Year 6 Autumn Term 1

In English, Year 6 will begin the Autumn term by creating work based on a short film called Dream Giver.  Our pupils will focus on key points in the film to write short descriptive pieces which will introduce them to the writing expectations in Year 6. This will include learning to use a number of sentence openers and clause types; generating and selecting language for effect and experimenting with a range punctuation.

After this, our Year 6 children will focus on the ‘Faster Read’ project.

Towards the end of the term, Year 6 will begin to study the novel ‘Street Child,’ by Berlie Doherty. This historical adventure story is set during the reign of Queen Victoria. The main character, Jim finds himself with no family and thrown into the workhouse.  Jim manages to escape but his problems are just beginning. The children’s writing outcomes will include recounts from Jim’s point of view as well as letters, poetry, balanced arguments and articles about conditions for children during the Victorian era.  We will continue with this unit of work in autumn 2 term.

In Maths, we will continue to use our Power Maths scheme of work. Year 6 pupils will read, write and compare 6-digit numbers and know what each digit represents; round any whole number to a required degree of accuracy; use negative numbers in context and calculate intervals across zero; solve addition and subtraction multistep problems in context; multiply and divide multi-digit numbers by a two digit number; identify common factors, common multiples and prime numbers; recognise and use square numbers and cube numbers; use order of operations to carry out calculations and perform mental calculations with mixed operations and large numbers.

In Science, children will learn about light and that we see things because light travels from light sources to our eyes, or from light sources to objects and then to our eyes. They will discover that shiny or reflective surfaces alter the direction in which light travels. Children will have the opportunity to solve problems related to everyday life about how light travels and how we see. Children will also investigate and explain the shapes of shadows, and relate this to light travelling in straight lines. 

Working Scientifically, children will have the opportunity to plan and carry out investigations around light.  This will include making a working periscope and observing how the length of shadows can be manipulated.

In Art, children will continue to build up on their knowledge and understanding of the’ Seven Elements of Art’: Colour, Tone, Line, Space, Shape, Texture and Form. They will start the year learning about the work of artist Natalie Blake and be replicating her style of work in clay form.

In Geography, our new topic is called Our Changing World. This unit develops essential skills and knowledge, revising the features of Earth, time zones and lines of latitude and longitude to pinpoint places on a map. The pupils will find out more about map scales, grid references, contour lines and map symbols. They will learn about climate change and the importance of global trade. They will study patterns of human settlements and carry out an enquiry to describe local settlement patterns.

In Music this term, we will be studying a unit of work called ‘Film Music’ The children will identify how different styles of music contribute to the feel of a film as well as participating in discussions, sharing their views and justifying their answers. They will explain how different instruments to describe how music evokes a range of emotions. Finally, they will create a musical score to represent a composition and create sounds that relate to the scene of a film.

 In PSHE, pupils will study the unit 'Being Me in My World'. Lessons include identifying goals for this year and understanding fears and worries for the future and how to express them. Pupils will create a learning charter together, look at the universal rights of children and understand how their actions can affect others locally and globally.

In RE, Year 6 will be learning about Judaism. The children will be investigating the origins of Judaism, forming links between the beliefs of the Jewish community and other religions. They will identify key texts and will be able to understand the key features and rituals within a synagogue.

In PE this term the children will be learning about tag rugby. During the term, the children will need to develop their passing and catching skills, movement off the ball and how they communicate with others. They will also learn how tactics are used within rugby. They will be demonstrating these abilities when working as part of a team as they complete a variety of activities each week.

In their second PE lesson, the children will be developing a multitude of skills that can be transferred across a variety of sports. They will focus on hand-eye coordination, agility, pace, stamina and aim. The children will be completing a variety of activities each week and will then create their own activity to promote one of the learnt skills.

In French, the children will be studying the unit ‘In my French House’ which will include understanding the French words for different types of houses and their rooms. They will label things in a bedroom and use the related vocabulary in simple sentences as well as using prepositions accurately, both verbally and in written sentences.