Year Six (Mrs Livesey)

Welcome back Year 6!

Welcome back to Year 6. I hope that you all had a joyous Christmas and are ready for our new term together in Year 6. This half term, we have lots to look forward to as we continue on our learning journey, working and worshipping together. Attached below is a summary of the subject focuses we will be looking this half term.

English

In English, this half term, we will become survival experts and will be basing our outcomes around the detective/crime fiction genre. To help us immerse ourselves in this exciting genre we will be joining brother and sister, Kat and Ted, as they search for their missing cousin Salim...

Ted likes the weather, he also likes statistics and routine but his life is thrown into disarray when his Aunt Gloria and cousin Salim arrive, like a hurricane, to stay in London en-route to a new life in New York.

Ted and his older sister Kat arrange to take Salim on the London Eye but although they watch him go up in a pod, he never comes down again. Salim is missing. Ted's analytical mind becomes an asset as he and Kat piece together the information surrounding their cousin's disappearance and begin to unravel the mystery.

Throughout the unit, the children will have some wonderful opportunities to immerse themselves in the world of crime fiction. We will use the class texts to help us to create our own crime stories based on a model text with an innovated plot structure, using plot patterns and shared writing techniques incorporating all our new and old grammar skills as we develop our ideas. Over the half term, we will be creating our very own novels on a theme which we will then present and share with some of our younger children in school.

We will bring the half term to a close by focussing our attention on explanation texts from the chosen text.

In Mathematics, we will be starting the half term by focussing on Number and decimals and percentages. In this area of study we will be concentrating on:

Identifying the value of each digit in numbers given to 3 decimal places and multiply numbers by 10, 100 and 1,000 giving answers up to 3 decimal places.
Multiplying one-digit numbers with up to 2 decimal places by whole numbers.
Using written division methods in cases where the answer has up to 2 decimal places.
Solving problems which require answers to be rounded to specified degrees of accuracy.
Solving problems involving the calculation of percentages [for example, of measures and such as 15% of 360] and the use of percentages for comparison.
Recalling and using equivalences between simple fractions, decimals and percentages including in different contexts.

Following this we will shift our focus to Algebra when the children will be using and developing their skills to:

Use simple formulae
Generate and describe linear number sequences.
Express missing number problems algebraically.
Find pairs of numbers that satisfy an equation with two unknowns.
Enumerate possibilities of combinations of two variables

You can help your child at home by helping them to practice their times tables and division facts. Just ten minutes a day will make all the difference to their rapid recall.

“In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:2

At Sacred Heart, Religious Education is at the core of the core curriculum, it is embedded in everything we do and say. This half term in Year 6 we will be busy exploring the Mass. In this unit of work we will explore Jesus as the bread of life
think about our part in the New Covenant. We will be working towards developing man understanding of the Penitential Act and the Liturgy of the Word in order that we can reflect on our responses to Jesus’ invitation to be disciples.
We will also be encouraging each whether to reflect on how we could use the gifts of the Holy Spirit and understand how some people responded to God’s call.

This half term in History, we will be focussing on some of the developments made to our society today courtesy of the Victorians through:

Finding out what life was like for poor children in Victorian Britain.
Understanding some of the changes that took place for poor children in the 19th century.
Comparing modern and Victorian schooling.
Investigating how Victorian children spent their leisure time.

Our Science topic this half term will focus on Physics as we look closely at Light. In this unit we will be working to:

Recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines
Use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain that objects are seen because they give out or reflect light into the eye
Explain that we see things because light travels from light sources to our eyes ore from light sources to objects and then to our eyes
Use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain why shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them.

We will work scientifically by:

Predicting and explaining with diagrams and models, how the path of light rays can be directed by reflection to be seen
Predicting and explaining with diagrams and models, how the shape and size of shadows can be varied.

In French this half term, we shall be looking at Habitats and Woodlands In this unit, the children will be focussing on:

Saying and writing in French the key elements animals and plants need to survive in their habitat
Giving examples of in French of the most common habitats for plants and animals
Telling somebody in French what types of animals live in different habitats and what their adaptations are
Telling somebody in French what types of plants grow in different habitats
Learning to use the verbs ‘to grow’ and ‘to live’ to help me talk about plants and animals in their habitats.

Art this half term will see Year 6 we will be working to understand and apply the principles printing and collage. In this unit of work the children will develop their skills by:

Creating printing blocks by simplifying an initial sketch book ideas.
Using relief or impressed method
Working into prints with a range of media e.g. pens, colour pens and paints.
Adding collage to a painted, printed or drawn background
Using a range of media to create collages
Using different techniques, colours and textures etc when designing and making pieces of work.

ICT this year is a project that will take us through the whole academic year as we become App. Planners. This half term we will be working towards the outcome of producing a presentation to pitch a smartphone or tablet app. By the end of the half term, the children will be confident in:

Independently selecting, using and combining a wide range of software on a variety of devices.
Designing and creating a range of digital assets such as programs, systems and multimedia content for a defined purpose and audience.
Using advanced searches including the use of operators.
Developing their computational thinking can demonstrate that they can decompose and evaluate their tasks and correct errors in their algorithms and programs.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education this half term is dedicated to 'Money Matters' In this unit, the class will be encouraged to think about:

the diﬀerent ways to pay for things and the choices people have about this
 recognising that people have diﬀerent attitudes towards saving and spending money; what inﬂuences people’s decisions; what makes something ‘good value for money’ 
that people’s spending decisions can aﬀect others and the environment (e.g. Fair trade, buying single-use plastics, or giving to charity) 
recognising that people make spending decisions based on priorities, needs and wants 
diﬀerent ways to keep track of money 
risks associated with money (e.g. money can be won, lost or stolen) and ways of keeping money safe
risks involved in gambling; diﬀerent ways money can be won or lost through gambling-related activities and their impact on health, wellbeing and future aspirations .

In Music this half term all our learning will focus around 'A New Years Carol' In this unit children will be working to:

To compare two songs in the same style, talking about what stands out musically in each of them, their similarities and differences.
Listen carefully and respectfully to other people’s thoughts about the music.
Use musical words when talking about the songs.
To talk about the musical dimensions working together in the Unit songs.
Talk about the music and how it makes you feel, using musical language to describe the music.
How pulse, rhythm, pitch, tempo, dynamics, texture and structure work together to create a song or music
How to keep the internal pulse
Play a musical instrument with the correct technique within the context of the Unit song.
Select and learn an instrumental part that matches their musical challenge, using one of the differentiated parts – a one-note, simple or medium part or the melody of the song from memory or using notation.

General Class information

Reading

By Year 6, children are confident with reading, the task now is to ensure that children understand what they are reading. It is important that they read a wide variety of genres and text types. Fiction, non-fiction, leaflets, websites, newsletters etc. The more children read and discuss the deeper their understanding becomes. Encourage the children to explain what they have read, ask them questions and describe how they know the answers. On occasion allow them just to read for pleasure, because they want to and they are enjoying it. Read with them and continue to read to them. Love books together!

PE sessions will take place on Wednesday afternoons. Remember to arrive in school each Wednesday in full PE kit and trainers or pumps. You will remain in your PE kit for the entire day. PE kit must consist of black leggings or tracksuit bottoms and a red school PE top or plain red t-shirt

Snack & Water

Toast is available to children for snack. Children must pay £1 at the beginning of the week via the ParentPay app for a slice of toast each day. Children are able to bring in their own snack for playtime. This can be a cereal/breakfast bar, fruit or veg. If you would like your child to bring in their own bottle, please ensure the bottle is clearly labelled with the child's name.