Hello, Year 6. This is an important and exciting year for you all as this will be your last year at primary school. We have lots of amazing things planned for you! It will definitely be a memorable and exciting year, filled with memories which you will look back on with a smile!

 

Here are some reminders and key information to make sure you can participate in all the wonderful activities we have planned.



Key information




English is very exciting this year! During the autumn term, we will be reading The Switch by Anthony Horowitz, a fantastic story about a rich boy who switches lives with a poor boy. The book is full of edge-of-your-seat moments that will keep everyone engaged. While we read, the children will write a recount in the form of a diary entry from the perspective of one of the boys. In spring, we will be reading The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne, and The Hobbit by J.R. Tolkien. The summer term will focus on The Arrival by Shaun Tan, and Holes by Louis Sachar. The children will be writing narratives, information texts and recounts. This will give them a chance to use the grammar and vocabulary skills they will be learning in Year 6.


Maths this year begins with learning about place value and then leads into the four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. After this, we will be building on our knowledge of concepts such as fractions, decimals, measure as well as learning new concepts such as long division and percentages. In the spring term, we will be moving onto learning about ratio and proportion, algebra, decimals and area and perimeter. We will ensure that we can solve a wide range of problems to support our understanding of maths in a real-life context. Alongside our maths learning, we will be developing our arithmetic skills each day with an arithmetic test, as well as practising our times tables on TT Rock Stars as this will help us with lots of areas within maths! 


In MFL, we are building on our Spanish knowledge in order to describe our feelings, personality and appearance. We will also be learning nouns for rooms and furniture in a house, sports, activities during the day and how to order food. Alongside each of these topics, we will be learning about how nouns can be feminine or masculine and how to pronounce certain sounds in Spanish. 


In Computing, we are building on our knowledge from last year by developing our own websites, using coding to insert headers, navigation, images and information. Following this, we will be creating our own games on Scratch, using coding to include scoring and countdown timer variables. Finally, we will be using spreadsheets to explore data and information. 


We start our History curriculum this year by exploring the Holocaust as part of our whole-school study into World War ll. We will develop our history skills by investigating a range of sources and exploring different interpretations of events from this time period. We will focus on terms such as propaganda and persecution, learn what they mean and how these impacted the lives of different people in the past. Following this, we will kick off our local history unit with a visit to the Black Country Living Museum to help us understand the Industrial Revolution. Finally, we will be studying a non-European society: the kingdom of Benin. Throughout our History lessons, the children will take part in experience lessons that will help bring history to life in the classroom. 


In Geography, our topic is scale and location. This topic will pull together the skills learned across KS2. Children will have the opportunity to develop their understanding of four-figure and six-figure grid references, compass points and Ordnance Survey maps. After Christmas, we will be studying the physical geography of mountains and mountain ranges, their formation, some famous expeditions and also mountain biodiversity. During the summer term, the children will study the UK and Global Trade. They will learn more about the various products and services that the UK buys and sells, as well as the country's biggest trading partners. They will consider the ethical and moral issues around the human and physical impact of trade. 


In Science, our first focus is on living things and their habitats, revisiting and expanding on our knowledge of classification, animal kingdoms and living organisms. Following this, we will be exploring the circulatory system and what keeps our heart healthy, how light travels, conductors, insulators, electrical circuits, and human evolution. We will continue to develop our scientific skills and enquiry skills each lesson, including observing over time; pattern seeking; identifying, classifying and grouping; researching; and comparative and fair testing. The children will also have the opportunity to take their learning outdoors at least once each half term. 


PSHE starts with our Being Me in My World unit, reflecting on our choices and how these have an impact on the people around us, and we’ll also be exploring our rights and responsibilities. Following on from this, we will be exploring five other units: celebrating differences; dreams and goals; healthy me; relationships; and changing me. Each of these units is designed to help our children understand themselves and the world they live in. 


In RE, we will be focusing on Christianity. During this unit, we will be exploring the following question: is anything ever eternal? We will also be learning about whether Christianity is still a strong religion over 2000 years after Jesus was on Earth. We will then be moving onto learning about how the Qur’an is vital to Muslims today, before finishing the year learning about how inspirational people impact on Humanists’ lives.


In PE, we will be covering invasion games (hockey), net games (volleyball), athletics, striking and fielding games (softball), dance, gymnastics and swimming. Throughout these units, we will be focusing on the skills of application of tactics, game management and developing sequences. We are also learning about the importance and benefits of physical education.


In our DT lessons, we are focusing on structures. This will include designing, making and evaluating a Victiorian house with a light circuit for the first house in the street to have electricity. In this unit, we will also research how lights are designed with the particular needs of the user in mind and that these needs can vary widely.


Looking forward to making memories with you all this year!


Miss Kaur, Miss Hewitt, and Miss Smith