Welcome to Year 6
Our Year 6 pupils enjoy an exciting final year at primary school. We immerse our Year 6 into units of study that explore periods in history including the World Wars and Ancient Greece, and units that are driven by engaging novels including Room 13, Blitzed and Boy 87. We take many visits where we can bring learning to life; including trips to Whitby and Flamingo Land Zoo. Our Year 6 also have the opportunity to lead across school, taking responsibilities that support other learners and forming our Leadership Team. Our Year 6 pupils also enjoy Bikeability, learning to cycle with confidence. At the end of the year, our Year 6 pupils showcase their creative talents in a final performance.
Year 6 is a year where pupils will be assessed during SATs week; pupils work hard to show what they have learnt during their time in primary school. We help all our pupils to achieve to the best of their ability and work with our families so that our pupils progress to High School as happy, resilient, independent, confident learners. Our Year 6 use their own iPad each day to support their learning.
Main Text
Room 13 by Robert Swindells
Topic: Whitby
Our Year 6 begin the year with a topic based on the novel Room 13 by Bradford-born author, Robert Swindells. Room 13 is a story about a girl who takes a trip to Whitby. We also take a trip to Whitby where pupils explore the abbey, visit the Dracula Experience, take a boat ride to find dolphins and of course play on the beach and splash in the sea! We write suspense stories; telling a tale with a spooky setting and characters. We sketch haunted houses, learn about the geography of Whitby and explore whether Dracula really is real!
Science
In our Science we learn about electricity; how circuits are made, how to stay safe with electricity and about renewable energy. We build lighthouses with a simple circuit to light a bulb with a switch.
Main Text
Where Poppies now Grow by Hilary Robinson & Martin Impey
Topic: WW1
Our World War 2 unit includes a day digging trenches in our woodland area! Our Year 6 pupils immerse themselves in the life of a soldier on the front line, writing a meeting tale about soldiers during the war. We re-enact the Christmas Day Truce and create iMovie clips to capture the event. We also look at the role of the Indian Army during World War 1. In our Art lessons we sketch soldiers in proportion inspired by books we have read; also practicing our skills using watercolour paints.
Main Text
Blitzed by Robert Swindells
Topic: WW2
Inspired by a picture book version of Anne Frank’s story, we learn about World War 2 and the impact upon so many. We focus on the Home Front in Great Britain; on a day in our woodland area we build Anderson Shelters, cook using wartime recipes and hide from Nazi planes during an air raid attack. We read another novel by Robert Swindells, Blitzed, where a schoolboy returns to war-torn London and experiences the horrors. We create silhouette images of London to capture the Blitz.
Our Year 6 also learn about the Windrush and question how people were treated; we then learn about the partition of India, the events that led to this and the affects.
Science
In our Science we learn about Light; how we see and how shadows are formed. We explore the best material for World War 2 blackout blinds in our investigation.
Main Text
The Trojan Horse by David Clement Davies
Topic: Ancient Greeks
Our Ancient Greeks unit focuses on the story of The Trojan Horse; we retell the story from a different character’s point of view. Our woodland day for this unit includes learning to be a Greek warrior at warrior school, creating a wooden horse whilst practicing our sawing and drilling skills and making a clay medallion using Greek patterns and symbols. Our Year 6 create a poster using Book Art skills; we sketch mythical creatures, warriors, warships and Trojan horses.
Science
In our Science we learn about the human circulatory system; we learn about how our heart and blood function, and about the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on our bodies. We explore the impact of exercise on our heart rate in an investigation.
Main Text
Boy 87 by Ele Fountain
Topic: Boy 87
Inspired by the novel Boy 87 written by Ele Fountain, we learn about refugees, the reasons why someone may flee their country, what a democratic country is and the UN rights of a child. In our Geography lessons we look at the location of Eritrea in Africa, what borders are and the meaning of landlocked. We look at the route a refugee from Eritrea may take to get to the UK. We create wave collages, inspired by boats travelling across the sea.
Main Text
Moth by Isabel Thomas
Topic: Evolution and Inheritance
In our final term in Year 6 we learn about Evolution and Inheritance; focused upon our Science learning. This unit begins with a trip to Flamingo Land Zoo where we visit the Sumatran tigers during feeding time and the Humboldt penguins. In our woodland area we investigate how different beaks are more suited to particular food, and read Moth, an evolution story. In our English we debate whether animals should be in captivity. Inspired by artwork from Rousseau, we sketch tigers and produce a watercolour painting of a jungle scene.