Barnacles - Year 6
Staff: Mrs Taylor, Mrs Henman and Mrs Attew
Please click on the items below to find out what Year 6 will be getting up to in the Autumn Term....
Maths and English
Maths:
In maths, we will be focusing on: place value up to 10,000,000, powers of 10, number lines, comparing integers, rounding, negative numbers and problem solving.
The children will also do a ‘Daily Maths Challenge’ (DMC) where they will practise and refine their calculation skills. We will also practise multiplication and counting as part of our daily routine and encourage the children to take part in Times Table Rock Stars challenges both in and out of school.
English:
Our English work this half term will revolve around a beautifully illustrated story – Rose Blanche by Robert Innocenti. The book is set in Germany during WW2 and tells the story of Rose Blanche and her experiences We will use the text to stimulate and support the writing of a longer narrative in addition to shorter incidental texts. Each lesson will begin with sentence accuracy work where we will developunderstanding of grammar, punctuation and vocabulary use.
We have a Reading lesson every day where we study a piece of text together as a class and practise skills which will help the children to make meaning of the texts that they come across independently. The next text we will share will be The Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah.
Discovery Learning
Discovery Learning:
Science:
In science this half term, we will explore light. Child will draw diagrams to show how light travels, study how light is reflected into the eye, explain how light travels from light sources to the eyes or from light sources to objects and then our eyes. They will also investigate shadows.
In Discovery Learning History lessons, the children will be learning about the ‘Windrush Generation’. We will look at the reasons people migrated to Britain and the lasting impact they have had on British society. In Geography, our focus will be on the island of Jamaica and its topography. This has been chosen as it links to our topic on the ‘Windrush generation’.
General Notices
Reading for Pleasure
We like to nurture a strong ethos of reading for pleasure in the class and encourage regular reading both in and out of school.
We also have a WAW (Wise about Words) story time each day. This may be sharing our class novel or a shorter book from the class collection.
As part of our ongoing drama work with the WAW project, we will be incorporating drama games and techniques to our learning across the curriculum.
Reading is an essential part of every child’s education. We promote reading for pleasure throughout the whole school and encourage the children to read every day. In Year 6, staff members have made a collection of some of their favourite children’s fiction which is available to borrow from the class bookshelves. The children have diary-style planners to keep themselves organised and which are used as reading records for home reading. We also have a ‘library card’ system where children keep a record of the books they have borrowed. The children also have a space within class where they can write recommendations and comments about the books they have read. We expect the children to read regularly at home and to use their Reading Log as a place to reflect on their reading. Reading for pleasure has been proven to benefit children’s mental health and wellbeing and is an indicator for success in later life. We notice in class that children who read more have a wider vocabulary and more ideas for writing as well as being more fluent readers, which really helps with their learning across the curriculum.
An example of some (but not all) of the books we have recommended in the past can be found in the ‘100 book challenge’.
P.E.
This half-term, the children will be taking part in touch rugby lessons and swimming. Swimming will take place at the High school on Monday afternoons. Mrs Morrell will be joining us on Tuesday afternoons for rugby, as will Sol, who will lead the rugby lessons. Children will need to wear their PE kit on Tuesdays and bring trainers. They may want to bring sun-cream and hats. Please ensure that children with long hair, have a band to tie it up with on PE days and that no jewellery is worn.
Earrings must be removed for PE.
Outdoor Learning
Woodland sessions will take place on Wednesdays. During these sessions, we will be completing Outdoor adventurous activity. Children will complete orienteering activities, using maps to follow a route. They will also be set a range of problem-solving activities that require teamwork and adapting to change.
Class Dojo
Class Dojo will continue to be used this term. It is a great space where you can view photos, videos and information about what is happening in Year 6 and across the school. If you require another invitation, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Home Learning
We expect the children to read every day and to fill in their reading logs from time to time, documenting and reflecting on their reading.
Children will have homework books for Maths, English and Spelling/Grammar. They will be set a weekly task to complete from each book which will then be reviewed in class together. All children have access to TT Rockstars for regular times table practise at
home. Their log-in details are stuck in their Homework logs.
Belongings
Please can you ensure that all belongings and named (PE Kits – Wellies – School Uniform – Bags – Coats – Water bottles etc).