Class 6 – Autumn Term 2021

Welcome to Class 6!

It is fantastic to be back to school and starting our Year 6 journey. We have been so busy already, and all pupils have settled in very well. There are some key facts below to keep Year 6 pupils on track and organised.

• Homework is sent home on a Friday and due back by Wednesday.
• Spellings are sent home weekly
• PE is taught on Tuesdays and Fridays.
• Outdoor learning is on a Monday
• Individual music tuition is on Monday

Year 6 pupils should wear their PE kit to school on PE and Outdoor learning days.

Literacy

In the first half of the term, we have been reading a children’s novel called ‘Once’ by Morris Gleitzman. The story follows the life of a young Jewish boy named Felix and is an important reminder of the very sad events of the Holocaust. Year 6 have shown an incredibly mature attitude towards an emotional story. They have enjoyed experimenting with descriptive writing and will soon plan and write their own story based on the adventures of Felix.

Following on from Once, we will be reading ‘Podkin One-Ear’.  This book is linked to our geography topic of forests.  Podkin is the son of a warrior chieftain. He knows that one day it will be up to him to lead his warren and guard it in times of danger. But for now, he’s quite happy to laze around annoying his older sister Paz, and playing with his baby brother Pook. Then Podkin’s home is brutally attacked, and the young rabbits are forced to flee. The terrifying Gorm are on the rampage, and no one and nowhere is safe. With danger all around them, Podkin must protect his family, uncover his destiny, and attempt to defeat the most horrifying enemy rabbit kind has ever known.  We will be writing lots of letters asking for help!

Later in the half term we will explore the topic of WWII poetry. Children will be reading 3 poems by excellent authors who were alive in the 1940’s. They will be analysing language use, comparing the use of poetic devices and even writing their own adaptations of each poem.

                     

Maths

In maths, we have been covering the unit of Place Value.  They have risen to the challenge and are already showing how incredibly talented they are! Next, we are going to be looking in greater depth at the four number operations, using them in context and through problem solving. Later in the term, children will be completing the unit of Fractions. Furthering their knowledge of equivalent fractions, decimals and percentages. Maths is taught through the Mastery Approach which the children have been following for two years now.

Science

Year 6 are taking part in an exciting industry based project for the first three science lessons.  GSK has asked us to investigate how they make three of their products – soap, toothpaste and emulsions.  We are learning about the different industry roles and their work as well as following the important scientific enquiry skills as part of our experimentation.  Following on from these three weeks we will be exploring how science impacted upon the war effort.

In the second half of the term, we will explore light.  This unit is full of interesting facts and exciting investigations.  The children will also learn about Percy Shaw, the inventor of the ‘Cats Eye’.

PE

To keep us fit and healthy, we have 2x hours of PE per week as well as active playtimes and Outdoor Learning. In PE lessons, we have been creating our own WWII themed dance to ‘Two Tribes,’ as well as exploring more modern fitness activities. Some pupils have even led the warm up activities for our class.

History

History will be taught up to October half term. We are learning all about WWII. In more detail, we will be; organising events on a timeline, researching how the Bowes Museum supported the war effort, explaining who the Aycliffe Angels were and their impact, and finally, we will be identifying local industries that give us clues about our area’s contributions to the war effort. It is going to be a very busy half term but certainly one that pupils will find very interesting!

Geography

As with history, we learn about geography for the first half of the term.  Our studies will focus on forests, particularly the Stang Forest and Flatts Woods.  We will learn about the importance of our forests, how they are changing and what we can do to protect them.

   

Outdoor learning

In the first half of the term we will be making dens.  Try having a go at the two knots that we will be using…

CloveHitchKnot

ShearLashingKnot

RE

In the first half term we will be exploring Humanism.  Developing an understanding of the beliefs and practices within Humanism, and describing some ways in which these make a difference to people’s lives. 

During the second half of the term our thoughts turn towards the Christian festival of Christmas.  Were we will both explore how Christmas is celebrated within the UK, and also around the world.

Music

In Autumn Term we will be developing melodic phrases, looking at music can bring us together.

After half term, Year 6 will be understanding structure and form with a focus on how music connects with our past?

Our music lessons will be broken down into four main parts: composition, performance, understanding musical elements and listening, with the children using glockenspiels as part of this musical journey.

DT

In DT we will be working on a project to set up and run our own Indian Restaurant.  To kick start this Food and Nutrition unit we visited Babuls in Barnard Castle.  The children will need to consider what ingredients will go into their curries, the nutritional value, packaging as well as creating the curry itself.

Art

In art, we will be looking at the work of Pauline Baynes who illustrated some fantastic children’s books including The Chronicles of Narnia. We will be developing our drawing skills, looking at tone, texture, pattern and line. Later, we will focus on perspective in drawing before completing our very own drawings of our shoes.

Computing

In Computing this term, we will be using Keynote to draw, colour and animate our own drawings. We will be learning about conditional statements and using them in the coding programme Tynker. Later, we will look at ways to take action and resolve conflict in relation to cyber bullying before gaining a greater knowledge of the benefits and risks of online friendships.