Dear Year 6 parents and carers,
Thursday 12th January 2023
RE: Year 6 Curriculum, Spring 1 2023
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 17th Century and 19th Century and also considering the Covid-19 pandemic which the children have their own first hand experiences of. Below we have outlined what we will be covering in class.
Curriculum:
| English | Maths | Science | History | SPaG | R.E. |
| Horrible Histories style information report on the Black Death. Formal letter of advice. Persuasive speech on chlorea. Editing, improving and publishing our work. | Multiples, Factors, Prime, Square and Cubed Numbers. Order of Operations (BODMAS). Fractions and Decimals. | Microorganisms | Developing an understanding of how medicine has developed over time in fighting diseases. | Revision of clauses and simple, compound and complex sentences and colons and semicolons. Relative clauses. Modal verbs. The Subjunctive. | Buddhism |
| Art and Design | |||||
| 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: Handball and Gymnastics P.E. lessons will continue to be on a Wednesday afternoon with Mr. Gibbs and alternate Mondays (16th January and 30th January) as part of PPA. There will also be P.E. on the first Monday back after half term term – 20th February. As they have been doing, children are to come to school on every Wednesday 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 bottoms and trainers. | |||||
| Homework Reading: All children need to be reading every day – this is essential for their ongoing language development and in 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 set each Friday in the CPG books that were given out last term. Maths and SPaG homework books should be returned to school every Wednesday so work can be reviewed and marked at the end of the week. Some weeks, Maths homework will be set online using the Mathletics website and your child will note this in their planner when necessary. Each child has been given a unique login to access Mathletics 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 to, arrives on time (important early work is set from 8:45am 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 footwear every day and in their school P.E. kit on a Wednesday and alternate Mondays. 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. Please ensure that if your child has long hair, they wear it tied up on P.E. days.
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 school values.
Thank you for your continued support, and as always if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.
Year 6 Team
Mrs Lafinhan, Miss West, Mrs Cooper, Mrs Bolingbroke, Mrs Kemp and Miss Gibbs