Year 6
Team
Welcome to Year Six
Latest News
If you were unable to attend our 'Meet the Teacher' session, please download the presentation located in the 'documents' section of our year group page.
A reminder that Year 6 have PE every Wednesday - please ensure your child comes to school in the correct PE kit and footwear.
If your child walks home alone or brings a mobile phone to school, please ensure the forms have been completed and sent to school via Arbor.
Important Dates:
Monday 13th April - Return to school from Easter
Monday 4th May – Bank Holiday
Monday 18th May – Inset (school is closed for all pupils)
Thursday 21st May – Values assembly
Monday 25th - Friday 29th May - Half Term (One Week)
Monday 1st June - Return to school
Monday 8th June – Phase 5/6 sports day (1:45-3pm)
Friday 26th June – Summer fare 2:30-4pm
Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd July – Year 6 transition to high school (Sandwell schools - schools outside of the borough may have different dates).
Thursday 9th July – Year 6 Leavers Service – Birmingham Cathedral
Tuesday 14th July – Year 6 Bowling Trip
Friday 17th July - Year 6 Leavers Service (held at St James Church for parents)
English
During the Summer term, Year Six will explore narrative writing using the short animation ‘Alma’ as inspiration for creating their own thriller-style narrative following a two character perspective. Throughout this unit, pupils will encounter a range of ambitious vocabulary while developing essential genre-based skills such as using figurative language, dialogue to advance the action and a range of high-level punctuaion including colons and semi-colons to enhance description. Children will also complete a unit of biographical writing where they select an insprational figure, research and then construct their own biography using relevant structural features with a focus on a range of sentence types, coordinating and subordinating conjunctions and a range of devices to support cohesion. Throughout all lessons, we will continue to reinforce and develop the use of accurate punctuation and grammar alongside a focus upon the Year 5/6 statutory spelling list.
Reading
During the Summer term, Year Six will study the texts ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class' by Onjali Q Raúf and ‘The Silver Sword’ by Ian Serraillier We will focus upon the core reading skills of vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval and summary. We will also discuss the increasingly mature themes of the text which include: the devastating consequences of war, separation and loss, identity and belonging, community and cooperation and faith, belief and resilience. The children will also take home their own reading book from school based upon their ZPD level. We encourage the children to read every day, whether this be independently or through shared experiences, across a range of text types to support their confidence, fluency and exposure to vocabulary.
Maths
As a school, we follow the Power Maths scheme and the units we cover are outlined in our curriculum overview. These units support the children in developing problem solving and reasoning skills as well as the ability to explain and justify their answers using manipulatives where necessary. In addition to this, we complete weekly arithmetic practice, rapid recall of key mathematical information, daily 5 in 5 (five questions to test the retrieval of mathematical learning) and TTRockstars to help build confidence, fluency and accuracy within the subject.
Curriculum
During the Summer term, the children will engage with a diverse range of units across our wider curriculum, all of which are outlined in our curriculum overview.
Art - the children will learn about the master weaver Gilbert Ahiagble and will create an original woven piece of artwork using various materials inspired by kente (a Ghanaian textile made of hand-woven strips of silk and cotton).
History - the children will explore the Early Islamic civilisations, including a study of Baghdad where they will work towards answering the question: 'How did Baghdad become the powerful Islamic Empire it was in 900AD?'
Geography - our Geography unit will explore time zones and children will be globe-trotting to various different countries around the world. Why does Australia celebrate Christmas in summer? What are ‘white nights’ in the north? Why do we have to adjust our watches when we travel abroad? Children will understand the term Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and use longitude and latitude coordinates to locate places and note their time zones.
Design and Technology - we will explore 3D frameworks, examining the differences between permanent and portable structures, before designing and constructing our own frame structure.
