Overview
In Year 6 there are three classes. We start the morning with a ‘Daily Mile’ to get the children warmed up and ready for learning. The pupils’ timetable is structured for the morning into spellings, maths, following White Rose planning; and English, which is based on fiction and non-fiction texts linked to our topic themes. Reading Master lessons are based around a variety of genres where we encourage children to explore vocabulary, use inference, make predictions, explain, develop retrieval skills and summarise events. The wider curriculum subjects are taught through a whole school creative and connective approach.
To see more of the learning and activities we do in Year 6, see our Year 6 blog below.
Useful Resources
Below are some information sheets for parents and carers outlining English and maths expectations for each year group.
Downloads
Year 6 Blog Posts
Informal letter writing in Year 6
Year 6 have been working hard in their writing lessons to produce informal letters based on Shaun Tan's 'The Arrival'. The main character has moved to a new land to pursue a better life and writes to his family to persuade them to come and join him. To get into role and consider what the main character would say to his wife and daughter, children did some hot-seating! We were impressed by how they took to the challenge, considering mature and reflective questions to ask the person in role. We're looking forward to reading the final letters and seeing them up on the writing wall displays too.
Bookshop Visit
Our pupils had an amazing time at Bookbugs and Dragontales Bookshop this week! They had the opportunity to choose new books for our school libraries and even meet the author and illustrator, Ben Rothery, who was working on a window display at the shop. We can’t wait to see the books we selected in the Book Nook at school!
Year 6 ‘The Arrival’
This week, Year 6 started their English unit based on the graphic novel, ‘The Arrival’ by Shaun Tan. A graphic novel is a story without words and it can still be just as powerful and detailed. We discussed how every illustration is included for a reason and that if you look very closely you gather a huge amount of information from a single image. Year 6 enjoyed participating in a range of activities to find out clues about their new English book, before it was revealed to them! Children took part in a scavenger hunt, collecting the answers to questions about the characters and themes of the book. Hidden away all around the playground were pictures from the graphic novel with key information attached. They also discovered how the beautiful pictures were drawn and had a go at an art task recreating a piece in the same style. Then, they explored the theme of migration and learnt about refugees. During this time they reflected on why people might have to flee their country and what belongings might be important to bring with them. It was great to see how curious everyone was about our new topic and we look forward to seeing how they get on with their writing over the coming weeks.
Mayan printing
This week in Art, Year 6 created brilliant Mayan prints. Inspired by the geometric shapes and repeating patterns used by the Maya people, children first made cardboard tiles and glued on their designs using string. They then painted the string on the tile and pressed down onto their piece of paper using a variety of colours. We were impressed by their creativity and concentration during this process!
Mandarin in Year 6
Year 6 enjoyed playing a game in their Mandarin lesson this week and keeping score, noting down the correct Chinese characters!
Investigating heart rate
In their learning about the circulatory system, Year 6 have been investigating the effect of exercise on their heart rate. They began by using pulse oximeters to measure their resting heart rate and then took their pulse after first walking, then jogging and then sprinting. Children then drew conclusions based on their results to see if their predictions were correct and presented their findings in a bar chart. To further develop their investigation, children conducted a second experiment to compare the change in their heart rate after holding various stationary positions. It was great to see everyone's keen curiosity and teamwork!
The Ancient Maya: research in Year 6
Year 6 demonstrated excellent teamwork this week when carrying out group research all about the lifestyle of the ancient Maya civilisation. Children were tasked with finding out information about different areas including: homes, farming, food and clothes. In their groups, they then had to present their posters and findings to the rest of the class which everyone did with great confidence and clarity!
School Council Christmas Bauble Project
This year the school council decided to run the Christmas bauble project again. The plastic baubles were very kindly bought by the Friends and each year group chose their own designs and have been busy over the last few weeks creating them. In Reception they decorated wooden baubles with paint, glitter and sequins. In Year 1 they used tissue paper to collage the inside of their baubles. In Year 2 the children measured their height and filled their bauble with ribbon that is the same height as them in 2024. In Year 3 they filled their baubles with cotton wool 'snow' and decorated the outside with Christmas patterns. In Year 4 the children decorated their baubles with glitter. In Year 5 they used tissue paper to create bright and colourful baubles that have been hanging on their class Christmas trees. In Year 6 they chose glitter for the insides and drew Christmas patterns and messages on the outside. We think they all look amazing! A great big thank you to the School Council for organising this for everyone and an even bigger thank you to the Friends for supplying us with the baubles.
Year 6 Time & Tide Museum Trip
This week, Year 6 came dressed in WWII themed outfits for their trip to the Time and Tide museum in Great Yarmouth. Their outfits were excellent! They travelled back in time to 1941 when Great Yarmouth was in the thick of the action as a ‘front line town’. They Discovered how the war affected people on the home front and met an ARP warden, a housewife, a shopkeeper and a Home Guard soldier. We were so impressed by their curiosity!
Shakespeare Day!
To kick-start their new English unit: Romeo & Juliet, Year 6 enjoyed participating in a variety of Shakespeare-related activities! Children took part in a scavenger hunt, collecting the answers to questions about the famous playwright and his works. They had to match symbols on their sheet to answers hidden away all around the playground. They discovered Shakespearean language and had to decide if phrases given to them were Shakespeare or 'Fakespeare'. They explored the ancient grudge between the two feuding families in Romeo & Juliet: The Montagues and The Capulets and learnt about their household crests. Children were then tasked with creating their own crest, focusing on the significance of its design, colour and symbols. It was great to see how enthusiastic everyone was about our new topic and we look forward to seeing how they get on with their writing over the coming weeks.