. Year 6 is an action-packed year, with many opportunities for the children to immerse themselves in much more than SATs. Our class page will keep you updated with what your child has been learning each year as well as links to how you can support them at home.
Topics
Autumn – Crime and Punishment / Our Wonderful World
Spring – Storms and Shipwrecks / Digging Deep
Summer – Ancient Greece Oddysey
PE
PE (Thursday)
Swimming (including cap) – Friday (Autumn Term only)
Equipment
Useful items: pencil, ruler, small pencil case, glue stick, water bottle, home/school diary EVERY DAY – (these need to be signed by parents)
Homework
Children will be expected to complete homework on a weekly basis. Homework will be set on a Friday and will need to be returned to school by the following Wednesday at the latest. Tasks will mainly focus on Maths and English.
Children are expected to read at least 4 times a week in Year 6 and to keep a log of their reading in their home/school diary.
Autumn 1
Wow – what a busy half term we’ve had in Year 6!
We had an absolutely amazing time at Condover Hall in the third week of term. The weather was glorious which made the week even more enjoyable! Our school values permeated throughout the week as the children took on new challenges and pushed themselves to the limit:
Courage and Determination – the high wire activities were certainly challenging, especially if you don’t like heights. We were so impressed with how well some of our children faced their fears and ‘had a go’, with some even surprising themselves with how much they actually enjoyed the activities!
Mutual respect – The children showed kindness, good manners, support and encouragement throughout their stay. They displayed fantastic teamwork skills, particular during the challenge activities.
Positivity – smiles, and a ‘can do’ attitude were definitely a theme of the week, even when we were all tired.
When we returned to school, we made an A-Z of our experiences at Condover in our English lessons.
In guided reading, we have been reading the book Millions by Frank Boyes. The story is about two boys who find £250,000 and have to decide what to do with it. Through the text, we’ve explored the brothers’ characters and how they so very different.
This half term, our topic has been Crime and Punishment through the ages. We have been learning about how crimes were punished during the different ages and comparing them and have found that they were definitely more harsh in the past! In English, we have been reading the poem, “The Highway man” by Alfred Noyes. We have looked at the use of literary devices such as personification, alliteration, metaphors and similes in order to portray the feelings and emotions in the poem. We wrote monologues from Tim, the ostlers, viewpoint imagining what he would be thinking and feeling as a result of his actions. After hearing the news of the highwayman’s death, we wrote a newspaper report including examples of reported and direct speech. Finally, we worked really hard to write an extended narrative with an alternative ending – What if the highwayman didn’t die? What if Bess never pulled the trigger? What if Tim decided to try and save Bess?
In science, we have been learning about electricity. We devised an experiment to test the factors affecting the brightness of a bulb in a circuit and tested different materials to find out which were conductors and insulators. We learned that all metals conducted electricity but were surprised to find that graphite was also a conductor! To finish off our unit of work, we did a STEM project to devise a ‘burglar alarm’. We used different materials to make our alarms and tested them out to see how effective they were.
And finally, we’ve been so lucky this half term to have Daz Barton from Trentham Boat Club delivering our rowing sessions. He has taught us how to row with the correct technique but more importantly how to work as a team to build each other up and encourage our team mates to do their best. We are looking forward to continuing these sessions during a lunchtime club with Miss Dyke in preparation for the indoor championships next year.
Autumn 2
This half term we have continued with our Crime and Punishment topic looking at how laws changed throughout history. Through our work in English, we focused on the Victorian period and studied the classic story of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. We explored characters and setting using both the text and film clips.
Graffiti - art of vandalism? We debated this question, looking at various forms of art including the work of the famous artist Banksy. Using arguments both for and against, we wrote a balanced discussion on whether graffiti should be legalised.
In art, we looked at the work of the artist Keith Haring who was inspired by the work of graffiti artists. He got in to trouble sometimes for drawing on the subway, but many people loved his art. He carried on drawing because he wanted everyone to experience art. Keith Haring started becoming famous and had exhibitions in galleries. When the paintings were sold, he often gave the money to children's charities. Haring painted art with and for kids. He made murals in lots of children's hospitals and schools. Inspired by his work, we collaborated to create our own large murals in a similar style.
To end our topic, we had a visit from PC Elliot, an officer who has worked in the force for almost 30 years. We answered our quesitons about modern day policing and how times have changed. We learnt about how technology is used to assist police officers. Did you know that 30 years ago police offices communicated with whistles on the beat whereas nowadays they use tablet devices, mobile phones and even have cameras strapped to their uniforms! Thankfully laws have changed and PC Elliot talked about the importance of using effective communication to calm situations rather than some of the harsher punishments that were used in the past.
Spring 1
We started this half term with a trip to the New Vic Theatre to see the fabulous 'The Prince and The Pauper'.
After reading and analysing a range of theatre reviews, we had a go at writing our own reviews of the show. Here are some examples of our work.
Our topic this half term was Storms and Shipwrecks and we have been reading Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. This wonderful book tells the story of Michael as he sets off on a round-the-world adventure with his parents. But the adventure really starts when Michael falls overboard and wakes up on a strange island. Here he meets Kensuke and we explored how the relationship between these two characters changes as different events happen. We wrote an island description, focusing on the use of language and senses.
Our art work was inspired by the Japanese artist Hokousai’s Great Wave. We carefully sketched the wave and used watercolour paints to build colour. We were really proud of the finished pieces.
In Geography, we used Google maps to plot Michael’s journey and then created fact files on one of the Countries he visited. We also explored different biomes in the world and plotted these on a world map.
In Science, we have been learning about grouping living things by looking at the classification system and the work of Carl Linneaus. We created our own classification keys based on the properties of different animals and plants and explored some more unusual creatures like the duck-billed platypus to discover how they were classified.
This half term, we have been collecting food for the Lou Macari foundation which supports homeless people in our area as part of our Ignite initiative. We had a lovely afternoon working with nursery to write prayers and supportive messages to include in our ‘food hampers’.
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Spring 2
This half term, we started our new book Holes by Louis Sachar. We imagined a more appealing Camp Green Lake than the reality and wrote our own brochures to persuade people to go to our imaginary camps using a range of persuasive techniques. In the book, Sachar uses ‘flashback’ techniques effectively to link events from the present to the past. We wrote our own flashback story to retell the legend of Kissing Kate Barlow.
In D&T, we designed and made our own cranes using a pulley mechanism to help Stanley to lift the sand from his hole. We used the Lego We:do kits to programme the motor in our cranes. We were really impressed with the results.
In science, we have been learning about Evolution and Inheritance. We investigated the theory by Charles Darwin of how finches evolved on the Galápagos Islands using different types of food and different ‘beaks’. We all had great fun, especially trying to pick up pieces of rice using chopsticks!
Home learning – learning doesn’t stop even when we’re not in school. The children have all been working hard at home on the tasks set. Last week, they were set the challenge of drawing a butterfly and improving their work based on feedback from others. The results were really impressive:
Summer 1
Well, what a different kind of term it’s been but that hasn’t stopped us learning. This term, we have learned how to use Microsoft Teams to continue our maths and English lessons from home. In maths, we have been exploring the concept of ratio and proportion. We have learned to recognise, describe and compare ratios and will represent them in different ways. We have also looked at the concept of scale factors and learned to interpret scales on plans and maps, using them to calculate actual size or distance. We have enlarged shapes by a given scale factor, and learned to identify whether two shapes are similar using calculations to deduce the scale factor.
In English, we have been looking at Greek Myths and legends. We read a variety of Greek Myths and explored the themes and characters within. After reading the story of King Midas, we wrote our own version based on the structure of the original story but making it original. Here are some examples of our work. We’ve also been reading ‘Who Let the God’s out’ by Maz Evans. We focused on Chapter 7 and looked at how to use a range of techniques to improve setting descriptions.
We’ve also been very busy focusing on our own goals and targets. We’ve practised our baking, gardening, art, music and computing skills taking responsibility for our own learning. It has been wonderful to see so many examples of the children learning at home. Here are just a few photographs of what we’ve been up to.
