Happy Half Term and Rainforest Day!

What a week! We have had so many comments from the children on this being an amazing week and we honestly agree!

On Wednesday, we had Rainforest Dave come in and he was not only hilariously entertaining but wonderfully informative providing first-hand experiences to the children which is always so great as they could ask direct questions and get real answers as he has actually lived it. We had the opportunity to hold a tarantula and a snake and they were, surprisingly, adorable! In the afternoon, the children made some tribal jewellery and did some observational drawings of real life animals that had died and Dave preserved (he doesn't believe in killing living things so they all died from natural causes). He showed us some tribal weapons and demonstrated how to shoot a dart through a mouth device made from wood and feathers, all sorts! What a day. Please see lots of pictures below.

In English, we have been focusing on reviews, narrative and explanation texts. We have recapped some of the updated skills that will be tested on in our SPaG papers including our spelling words (Y3/4 & Y5/6) and key skills like determiners, conjunctions (FANBOYS & WASABI - ask the children!).

In Maths, we have finished looking at ratio, proportion and algebra and have started looking at measurement conversions, area, perimeter and geometry looking at 3d shapes and how to make nets. The

In Science, we have been continuing with Evolution and have learnt about the fossilisation process and the fossil record, comparing bones and modern day animals to see how they have adapted and evolved.

If you would like to support the children further at home, please don't hesitate to get in touch and ask us any questions for supporting or extending your child's learning.

Enjoy your half terms together with all the fun holidays we hear you are going on as well as just spending some quality time together.

Mrs Bath and the Year 6 Team.

February already!

Wow, the term is flying by; only 1 more week to half term. We are very excited about our Rainforest Workshop next week - sorry for the late notice. The children will have a great day with lots to see and do. We will put some pictures on next weeks blog for you to enjoy.

Across the maths groups the children have been grappling with algebra, from working out the unknown or multiple unknowns with many options, to writing their own formulae to represent a word problem. Our next unit will be looking at measurement and refreshing our understanding of different measures and how to convert between them.

In English, we are preparing the children with lots of use of the grammar vocabulary and have linked this in to their homework activities. The main focus for spelling over the next half term will be the year 5 and 6 words which the children will bring home to practice over the half term break. Please encourage them to practice these words using the different spelling games and strategies in their file. We will be testing their understanding on the first week back.

A few children have asked if it is okay to bring a Kindle into school. We are happy for the children to use these as reading devices but they must not be able to access the internet or have a camera function. Whilst we certainly want to promote reading and anything that encourages them to read, we need to make sure we are being safe whilst doing so. If they choose to bring a Kindle to school then they need to be responsible for it as unfortunately we are unable to accept responsibility should it become lost or damaged.

Many thanks for all the support you are giving at home. If you would like any specific resources or advice to support your child please let your class teacher know.

Kind regards
The Year 6 Team

2018 underway!

Well, what a start! The children have been amazing! They've come back to ready for this year and have thrown themselves into it with gusto.

In English, we have been really focusing on those key punctuation and grammar skills and the children are really getting a grasp on them, feeling more and more confident each week. We have looked at, in detail, some of those key skills that can slip up now that they are learning higher-level skills so please continue to focus on these when supporting in homework. This would involve ensuring your child has got their capital letters and full stops whilst still focusing on semi-colons and colons.

In Maths, we have been looking at ratio, algebra, scale factor and percentages as well as always keeping up with other key areas such as place value, decimals and all the operations with large numbers. If children are struggling with percentages, remind them to find 1% by dividing by 100 and multiply by the percentage asked or find 10% by dividing by 10 and multiplying by the tens number asked.

In Topic, we are continuing our learning on South America and the Rainforest and have learnt where the rainforests are, what they are and why they exist. We learnt about the Tropics, further discussed the equator and consolidated our understanding of the continents and oceans.

The children are learning about Evolution and Inheritance in Science at the moment and loving it! Whilst there isn't as many hands on experiments in this unit, they are loving discovering what characteristics and traits they got from their parents and other family members as well as learning about adaptation and how living things suit their environments.

For Computing, we are doing coding at the moment so it would be really helpful if they children could bring in some headphones. They are able to complete the tasks well without but they can hear sounds their avatars can make with headphones which adds another layer of fun to their learning!

Enjoy your weekends together,
Mrs Bath and the Year 6 Team :-)

Welcome back to everyone for the spring term and thank you very much for all the gorgeous cards and generous gifts; we all feel very spoilt! The children have started the new term with lots of enthusiasm.

We will be looking at Rainforests in our topic lessons and have started with a look at South America, which they already know lots of very interesting facts about. Topic webs will be coming home next week with further information about the curriculum for the spring term.

Please continue to encourage your children to read at least three times each week and to try different authors and genres. We will begin homework again next Thursday, with the normal Tuesday return date. As we increase their independence prior to secondary school, we'd like the children to speak to their teacher if they have found the homework particularly challenging or have had any problems over the weekend with completing it and we will happily support them.

Have a lovely weekend :-)

Freezing fun!

Well, what a day! We just got back from our class trip to Bletchley and the children were fantastic! They represented the school so well and we learnt so much. Huge thank you to the parents that volunteered and supported us with the children today as well, very much appreciated. Us adults were blown away with the History of Bletchley and I know the children were impressed as well. We took part in a great workshop where we learnt to break codes too. We hope you enjoy some of the pictures below.

In English, we have been covering a variety of genres in our respective classes including poetry, speeches, spy stories and Christmas narratives. The children are working so hard with their grammar and punctuation skills and have been taught so much including: modal verbs, subjunctive form, active and passive voice, colons and semi-colons and trying to weave these into their writing as well as identify them in sentences.

In Maths, we have been focused on fractions for the last 4 (ish) weeks. We have learnt to order, compare, convert to decimals, add, subtract, divide and multiply them and the children have loved learning these skills and we have had a lot of moments where children have been so happy to finally crack some of those questions they have previously found difficult in their arithmetic papers. 

In Science, we have finished our 'Light' unit and the kids have LOVED it. They have been experimenting and investigating with prisms, colour wheels, motors, bulbs, learning about refraction (ask them about why a rainbow appears!) as well as understanding more about light and dark with shadows and what would happen if shadows didn't exist! The children will have the opportunity to plan and investigate their own line of enquiry next week and are really looking forward to it. 

If you want to support your child more at home I really recommend the CGP revision guides for SPaG and Maths and just let them work through what they know.

Next week is the Carol Concert, we are looking forward to seeing you there as the children have been practising and working hard; they've been loving the songs they have been learning.

Mrs Carter has also put together a book list for children as some ideas for Christmas presents or just if your child is a keen reader too (please see all the way below!)

Enjoy some photos below of Bletchley as well as Elm classes investigation in Science providing that light is white when all the colours of the spectrum merge.

Have lovely weekends together,
The Year 6 Team :-) 

Book recommendations

Since our children are passionate about reading, we have been thinking about recommending books to one another.

There is also a whole host of wonderful suggestions on the website :  www.lovereading 4kids.co.uk

Here you can search by age group, you can also find best rated and those that are award winners.

There are books on both the 9+ and 11+ section that would still appeal to the children in our group. You can see which would be more challenging as it indicates if they also appear in the 13+ section.

The children’s current recommendations are below and we will add to them in class on an ongoing basis: they are not listed in any particular order and I cannot say I have read every one myself so always scan and check that you are happy that it is appropriate for your child!

1)      Malorie Blackman – A fabulous author who has been Children’s Laureate and often deals with issues that make the children think and elicit some interesting discussion.  Be aware that she does also writes for older children and her Noughts and Crosses series may be better for when the children are older. The children chose:

·         Thief

·         Antidote

·         Boys don’t cry

·         Hacker

·         Pig Heart Boy

2)      James Dashner – The Maze Runner (Science Fiction adventure)

3)      Erin Hunter – The Warrior Cats ( Adventure series)

4)      Ross Welford  - Time travelling with a hamster  - shortlisted for Costa children’s book award (time travel adventure)

5)      Trenton Lee Stewart – The Mysterious Benedict Society Series (Mystery)

6)      The London Eye mystery by Siobhan Dowd

7)      Michael Grant  - The Gone series (listed as 11+ and 13+ on Love reading)

8)      Terry Pratchet

·         I shall wear Midnight

·         Wintersmith

9)      Joan Aiken –A well- known Children’s writer of many books that could be considered modern classics. (fantasy)

·         Serial Garden

·         The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

10)   Emma Carroll

* The girl who walked on Air (Adventure)

* Letters from the Lighthouse (Nominated as Children’s book of the Year)

11)   S.K Sheridan – The top secret diary of Davina Dupree

12)   Libby Parker – Bertie the Blitz Dog

13)   Sandi  Toksvig – Hitler’s Canary

14)   Lemony Snicket – All the wrong questions series (Detective mystery)

15)   Veronica Roth – Divergent series (some of the children have read this but it is considered more of a 13+ read so do look carefully- action adventure)

16)   The Lady Grace mysteries by Grace Cavendish (Murder mysteries set in Tudor/Elizabethan period

17)   Wonder – R J Palacio – Carnegie shortlisted, very thought provoking

18)   Gary Paulsen – Hatchet (Survival adventure)

19)   Phillip Pullman  (winner of Carnegie medal)

Has a wide range of books that will appeal to differing reading levels and ages. Our group chose the following as favourites

·         Northern Lights – Part of Dark materials trilogy – The Golden Compass is the film version

·         Ruby and the Smoke (action, detective)

·         The book of dust

20)   Mike Wilks – Mirrorscape (fantasy adventure)

21)   Ali Sparks

*  Frozen in time ( A mystery adventure)

* Car jacked (Nominated for Children’s book of the Year 2017)

22)   Robin Stevens – Mistletoe and Murder (Nominated for several awards recognising crime genre for children)

23)   Maz Evans – Who Let the Gods Out? (I’m told it’s a super funny adventure and nominated for several awards.

24)   Kiran Milwood- Hargrave – The Island at the End of Everything (Nominated for many awards)

25)   Claire Fayers – Journey to the magical North (from 9+, Shortlisted for 2017 Children’s book of the Year) Includes Pirates, magic and adventure

26)   Suzanne Collins – The Hunger games (Many of the children have read this but please be aware that it is listed as a 13+/ young adult book so you may want a look yourself first)

27)   Anthony Horowitz 

·          Alex Rider series (teenage spy)

·         Diamond brothers (humour/detective)

28)   Rick Riordan (Mythical adventures) There are many to choose from

29)   Michael Morpurgo – There are many books by this author!

·         Eagle in the Snow

·         Listen to the Moon

·         Kensuke’s Kingdom

·         Lucky Button (Nominated as Children’s book of the Year)

30)   Some of the children are enjoying some classic stories such as

·         Arthur Ransome – Swallows and Amazons

·         Johanna Spyri - Heidi

Busy and brilliant!

Year 6 have been busy, as always, these last few weeks! In English, we have been covering a variety of topics including spy stories, narrative and poetry. We have been continuing to use our grammar and punctuation skills to up-level our writing and make it engaging for the reader, as well as focusing on how to structure stories well.

In Maths, we have been working on fractions, switching from mixed numbers to improper, multiplying, dividing, adding and subtracting them and really breaking down what we are being asked to do and why those methods we have learnt work. 

In Science, the children are loving our new 'Light' unit and have learnt that light travels in straight lines through a variety of investigations. We have then drawn up our findings with detailed diagrams. 

In Topic, we are beginning to finish our WW2 unit and have been speaking about how the war ended and how people celebrated. With remembrance day coming up tomorrow, we learnt how poppies were made and listened to a poem about why we should be thankful to our countries service men and women for the sacrifices they gave/give for our freedom. 

We are also loving our coding unit in Computing at the moment, do ask the children about what they have been learning and doing!

If you would like to support your child more at home, the CGP revision guides have some excellent resources to keep on top of the skills the children will need for their SATs.

Don't forget next week is parents consultations where we will be discussing your child's academic progress. Also, please ensure children are coming to school with a coat - it's getting chilly out there!

From the Year 6 team :-)