English
In English we are doing an in-depth novel study of Goodnight, Mister Tom. This will continue up to Christmas so that we can explore each of the themes, characters and events in detail. So far, we have met Tom, a cantankerous older man who lives in Little Weirwold and William, an eight-year-old evacuee from London who is billeted with Tom. We learn that even though these two characters have a huge age gap, that both are heartbroken and recovering from devastating life events. Tom lost his wife and child and has lived an isolated life ever since and William has suffered at the hands of his abusive, god-fearing mother. As outcomes for our novel study, we have written a diary entry as Tom, using his voice, postcards, character and setting descriptions. We have also created roles on the wall and explored life for an evacuee in the war. Next half term, we will be continuing with the novel, focusing on how events can shape a life and link this to our Emotional Literacy learning and PSCHE.
Maths
To begin the year, we focussed on understanding of number and place value for numbers up to 10 million. This involved using a CPA approach to identify the value of each digit in a number and then we used this understanding to help us to order and round numbers.
More recently, our focus has been on multiplication and division. The children have used prompts to help them solve problems with multiple operations as well as applying their times table knowledge to perform formal multiplication and division.
Science
Animals Including Humans has been our science topic this term. We have mainly focussed on humans and the functions of different systems in the body. The children used the internet to research the function of blood and presented their findings using Microsoft PowerPoint. For our practical scientific enquiry, we investigated our pulse rate and how it changes after exercise. The children planned and carried out the investigation themselves before recording their results, presenting them in a line graph and evaluating the investigation- giving suggestions for how it could be made more accurate if we were to do it again. The children came up with some fantastic suggestions including: using a smart watch to measure our pulse rate automatically or carrying out the test several times and taking a mean.
History
This half term our enquiry has been ‘Why was winning the Battle of Britain, in June 1940, so important. We have developed a range of skills linked to analysing data, evaluating sources of information, reaching conclusions, and justifying our hypotheses with evidence. Our first ancillary question was ‘How serious was the risk of invasion by Nazi Germany in 1940?’ We started by looking at a map of Europe and learning some key vocabulary – occupied and allied. We quickly worked out that Germany was in control or allied with most of Europe at this time and the UK was the next target. This risk was further enhanced by the speech by Churchill, warning of the invasion and announcing the evacuation programme, reading Hitler’s directive which clearly stated that Hitler intended to invade Britain and the further warnings from the BBC preparing the public for the invasion. After this, we looked at data to answer ‘What did Hitler need for an invasion to succeed?’ We learnt that the Kreigsmarine was weak compared to the Royal Navy however, we know that the Battle of Britain was predominantly fought in the sky. We then looked at statistics linked to the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe. The number of planes were similar and so we concluded that Hitler needed to strengthen the Luftwaffe.
Geography
Our Geography enquiry has linked to mountains and why they are so important. So far, we have defined a mountain and used maps to identify mountain ranges around the world. The children were able to see which continents the mountain ranges were in as well as the countries. We have also discovered how Fold Mountains are formed through the movement of tectonic plates. The children demonstrated this using play dough and then wrote an explanation in their own words.
PSHCE
Our PSHCE topic has been all about friendships and working together. The children have problem solved, giving suggestions when faced with different scenarios about difficulties in a friendship and have come up with tips for how to work effectively in a team or group. The children then applied this to work as a team and create a bridge using scrap paper.
Art
To begin our art topic, the children looked at Mayan art and how they used symbolism to express themselves through pictures rather than words. We also learned and practised the art technique of Chiaroscuro where you used light and darkness to make an image look 3-dimensional. The children then applied their learning to create a final piece of art using the techniques taught to create a piece of art using symbolism to express themselves.
Computing
The children have been learning to code on scratch. They have designed, written and debugged programmes to create different games including space invaders and a maze game. To ensure the games run smoothly, the children have coded touch sensing and loops.
PE
Year 6 have focused on two major sports; rugby and cricket. In rugby children have learnt how to hold a ball when running and the correct technique required to pass a ball in a rugby game. In cricket children have been learning how to ball overarm with the correct technique, how to throw a ball as a wicket keeper and how to strike the ball with a cricket bat. Additionally they have learnt what a wicket is and what the correct stance of a batsman is before striking the ball.
RE
In R.E. we been learning to understand some of the ways Muslims show commitment to God and to evaluate whether there is a best way. We discussed what commitment is and how it can affect our own lives, our families lives and how much time and effect a commitment can take.
We recapped and deepened our knowledge of the five pillars of Islam. Some of our year 6 pupils brought in their prayer mats to show the class. After locating the direction of Mecca from our year 6 class, we talked through the steps of prayer.
Finally, the children wrote about their personal commitments.