Friday 7^th January 2022

Dear Year 6 parents and carers,

RE: Year 6 Curriculum – Spring 2022

Happy New Year! We hope you had an enjoyable and restful break. We have a packed term ahead of us, with a lot of work and fun to be had! Our learning journey topic this term is entitled: ‘Disease and Development’ – with the depth enquiry question ‘Have we got better at fighting disease?’  We will be looking at medicine and diseases through time focusing particularly on Medieval Britain, the 17^th Century and 19^th Century and also considering the Covid-19 pandemic which the children have their own firsthand experiences of. Below we have outlined what we will be covering in class.

Curriculum:

English	Maths	Science	History	SPaG	R.E.	Art and Design
Horrible Histories style information report on the Black Death. Diary entry (life in plague-ridden London) Formal letter of advice Persuasive speech on chlorea	Multiplication, Division Multiples, factors, fractions, decimals, pecentages	Microorganisms	Developing an understanding of how medicine has developed over time in fighting diseases	Revision of clauses and simple, compound and complex sentences Modal verbs Colons and semicolons	Buddhism	Using fluid painting to create art in the form of microorganisms. We will be studying Japanese artist Susumu Nishinaga, who uses a scanning electron microscope to show textures in cells, organs, plants Creating our own collage materials and using them to create our own cells

P.E. Lessons

Topic this half term: Handball

P.E. lessons will continue to be on a Tuesday afternoon with Mr. Gibbs. As they have been doing, children are to come to school on Tuesdays wearing their P.E. kit. This consists of their red Kelvin Grove school jumper or cardigan, a plain white t-shirt (round neck or polo), grey or black tracksuit bottoms and trainers.

Homework

Reading: As previously stated, reading with your child and discussing what has been read each day is essential to helping them make progress in all areas of the curriculum. The expectation is that your child reads every day and records what they’ve read in their Year 6 planners. Please support your child by encouraging them to read a range of texts (fiction and non-fiction) by different authors and by asking them questions about what they have read.

Maths, SPaG and Spelling: As before, Maths and SPaG homework is handed out each Friday. These need to be returned completed by the Wednesday of the following week. Some weeks, Maths homework will be set online on Mathletics or Times Tables Rockstars. Each child has been given a unique login to access these websites from home. If they have lost these details, please ask them to speak to their Maths teacher.

Spellings are taught in class and consolidated with practice across a fortnightly period. Starting this term, children will be encouraged to write the spelling pattern they are practising that fortnight in their Year 6 planners. You can support your child by discussing their spellings, ensuring they understand what each word means and asking them to explore patterns between words.

Children can do additional spelling practice at home by finding additional words that fit the fortnightly pattern and could be added to the list and also by using the Look, Cover, Write and Check strategy. It is also very beneficial to create their own sentences using their spelling words. Please encourage them to show flair with these sentences by using sophisticated vocabulary and trying to incorporate the high level punctuation they have been taught in class.

Working towards SATs:

The Spring term, leading up to the Easter holidays is a crucial time for Year 6 as they prepare for their SATs.  We will be working hard to ensure that each child is ready, prepared and most importantly confident about these tests in May.

Parents often ask the question: ‘what extra things should we be doing with our child to prepare them for their SATs?’  There is not an expectation at Kelvin Grove that children need to or should spend many additional hours doing preparation outside of school. Everything that they need to succeed is provided for them within the school day and through the home learning activities that we set. If your child attends school every day that they are able and on time (important early work is set from 8:40am every day) and has the right attitude to learning in class, they will be successful. We have high expectations of their learning behaviours and we appreciate the support and encouragement you give your child to do their best.

Behaviour and uniform

A reminder that all children should be in full school uniform which includes black school shoes (not trainers) every day and in their school P.E. kit on a Tuesday. The only jewellery that is permitted (other than those of religious significance) are small stud earrings. This for your child’s safety in lessons but particularly on the playground and during active lessons like P.E.

We continue to have high expectations of children’s behaviour and conduct.  A particular focus this term is showing kindness, empathy and respect to their peers and to adults. Should any difficulties arise that are of significance, we will inform you.   We also ask that if your child has a mobile phone or other device, you monitor their usage closely and ensure that they are only accessing age-appropriate content online.

This term, the children are continuing to work towards a whole year group reward and complete their individual sticker charts linked to our new school values. They spent a lot of time in the Autumn term reflecting on leadership qualities and for the first time we are very excited that the children themselves will be involved in electing their prefects. 

Thank you for your continued support, and as always if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

Year 6 Team,

Miss Pais, Miss West, Mrs Lafinhan, Mr Clark, Mrs Bolingbroke, Mrs Freeman, Mrs Kemp and Miss Gibbs