Autumn Term

English

This term we will start our English lessons by delivering Place Value of grammar which is a series of lessons that focuses on

the foundations of writing: grammar and punctuation.

We will also be reading Holes by Louis Sachar that we will use as a stimulus for writing. We will write a non-chronological report based on the yellow spotted lizard and a letter of complaint. In autumn 2 we will use the picture book by Harris Burdick to write Dialogue and watch the animated film The Lighthouse video to support us writing a Setting description. Our poetry this term is to learn about Ottava Rima and writing poetry in this style.

Maths

Place value of numbers up to 10 million! Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division—using mental methods and formal written methods. We will also be doing lots of work on fractions and increasing our knowledge of position and direction. Our daily arithmetic practise, including new calculation strategies for Year 6, will help to develop these important skills.

Science

Our topic this term is Classifying Living Things, which includes understanding the Classification System for living things and being able to use keys to identify unknown  plants and animals. We will also be conducting an investigation into how micro-organisms develop in different conditions.

Our second topic will be Evolution and Inheritance where we will by thinking about

characteristics that are passed on from one generation to the next and how animals have adapted to suit their environments.

Computing

Year 6 will begin the computing curriculum by being introduced to Python - This unit introduces children to text-based coding through the use of Python. Children will learn some of the key language rules for Python. By the end of the unit, children will have outputted text to the screen, used loops to repeat code and made a sprite move by coding it. They will then learn about Coding - This unit builds on learning from previous coding units. Children will learn how to use cloning and hotspots within their programs. They will use more complex flowcharts to help them test and debug existing simulations, building up to developing a text-based adventure game.

History

In History this term we will be studying the topic Crime and Punishment. During this topic we will be:   

How the nature of crimes and punishments changed over 1000 years and be able to place the main ones in chronological order

 How some punishments were introduced for a short time and then replaced with others e.g. the Bloody Code and Transportation

That society’s attitude to crime has changed over time and has become less harsh

Some punishments that we think have been around for hundreds of years are actually relatively recent e.g. growth of prisons in Victorian times

Changes in society often bring about an increase in crime e.g. the growth of towns and cities in the early 19th century.

That new crimes are always appearing, such as cyber crime, causing the police to learn new methods of dealing with it.

Geography

Our Topic this term is Economic activity in the UK. In this unit, children will do an in-depth study into the economic activity of the United

Kingdom. Children will learn about the three main economic sectors and how each of them impacts the economy of the UK. Using a range of case studies, children will find out how sustainable deferent economic activities are in the UK, and the ramifications they have on the environment.

Art

Colour - The work of the artist David Hockney will be used as a starting point to help us explore how the use of colour can be used to show different moods, atmospheres and emotions, and then use examples of his landscapes as the inspiration to create our own artwork.

D&T

Food and Nutrition—we will be looking at seasonality of fresh produce, tasting and evaluating a range of vegetable soups and finally cooking our own soup using ingredients that we have chosen. 

PSHE/RSE

This term we are completing our topics entitled VIPs where we look at relationships with the special people in our lives and then move on to Being Safe looking at how we can take responsibility for our own safety and other ways to keep ourselves safe - in the real world and online.

Our topics for growth mindset lessons are – ‘don’t say…say’ and ‘Diamond minds’.

RE

Values—What Matters Most? - Exploring the ideas of right and wrong for both

Christians and Humanists and thinking about the values that matter to us.

French

Our French topics this term are, ‘Let’s visit a French town’ and ‘Let’s go shopping’. During these topics we will: make simple sentences with habiter (to live);  listen to and join in a song; recognise key words and phrases and respond to them; use a bilingual dictionary with support; take part in role play as a shopper/shopkeeper, speaking in French;

greet and respond; use the preposition entre; calculate change given and write the answer in French; and write money amounts in French, up to 500 € in multiples of 50.

Music

In Music this term we will be studying the topic, ‘Hey Mr Miller’ where the children will: Compose a syncopated melody using the notes of the C major scale. Sing a syncopated melody accurately and in tune. Sing and play a class arrangement of the song with a good sense of ensemble. Listen to historical recordings of big band swing and describe features of the music using music vocabulary. We will also be completing the topics, ‘Shadows’ and ‘Composing for protest’ where we will learn about responding to music, creating their own song lyrics, fitting their lyrics to a pulse, creating a chant, Writing a melody and singing it and structuring their ideas into a complete song.

Spelling

In Year 6 we will be following the Spelling Shed scheme of work, learning about the morphology and etymology of spellings. We will be using a range of strategies such as counting syllables and phonemes to support us in breaking sown spelling into bitesize manageable steps. All children will have a login to complete spelling tasks online where they can practice these spellings both at school and at home.

PE

During Autumn 1 PE lessons pupils will be learning how to play Netball in our invasion games topic. This will include learning, rules, tactics and the positions played by each member of the team.

Year 6 will also be attending weekly swimming lessons where they will be learning key water safety skills and developing swimming techniques in order to be successful at swimming 25 metres of the pool.

Online Safety

We will be looking at why and how we can make safer passwords and looking at how to communicate safely online.