Year 6 – Octopus

Next week, Year 6 will be starting a new unit of non fiction, based on a video from the literacy shed. In Maths, we will be looking at the properties of circles and measuring angles. We will also be continuing our History unit , looking into the life of J.K. Rowling.

General Information

We want to take this opportunity to welcome the children back to school after their Christmas holidays, and we hope they have all had a relaxing, enjoyable break. Our new topic this half term is Harry Potter, one which I am sure the children will find enjoyable and engaging. We will be referring to the Harry Potter series a lot this half term, across the curriculum, and therefore it would be ideal if every child had the opportunity to read some of the series, or at least watch some of the films at home.

In English, we will undoubtedly be referring to J.K. Rowling’s writing techniques, to improve our own writing. However, we will also be generating atmospheric narratives, based on different film clips from the literacy shed. The children will be writing their own guide to Hogwarts as well, as we really try to push the children with their creativity and writing skills.  In Maths, we will be continuing our work with fractions, which compose such a large proportion of the curriculum, revising how to multiply and divide fractions in particular. We will also be calculating percentages, and looking at decimals.

As part of our topic, we have designed a really engaging unit of work in Science. The Year 6 children will have the chance to explore different states of matter, investigating the differences between solids, liquids and gasses. As part of this, we will be creating our own Harry Potter ‘potions’ in a series of classroom experiments!  In History, we will be looking at the life of JK Rowling, researching different aspects of her childhood and schooling. The children will then have the chance to compare this to their own experiences, and track how lifestyles and standards have progressed and changed over time in the UK. This unit will provide the children with the chance to present their work to their peers, and attempt to work co-operatively with others in the class.

This half term promises to be a very busy, yet exciting one. Whilst we will be stepping up our preparation for SATs through additional afternoon intervention groups in Maths and Reading, which will surely challenge the children, we are fortunate enough to welcome a specialised dance tutor in PE to help relieve the pressures. We will continue to set spelling and weekly homework, and as per normal, if your child is struggling to complete any aspect of this at home, we are more than happy to support them in school.

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact one of the Year 6 staff.