Violet - Year 6
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