Welcome to Year 6!
Pioneer Class
Teacher: Miss Bradshaw
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Back
Maths Group: Mrs Bradshaw
Discovery Class
Teacher: Mrs Gulvin and Mrs Willson
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Garrett
Maths Group: Mrs Bradshaw
Term 1
Welcome to Year 6!
Welcome to your first term in Year 6. A year full of hard work, new experiences and fun.
Is war inevitable?
Our topic for the first term looks at World War 1. We will look at how it started and how trench warfare was a significant aspect of the war. We will learn about key events and key people and whether it could have been avoided. We will support our topic learning through work in english and reading, where we will write trench descriptions, letters from the trench and biographies of key people. Our whole class reading text will be Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo which follows the journey of two brothers during WW1. During our art block, we will look at using pencil sketches and line drawings to recreate the work of Morris Meredith Williams and his trench sketches.
Reading
We would encourage all of you to read widely and frequently, outside as well as in school, for pleasure and information. This does not have to be your school reading book, but anything you enjoy (eg. newspapers, TV guides, leaflets, magazines).
It would be helpful if adults could write a comment in your Reading Contact books too.
Our daily reading lessons focus on the key areas which ou need to know and understand in order to improve your reading comprehension skills, vocabulary and general knowledge. We call these comprehension skills VIPERS and we use them every day to help you become confident close readers of texts, deepening your understanding and enjoyment of a range of challenging texts. We will be reading some fantastic books in class this year, all of which are linked to our topics.
About the books :
Term 1 and 2: 'Private Peaceful' by Micahel Morpurgo
Set during World War I, Private Peaceful charts eight hours in the life of Tommo, a young soldier at the Front, as he looks back over the formative events of his life: his father’s early death, his relationship with his loving mother and brothers, Big Joe and Charlie, and their beloved schoolfriend Molly – all set among an evocative and beautifully realised rural landscape.
Passionate, beguiling and moving, this award-winning story is also an unflinching examination of the horrors of war and the injustice surrounding the execution of soldiers by firing squad, on the – often false – grounds of desertion or cowardice. Former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo uses all his superb storytelling skills to weave this powerful, poignant tale of the horrors of World War I, which will touch readers of all ages.
Term 3 and 4: 'Holes ' by Louis Sachar
Stanley Yelnats' family has a history of bad luck, so he is not entirely surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to the Camp Green Lake Juvenile Detention Centre in the middle of the Texan desert. There is in fact no lake there at all and not much green either. Stanley soon discovers that his work at the camp will be to dig a deep hole each day, and to report back about anything he finds there. Stanley gets to work - but he soon discovers there's more to the task he's been given than merely an exercise in character-building.
This witty, inventive and utterly compelling novel from Louis Sacharis a must-read for children and adults too. A deft mixture of seriousness and humour, it is told in a direct, simple style that belies the clever construction of Sachar's powerful narrative.
Terms 5 and 6: 'Wonder' by R J Palacio 
Like most ten-year olds, August ('Auggie') Pullman just wants to be accepted at his new school, especially as he's been previously been home-schooled. However, Auggie can't help but stand out - he was born with a severe facial deformity. Most people react with horror to his appearance and don't take the time to meet the smart, funny, Star Wars-loving boy underneath.
Written in the first person, Wonder follows Auggie as he experiences more than the usual ups-and-downs of friendships, family and school. The story is also told from the perspective of other characters, providing glimpses into their own behaviour and exploring the impact our actions can have on others.
Thought-provoking, engaging and uplifting, this is a wonderful read with a powerful message - we can all choose to be kind.
Useful Websites:
- Epic Digital Library
Thousands of books and other reading materials are open to you all here - you just need your class code to log in.
- School Reading List site
- Explore Learning Recommended Reading
- Love Reading
- Accelerated Reader - https://login.renaissance.com/1302daf1-2b52-4df2-9c3c-a4e357d90f80?state=13688a30-ec60-47bb-a3b4-59d1fd383877
Writing
In Year 6, you will learn to write imaginatively and cohesively and to choose the right structure and tone for any given piece of writing. This includes:
- identifying the audience and purpose of your writing
- modifying your use of grammar and vocabulary depending on what you are writing
- using a consistent tense
- checking through your own and your peers’ writing and making constructive improvements.
- developing a more formal, authorative tone
You will also learn to use more complex word forms and clauses, to use uncommon punctuation, and to build cohesion by linking ideas across a text. This includes:
- converting nouns or adjectives into verbs using suffixes like –ate, –ise, –ify
- using brackets, dashes, or commas to indicate parentheses
- linking ideas across paragraphs using adverbials of time, place, and number.
- use semi-colons and colons to demarcate sentences
Opportunities to write will focus on the four writing purposes: writing to entertain, writing to inform, writing to persuade and writing to discuss.
Term 1:
- Writing trench descriptions, letters from the trenches.
- Biographies of key WW1 figures
- Reports on the ending of the war
Term 2:
- WW2 poetry
- Diary entries and descriptions of war
- Explanation guide on how to keep safe in the Blitz
Term 3:
- Report on Mexico - travel guides
- Police reports using Titanium as a stimulus
- Balanced argument on which is better: Uk or Mexico
Term 4
- Myth based on Maya culture
- Newspaper reports based on whole class reading text Holes
Term 5 and 6
- Persuasive texts linked to healthy living
- Poetry
- Dairy log book entries based on Avatar and world of Pandora.
Science
The main focus of science in Year 6 is to help you to develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas. You will learn to select the most appropriate ways to answer science questions using different types of scientific enquiry, including observing changes over different periods of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things and carrying out comparative and fair tests. You will also be expected to read, spell and pronounce scientific vocabulary correctly as well as finding out about significant scientists linked to our topics.
In Year 6, our science topics are as follows:
Term 1: Classification
You will be learning to describe how living things are classified into broad groups according to common observable characteristics and based on similarities and differences, including microorganisms, plants and animals. You will give reasons for classifying plants and animals based on specific characteristics.
Term 2: Light
In year 6, you will develop your understanding of light, exploring how it behaves, including light sources, reflections and shadows. Y
Term 3: Electricity
Building on what you learnt in year 4, we learn to associate the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer with the number and voltage of cells used in the circuit, Compare and give reasons for variations in how components function, including the brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches. We will also use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram.
Term 4: The Human Body
You will identify and name the main parts of the human circulatory system, and describe the functions of the heart, blood vessels, and blood. We will investigate and recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way their bodies function. We will describe the ways in which nutrients and water are transported within animals, including humans.
Term 5 and 6: Evolution and Inheritance
Through this part of curriculum, you will expand on what you learned about fossils in the 'Rocks' topic in Y3, finding out more about how living things have changed over time. You will recognise that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide information about living things that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago. You will learn that living things produce offspring of the same kind, but normally offspring vary and are not identical to their parents. You will study how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different ways, and that adaptation may lead to evolution.
SATs
In May 2025, you will be sitting the national tests known as SATS. Throughout the year there will be opportunities to revise and prepare yourself for these assessments.
Here are the dates for the national assessments.
Websites for Revision
IXL have separate pages of skills linked to individual Year group. The Y6 page has links to practise both English and Maths skills. Pages are then split into skills of which has a practise question for the children to think about.
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/
A site with links to Maths and English revision materials, including worksheets to look at online or to print off and practise with. http://sats.highamstjohns.com/
Click on “For Kids” to access some fun games to practise speed of recall of times tables.
This site has loads of Maths games which help to practise a range of skills.
http://www.mathplayground.com/games.html
Loads of Maths games on a range of Mathematical concepts.
https://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm
Lots of individual revision videos, worksheets, quizzes and answers related to all the maths topics.
https://corbettmathsprimary.com/content/