Year 6 Spring Curriculum Letter

Spring 2018 – Curriculum Newsletter

YEAR 6

Dear Parents,

 

Happy New Year! At the start of a new term it is useful to know about each year group’s routines and curriculum information. Our main project during the Spring Term will be…

From Nazi to NASA

 LITERACY – Where appropriate, Literacy is linked to our class project work. This allows us to establish meaningful contexts in which to develop oracy, reading and writing skills. Texts we will be using as part of our ‘From Nazi to NASA’ project include: ‘’Grandpa’s Great Escape’ and ‘The Chronicles of Narnia:The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’.   We will also look at fantasy planets and create non-chronological reports for intergalactic creatures.  We will continue to develop the children’s narrative writing skills and exploring the language features associated with a range of non-fiction genres.

READING: The children will continue to be introduced to a range of reading material through individual books, group guided reading books and whole class shared texts. All children will take part in group guided reading sessions with the class teacher and/or another member of staff. Pupils are expected to read at home under the guidance of parents and can select from books in school and/or their own reading material.

SPELLINGS: Lists are taken from the Literacy Strategy and may also include class or project spellings.

Pupils will normally bring home spellings to learn on a Friday to be tested on the following Friday.

NUMERACY

We follow the teaching objectives outlined in the National Numeracy Strategy. Class lessons include mental maths activities followed by a main teaching activity. During the Spring Term the children will continue to develop their understanding of place value, time, written methods, fractions, decimals and percentages; alongside improving their application of shape, space and measures. Pupils are required to learn their tables on a regular basis. Pupil’s mental maths skills will usually be tested for speed and accuracy on a Friday.  A weekly times table test is also undertaken on a Friday, though this will on occasion be alternated with national test practice.

SCIENCE

Our science curriculum during the Spring Term will be covered through our space theme. This topic will focus on the planets, crater and volcano formation and light.  The children will undertake practical investigations to inform the development of their scientific skills.  We will also be working alongside AstroCymru and the University of South Wales to bring our project to life.

WELSH – Welsh will also be focusing on space and the planets and the children will then move onto travel.

ICT – Throughout our project the children will use Word and PowerPoint to plan, create, develop and combine information with a sense of purpose and awareness of audience. As part of our theme, they will create their own stop-frame animation.  They will also learn how to use the internet for research, following safety guidelines & discussing issues relating to internet safety.

ART – Our art this term will focus on creating an animation, either for a scene from the Blitz or a rocket launch.

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY – We will be using ration recipes to create our own meals.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION – The children will be taking part in Bible Explorers this term and will investigate The New Testament.

HISTORY – History will lead the bulk of our project work this term, with a focus  on WWII and the space race.  We will explore the impact of WWII on Britain during the Blitz by looking at the role of the wardens, rationing and evacuation.  We will then move into the space race and how man finally reached the moon.

ESDGC/PSE – Children will be encouraged to empathise with others’ feelings and experiences; understand that there is value both in the similarities and the differences between aspects of life in different countries and understand that the behaviour of individuals has an effect on the lives of others.

MUSIC – We will be continuing to learn through exploring rhythmic patterns, melodies and scales with sound colours. This takes place through a varied programme of singing, performing listening and appraising a variety of music.  We will be focusing on war songs and investigating the different themes within them.

PE – P.E. lessons are on a Tuesday afternoon (outside) and a Friday morning (inside).   Every other Tuesday will be led by Newport County Football.  I would be grateful if you would ensure that the children have appropriate kit in school on these days, in particular a warm kit for games outside during the winter months. The children will be reminded of the school health and safety policy of no jewellery being worn during these lessons.

PUPIL VOICE

At Glasllwch School we continue to adapt and improve our school curriculum to encompass the interests and experiences of the children.  We believe that asking pupils about what they would like to learn is fundamental to providing an engaging and inspiring curriculum. Please discuss with your child what they would like to learn about during our project.

HOMEWORK

In addition to learning spellings and practicing multiplication and division facts, we may ask for your support in helping your child with the above projects in different ways.  The homework for this term will focus on preparation for the national tests in May.

 

It is important that we continue to work in partnership in order for your child to flourish and reach his or her potential. If you have any questions concerning your child’s education, do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Yours sincerely,

Miss Cornelius and Mrs Logan