Year 6
WELCOME TO YEAR 6!
Year 6 is a huge year for children at Widden Primary School. This year, the children learn to develop their independence further and be more responsible as they begin the final steps of their journey towards secondary school. In the Summer, they will have their SATs but more than that, they benefit from an enriched curriculum. They will learn more about the world around them as well as about themselves and will make great strides in their preparation for the next big step. Year 6 is also a difficult year with lots of change and some big moments. However, the year 6 team work hard with all colleagues to ensure the children enjoy a happy and progressive year, which should be full of fun, laughter and responsibility. Throughout the year, they will all have experience of different roles within the school, including jobs where they will be able to develop confidence and empathy with others and their surroundings. We are very excited for the year ahead.
The Year 6 team:
Zephaniah - Mr Baker
Blackman - Mrs Cowling (Mr Smith PPA)
Mrs Nanabawa and Mrs Dhalech
If you wish to contact the class teachers, please use the emails below:
sidd.baker@widden.gloucs.sch.uk
tildi.cowling@widden.gloucs.sch.uk
Summer Term 2022-23
Nature is Wild!
Welcome back after the Easter break. We hope you all managed to have a restful break. Many of you will have enjoyed the Eid celebrations and we wish you Eid Mubarak. This is a very important term for our Year 6s. Not only will the children be sitting their SATs tests (9th - 12th May), they will also be starting to prepare for life at secondary school. We will spend the first half of the summer term focusing on honing our core skills for the SATs, and thereafter we will be exploring a range of topics as we carry on with our learning especially in subjects such as Science, Art, Geography and History. We will use some different books to support our reading and writing, including Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo and Everest by Sangma Francis and Lisk Feng. These books will help inspire us in our fictional and no-fiction writing. In Science we will explore the intricacies of the human body and what we need to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Following this topic, we will delve even further into the very fabric of the universe, atoms. Through our Art sessions we will be finding inspiration from Ruth Keating's "A Mischief of Mushrooms" to explore textures and patterns as well as printing on different mediums. In DT we will look at programming moveable devices. Through geography we will discover more about India and the Himalayan Mountains. In History we will be learning all about Gloucester during the English Civil War.
Please ensure that any homework that is sent home is completed by the children as this will support their understanding and revision of key concepts. We are looking forward to another fun packed busy term.
Our class texts this term is...
Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
Washed up on a remote island in a Pacific storm, Michael curls up and waits to die. But when he wakes, there is fresh fruit beside him. He is not alone… Michael Morpurgo’s vivid story of a young castaway’s struggle for survival is a true modern classic. Partly an adventure fantasy in the purest tradition, it also pulls together powerful and thought-provoking themes of love, loss, forgiveness, hope and redemption.
Winner of the Red House Children’s Book Award.
Everest by Sangma Francis and Lisk Feng
Mount Everest is undoubtedly one of the most famous mountains on Earth. Hundreds of people clamber to its summit every year, following in Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's footsteps... but there is so much more to this mountain than the people who climb it. With sumptuous and stylish illustrations by Lisk Feng, this dynamic book reveals the great mountain's ancient origins, the flora and fauna that thrive upon its great flanks, and the rich mythology of Sagarmatha, the Goddess of the Sky.
Varmints by Marc Craste
Once, the only sounds to be heard were the buzzing of bees in the grass, the murmuring of moles in the earth, and the song of birds in the sky. These warmed the hearts of those who cared to listen - until the others came to fill the sky with a cacophony of noise. With dramatically lit artwork and a spare, intriguing text, Varmints tells of a pastoral world in need of protection and of the souls who love it enough to ensure its regeneration.
Please find below our Topic Overview for the Summer Term
Literacy | RE / PSHE | Mathematics
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*Narrative : Island Adventure Narrative based on Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
*Non Chronological Report Report based on Everest by Sangma Francis and Lisk Feng
*Narrative Continuing with the plot narrative based on Varmints by Helen Ward and Marc Craste. |
They will offer a reasoned response to the unit questions, with evidence and example, expressing insights of their own. PSHE
We have two main foci for the term: ‘How can we keep ourselves safe online?’ -a Schoolsbeat officer will be talking to the children about how the children’s actions online could put them at risk; the officer will suggest ways in which children can keep themselves safe. What will change as we become more independent?’ Pupils will develop skills to help them with their transition to secondary school. They will also learn about the dangers of peer pressure and gangs/county lines. | Maths Pupils will focusing on the core four operations; addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. They will explore reasoning and problem solving using these key skills. In addition to the arithmetic, the children will
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Scientific and Technological Understanding | Nature is Wild! | Historical, Geographical and Social Understanding
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Animals including humans: In Term 5 the children will Identify and name the main parts of the human circulatory system, and describe the functions of the heart, blood vessels and blood. They will also recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way their bodies function. Then they will learn to describe the ways in which nutrients and water are transported within animals, including humans
Elements The focus for Term 6 is Atoms: recognise that atoms are the building blocks of all things; that elements are formed of one or more of the same atom; and that certain elements will be found in everyday items. Pupils will learn that atoms are made of protons, electrons and neutrons, linking these to atomic numbers and being able to show through diagrams the design of atoms based on their atomic number. Furthermore, they will recognise that atoms join with other different atoms to form molecules/chemical compounds and give some examples, eg water. |
| Geography: To describe and understand key aspects of physical geography, including: vegetation belts, mountains, India borders the Himalayan mountain range, the highest mountain range in the world. ● That Himalayan mountains spread across five countries, including India (as well as Bhutan, China, Nepal and Pakistan) ● The Himalayas were caused by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates about 40 to 50 million years ago ● Barren Island is the only confirmed active volcano in India and South Asia (it is situated on the Indian-Australian plate and Eurasian plate boundary) ● India has a large desert called the Thar Desert ● The River Ganges is the longest river in India and has religious significance to India’s Hindu community ● Like the United States, India is divided into states. India has 29 states. It also has seven union territories. ● India is divided into five different regions: 1. Great Northern mountains 2. Great Northern plains 3. Great Indian plateaus 4. coastal plains and islands ● India’s official language is Hindi. Many people also speak English because India was once a British colony . ● Reasons for Britain’s colonisation of India included access to raw materials/wealth and this impacted India’s culture and economics ● India’s location has historical significance, as it was located along the silk road
History: In History the children will be focusing on local History: Gloucester and the Civil War. Topics covered will include:
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The Arts | Computing | Physical Development
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Art The focus for this term is printing, inspired by Ruth Keating’s‘A Mischief of Mushrooms’ Polystyrene or Lino Printing. The children will use a sketchbook to record textures, patterns and ideas. They will then create a mono- print and explore printing with a range of materials, as well as explore over printing and layering of colour.
DT Children will apply their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control my products. | We will be designing and coding a project that captures inputs from a physical device. Children will learn to:To create a program to run on a controllable device. To explain that selection can control the flow of a program. To update a variable with a user input. To use an conditional statement to compare a variable to a value. To design a project that uses inputs and outputs on a controllable device. To develop a program to use inputs and outputs on a controllable device.
| Athletics In this unit, pupils are set challenges for distance and time that involve using different styles and combinations of running, jumping and throwing. As in all athletic activities, pupils think about how to achieve their greatest possible speed, distance or accuracy and learn how to persevere to achieve their personal best. They learn how to improve by identifying areas of strength as well as areas to develop. Pupils are also given opportunities to lead when officiating as well as observe and provide feedback to others. Rounders: Pupils develop the quality and consistency of their fielding skills and understanding of when to use them such as throwing underarm and overarm, catching and retrieving a ball. They learn how to play the different roles of bowler, backstop, fielder and batter and to apply tactics in these positions. In all games activities, pupils have to think about how they use skills, strategies and tactics to outwit the opposition. Pupils work with a partner and group to organise and self-manage their own games. Pupils play with honesty and fair play when playing competitively.
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Reading Challenge!
All classes are set a reading challenge every year. We follow the different bus routes to read a range of exciting texts. Choose one of the texts from the special baskets. When you have read it, you will get a 'red bus' stamp in your reading record. Which route are you going to explore? Can you complete them all before the end of the year?
Important information:
PE
PE this term will be on Monday and Thursday every week - please make sure you wear appropriate PE kit. Both of these sessions will take place outside.
Reading
Reading records are to be brought in daily. Please make sure that you are listening to your child read during the week and record this in their books.
Homework
Homework will be given to the children on a Friday. This may include: Maths, Writing/SPaG, and/or topic work. This will need to be completed in the homework books, unless told otherwise. Homework is to be brought back into school the following Wednesday.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Some useful websites to support your children's learning:
BBC Education have produced a whole host of materials for KS2. Follow the KS2 link and then select either Maths or English. Each area usually has an information section for reading, plus an activity and then quiz which is marked online. Some aspects require a subscription.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education
A site with both Maths and English based quizzes which are marked as you go along.
http://www.educationquizzes.com/ks2/maths/
A site with a range of information and questions – great for revision purposes!
http://www.icteachers.co.uk/children/children_sats.htm
A revision site based upon the old Key Stage 2 Tests but still contains lots of useful information for both Maths and English.
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/
This site has loads of Maths games which help to practise a range of skills.
http://www.mathplayground.com/games.html
A range of English games and activities.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2literacy.html
Activities to reinforce and practise a range of spelling rules.
http://www.keystage2literacy.co.uk/spellings-menu.html
A range of activities and games to practise a range of spelling rules and patterns.