Autumn 2 

Year 6 have continued to work very hard and have enjoyed the challenges in all areas of the curriculum.

In mathematics, we have improved our knowledge and understanding of the four operations and have grown in confidence when applying knowledge to reasoning questions. We have become more familiar with using factors, multiples, square and cube numbers. We have also successfully completed a unit on Position and Direction which includes investigating coordinates in four quadrants, finding missing coordinates, translation, reflection and reasoning about shapes. 

In English, we have sharpened our writing skills and applied our learning to write suspense stories. After creating a shared suspense toolkit, we practised using suspense techniques like including empty words, using the weather to set the scene and using our senses to create a scary atmosphere...and what a fantastically scary job we did! We have started our next unit which is a discussion text about whether school uniform should be banned. We are now refining the skills of formal writing which will be continued in the next half term and will lead to an independent ‘Show what you know’ task.

In GPS, we have been focusing on prepositions, adverbials and main and subordinate clauses along with continuing to reinforce previous learning on tenses and using accurate punctuation in our writing.

Electricity has been our focus in Science. After building on the previous unit taught in Y4, we learnt how to connect a simple series circuit. We have investigated how the brightness of a bulb or the volume of a buzzer can be altered by the number of batteries or components in a circuit. We have been able to recognise symbols and draw accurate circuits independently.

In History, we have been investigating the Maya civilisation including who they were, where they came from and why their civilisation was so successful. We learnt that they were skilled farmers, architects, scientists, astronomers and mathematicians. A Maya archaeologist, Dr Diane, came to visit and informed us about various aspects of Maya life that made their civilisation unique as well as giving us the opportunity to discuss and examine artefacts. We particularly enjoyed closely investigating what each artefact was used for.

In Art, we have been inspired by the work of Jim Dine, an American artist, who used Pop Art to create abstract creations. We have experimented with a variety of media and techniques, our favourite being sgraffito, to inform our final piece which was a Pop Art calendar inspired by Jim Dine.  

In P.E. we have been focusing on elements of stretching, concentration and breathing in Pilates and refining these movements. It has given us the opportunity to use peer coaching to perfect these skills. We have also been continuing to follow the Real PE scheme - Real Gym - using large apparatus in pairs.

This term in RE, we have continued to work on the topic – Beliefs and Actions in the World: Can Christian Aid and Islamic Relief Change the World? We have developed an understanding of the main aims and purposes of these charities including comparing their good work.

We very much look forward to a wonderful spring term and a huge well done to all our children for their hard work in autumn.

Autumn Term 1st Half

What a wonderful start Y6 have made to the school year! Their mature approach and great learning attitude has made our first term very exciting.

In mathematics, we have continued to use the Power Maths scheme. Unit 1 has been Place Value within 10,000,000 where the children learnt to read, write and recognise the value of each digit. Being able to compare numbers has been an important skill along with using negative numbers and applying their use to real-life situations. We began our second unit, Four Operations, by consolidating the formal methods of addition and subtraction taught in Year 5 and have been applying these methods to solve reasoning problems.

Narrative was our first Talk for Writing unit which has been a warning story called ‘Kissing the Railings’. Each day, we rehearsed the story (complete with actions) to help us to internalise the language of story writing. After creating a class toolkit, we were able to write our own warning story.  Our second model text was instructions on How to Catch a House Goblin. We loved creating our own mythical creature then composing instructions about how to ensnare it.

The new handwriting scheme, Cambridge Penpals, has been a real success. Along with physical warm-up activities, we have been focusing on accurate joins but also choosing new joins. Our books have never looked neater!

In GPS, we have been consolidating learning from Year 5 about word classes, tenses and using accurate punctuation including speech punctuation in dialogue.

Light has been our focus in Science. We have explored how light travels and how we see objects. We have investigated how shadows are formed and conducted an experiment about how to change the length of a shadow. In small groups, we sorted and classified objects according to their properties, then researched the work of scientist Sir Isaac Newton and his theories about white light.

In Geography, we have been finding out which countries make up North America, where North America is located in the world, what the climate of North America is like and what physical features make up North America. We have produced some fantastic displays to showcase our learning.

Our art focus has been a sculpture unit inspired by the work of American artist Jeff Koons. After researching his artwork, we had great fun making balloon animals. We then designed and made our own balloon animal using clay.

In P.E. we have been focusing on Bollywood-style dancing which we have thoroughly enjoyed. As the unit and our confidence has progressed, we worked in small groups to create a choreographed dance and used our own creative ideas, working towards a routine to be proud of. Alongside this, we have used the Real PE scheme to create our own versions of activities; it has been an opportunity to respond imaginatively to well-loved games.

This term in RE, we have introduced the topic – Beliefs and Actions in the World: Can Christian Aid and Islamic Relief Change the World? We have developed an understanding of the main aims and purposes of these charities including comparing their good work.

We look forward to an equally great Autumn 2. Well done children for a wonderful start to Year 6!