Year 6 Autumn Term 2

In English, our pupils will study ‘Shackleton’s Journey,’ by William Grill. This text focuses on the historic exploration by Shackleton and his crew on Endurance and it offers a unique visual re-telling of their expedition to Antarctica. 

The Children will begin by examining the illustration on the book cover to develop their inferential skills and to form predictions. During the learning sequence, children will examine and discuss the differences between information and fiction texts; they will develop their knowledge of, and empathise with, characters through exploring dilemmas; they will participate in role-play activities and will produce a range of writing in response to their learning.

In Maths, the children will continue to develop their understanding of the four rules, focusing on division and multiplication. They will then move onto to fractions where they will be simplifying, comparing, ordering, adding and subtracting fractions. Finally, they will be combining their knowledge of fractions and the four operations to multiply and divide fractions.

In Science, children will be looking at evolution and inheritance. We will start the topic by looking at the development of planet Earth and where animals and plants fit into this. We will then investigate fossils and the life of the famous palaeontologist Mary Anning. Children will then look at variation and natural selection and write a biography of Charles Darwin. Finally, they will research how plants and animals are adapted to suit their environment in different ways and answer their own questions from the topic.   

Working scientifically, children will have the opportunity to plan and carry out investigations around adaptation, including trying out different beaks to eat a variety of foods. They will also use evidence to support or refute their ideas or arguments and research and present their findings to their class. 

In History, Year 6 will continue studying Mexico through our unit ‘Hola Mexico’. During this term, the children will be learning about the ancient Maya civilisation and their culture, beliefs and curious rituals. They will be exploring the ancient Maya way of life and developing their understanding of the way this historical period was ruled, as well as some of the significant achievements they accomplished. The children will be given the opportunity to use a range of different historical sources in order to recognise why the ancient Maya were one of the most sophisticated ancient civilisations in the world. 

In DT this term, the children will become engineers. This project teaches children about remarkable engineers and significant bridges and they will learn how to identify features, such as beams, arches and trusses. They will be completing a bridge-building engineering challenge to create a bridge prototype. 

In Music this term, our Year 6 pupils will be studying a unit of work entitled ‘Dynamics, pitch and texture’. We will be looking at the work of Mendelssohn and our pupils will develop the skills of improvisation and create their own compositions. They will then practise and perform these pieces.

In PSHE, pupils will study the unit ‘Celebrating Difference’. Children will learn that everyone has a right to be who they are but that sometimes these differences can lead to conflict. They will gain an understanding of bullying behaviours and develop strategies to deal with these situations. They will also learn about people who have overcome disabilities to live amazing lives.

In Computing, the children will be learning why barcodes and QR codes were created and they will create their own code using a QR code generator website. They will be able to explain how infrared can be used to transmit a Boolean type signal. Our pupils will recognise the value of analysing real-time data and they will then evaluate transport data and consider how this provides a useful service to commuters.

In RE, our Year 6 pupils will continue to learn about Judaism. The children will undertake research about different festivals and present their findings. They will also look in detail about Jewish practices surrounding food. Finally, they will learn about the Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies.

In PE this term, the children will be learning about gymnastics.  They will develop their individual skills when learning about jumps, rolls and balances. The children will then create routines and understand the importance of body management when using equipment. 

In their second PE lesson, the Year 6 children will be developing their knowledge and understanding when take part in orienteering. They will need to co-operate with others; use their communication skills and determination whilst completing a variety of activities. 

In French, our pupils will be learning the following:  to be able to say and write what pets and family they have (using the verb ‘to have’); to be able to say and write their name and to be able to describe themselves (using the verb ‘to be’).