Miss Kennedy is the class teacher in Leopards.  Miss Kennedy really enjoys Writing and SPaG where she can be creative and imaginative. This term Miss Kennedy is looking forward to our 'Human Circulation' topic in Science as it is a great chance for us to do lots of exciting practical activities - even though some may be unpleasant! I am also looking forward to our Writing unit all about 'The Selfish Giant' as children do not expect the ending. It is a really meaningful book with a great message which results in some incredible writing being produced by the children. Mr Dobb is the TA in Leopards class. Mr Dobb really enjoys music as it is an excuse to play the guitar and making things in DT. Mr Dobb is looking forward to our DT projects this year. Additionally, year 6 are lucky to have Mr Campbell-Short one of our learning support assistants working alongside them. Mr Campbell-Short is a keen sports person, regularly playing both rugby and golf. During the Autumn Term, Mr Campbell-Short is most looking forward to Y6 swimming.

Leopards' PE days are Tuesdays. Fridays are a busy day in year 6! Spellings are tested and homework is given out and expected on the following Friday.  Additionally, star stamps are given out for reading at home. Don't forget our celebrations assembly where we will discover our spelling shed class of the week and Queen Bee!

Geography

In year 6, our Spring Term topic is all about trade and the UK economy. The children will focus on answering the question - The United Kingdom Economy – Is it sustainable? We will look at the geographical features of the UK. Key learning will surround the main sectors of the economy. Our children will then investigate the sustainability in these sectors. The topic will end by delving into the secondary sectors and sustainability, providing the children with learning to answer our focus question.

 

Writing

Our writing this term will be inspired by the books ‘The Selfish Giant’ by Oscar Wilde and 'Island – a story of the Galapagos' by Jason Chin. The Selfish Giant is about a giant who does not allow people to play in his extravagant garden which results in it remaining in Winter where it is dull and boring. However, when the Giant chooses kindness and has a change of heart, he allows the children to return which brings Spring back. Secondly, The Island - A journey to the Galapagos focusses on the range of unique species found on the remote island and how they have evolved over time. It links back to our Science topic in the Autumn Term about Evolution and Inheritance. Throughout our writing, we will continue to develop our grammar, punctuation and spelling through our Gateway, Mastery and Feature keys.

Reading

Our reading units cover non-chronological reports, poetry, narrative and biography, covering a range of topics, some of which will be topics the children have had previous access to. Our children will develop word reading and fluency through engaging activities like echo reads, timed reads, and fluency grids. Each text introduces high-frequency words and common exception words, helping children read aloud and grasp new meanings through repeated reading. The children are encouraged to use their vocabulary to understand texts, checking for clarity and discussing meanings in context. They'll tackle various retrieval questions to identify key aspects of texts, such as characters and events, and summarise main ideas using essential details. Additionally, children will make inferences about characters' feelings and thoughts by justifying their interpretations with evidence. Distinguishing between fact and opinion is also emphasised, allowing kids to provide reasoned justifications for their views.

Maths

Maths for the Spring Term is packed to the rafters and kicks off with ratio. Covering areas such as - using ratio language, ratio and fractions, scale drawing and ratio problems. We then move on to algebra and decimals before a focus on fractions, decimals and percentages and the connections. Within this area, the children will learn about equivalents, ordering, converting, percentages of amounts both one-step and multi-step. Area, perimeter and volume will be our next topic areas, where the children will discover finding at areas of triangles and parallelograms as well as the volume of cuboids. Our final Spring maths topic is statistics.

Art and Design and Technology

Our avid year 6 artists will be designing and sculpting their own vases. They will begin by researching historical vase designs. Our children will develop control of tools and techniques to be able to make a clay vase. In the final stages, they will decorate their vases before finally evaluating their finished product.

Science

In our ‘What Light Does’ topic, children will recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines. They will use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain that objects are seen because they give out or reflect light into the eye. The key learning will explain that we see things because light travels from light sources to our eyes or from light sources to objects and then to our eyes. Finally, children will 9use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain why shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them.

Our second science topic of the term is one which Miss Kennedy is very much looking forward to teaching! Human Circulation – where the children learn about blood, what blood is made up of and how the circulatory system works. Our children will learn about the heart and blood vessels and about the scientist William Harvey and his findings.

 

RSHE - Relationships, Sex and Health Education

As part of our 'No Outsiders' work, we will find out more about overcoming fears about difference and consider the causes of racism. Our children will think about the topic of ‘Ourselves, growing and changing’. With sensitivity, we will look at change and loss, including death, and how these can affect feelings. We will look at ways of expressing and managing grief and bereavement.

To keep ourselves safe online, we will define the terms ‘influence’, ‘manipulation’ and ‘persuasion’ and explain how someone might encounter these online (e.g. advertising and ‘ad targeting’ and targeting for fake news).  Furthermore, we will consider our health, wellbeing and lifestyle by recognising and discussing the pressures that technology can place on someone and how and when this can be managed.