Spring 1 Week 2

We have had a great week in Year 6 this week. In Maths, we have started to look at the relationship between fractions and decimals. We have used our place value knowledge to convert fractions in tenths and hundredths to decimals and we have also used short division to convert any fraction. In English, we have written a letter to a problem page from Mulan’s point of view to ask for advice on her situation - she doesn’t want to get married! We have thought about Mulan’s feelings about her problem, using the text and film clips to give evidence to support our ideas. We used our inference skills to write a diary in role as Mulan. In Science, we have been learning about the four main parts of the circulatory system. We have learnt about what they are and their functions. In Geography, we have been learning about the five main lines of latitude. We then started to look at how these affect the climate in certain areas of the world. In Music, we listened to some traditional African music and identified the stylistic features that we could hear. We then had a go at singing an African song called Senwa Dedende in a round. In Art, we have been creating photo montages using secondary images in the style of the artist Hannah Höch. 

Spring 1 Week 1 

We have had a busy first week back in Year 6! In Maths, we have been busy comparing metric and imperial units, exploring how they are used and converting between them. Later in the week, we introduced decimals. We have used place value to multiply and divide by 10, 100 and 1000 and then started to multiply decimals by any integer. In English, we explored the story of Mulan and focused on comparing characters' feelings during a key event. The children also participated in a drama activity, acting out a scene to delve deeper into the emotions and motivations of the characters. To round off the week, the class wrote letters to a problem page as Mulan, expressing her concerns about not wanting to get married. In Science, we have been testing materials to discover which would create the most effective shadows. In PSHE, we discussed the importance of diverse communities in Britain and how we can show respect and tolerance towards others. In Geography, we learned about the advantages and disadvantages of marine protected areas. We also enjoyed no pens day this week! 

Autumn 2 Week 8

We have had a lovely Christmassy week! We did a brilliant performance in our KS2 carol concert on Wednesday and Thursday. We have also enjoyed secret Santa and taking part in Mrs Bead’s workshop where we made lovely baubles. We have also been busy finishing off our big frieze this week in RE that we started during our spirituality afternoon this half term. We have created a piece of artwork to represent ‘the fall’ in the big story. We think we’ve done a wonderful job!

Autumn 2 Week 7 

What a busy week we have had! In English, we have worked in groups to present the speeches that we wrote last week. We thought about the impact that we wanted our speech to have and what speaking skills we would have to use to make our speech effective. We did a fantastic job! we have also been writing setting descriptions of the Arctic. In Maths, we have started to learn about units of measurement and we have been converting between different measures. In Science, we have planned an investigation to test which material will make the most effective shadow. We thought about the materials that we want to test and how we were going to make our experiment fair. In DT, we have been evaluating our enterprise products. We thought about what we did well, what skills we have developed and what we think we could improve on. In Geography, we have been thinking about how humans rely on the oceans, particularly for food, transport and tourism. In RE, we have been learning about John the Baptist when we were looking at the theme of love during Advent. In French, we have been learning about Christmas traditions in France! 

Autumn 2 Week 6 

We have been very busy this week as it is Enterprise week! We have been finishing off our Christmas gift bags ready to sell at the Christmas fair. We have been using back stitch to stitch up the sides of the bags, making sure there were no holes in them! We also attached a bow for decoration and a handle to hang them on the tree. Once they were finished, we filled them with chocolate treats. In Maths, we have been working on our enterprise costings. We calculated how much we have spent to make the product and worked out possible profit to decide on a price. We have also been working out fractions of amounts! In English, we have been working on our fiction text, Beyond the Frozen Horizon. We have thought about the main character (Rory’s) feelings about a trip to the Arctic. We have also started to work on a formal speech to introduce climate laws to the public. 

Autumn 2 Week 5

We have had a great week in Year 6. In Maths, we have been multiplying fractions by whole numbers and other fractions. We have also started to look at dividing fractions too. In English, we have been writing biographies about David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg for our independent write. We did research to gather our information before we started writing. In Science, we have been investigating shadows. We found out how to change the size of shadows and that the shape of a shadow is always the object that casts it. In PSHE, we thought about the differences between people in society and discussed how sometimes, people are treated unfairly because of their differences. We discussed what we would do if we saw this happening. In DT, we have been busy sewing our Christmas bags for enterprise. We have used backstitch to decorate the presents and running stitch to attach them. We also used running stitch to hem our fabric. In Music, we made our own soundtracks on GarageBand to accompany images of a stormy scene. We thought about the instrumentation that would evoke a spooky and dramatic sound. In RE, we have been focusing on the second theme of advent, peace. We have been looking at prophecies from the Bible and which Bible stories they relate to.

Autumn 2 Week 4

We have had a busy week in Year 6. In Maths, we have been solving problems involving adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers. In English, we have been busy writing our biographies about Harriet Tubman. We have done a wonderful job of using formal language and cohesive devices in our work. In PSHE, we have been looking at how to spot fake news online in our online safety starter. Then, we looked at scenarios and decided whether the people were acting appropriately or inappropriately and what we would do in those situations. In Geography, we have been learning about renewable and non-renewable energy sources. We researched biomass, wind energy, solar energy, wave energy and fossil fuels and thought about the advantages and disadvantages of them. We have also been learning about minerals and how they are formed. We had to use the iPads to research where certain minerals can be found in the world and show this on a world map. In Music, we have been using GarageBand to create tracks to put in a sequencer. In DT, we have started to make our enterprise product. We started by sewing the hems on our fabric. We have also had a go at boxing in PE!

Autumn 2 Week 3 

We have had a great week this week. In Maths, we have been adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers. In English, we have been preparing to write our biographies next week. We have made a plan and we have used talk for writing to rehearse our introduction. In Science, we have proved that light can only travel in straight lines. We used a piece of hosepipe to test whether the light travelled through the pipe when it was straight or when we folded it. In Music, we have been comparing two pieces of music composed by Danny Elfman - 'What's this?' and 'This is Halloween'. We discussed the effect that the major and minor key has on the piece of music and the mood it creates. In RE, we have been learning about the theme of Hope in advent. We have written some lovely poems about the coming of Jesus. In French, we used our listening skills. We listened to Aliens account of their trips to different planets. We used our current vocabulary knowledge and used strategies to work out new vocabulary to complete a word bank ready for our writing next week.

Autumn 2 Week 2

We have had another busy week this week. In Maths, we have started our new topic on fractions. We have been simplifying fractions by dividing the numerator and denominator by the highest common factor and we have also been finding equivalent fractions to order and compare them. In English, we have been gathering content for our biographies. We created a chronological timeline of key events in Harriet Tubman’s life. These events raised some more questions so we have also done some of our own research. In Geography, we have been learning about the threats to our planet. We have used the WWF website to research the cause and impact of fishing, climate change, pollution and deforestation. In PSHE, we have started to think about bullying ready for anti-bullying week next week. We have discussed various scenarios and shared what we would do in those situations. In DT, we have been practising different stitches. We have practised running stitch and back stitch. We have thought about which stitches will be best to use for the different parts of a bag. In PE, we have added to our street dance routine. We also enjoyed our Trikidz session. We have also been reflecting on remembrance this week in worship. We have written beautiful prayers for our poppy to go to the war memorial on Monday. 

Autumn 2 Week 1

We have had a great first week back in Year 6! In Maths, we have been using the bus stop method for short division and we have also been learning about prime, squared and cubed numbers. In English, we have started with our non-fiction unit, biographies. We have been thinking about the audience and purpose of a biography. We learn that a key language feature used in biographies is cohesive devices. We watched a video biography about JK Rowling and worked in groups to present a verbal biography, using cohesive devices to link the information together. In Science, we have started our new unit on light. We have learnt about how objects reflect light so that we can see them. In DT, we are going to be doing textiles to make our enterprise product this half term. We started by looking at existing products and evaluating them. On Thursday, we enjoyed spirituality afternoon. We were learning about God’s big story and in Year 6, we focused on the fall. We have started to work on our artwork for the whole school display. In PE, we started our street dance unit. We put the first three steps together and practised to music.

Autumn 1 Week 7

We have had a busy week again in Year 6! In Maths, we have been working on multiplying using the formal written method (column multiplication) and we have also been dividing using chunking. In English, we have been working on our non-fiction unit, hybrids texts. We started by recapping the non-fiction text types and their features. Then, we have written a non-chronological report about the Kingdom of Benin, instructions to make a Batik design and an explanation text of how trade worked in Benin. In Science, we have researched the scientist Carl Linnaeus, who came up with a system to classify living things. In Art, we have been making our own Batik designs. We sketched our designs onto our fabric, then we applied wax to the fabric, following the lines of the pattern. Once the wax had dried, we added the dye to our fabric. We have used some lovely, vibrant colours! Then, we picked off the wax to reveal our patterns. They look amazing! In PE, we have been practising our backhand serve in badminton. We also enjoyed our behaviour treat with Professor Slime!

Autumn 1 Week 6

In Maths this week, we have started to look at multiplication. We have looked at common factors and common multiples, choosing different mental methods to multiply and we have also started to use the grid method. In English, we have been writing our 1st person narrative of The Boy who Harnessed the Wind. We have included different sentence starters, action, dialogue and description and shown the character’s feelings about the events. In Science, we have been constructing classification keys to classify African animals and plants. In PE, we have been playing badminton. We have thought about how to get into spaces during a game and used the overhead smash. In Music, we have looked at the song ‘In Flanders Fields’. We sang the song together and discussed the lyrics. We have also chosen an issue that is affecting the world to write our own song about. We had to use rhyming couplets and each line had to have 8 syllables, which was tricky!

Autumn 1 Week 5

We have had another busy week! In Maths, we have been working on using the formal written method to add and subtract. We have discussed that this is a helpful method to use when we have a lot of exchanging to do. We have used the column method to solve problems with multiple steps. In English, we have been writing a narrative of a key event in our focus text (when William travels to the government building to collect emergency maize during the famine). We focused on including a variety of opening clauses such as ed, ing, fronted adverbials and adverb starters. In Science, we have planned an investigation to see how light and temperature affects mould growth. We have thought of different places to put our slices of bread and we are looking forward to seeing our results in the next couple of weeks. In RE, we have been learning about the Muslim pilgrimage, Hajj. We learnt about where it is, what rituals Muslims take part in there and why they think that this is an important thing to do. In Art, we have done our own designs ready to use the Batik technique next week. We are going to be using wax to resist fabric dye to create lovely patterns. In Music, we have been practising singing the song, Something inside so strong. We looked at the harmony part this week and had a go at singing the different parts. We enjoyed a visit from Darwen Fire Service this week. They talked to us about how to prevent fires at home, what to do in an emergency and we also discussed road safety! As well as all of that, we have also learnt about Harriet Tubman as part of our Black History learning. 

Autumn 1 Week 4 

In Maths this week, we have started to look at addition. We have been working on different mental methods to add numbers including decimals and being able to choose the most efficient method based o the digits involved. In English, we have been writing a retell of part of our text The Boy who Harnessed the Wind. We have worked on including a blend of action, dialogue and description. In Science, we have been learning about microorganisms (bacteria and fungi). We learnt about what they are, how they can be dangerous and also the benefits that they have. In PSHE, we have been discussing what things are needed for a good friendship. We then looked at different scenarios between friends and thought about what advice we would give. In RE, we have been researching various Christian pilgrimages. In PE, we played tennis. We practised serving and using forearm and backhand. In French, we have been working on spelling the planets in French. We also learnt that the planets are named after Roman and Greek gods and came up with actions to help us remember them. 

Autumn 1 Week 3

We have had an amazing week at Robinwood! We have done lots of activities such as climbing, caving, canoeing, raft building and braving the piranha pool! We are so proud of how the children have pushed themselves out of their comfort zone and represented our school so well. Here are some photos.

Autumn 1 Week 2 

We have had a busy week in Year 6! In Maths, we have been rounding numbers to powers of 10. We have also been rounding decimals to the nearest whole number, nearest one decimal place and nearest two decimal places. In English, we have been analysing the main character of our text (William). We have placed adjectives on a zone of relevance and explained why we have placed them in each zone. We have also discussed William’s feelings about a key event in the book and written a recount. In Science, we have been learning about the characteristics of different groups of invertebrates. We have learnt about annelids, molluscs, insects, crustaceans and arachnids. In History, we have been doing some chronology work. We have identified where key events that happened during the Kingdom of Benin would be on a timeline. In RE, we have been comparing life to a journey. We took part in an interactive video from Bishop Philip and then reflected on our own life journeys so far. In PE, we have started our volleyball skills. We worked on serving, passing and the spike! We have also enjoyed our life education session in PSHE. 

Autumn 1 Week 1 

We have had a great first few days in Year 6. In Maths, we have started with place value. We have been revisiting the value of digits in numbers to read and write numbers up to one million. We have also been looking at number lines and using our knowledge to order and compare numbers. In English, we have started to look at our focus text The Boy who Harnessed the Wind. We have identified unfamiliar vocabulary from the text and investigated the meaning of these words. In Science, we have been looking at the five main groups of vertebrates and their characteristics. In History, we have started to learn about the Kingdom of Benin. We thought about what we would like to know about it and used the iPads to do some research. In Art, we have been doing some sketching. We found out that Art in Benin often features animals that the people thought were good representations of their Obas (Kings). We chose animals that we thought were good representations of a king or queen to draw. In French, we recapped the days of the week. Finally, in PE, we did some circuit training in the sunshine!