Summer 2 Week 5

It has been a quiet week in school this week as we have all been on our transition days to our high schools! Some of the children were back in school on Friday and it was wonderful to hear that they had a great time. The time that we have spent in school, we have been working hard on our production ready for next week. We have also enjoyed creating a comic strip of the Romeo and Juliet story and we have been using lots of Maths skills from throughout the year to complete puzzles and challenges. 

Summer 2 Week 4

We have had a jam-packed week of rehearsals this week. Due to us all being on various transition days next week, we have been practising where we can! We have still managed to squeeze lots of English learning in. In our outdoor adventure session, we recapped the events of Romeo and Juliet and acted out different scenes from the original script in groups. We then performed our scenes in the woodland. We have been researching the work of William Shakespeare and the impact he had on the world. We have also been thinking about events that happen to Juliet in the story. We analysed the Taylor Swift song Love Story to see what it told us about Juliet's thoughts and feelings. We used our ideas to write a letter in role as Juliet to her father to explain why she didn't want to marry Count Paris. In Geography, we have been looking at what types of houses are available in the local area of Hoddlesden. We used Google Earth to find examples of the different types of houses such as bungalows, terraced, detached and semi detached. We then thought about which houses were more/less common in the village. In Science, we have been looking at inheritance. She of us brought in pictures for us to see which characteristics they have inherited from our parents and what similarities we have with our siblings and other family members. We also really enjoyed our gymnastics performance in PE where we showed off all the skills we have learnt over the years.

Summer 2 Week 3

We have had another busy week! In English, we have continued looking at our poem The Lion and Albert. We have written both a police report and a newspaper of the incident, thinking about the use of formal language. In Maths, we have been calculating the costs of ingredients from different shops to work out which was the most cost effective. We had to take offers into account such as percentages off the original price. In PE, we have been practising hard for our gymnastics performance next week. We have included lots of the skills that we have worked on throughout Key Stage 2 including some impressive balances. In Geography, we have been on a walk around Hoddlesden to look for features that serve the local community. We used the Max Neef model of human development to identify what category the features fit into and what they provided for the public. We also thought of developments that we would make. In PSHE, we discussed what changes happen to us during puberty including emotional and physical changes. 

Summer 2 Week 2 

We have had a very busy week this week! In Maths, we have been using ratio to adapt recipes to make a certain number of food items. In English, we have continued to look at The Lion and Albert poem. We have been thinking about the thoughts and feelings of the characters to write in role, making comparisons between Mrs Ramsbottom and the zoo keeper. In Science, we have been researching fossils. We discussed that fossils help us learn about things that have inhabited Earth for a long time. We then chose a fossil to research and learnt about what the fossil tells us about the features of the creature. In PE, we have enjoyed playing rounders in the sunshine. We have also been working on our gymnastics routine with Mrs Winward ready for our performance. In RE, we have been thinking about people who inspire us. We have shared some lovely ideas. In PSHE, we have been talking about image and how seeing photos on social media can make us feel. We then anonymously gave each other compliments, thinking about the things that we like about each other in our class. 

Summer 2 Week 1 

We have had a lovely short week back at school in the sunshine! In English, we have been looking at a new classic narrative poem, The Lion and Albert. We have discussed the how the poem shows examples of accent and dialect when we analysed the poem. We have also had a go at performing parts of the poem and thought about the key events to create a story map. In Maths, we have recapped learning about circles. We then used a pair of compasses to draw accurate circles using given dimensions of the radius and diameter. We have also recapped our learning on pie charts and used percentages and fractions to interpret them. In Science, we have done our last investigation of our electricity unit. We were investigating the effect of different lengths of resistance wire on a bulb in a circuit. we had some difficulties but it made our conclusion really interesting! We enjoyed gymnastics in PE this week. We are practising our sequence ready for our performance at the end of the month. In PSHE, we have been talking about the dangers of open water swimming, particularly reservoirs. 

Summer 1 Week 6

We have had another busy week. In English, we have been writing short stories based on our focus text Goodnight Mr Tom. In our stories, we have written in first person from Willie's point of view, We decided where we wanted the setting to be for our opening and then included a flashback to him being locked in the cupboard. We have worked hard on varying our sentence starters and including descriptive techniques such as similes, metaphors, personification and expanded noun phrases. In Science, we tested our predictions about whether circuits would work. In RE, we have been learning about Pentecost. We created freeze frames to recount the event. In Art, we have been busy making our sculptures. We used a variety of materials to create Anderson shelters. We are really proud of how they have turned out. 

Summer 1 Week 5

We have had a very busy week this week. We have been on our History trip to the Imperial War Museum in Manchester. We really enjoyed looking at the artefacts and exhibitions and we even got to speak to a soldier! We loved taking part in our school sports day in the sunshine! We also did a fantastic job helping the KS1 children with the events. In Computing, we used formulae in a spreadsheet to calculate costs of different journeys, including the journey to the Imperial War Museum. In Science, we have looked at different circuit diagrams and made predictions about whether they will work. In English, we have started to plan a short narrative including a flashback ready for our writing phase next week. We got to take part in a cricket workshop on Wednesday where we practised various skills and then took part in a game. Finally, we enjoyed a trip to the park as a post-SATs treat! 

Summer 1 Week 4

We have had a busy week this week completing our SATs. Miss Holt and Mrs Walker are so proud of the children for working so hard! In between the papers, we have managed to squeeze in more learning! In PSHE, we have been looking at democracy and we have preparing for a class election. We worked in groups to come up with a name for our party and a manifesto ready to present next week before the class votes. In PE, we practised our javelin technique ready for sports day. In Science, we did some practical work to investigate what impact adding more bulbs had on our circuit. In RE, we have been thinking about what the disciples who were present at Jesus’ ascension would have been thinking and feeling at the time. 

Summer 1 Week 3 

We have had a lovely week this week. In English, we have been writing a diary entry from Tom’s point of view about the events that have happened so far in our focus text Goodnight Mr Tom. We have also been thinking about these events from Willie’s point of view. We have been discussing the coronation of King Charles III this week in preparation for the weekend. We have sketched portraits of our King in the style of the photo-realistic artist Chuck Close. We have also been talking about the Commonwealth and the countries that are a part of it. Focusing on Canada, we have researched information about the county and it’s part in the Commonwealth to create information texts in groups. 

Summer 1 Week 1

We have had a busy first week back after Easter! In English, we have started our new unit on our focus text Goodnight Mr Tom. To start with, Miss Holt showed us a suitcase with some items inside such as a small towel,soap, a toothbrush, a bible, a belt and a letter addressed to an unknown person. We deduced information from the items, thinking about who the suitcase could belong to and what we could tell about their personality and background. In Maths, we have been looking at angles. We have calculated missing angles on a straight line, around a point and learnt about vertically opposite angles. We have also learnt about angles in triangles and quadrilaterals. Finally, we have been using protractors to measure angles and draw accurate shapes. In Science, we have been researching the effect of drugs such as caffeine, smoking and alcohol on our bodies. In Computing, we have been introduced to spreadsheets on Excel. We collected data and inputted it into the spreadsheet, thinking about how we can organise it. In DT, we finished off our automata toys from last half term. We attached our backgrounds and fixed our cams in place to allow our characters to move. In PE, we have started our new unit - Tag Rugby. This week we practised our passing technique and made sure that we were passing behind us. In History, we are looking at the impact of war in our local area. We talked about historical sources that can tell us about this time in History and decided that the war memorial in Hoddlesden would be an effective source. We walked up to the war memorial to see what information we could find. 

Spring 2 Week 6

We have had a busy week including some lovely enrichments! In English, we have been writing our own innovated Greek myths. We have had lots of interesting ideas; Miss Holt has loved reading them! We are going to make our own book of myths to showcase our brilliant writing. In Maths, we have been looking at area, perimeter and volume. We have been calculating the area of rectilinear and triangular shapes, including compound shapes which were a bit more tricky. In Computing, we have designed our own games relating to some of the Greek myths that we have looked at this half term. We are looking forward to coding them next week. In RE, we have been thinking about our key question - Who is Jesus? We have been exploring prophecies from the Bible and thinking about what they tell us about him. We enjoyed Bike Ability this week. The instructors were so impressed with our skills and are looking forward to continuing the course next week. We have also been lucky enough to have a jag-tag taster session. We enjoyed taking part in different challenges and exploring a new sport. 

Spring 2 Week 5

We have had a great week this week. In English, we have been looking at the character King Minos. We have been thinking about adjectives that we would use to describe him. We have also done some role play where some of us acted as King Minos in the hot seat to share his thoughts and feelings about his minotaur being killed. We used our ideas to write about the scene using action, dialogue and description. We have started to plan our own myths ready to write next week...we can't wait! In Maths, we have been finishing off our algebra unit. We have been focusing on working logically to make sure that we find all possibilities when we have two unknown values in equations. In Science, we have been celebrating British Science Week. Each class in school has been given an animal and we are going to design a habitat zone for them. We have got badgers. We have used the ipads to research their needs and what their habitats are like before we design our zone next week. In DT, we have started to assemble the pieces of wood that we have already cut to make a frame for our automata toys. We had a go at using the hot glue gun, making sure that we were working safely! We have also thought about our designs for the characters and the base of the toys. We have also enjoyed our outdoor adventure session with Louise this week. We re-enacted an Athens Vs Sparta battle and we made wings out of natural resources like Daedalus did in our myth. We also enjoyed trying some wild garlic bread.

Spring 2 Week 4

We have had a great week this week. In English, we have been focusing on poetry. We used a poem by Andy Tooze, who visited school last year, called ‘Our Dragon Bruce’. First, we analysed the structure and content of the poem. Then, we used it as a base for our own poems about the Minotaur from our Greek myth. We are going to be writing our own poems on Monday. In Maths, we have been using algebraic formulae and we have also been forming equations. We have found this quite tricky but we have persevered really well! In Science, we have been presenting the findings from our investigation in a different way - a graph. In Computing, we have been improving a game on Scratch by introducing variables such as scores and lives. We enjoyed spirituality day on Tuesday. It was a great opportunity to work with children in other classes and we enjoyed learning about the Easter story through different activities. We have also managed to squeeze in an entry for a competition! We have worked in groups to design a bench for the King’s Coronation. We think they look fantastic!

Spring 2 Week 3

We have had a busy week this week. In English, we have started our new unit about Greek myths. We started off by looking at King Midas and his Golden Touch. We then watched the Skittles advert to see how Greek myths are still used today. We have now started to look at Daedalus and Icarus. We have created a story map of the key events and looked at the themes of the text. In Science, we carried out our enquiries that we planned last week. We were investigating the effect of exercise on heart and breathing rate. We worked really well in our groups and made a great effort to be more independent! In PE, we worked on different types of rolls and also worked with a partner to create counter balances. In DT, we have started our new project: Automata Toys. We have started to prepare the wood for our frames. We had to measure it accurately and we used the saws to cut the pieces to size. We have had a lovely World Book Day. We were so impressed with the effort in our dress up day! We have looked at the story The Day the Crayons Quit, which we really enjoyed. We will be writing replies to the crayons next week. 

Spring 2 Week 1

We have had a lovely first week back! In Maths, we ave started to learn about ratio. We have been using multiplication and division to solve ratio problems and we have compared ratios and fractions by thinking about how many parts there are in total. In English, we have written an independent discussion text using our skills from last half term. We decided on our own topics to discuss. We decided on two topics - Should school days be shorter? Or Should mixed gender teams be allowed in professional sports? We debated the questions and planned our arguments to be able to write our texts. In Science, we are continuing to learn about the human body and our circulatory system. This week, we have planned an enquiry to investigate what impact exercise has on heart rate and breathing rate. We have been working on being more independent when planning our investigations and we are looking forward to doing our practical work next week! In History, we have begun our new topic on Ancient Greece, which we are very excited about! We started off with a chronology lesson. We have looked at the different eras within the time period and used dates to put them in order on a timeline. In Computing, we have been looking at variables in games. We created our own simple games, incorporating a score variable. We have also had a visit from Kingswood Homes, who currently have housing development in the local area. They told us about the various roles that are involved in these kind of construction projects such as land buyers, solicitors, town planners, architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, labourers and sales consultants. We discussed how there tends to be a stereotype of people who would work in the construction industry but now this is a career that is becoming more diverse and accessible for all. We enjoyed talking about the different career opportunities! 

Spring 1 Week 6

We have had a super busy week in Year 6! In English, we have been writing our discussion texts on the question, Should Mulan take her father’s place in battle? We have focused on explaining each of our points equally to create a balanced argument. We then gave our own opinions in the conclusion. We have done a brilliant job! Miss Holt is very proud of our writing. In Computing, we have been using Google Sites to create our own webpages about our Geography learning. We worked in groups to design our webpages and then used hyperlinks on our home page to link the pages together. In Art, we have been creating portraits of Mulan in the style of Chuck Close. First, we drew a grid on the picture that we were using and our own piece of paper. Then, we sketched our portrait square by square. Finally, we painted our portraits, thinking about how we could create different tones in each square to give a pixelated effect. The results were amazing! This week has been Children’s Mental Health week and the theme was ‘making connections’. We have been thinking about how we can build connections with each other. We have played 'Let's connect Bingo'. We thought about things that we like and enjoy. Then, we moved around to find people who have the same interests. We talked about how we might have things in common with people who we don't usually spend lots of time with, so this was a good opportunity to find out what we have in common. 

Spring 1 Week 5

In English, we have been looking at a new text, The Warrior Queen, which links to our Amazing Asia theme. We have been discussing the characters and comparing the story to Mulan. We have also chosen an event from the story to write a newspaper report. In Maths, we have continued to learn about percentages. We have been finding percentages of an amount and using different methods to do this. In Science, we have been learning about how nutrients are transported in the body. We really enjoyed our outdoor adventure session with Louise on Wednesday. We linked our session to our learning about the Amazon and we used natural materials to make stretchers to rescue animals from the rainforest. We also used our photography skills that we have been working on in Art to create a dvd cover for Mulan. We thought about poses and props that we could use to convey the story in a freeze frame. We have continued to work on our gymnastics sequences in PE. We also enjoyed taking part in the NSPCC Number Day on Friday. We took part in different challenges and we had some great number-themed outfits! In French, we worked on using numbers that we know and combining them to make numbers up to a trillion! 

Spring 1 Week 4

We have had a lovely week this week. In Maths, we have been looking at the relationship between decimals, fractions and percentages to be able to convert between them. In English, we have started our non-fiction unit about discussion texts.  We have looked at examples to explore the key features and we have started to plan our own. We are discussing the question: Should Mulan take her father’s place to fight? This week, we held a class debate to come up with some for and against arguments to use in our writing. In Art, we have been looking at macro-photography. We looked at the work of Edward Weston and used his art as inspiration for our own photography. We enjoyed experimenting with the saturation levels on the iPads to create different effects. In PE, we have been working in groups to create our own sequences. We had to include rolls, balances and different ways of travelling. In Science, we have been looking at the nutrition. Miss Holt gave us a variety of foods and we looked at the packaging to explore the nutritional value of them and the percentage of our recommended daily intake they contain. In French, we have been learning different verbs to be able to say what we do in different areas in school. We used actions to help us remember the new vocabulary. 

Spring 1 Week 3

We have had another busy week in Year 6. In Maths, we have continued to learn about decimals and their relationships with fractions. Next week, we are going to build on this by looking at percentages. In English, we have continued to learn about Mulan. This week, we looked at chapter 3, when Bori Kahn invaded the garrison. We have identified examples of action, dialogue and description in the text and written our own paragraphs based on the events in the text. Miss Holt is so impressed with our writing! In Art, we have begun our photography unit. We have been looking at photo montages. We looked at examples of this type of art by an artist called Hannah Hoch and used clippings for newspapers and magazines to create our own. In Computing, we have learnt about copyright laws and looked at different scenarios to decide whether they are examples of fair use or not. In Geography, we have started to look at our new unit about South America. We identified the different countries, the Amazon river and basin on a map. In PSHE, we had a visit from a police officer and a PCSO. They talked to us about different types of crime and we were able to ask lots of questions. Finally, in RE, we have been looking at the key events in Moses’ life and discussing which events we think are the most significant. 

Spring 1 Week 2 

What a great week! In English, we have continued to look at the Ballad of Mulan. We worked in groups to perform parts of the poem with actions and dramatic effects. We have then started to look at the novel. We have thought about the character of Mulan and how we would describe her from her actions. We have also discussed the fact that Mulan is expected to get married. We have written a letter to a problem page to ask for her advice about her dilemma. In Maths, we have started to look at decimals. We have been multiplying and dividing decimals by powers of 10 and we have also looked at different methods to multiply decimals by whole numbers. In Science, we have been learning about how the heart works. We have looked at the process of the circulatory system and create a diagram to show this. In RE, we have been thinking about examples of significant events. We have thought about events in others’ lives that have had an impact on them. In Computing, we have been analysing a website to decide whether it is effective for its users. We have thought about who the audience would be and hat features make it easy to navigate. In PE, we have been learning about fielding techniques. We have practised these in a game of rounders. 

Spring 1 Week 1
 

We have had a lovely first few days back after the holidays. In Maths, we have been learning about converting measurements including length, weight, time and money. We have enjoyed getting stuck into some tricky problems! In English, we have started our new unit. This half term, our focus text is Mulan. We have used drama to recap the key events of the story. We have also been looking at The Ballad of Mulan. We have investigated new vocabulary and we have analysed the poem to create a story overview. In Science, we have started to learn about the circulatory system. This week, we looked at the main parts, the heart, lungs, blood and blood vessels, and their functions. In PSHE, we have been talking about our digital footprint and how everything that we post online has a trace. We have thought about how to make sensible choices when using social media and the possible consequences of misuse. In PE, we began our striking and fielding unit. First, we practised catching using both our left and right hands. Then, we moved on to batting, taking it in turns to bat and field in small groups. 

Autumn 2 Week 6

We have has another great week in Year 6! In English, we have started to explore a new text that is linked to our topic about the environment. We have focused on the first chapter of Beyond the Frozen Horizon, which is a fiction text set in the future when climate laws have been brought in to tackle climate change. We have been reading the first chapter and exploring new vocabulary. In this chapter, the man character goes on a trip to the Arctic so we have been thinking about her thoughts and feelings about this. In Maths, we have started to look at units of measurement. We have discussed what units are used to measure mass, capacity and length and also the most appropriate units to measure different objects. We have also been using the relationships between units of measure to convert. In Science, we have been learning about how light allows us to see things. We used wool to show how light travels from a light source and reflects from objects into our eyes. We also talked about how mirrors allow us to see objects that are behind us. In Design and Technology, we have been busy sewing to make our drawstring bags. We have used the running stitch to attach our present design and we have used back stitch to join the sides of the bag together. In Geography, we have written a letter to the local council to encourage them to invest in a renewable energy source. We have included the advantages of the energy sources in our letters to persuade. 

Autumn 2 Week 5

We have had another busy week this week. On Monday, we enjoyed our outdoor adventure afternoon. Our activities were based on our learning about Harriet Tubman. First, we built shelters in the woodland using the natural resources that we could find. We found a tree to use as a base which we could rest a branch on. Then, we built up our shelters using sticks, twigs and leaves to camouflage ourselves. We made sure that they were close to the ground to keep heat in. Then, we played a game to hide from slave catchers. The slave catchers had to use strategies to catch the slaves such as using senses and spotting tracks. In Maths, we have continued with our fractions unit. We have been learning to find fractions of amounts and finding a whole amount using a given fraction. In English, we have been writing an independent biography about Greta Thunberg. We used the iPads to conduct our research and then used the features that we have been working on this half term in our writing. In Science, we have planned an investigation to see which material will create the strongest shadow. We have considered how we will investigate this enquiry question and how we will make the test fair. In PSHE, we have been talking about social media. We have talked about things that cause problems for us on different apps and what we can do about them. We have also been very busy making our decorations for the Christmas fair and creating our enterprise product in Design and Technology. 

Autumn 2 Week 4

We have had another great week this week. In Maths, we have been solving problems involving adding and subtracting fractions. We have also looked at multiplying fractions by integers and by fractions. In English, we have written our own biographies about Harriet Tubman. We included information about her early life, childhood, escape from slavery, significant achievements and death. In Science, we have conducted an investigation to test the effect of the distance of a light source from an object on the size of the shadow it creates. We had to measure accurately to make sure our results were valid. In Design and Technology, we have sewn our Batik artwork onto our t-shirts using the back stitch to make sure we have a secure pocket. In RE, we have been thinking about the prophets who foretold the birth of Jesus. We have looked at the prophecies and thought about events from the Bible which prove them. In PE, we have practised our attacking and defending skills in 4v4 games. We had to make sure we had at least three passes before scoring so we had to use the space on the court effectively. 

Autumn 2 Week 3

We have had a great week this week. In Maths, we have been adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators. We have had to find equivalent fractions, finding the lowest common multiple to make the denominators the same. In English, we have used our reading skills to find evidence to support points about Harriet Tubman’s character. We then used these to write a letter of application from her point of view. We have also used talk for writing to create an introduction for our biographies. In RE, we have been exploring the theme of the first advent candle, hope. We have discussed what Christians hope for during this time and written some lovely acrostic poems. In DT, we have been preparing our Batik artwork to sew onto our t-shorts. First, we hemmed the fabric so that the edges were neat and not frayed. We used the running stitch to do this. We then pinned the pockets onto our t-shirts and we will use back stitch to join the materials next week. In PSHE, we have been reflecting on anti bullying week. We talked about what bullying is and how we can deal with it. 

Autumn 2 Week 2

We have had another busy week in Year 6. In Maths, we have started our unit on fractions. We have been simplifying fractions and looking at how to use equivalent fractions to order, compare, add and subtract them. In English, we have continue to gather content for our biography on Harriet Tubman that we are going to be writing next week. We were given key events and dates from her life and we made predictions about what happened when. We then created a chronological timeline of her life to help us structure our biographies. We have also developed questions that we would like to research to add more detail to what we already know. In Design and Technology, we have been practising using different types of stitches. We practised the running stitch and the back stitch in preparation for sewing our Batik designs from last half term to our t-shirts. In PE, we learned about footwork rules in netball and how to receive a pass. We practised landing when we catch a ball whilst running and pivoting. We did a few drills to practise our new skills which we will be using in some games next week. In Geography, we used our research from last week to create a report on the state of the planet. We labelled various countries on a world map, using the atlas to help us, and described the changes that had happened there due to global warming and climate change. In Computing, we have researched things that can make houses sustainable and eco-friendly. We are going to be using our 3D modelling skills to design our own eco-friendly house this half term. We have also been improvising our own rhythms in Music. 

Autumn 2 Week 1

We have had a very busy first week back! 

In English, we have started our new unit on biographies. We have thought about what the audience and purpose of a biography is and the difference between a biography and an auto biography. Then, we created our own verbal biographies about JK Rowling, using cohesive devices to link key facts together. We have looked at different examples of biography and thought about the features of this text type to make a checklist. In Maths, we have been finishing off our four operations unit. We have looked at prime, squared and cubed numbers and we have also been learning about the order of operations rules (BODMAS). In Science, we looked at the results from our investigation about mould before half term. Some of our bread had gone very mouldy over the holidays. We thought about why certain pieces of bread had gone more mouldy than others to draw conclusions about mould growth. We have also started our new unit about light with Mrs Harrison. In Geography, we have been talking about the environment and what the current state of the planet is. We have been looking at the WWF living planet report to find out what the impact of climate change has had on various countries around the world. In Computing, we have started to look at Computer Aided Design (CAD). We used a program called Tinkercad to experiment with creating some 3D models. In RE, we have started to look at the season of Advent and what it means to Christians. We looked at the advent wreath and what each candle represents. In French, we have started to look at larger numbers. We have been looking at multiples of 10 in French as we are going to need large numbers to use in our writing about the planets! 

Autumn 1 Week 7

We have had a great final week of the half term. 

In Maths, we have been looking at different methods that can be used to divide. We started off with chunking for long division calculations and we have also looked at the method of short division when we the divisor is a single digit. In English, we have been busy writing our own hybrid texts. We have written a non-chronological report about the Kingdom of Benin, an explanation text about how trading works and instructions on how to create a Batik design. In Science, we have conducted research into the scientist Carl Linnaeus, who devised a naming system and a way to classify living things. We created our own top trumps card about him, rating the impact of his work on the world. We all agreed his work has been really important to the world and is still used today. In Music, we enjoyed performing our compositions to Year 3, who were a wonderful audience! In History, we have worked in groups to create a presentation to Queen Victoria about whether Britain should invade Benin. We worked on slides to support our presentations in computing and we presented our ideas to the class. Our Music performances and History presentations can be found here https://stpaulshoddlesden.primarysite.media/playlist/year-6-202223-1 

We also thoroughly enjoyed our behaviour treat on the bouncy castle! 

Autumn 1 Week 6

We have had a lovely week this week. In Maths, we have been focusing on multiplication We have looked at various mental methods and when they are appropriate to use, then we moved onto written methods. We started using the grid method to multiply larger number including decimals. Then, we moved on to the formal written method. In English, we have been writing our own version of The Boy who Harnessed the Wind. We have included lots of features such as descriptive techniques, action, dialogue and description, characters' thoughts and feelings and various sentence starters. In Science, we have used our learning from last week to create our own classification keys to classify African plants and animals. We thought about our questions and worked hard to classify the living things into their own groups. In History, we have been looking at what happened at the end of the Kingdom of Benin. We talked abut how Britain wanted access to the resources in Benin and that they eventually invaded. We have been imagining that we are the British army deciding whether invading is the right thing to do. We have discussed points for and against this decision to present to the Queen at the time (Queen Victoria). In Art, we have had a wonderful (and a little bit messy) time dyeing our fabric! We have created some beautiful colours and patterns and we are looking forward to seeing our finished Batik artwork. As well as all of this, we have also enjoyed taking part in TriKidz and our Music day. This time, we have focused on Pamela Z and used Garageband on the ipads to create rhythms and pieces of music in a similar style. 

Autumn 1 Week 5

We have had another great week in Year 6. In Maths, we have been looking at the formal written method of column addition and subtraction. We have used this method to solve multi-step problems. We have also been learning about factors and multiples, finding common factors/multiples between different numbers. In English, we have been enjoying looking at a poem called The Playground by Hussain Manawar. In the poem, Hussain Manawar reminisces on his childhood memories. We analysed the poem, thinking about what it means and why the poet decided to write it. We have written our own poems based on this one linked to our text, The Boy who Harnessed the wind. We thought about the things that William would want to look back on and we tried hard to include rhyme. We are looking forward to sharing our poems in worship next week! In Science, we have been looking at classification keys. To practise constructing them, Miss Holt gave us liquorice allsorts to classify. We had to think about yes/no questions that could separate the different sweets. Next week, we are going to create our own classification keys to sort various living things. In Computing, we have been learning about how data travels across the internet. We looked at data packets and created a class model of what happens inside a computer. We created messages and arranged them into packets to send across the room to a different group. In Art, we have begun our Batik designs. We have applied glue to our fabric, which will resist the dye to leave a wonderful pattern. We can’t wait to dye them next week! In History, we have been learning about trading in the Kingdom of Benin. We looked at what Benin traded with Europe and what they wanted in return. We created advertisements for Europe to encourage them to trade with us.  In Music, we continued to work on our performances. We performed in our groups to each other and did some peer assessment and feedback. Miss Holt and Mr Richards were so impressed with how we described the music and the vocabulary that we used. We had some wonderful praise and excellent constructive feedback to work on. 

Autumn 1 Week 4

We have had a fantastic time at Robinwood! We have had a jam-packed few days doing all sorts of activities such as raft building, canoeing, climbing, high ropes, archery and completing puzzles to escape the piranha pool and the dungeon! We have enjoyed working together and stepping out of our comfort zone. Photos will be uploaded to our class page shortly! 

Autumn 1 Week 3

We have had another busy week in Year 6. In Maths, we have been learning about negative numbers and calculating intervals across zero. We have worked hard on our reasoning skills, using number lines to help us. We have also started looking at addition, thinking about choosing the most efficient mental method depending on the numbers involved in the calculations. In English, we have been using action, dialogue and description in our writing. We have written wonderful paragraphs to retell the event of William, from our text The Boy who Harnessed the Wind, going hunting with his dog, Khamba. We have looked at speech in our grammar warm ups to make sure our dialogue is correctly punctuated! In Art, we used our Zentangle patterns from last week to create a Batik design. We looked at the method of Batik, which uses wax on fabric to resist dye. We thought about how we could make our patterns as effective as possible and discussed things such as spreading the lines out so that the wax/glue doesn’t run and make the patterns merge. We are looking forward to bringing our designs to life! In French, we have been writing sentences to describe the planets. We used a model to help us structure our sentences and made sure that they were factual! In Music, we have started to create our own pieces of Music to accompany African chants. In groups, we have begun to work on composing using polyrhythms. We combined food beats and our own rhythm ideas with the chants and performed to each other. 

We loved our Wild One adventure session this week. First, we got into groups and thought of our own ‘Tribe’ name and nominated a chief. We made a head dress for the chiefs using natural resources from the woodland and chose a spirit animal to represent the groups. Then, we took part in lots of team challenges. It was a great way to prepare us for Robin wood next week! 

Autumn 1 Week 2

We have had a great week in Year 6. In Maths, we have continued with our Place Value unit. We have been rounding to any required degree of accuracy and we have also been rounding decimal numbers to the nearest whole number, 1 and 2 decimal places. In English, we have been thinking about the main character’s thoughts and feelings about an event in our text The Boy who Harnessed the Wind. We did think, say, feel bubbles about the event and then used our ideas to write a recount of the event. In Science, we have been learning about micro-organisms. We have been looking at bacteria and fungi and how they can be harmful but they also have uses that are important for us. In Art, we have been looking at Zentagle patterns. We used repeating lines and inspiration from our environment to create various patterns. We will be using them next week. In History, we have been looking at the key events in the Kingdom of Benin to create a chronological timeline. In Computing, we have looked at how to use search engines effectively and efficiently. We learned about various techniques including Boolean operators and used them to research questions about Africa. In PE, we have worked on our dribbling, agility and shooting skills in football. We had to dribble in and out of cones and shoot towards a goal from different angles. In Music, we have been creating various rhythms to accompany our poetry about Queen Elizabeth. We had to think carefully about how to make sure that the music was respectful and appropriate for the purpose. 

Autumn 1 Week 1

We have had a lovely first week back in Year 6! 

In English, we have started looking at our focus text The Boy who Harnessed the Wind. To introduce the text, Miss Holt showed us a bag of items and we used the clues to deduce who it may belong to. We talked about using tentative language and giving reasons for our ideas. We then started reading the book. We have investigated unfamiliar vocabulary and focused on the main character, William, thinking of appropriate adjectives to describe him. In Maths, we have been learning about place value. We have been looking at numbers up to 10,000,000 and comparing them. We have also been looking at identifying numbers on a number line, focusing on our reasoning skills and using mathematical vocabulary. In Science, we have started looking at how plants and animals are classified. We have looked at the groups of vertebrates and invertebrates to create a page for a children’s Scientific magazine. In History, we have started out topic about The Kingdom of Benin. As this is a topic that we didn’t have a lot of prior knowledge of, we have started by doing some research about it. We thought about the information that we would like to find out and used the iPads to research. In Art, we looked at the artwork from Benin and discussed the common theme of animals being present. We looked at the symbolism of these animals and discussed that often they were used to symbolise the qualities of the Obas in Benin. We thought about animals that would symbolise a leader well due to their qualities and we have sketched these in our sketch books. We have thought of some very interesting ideas! In PE, we started our street dance unit with Mrs Harrison. We thought about how we could show attitude and started to put together a sequence of steps. 

Following the sad news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death on Thursday, we spent time on Friday discussing her life and reflecting on her achievements during her reign. The children showed great maturity and respect and asked some good questions. We have written prayers for Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family which we will display in our Jubilee garden.