Violet - Year 6
Summer 1 Newsletter
Literacy and Maths
During this half-term in Literacy, we will be writing a range of different types of text around the book ‘Stormbreaker’ by Anthony Horowitz. We will consider how characters are introduced and how we can show their personality traits through actions. We will be using lots of our drama strategies to explore this. We will also write formal letters and instructions in role as a character. Later on in the unit, we will be writing our own story in the style of Stormbreaker.
In Numeracy, the children will move onto revision lessons looking at areas of the maths curriculum that they have identified as needing more coverage before the SATs. We will then finish off the term looking at key strategies to support the children moving forward to high school.
We continue to complete weekly arithmetic papers to allow the children to practise and develop confidence in their calculation skills.
Please continue to promote homework each evening of completing the weekly spelling set on a Tuesday, reading and times tables practise.
SATs - Just a reminder that the SATs are taking place this half term and it is essential that all children are in school on time as we will be beginning at 9am promptly. As with previous years, children will be able to come into breakfast club from 8.30am to have a light breakfast and help settle any nerves and speak to us about any worries.
The SATs are Monday 13th –Thursday 16th May.
Gulliver’s Valley- Further to our meeting last half term, we visited Gulliver’s Valley during the Easter holiday and met with the manager. We were able to see the park, look at the activities we will be involved in and see our accommodation. Hopefully we will have confirmation of our activities to share with you and the children soon.
If you haven’t already, please could you return your child’s dietary form as soon as possible. Once we have this we are able to let Gulliver’s Valley know well in advance any adaptations that are needed.
Literacy and Maths
This half term, we will be reading a new book to our curriculum, Journey back to Freedom by Catherine Johnson. This book is based on the story of Olaudah Equiano, a slave who bought his freedom before writing an account of his life as a slave. We will be writing flashbacks in character and retelling the story in role, whilst also sensitively learning about the impact of slavery from ancient to modern times.
We will also be learning about Harriet Tubman, a slave known for leading over 300 people to safety, writing a biography of her life and thinking about the motivational speeches she produced whilst making the difference she did.
In Numeracy, the children will explore ratio and scale factors before we move onto looking at statistics through the different ways data can be presented later on in the half term. We finish the half term by studying shape.
We continue to complete weekly arithmetic papers to allow the children to practise and develop confidence in their calculation skills.
Please continue to promote homework each evening of completing the weekly spelling set on a Tuesday, reading and times tables practise.
P.E.
Our P.E. slot will return to a Thursday.
Year 6 children will require their P.E. kit on a Monday and Thursday.
SATs/Gulliver's World Residential meeting
Mrs Anstey and Mrs Grant will be holding a meeting to discuss SATs and the upcoming residential trip.
SATs are taking place Monday 13th May - Thursday 16th May 2024
The residential trip is Thursday 23rd May- Friday 24th May.
The meeting will be 5pm Tuesday 26th March.
We will cover SATs first so should your child not be attending the residential you are able to leave before we begin the brief presentation about the trip.
Building Bird Boxes in DT
Spring 2 in DT we looked at designing and building bird boxes - we were supported by Heaton Men in Sheds with this which was a fantastic opportunity to work with organisations in the local community. 8 volunteers came in on Friday 15th March and helped with the construction of 14 bird boxes! Have a look at our photos in our photo gallery.
Spring 1 Newsletter
Literacy and Maths
During this half term in Literacy, we will be studying the life of Ernest Shackleton. We will find out about his plans for an expedition and the crew he took with him. We started by immersing ourselves in what the life of an explorer of Shackleton’s standard would have been like and over the term, we will write letters of application to be on his crew and take part in mock interviews. We will consider the feelings of members of the crew during the journey, create soundscapes and write diary entries and motivational speeches. Linked to this, we will research Antarctica – the landscape and the animals – to create a non-chronological report.
In Numeracy, children will continue to develop their skills of understanding and using decimals. They will find out about percentages and learn how to find the percentage of an amount. Violet class will continue to have weekly arithmetic tests, so any practise the children have at home in learning their times tables will be very beneficial.
Bikeability
Those children who have signed up for Bikeability will start their sessions the week beginning 22nd January. They will be told nearer the time which day they will need their bike in school.
P.E
This half term, P. E continues to take place on a Monday but our second session will be on Friday rather than Thursday. Children may wear black jogging bottoms as the weather gets colder, but these can't have a logo on them.
Please see our curriculum plans for more information about the rest of Year 6's curriculum this term.
Crucial Crew
Y6 visited the Armoury to attend the Crucial Crew event which hosted a number of different agencies there to support children in being safe. These agencies included British Transport Police, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, Canal and River Trust and the NHS.
The children moved around the different sessions throughout the afternoon, learning about staying safe and healthy. Have a look at our photos in the gallery to the right.
Autumn 2 Newsletter
Literacy and Maths
During this half-term in Literacy, we will be studying the text type biography and autobiography based on the significant figure Malala Yousafzai. The children will consider how to write a balanced argument and hold a debate around the issues this person has dealt with in their life. Year 6 will have the opportunity to write their own autobiographies too. Following this, we plan to study the book Oranges in No Man’s Land by Elizabeth Laird and will write our own stories from a different perspective.
Continuing to follow our scheme in Maths, we will focus on fractions (multiplying and dividing), measurements (converting units) and ratio. We will remain focused on our mental arithmetic skills and our fluency in recalling multiplication facts.
Significant Dates
- Monday 30th October - Big Draw
- Monday 13th November - Children’s Flu Vaccinations
- Monday 13th November - Interfaith Week
- Friday 17th November – Children in Need day
- Wednesday 29th November - Year 6 Crucial Crew
- Tuesday 12th December - Christmas Carol Service 2pm Year 3- 6 at St Marys Church
- Thursday 14th December – Christmas dinner and Jumper day!
- Tuesday 19th December - Christmas craft morning 9 – 10am
- Thursday 21st December - School closes term
- Friday 22nd December Inset day (school closed to children)
Homework expectations in Year 6
Weekly spellings are given each Tuesday by Mrs Anstey and each night the children are expected to practise these by writing them out or being tested in their purple homework book. The children are then tested on these spellings the following Tuesday.
We encourage children to read each night, a minimum of half an hour of sustained reading. They can do this independently, but an adult will need to sign their reading record. These records are checked daily to monitor if children are reading at home.
Finally to support mental arithmetic skills, children need to continue to learn their times tables especuially the speed at which they can recall answers - TTRockstars is a fantastic app for this and the login will be in the front of your child's reading record.
P.E
P. E continues to take place on a Monday and Thursday this half-term. Children may wear black jogging bottoms as the weather gets colder, but these can't have a logo on them.
Please see our curriculum plans for more information about the rest of Year 6's curriculum this term.
Dissection
How does our circulatory system work? How does blood pass around our body, and what happens to the carbon dioxide as we breathe?
Well, after finding out what this all means in theory, Year 6 became a 'hands-on' scientist and investigated how the circulatory system is formed.
As brave and intrepid investigators, they dissected the pluck of a sheep, which included the trachea, lungs and heart. You will see from our photographs, this practical learning helped the class to really see what their heart looks like up close; to feel the material the organs are made of and to think about how these organs support them each day!
Autumn 1 Newsletter
Literacy and Maths
This half term our topic is called ‘This is us!’ In Literacy we will continue to build on the reading and writing skills already learnt, developing extended writing, extending use of grammar and perfecting our joined handwriting skills. Our unit focuses on learning how to show emotions in our writing, so we will be studying scary stories, love stories and poetry. This will involve studying campfire ghost stories followed by three weeks of work on Shakespeare.
In Numeracy, Violet class will build on their knowledge of place value. They will learn how to order and calculate with decimal numbers to three decimal places, multiply and divide by 10, 100 and 1000 and investigate prime and square numbers. Your child will develop their understanding of multiplication and division and learn the correct written method for these calculations.
Wider curriculum
As part of our Science topic about the body, part of our work will involve dissecting a heart and lungs. If you have any concerns regarding this activity please contact me by Wednesday 14th September but please be reassured that no child will be made to touch the heart if they prefer not to, the experience of seeing the organs is the key objective of the lesson.
This half term our topic is called ‘This is us!’ and our subject focus in each area are as follows:
| Subject | Unit of work |
|---|---|
| RE | What do religions say to us when life gets hard? |
| Science | What would a journey around our body be like? |
| Geography | Manchester today |
| Computing | Podcasts and Google classroom |
| PE | Outdoor orienteering/Forest school |
| PSHE | Growth Mindset |
| DT | Sculpture |
| Music | West Side Story - BBC Ten pieces |
| French | Greetings |
Additional information
Now that they are in Year 6, it is very important the children are confident with their times tables. Please ensure your child practises these regularly and can quickly recall them.
We will be enriching our curriculum this half term through a drama workshop with ‘West End in Schools’. They will be helping us to explore Romeo and Juliet linked to our Literacy work. We will also be visiting The Whitworth Art Gallery, working with an artist to explore sculpture. Look out for the class letter.
P.E. is usually on a Monday and Friday. Please ensure that your child comes to school wearing their PE kit on both occasions.
The children will continue to bring home reading books each day. It does make a real difference if the children have the opportunity to enjoy and share their books with their parents. Each week, Violet class will have to opportunity to visit the school library.
Dates for your diary
Monday 11th September - Freddy Fit