Dear Parents
September 2015.
Welcome to a new term, new teaching team and a new year 6 class. We are
very privileged to be in a class of twenty- four so I hope they will rise
to the challenges of Year 6 and work hard in their final year at Walton
School in preparation for their SATs and moving to secondary school next
year.
Literacy
The children will be covering poetry particularly images and emotions, a
newspaper report, persuasive and report writing. We will also link our
Egyptians topic to fiction writing. Writing will be linked to other areas
of the curriculum where possible particularly Science, RE and Design.
We have a guided reading session for thirty minutes each day and reading
is a particular focus this year. Children have an independent reading
book of their choice and should be taking it home to read each evening.
Please listen to your children read to support their reading. They have a
new reading diary to fill in and you are welcome to comment too! Children
may bring in books from home, however please check they are appropriate to
be in school.
Numeracy
This term Year 6 will be covering the following units of work, with
particular emphasis on mental arithmetic strategies. This is the new
higher expectations of curriculum 2014 including:
Counting, partitioning and calculating
Securing number facts, understanding shape
Handling data and measures
Calculating, measuring and understanding shape
Securing number facts, relationships and calculating
Topic
The History topic this term is a study of the Ancient Egyptians. The
children will investigate the life and culture of the ancient Egyptians
with particular emphasis on the beliefs, river Nile, ancient technology
and the lasting influence this era has had. The children will use
research books and the internet during topic work. Please encourage your
child to research any aspect of the Egyptians they are interested in.
They can bring their findings in to share with the class as we only have
a limited time to study this and will inevitably just scratch the surface
of the topic. So any additional learning will benefit us all.
Art / DT
In Art this term we shall be exploring printing and textiles.
In DT we will be designing and creating a shaduf, cooking Ancient
Egyptian food and looking at the healthy eating aspects of the Egyptian
diet that can still be applied to our diets today.
RE
In RE, we are studying a unit considering what it means to belong to a
religion. Our primary focus this term will be Christianity but we will
look at the beliefs and deities of Ancient Egypt. We will look at the Old
Testament characters of Moses and Joseph and the historical significance
of these characters within Ancient Egypt.
Science
This term the children will be learning about the properties of
electricity and the impact this has on our lives. We will also cover a
mini unit of study on human digestion. This is a huge subject area and so
we will teach Science in a 2 week block later in this term. This will
allow us to set up investigations and learning to take place over a few
days rather than 2 hours each week. I feel this is the most effective use
of our time this term.
ICT
The ICT curriculum is exciting and challenging. Mr. Hellis and Mrs. Toal
will co-teach ICT on a Friday afternoon, this will include programming and
a greater emphasis on algorithms than has been previously taught. We are
sure the children will enjoy this new challenge and will be better
prepared for using technology both in school and in the wider world.
PE
PE is taught by Mr. Hyde, the children are currently learning multiskills. PE is on a Monday afternoon so please ensure children have full
PE kit for this day. Children will not be able to participate in PE
without full kit. All jewelry must be removed for PE including earrings
and long hair must be tied back. On occasions P.E kit will be needed on a
Friday so it is best left in school for the week.
PSHE
In PSHE, we are following the SEAL program me and are completing a unit of
work called ‘New Beginnings’. The theme offers children the opportunity
to see themselves as valued individuals within a community, and to
contribute to shaping a welcoming, safe and fair learning community for
all.
Homework:
All homework will be set on a Monday and is expected to be completed by
the following Monday. It is not optional and forms a valuable part of your
child’s learning. Please encourage your child to complete the work to the
best of their ability. As we are providing high quality homework resources
if these are lost or defaced there will be a charge for a replacement
copies.
Spelling:
Spelling and Phonics work will have a high priority this year. During
phonics sessions each morning, the children will investigate spelling
patterns and rules. The children will have weekly spellings to learn for
a test on Mondays.
Numeracy:
Children will receive Numeracy homework every week. This is a system that
we believe will challenge their understanding and apply what we have
learned in class to a range of problems. It is very important that they
attempt all of the sections as it gets increasingly complex. They have all
been assessed and so each child will have the book that is best suited to
their Numeracy level. Please contact us if this proves to be an issue.
Literacy homework:
Homework will consist of either punctuation or a grammar exercise. This
will reinforce the work that is done within the class during the week.
These are contained within workbooks which will provide an invaluable
revision resource both in the summer and onto next year.
We have had a great start to the term and although Year 6 can seem very
daunting and a lot of hard work, as a team we wish to reassure you that we
also intend this year to be lots of fun, laughter and learning together.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or issues, it
is better to tackle things earlier rather than allow the issue to fester
and becoming a big issue.
With best wishes,
Mrs. Barry/ Mrs.Toal