Welcome to Year 6

Teachers: Mrs James, Mrs Hills , Mrs Bullivant

Teaching Assistant: Miss McConnell

Email: rspariel@southbankprimary.co.uk

Contact number: 01642 453451

Please be aware that contact may be made outside of teaching hours.

About our class...

Welcome to Year 6!  This year sees an important chapter in our school life—our last year in primary school!  During the year we will learn to challenge ourselves and build our resilience.  We will work hard this year and some days will feel tough, but we will continue to develop strategies and skills   for our future.  As well as working hard and learning new things we will also have some fun and make lots of memories.

Our Learning

We have some exciting topics ahead of us including;

Autumn term - Crime and Punishment where we will explore what was seen as a crime over time and the di­fferent gruesome punishments that were handed out to criminals. We will also find out about the development of the police force from the Victorian period right through to the new millennium.

Our main topic for Spring term is World War II, where we will look at how and why the war started, who was involved, what it was like to be an evacuee  and also how the war affected Teesside and lots more.

For the first half of the summer term, we will be focusing upon getting ready for SATs. This includes revising and re-capping previously taught areas to help build our confidence and resilience. We will then learn about Charles Darwin, the Galapagos islands and how living things have evolved over time.

IMPORTANT - SATs will take place the week beginning Monday 12th May 

Autumn learning 

Below is a snapshot of some of the learning Ariel  have completed during Year 6.

Spring term

Maths 

This term, we will be learning about  Imperial and metric measures, ratio and proportion, algebra , decimals and  percentages, perimeter, area and volume and statistics.  

Throughout the year, children will use Times Table Rockstar's to continue to develop their times table knowledge. Children would greatly benefit if they continue to practice their times tables at home.  

English 

This term, we will continue to improve our presentation and handwriting. We will develop our SPaG knowledge and continue learning spelling patterns and practising our spellings.  We will then use these skills and complete writing linked to our topic including a narrative about surviving an air raid and a letter in the role of an evacuee.  We will also link our writing to our science topic and write an explanation on how the circulatory system works. We will also continue to develop our reading skills.  

 Science

In science we will look at Animals including humans. During this unit, we will learn about the importance of the circulatory system and how it transports oxygen around our body. We will learn about the heart and how it is an important muscle in our bodies.  We will learn about their heart rate and different activities that can increase their heart rate. We will learn about being healthy and things they can do to lead a healthy lifestyle as well as learning about things that people do that can cause them to be unhealthy. 

 Geography 

We will look at - How sustainable is the UK’s economic activity? In this unit, we will do an in-depth study into the economic activity of the United Kingdom. We will learn about the three main economic sectors and how each impacts the UK's economy. We will also learn about different economic activities in the United Kingdom and their sustainability. 

History 

World War 2. In this, the children will learn how World War Two began and gain a more comprehensive understanding of how empire and rebellion influenced Hitler and his plan to dominate Europe. We will explore the significance of the Battle of Britain, learn about evacuees, how Middlesborough was affected by the war and explore how Britain gained victory in World War Two 

Music

This term our learning is focused around a song from Benjamin Britten’s Friday Afternoons: A New Year Carol and also You’ve Got A Friend and other songs by Carole King.  We will listen to and appraise the songs and compare them  to others and also  learn about the interrelated dimensions of music.  We will  learn to sing the songs ,  accompany them with a range of musical instruments and perform them.  We will also have regular sessions with Tees Valley Music Service and learn how to play the Ukulele. 

DT 

In DT we will use our skills to make a model of an Anderson shelter and look at ways to strengthen it and make it waterproof.  

PE 

This term, we will be focusing on dance. The theme of our dance will be ‘prejudice and discrimination.’  We will learn skills such as spatial awareness, body awareness and control, flexibility, and strength. We will look at how we can move our bodies in different ways with the ultimate goal of producing a dance linked to our theme. We will also spend some time doing gymnastics, where we will create sequences that demonstrate flow between movements, have a variety of levels and speeds and use a range of equipment. We will also learn the rules of badminton, practice skills and take part in mini tournament. 

RE

 In RE, we will learn What different religions believe about life after death and why Good Friday and Easter Day are the most important days for Christians. 

PSHE

We will follow the Jigsaw scheme and the theme ‘Dreams and Goals’  Where we will look at our learning strengths and set challenging but realistic goals and look at the learning steps needed to reach these goals.  We will also look at the theme ‘ Healthy Me’ where we will learn to take responsibility for our  health and make choices that benefit our health and well-being.  

Computing  

We will use Purple Mash to support our learning and look more at coding and spreadsheets, blogging and computer networks. 

French 

 We will continue to review our learning from Y3-Y5 and learn including greetings, colours, family, animals, sports and weather. 

Rights Respecting School

In our school we explore our rights across all areas of our school through our learning and social times. We make links in our lessons and explain why or how they relate to a certain right.

We are currently on our journey towards achieving the Gold Rights Respecting Award. We explore our rights across all areas of our learning. This term we will focus on Article 3 - Best interest of the child and Article 31 -  Rest, relax, play and  to take part in cultural and creative activities.  

Important information and reminders 

PE is on Thursday - children will change into their school PE kit before the lesson starts.

No jewellery should be worn on PE days. Inhalers must remain in school, and long hair must be tied up. Where possible PE will take place outside so children will need a waterproof coat and trainers. 

On all other days children should come to school in uniform.

READING BOOKS 

• Our weekly library slot is Wednesday. Children will get the chance to change their reading book. Please can children remember to bring their books back to school and bring a book bag.

KEY DATES 

• Break up for half term -  Friday 21st February 
• SATs week  Monday 12th May - Thursday 15th May
• Break up for Easter - Friday 11th April