Welcome back and Happy New Year!
We hope you and your families have had a wonderful break and are feeling ready for the term ahead. We would like to remind pupils to bring extra layers and a warm, waterproof coat to school every day – the weather is very cold and we have increased ventilation in our classroom to help keep us all safe!
Year 6 updates:
- Tuesday afternoon PE fitness.
- Thursday PE lesson all afternoon.
- Monday Outdoor Learning.
Literacy
In literacy, we are focusing our reading on books and texts from Peru. We will be starting our unit by reading ‘Where is Machu Picchu’ by Megan Stine. We will be writing our own non-chronological reports using a wide range of language features. We look forward to sharing them with you. We will also be reading ‘Up And Down the Andes’ by Laurie Krebs and a Trickster Tale by Barbara Knutson. Later in the term, we will be reading a fantastic Michael Morpurgo novel called ‘Why The Whales Came’. We will be writing our own stories about mysterious discoveries before turning our hand to visitor guides about the Isles of Scilly. I am sure we will inspire you to take a visit to the incredible archipelago!
Maths
First, we will begin by learning our new unit of Geometry, Position and Direction. We will focus on reading and plotting co-ordinates both on the first and then the four quadrants. We will then progress our co-ordinate skills by learning about the translation and reflection of shapes on the co-ordinate plane. Later in the half term, we will be looking at Decimals and Percentages in great detail before moving onto our topic of Algebra. We will also look in depth at Measurement (converting units), Perimeter, Area and Volume as well as finishing the Spring term with the topic of Ratio. We have a jam packed Spring term ahead! And we have a huge amount of maths to learn. Children can further extend their maths knowledge by using the following websites:
Science
The term kicks off with the topic of ‘Living Things and Habitats’ where the children will learn to describe how living things are classified into broad groups according to common observable characteristics and based on similarities and differences, including micro-organisms, plants and animals. We will learn about how the scientist Carl Linneas changed the whole classification with his two-word latin approach. A highlight is sure to be when we create our own mythical animals based on the key physical features!
After half term we turn to the practical topic of electricity which always popular! Learning will include investigating how the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer relates to the number and voltage of cells used in the circuit. We will compare and give reasons for variations in how components function, including the brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches, using recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram.
Geography
Linking to our stories in English, we will be learning about Peru. We will focus on map reading, exploring the main industries across the region, the climate changes, as well as what it is like to live in Peru. Year 6 will identify the three very different geographical regions: the Pacific coastal strip, the Andes mountains and the Amazonian lowlands. We will be visited (virtually) by a Peruvian lady, who will lead us through the culture, buildings and transport that is found in Peru.
History
In History this half term, we will be learning all about Medicine Through Time! An incredible, eye-opening and sometimes disgusting topic! We will learn all about the advancement of medicine through the ages. Staring with Medieval medical practices and making the journey through to modern medical advancements like the Covid 19 Vaccine! We will look into the work of pioneering scientists such as Hippocrates II, Claudius Galen, Florence Nightingale, Edward Jenner and Wilhelm Rontgen. We will place events, discoveries and people on timelines and discover about the fascinating theories of the past. A truly amazing topic that I am sure Year 6 pupils are going to love!
Art
We have two units to cover in art after half term, these are fabric and printing.
Our fabric unit is linked to the environment in Geography and RE where we will be designing and creating own wax batik artwork, taking inspiration from the artist Peter Goldphin.
Our printing unit will be inspired by artist Andy Warhol, and the children will be creating pop art block printed portraits.
DT
After the February break, Year 6 will be carrying out their DT textiles unit. The children will be designing, cutting, stitching and decorating their own apron. This will serve as a keepsake of their journey through primary school, which will lead us to reflect on key memories and important events to decorate our aprons.
RE
After Christmas we will be answering the question ‘Who cares about the environment?’ As part of this discussion we will explore the differences in the creation stories across different religions. The children will explain what Christianity and other religions say about the environment and investigate the environmental work of Pope Francis.
After half term we will ask ‘Why are Good Friday and Easter Day the most important days for Christians?’ We will review the Easter story so that it can be confidently recalled, in particular the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Our focus will be how Christians observe Good Friday and we will all consider why we think that the events of Good Friday occurred. After learning about Good Friday we will move onto explaining how Christians observe Easter Sunday and we will express justified opinions on why the events of Easter Sunday are so significant to Christians.
Music
