Maths

During Autumn 1, Year 6 have covered Place value, which included reading and writing numbers, comparing and rounding numbers up to 10 million. Place value is a very important element of maths to have a good understanding of and the children should be able to now apply their knowledge when solving problems using the four operations.

We have also covered the second unit of mixed operations. This involved solving problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The children applied their times table knowledge to multiply and divide 4 digit by 2 digit numbers using formal written methods. We also looked at the acronym BODMAS to help us solve problems when we have multiple operations in one calculation.

Just before half term, we began looking at fractions by ordering and comparing them. We will continue with this topic in the next half term also.

 

English

Our learning in English has been based around the Michael Morpurgo novel “Tom’s Sausage Lion”.  The children have really enjoyed the story and have been able to relate to the characters, showing inference for how Tom would be feeling and thinking during different parts of the story.

While reading the novel, we have also had several opportunities for writing. The children have written a diary entry from the perspective of Tom and a prediction- written in third person.

During these writing opportunities, the children have been able to apply the grammar which we have been learning and practicing alongside our English lessons. The children have used brackets and commas to separate extra information in their sentences and have tried to begin their sentences in different ways using fronted adverbials for time and place.

Science

Our science topic has been electricity. The children have enjoyed learning about how electrical appliances work and have had a go at creating their own circuits. Once we were confident in creating a complete circuit, we were able to investigate how different elements can affect a circuit. The children tested voltage, wire length and the number of appliances on a circuit.

When carrying out these investigations, the children made predictions, recorded their results in appropriate tables and evaluated how the investigations went.

R.E.

In R.E., we focused on the religion of Islam. We discussed commitment and how we show commitment in our own lives. The children were able to share how they commit to their sports clubs or to their chores at home. We followed this by looking at how Muslims show commitment to their faith through the five pillars of Islam. The children learned about each pillar and how they were a way that Muslims could show commitment to their faith.

Geography

We have learned about climate change in Geography lessons this term. Using photo evidence, the children have speculated how climate change could have affected the lives of different people around the world. We discovered how children in The Gambia may have to work form a young age to support their families due to long droughts in the country and how families in Australia are struggling due increased bushfires.

Computing

In computing, the children have been practicing their coding. They have been creating algorithms using variables and functions. They have also been challenging themselves by de-bugging code which is not quite correct.

P.E.

The children have enjoyed learning the skills required for invasion games. For this we focused on rugby and bench ball games. The children practised different passing techniques and had to think tactically when they should use these passes in a competitive situation.

Overall, the children improved their hand-eye coordination, their passing accuracy and their game awareness.

Spanish

This term, we have been going over basic greetings and conversations. The children have revisited how to ask and tell basic information about themselves and others in Spanish. We have recorded this verbally as well as in writing.

Music

This half term our BFG’s have been following The Musical Context Topic Music Since 1930’s.

The children began this topic enjoying a music quiz listening to music through the decades from the 1930-2000. We then looked at Music that was popular during the second world war.

We have learnt about Dane Vera Lynn and Glenn Miller. We found out why they were famous. We sang The White Cliffs of Dover and compared this to In the Mood.

We listened to and sang along to a Wartime Medley looking at the structure – ternary form – ABA and marched on the spot to the military feel.

We played an ostinato to The White Cliffs of Dover using drums and tambourines.

We watched videos of The Lindyhop and discussed how families and the acting members of the forces would be feeling during the war. One of the dance videos was interrupted by the Air Raid Siren!! Then we waited for the all clear to sound.

We listened to some WW11 soundscapes and chatted through the Rat-a-tat graphic score soundscape – we played some percussion instruments to create the soundscape. Then a go at writing our own graphic score soundscape.