Welcome to Year 6

Summer Term 2023

Areas of study for Year 6

 

English

We will begin this term with a study of the novel ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ by Michelle Magorian. The children will be given the opportunity to express their opinions about the treatment of children during the Second World War and make active comparisons between life then and how we live today. We will be focussing on writing creative description of characters and settings taken from the novel, with particular emphasis on the children using engaging figurative language and challenging vocabulary. The children will be given the opportunity to write a comparative essay between two settings and focus on the use of language to make active comparisons between London and the quaint village setting of Little Weirwold. Using our history topic as inspiration, the children will then be using their research skills to gather information about Second World War leaders with the goal of writing a biography based on their choice. We will teach the children to choose the correct level of formality to use and how their choice of vocabulary will impact the reader’s opinions and understanding of the figure they are writing about. Also, we will investigate the use of anecdotes and how these are written to make these famous people more accessible and, in some cases, more alive. 

In the second half of the term, we will shift our focus towards evaluative writing and the language and structure of letters and reviews. The children are going to write a letter to next year’s year 6 children, outlining and evaluating their year as well as offering advice on what to expect next year. We will be asking the children to write a detailed review of some of the activities that they will be undertaking as part of our activity week, ensuring that they write a balanced review and analysing reviews that show a clear bias. 

Maths

During our maths lessons this term we will be reviewing the children’s learning across the whole of Key Stage Two in preparation for their transition to secondary school. This will involve recapping the four operations and ensuring that they can use both mental and written methods to solve a range of problems. The children will use fractions to solve calculations and find amounts and develop their knowledge and understanding of how these relate to decimals and percentages. Next, the children will progress to translating simple and complex 2D shapes on a grid, using co-ordinates to plot points along the x and y axis and increasing and decreasing the size of shapes using scale factors. The children will also use their knowledge of metric units of measurement to calculate the area, perimeter of simple and compound 2D shapes and the volume of cuboids. Towards the end of the term, the children will be provided with further opportunities to use algebra to solve a range of number problems, including identifying the Nth term in a sequence of numbers. Over the course of this term, children will continue to practise reasoning and problem-solving activities to consolidate their learning and to apply what they have learnt.
 

Reading

This term, the children will begin to read ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ as their class novel. This will include discussions about the author’s choice of vocabulary and how he uses language to build effective characters. The children will also have the opportunity to develop a range of reading skills by using the new scheme, VIPERS (vocab, inference, prediction, explain, retrieve, summarise).

MFL

 

Moi dans la monde (Me in the World) will explore how children explain their geographical location in French, including their home town and their country. They will then move on to discussing some of their favourite times of year explaining which festival (Christmas etc.) they prefer and using ‘pace-que’ (because) to support their choices. They will continue to use a range of conjunctions to build more complex sentences in French. 

Later in the term, the children will explore how to protect our planet and to explain what they must do in order to be environmentally friendly. The children will develop their conversational French by placing these suggestions into a conversation by using common greetings and farewells. 

PSHE/RSHE

The children will be using their final term in primary school to prepare for the transition to secondary school and beyond. In preparation for such a big change, the children will be given the chance to explore how they will feel and what they impact of the change will have on them emotionally. The children will learn some key skills that they will need in September, including packing a bag with their equipment, to aid organisation; reading a timetable and understanding where they will need to be in the school day; and tying a tie – something that many will have never done before. This will also link with a study of the importance of maintaining positive mental health and what could cause people’s mental health to deteriorate. Throughout the topic, the children will be asked to express their opinions and listen to those of others with sensitivity and empathy.

In the second half of the term, the children will continue to develop their understanding of human reproduction and puberty, particularly looking at how humans reproduce, pregnancy and birth. The children will also look more closely at different types of human relationships and what these mean in modern society. Linking with our science topic, we will also be studying the impact of drugs on the body and the consequences of drug use. This will also involve looking in more depth at how to avoid per pressure and what to do if the children ever feel pressured to do something they do not want to do. 

RE

During this term, the children will be considering the question How do religious leaders and sacred texts contribute to believer’s understanding of their faith? The children will be exploring the significance of religious leaders in shaping their religion and how the followers of the religion respond to their teachings. Through the study of religious texts, the children will increase their understanding of the contents of individual books; how the followers of the religions use them to inform their daily lives; how books are treated as part of a person’s worship; and how stories contained within them can teach lessons of morality.

PE

In PE, the children will be given the opportunity to revise and rehearse a series of dance steps that they have learned in previous terms (Charleston, Lambeth Walk and the Lindy Hop) and apply these to new scenarios. This specifically will apply to using their understanding to interpret the story of people in the Second World War and create a sequence of steps which will accurately express the emotions of the time. 

Later in the term, the children will take part in Sports Day practice, involve running, (relay, sprints, long distance) throwing and jumping.

Geography

Although the children will not be learning a discrete topic in geography this term, they will continue to develop their understanding of key geography skills, especially map reading and knowledge of countries around the world. The children will take part in a geography theme day at the start of the term, where they will learn about a series of countries with particular focus on their topography, population, flags and locations; for each of the countries, the children will take part in a practical activity linked to that country. As part of our history topic, the children will also be given the opportunity to compare and contrast maps of Europe (and the wider world) pre and post war, to explore the impact the war had on the political geography of the world. 

History

This term, the children will be learning about The Second World War, beginning with how and why the war started – with particular reference to how the end of the First World War had a significant impact on why this war started. Following this, the children will learn about the evacuation of children in Britain, rationing, the different weapons and technology used during the war and the role of the home guard and land army in maintaining Britain during the Blitz. Throughout this topic, the children will have opportunities to produce writing about the war and will be given the chance to independently research a topic of their choice, which they will then use to create a collaborative document as part of their computing topic.

Science

Our study of Animals Including Humans will focus specifically on the human body and how it works, paying particular attention to the role of the circulatory system and its significance on maintaining a healthy body. The children will understand how the heart pumps blood around the body and how the lungs oxygenate the blood in order to supply it to the rest of the body. As the term progresses, the children will build an understanding of the make-up blood and what each part of the blood contributes to maintaining the body; the effect of exercise on the body and how the heart must pump blood around in order to provide more oxygen; how to maintain a healthy diet; and the effects of smoking, alcohol and drugs on the body and how they can impact physical and mental health. 

Music

Continuing on from last term, the children will be studying the history of music, including medieval, renaissance, classical and blues. They will have the opportunity to critique music from different periods, learn about famous composers, create collages and identify the different instruments used and how these have changed over time. By studying each period in turn, the children can identify the similarities between them and how they draw on one another to create new music. 
The children will then be given the opportunity to analyse a series of pieces of classical music using the BBC ’10 Pieces’. They will be asked to share their interpretations of each of the pieces including what they visualise when they hear it, what they think about the instruments used to create the pieces of music and provide critical responses with evidence. 

After the half term, the children will be taking part in a production of a musical which will be their final production in primary school. The children will be asked to call upon their experience as vocalists to add to the medley of acting, dancing and singing required to stage a successful production. 
Computing

This term, the children will be using the internet to research and download text and media to add to a collaborative document. Using ‘Google Docs’, they will use their word processing skills to develop a document which effectively conveys information about the Second World War. Later, they will use the same collaborative platform to express their thoughts and opinions about a philosophy question, which they can then debate within the document. 

In the second half of the term, the children will apply their understanding of coding in the Scratch coding platform to create an animated poem and develop a maths quiz for future year 6 children. Through all of these challenges, they must use their ability to develop algorithms, debug and understand variables in order to effectively create a program.

Art, Design & Technology

In art, the children will use the art works of Augustin Edouart as inspiration to create a silhouette image featuring items and figures taken from their study of the Second World War. The children will gather images and then experiment with different mediums including chalk, crayon, watercolour pain and tissue paper, combing these to create an effective piece of art which captures the mood and theme of the war. 

In DT, the children will be tasked with designing their own healthy meal using seasonal produce. They will need to investigate recipes online and decide which ingredients to substitute or remove in order to make the meal as healthy as possible. The children will then use a range of cooking techniques (cutting, boiling, grating etc.) to make their meal, which they will then evaluate by tasting. 

*If you require additional information relating to our school curriculum, please ask at the school office or the class teacher.