Year 6 Curriculum Outline Autumn 2022
AWorld of Difference ~ Sticks and Stones
Humanities - Social Understanding
In Humanities using their geographical skills, pupils will study a variety of maps and familiarise themselves with continents, countries and biomes around the globe, becoming more aware of global issues occurring within countries around the world in which we live.
After half term the focus is on history skills and, through the study of conflict, pupils will develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of some British, local and
world history.They will understand the difference between causes and consequences of conflict and how these can be intended and unintended This will be closely linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal 16 peace, justice and strong institutions
Throughout the term, pupils will use critical thinking and collaboration to complete a variety of topic related tasks.
In RS, pupils will learn about individuals who were inspired by their faith and by their commitment to their religious beliefs They will learn how people can make brave decisions to challenge what is wrong in the world around them and make lasting changes to the lives of others. Pupils will also learn about Judaism, and the Jewish concept of the one God.They will learn about the covenant entered into between God andAbraham, and later, Moses, and why Jews may consider themselves God’s ‘chosen people’
Language and Communication
In English, Year 6 pupils will participate in a variety of activities each week that will allow the children to develop all aspects of their English skills.They will have the opportunity to analyse and edit their own work, focusing on vocabulary, writing techniques and form in order to hone their own authorial voice and style Grammar and punctuation skills will generally be taught in context as part of our lessons, although certain topics may be taught discretely as necessary Weekly spellings and spelling patterns will be given and tested the following week This term children will be exposed to stories from other cultures, diaries, poetry and contemporary fiction and our key texts are: Journey to Jo’Burg by Beverley Naidoo and Malala by MalalaYousafazi
How to help at home:
● Encourage your child to read and share their reading with them when you can Foster a love of reading.
● Encourage your children to write in their own words and proofread their work.
Pupils will complete regular independent writing tasks to identify next steps in their learning Assessment
PTE (ProgressTest in English)
In Modern Languages, developing good oral communication skills remains at the core of our lessons with the use of written clues to help with pronunciation, comprehension and the consolidation of vocabulary Linking to the thematic topics, pupils will explore the language, discovering patterns in words and structures, noticing where adjectives go in the sentence or which sounds letter combinations create and then spotting them in new words, noticing pronouns and basic verbs in reading and written passages In French this term, pupils will follow the topics for the textbook Encore Tricolore 1 They will revise and extend their understanding and knowledge of meeting and greeting people, basic questions and answers about oneself, talking about where one lives, understanding simple classroom instructions and talking about things in the classroom.The pupils will learn about pronouns and how regular ER verbs are formed, with a focus on the gender and plurals of nouns and verb
patterns. In Spanish, pupils will revise and consolidate previously seen areas such as numbers, greetings and classroom vocabulary and then we will focus on the weather and climate and some grammatical structures.They will also be researching and creating a presentation about a Spanish speaking country.
Mathematical Understanding
This term pupils will begin by looking at place value up to 10 million They will compare and order numbers, build on their prior knowledge of rounding and continue their work on negative numbers fromYear 5 by counting forward and backwards through zero
Our next topic is the four operations when pupils will solve multi step problems in context, deciding which operations and methods to use before moving on to studying fractions.This will involve comparing and ordering fractions, addition and subtraction of fractions, looking at improper fractions and mixed numbers, using the concept of equivalent fractions, simplifying and multiplying fractions
They will then study geometry, looking at properties of shapes, drawing 2 D shapes using given dimensions and angles, comparing and classifying geometric shapes based on their properties and sizes and finding unknown angles in any triangles, quadrilaterals and regular polygons
Assessment
PTM (Progress Test in Maths)
Physical Education and Well-being
In PE lessons at the Fitzwilliam Building, pupils will be participating in units of work on team building and problem solving, principles of invasion games, dance, and an introduction to outdoor and adventurous activities. In PE at Dame Bradbury’s this term the pupils will be taking part in football and badminton. In Games lessons, the boys at Fitzwilliam will be playing football and will require a pair of studded football boots (different to astroturf trainers) and a pair of shin pads, whilst the Dame Bradbury’s boys will play contact rugby for which they will need a mouthguard and boots Girls at both schools will be participating in hockey Please ensure that your daughter has a mouthguard, a hockey stick, shin pads and long socks. For their games session the girls will be participating in hockey in preparation for Autumn fixtures More information about fixtures can be found at wwwstephenpersesport com or wwwdamebradburyssport com
For PSHEE, the pupils will consider roles and responsibilities and what makes a good leader.They will look at ‘Networks of Support’, strengths and skills and children’s rights. Laws and rules will be studied and the pupils will consider how democracy works in our community They will learn about how parliament works Then they will look at definitions of bullying, how to respond to it and ways of preventing it in school and in the wider community The pupils will also discuss online safety and know what to do if they are worried about anything online. Financial capability will also be covered this term and a weekly wellbeing
focus in form time will allow the pupils to develop an understanding of how our British Values apply to their life, to learn from their own and others’actions, have a greater understanding of empathy and the benefits of being kind to ourselves and others
Creative and PerformingArts
In Drama, pupils will begin to draw together skills of mime, movement, tableaux and body language to convey different groups of people.They will devise scenes using drama techniques to mark specific moments In characterisation, pupils will make deliberate choices about how characters travel, react and freeze in different contexts Pupils will confidently use terminology of stage blocking and begin to adapt blocking for deliberate effect Vocal work will include modifying vocal tones to suit different characters and experimenting with different levels of vocal power such as a stage whisper Students will also explore different styles and genres of theatre and understand how historical context can have an impact on their characters
In Create Design and Engineer, pupils will look at the work of individual artists, including Monet, and the impact their changes of direction within their art movement had on the art world.They will studyAboriginalArt and learn about the impact of new settlers on the Aboriginal tribes and their methods of working, before creating work inspired by the style and colouring of the art itself Pupils will consider UN Sustainability Goal 12 and create art based on the 50 superfoods we should consider including more of in our diets to consume more responsibly This work will combine traditional painting methods with a digital overlay
In Music, pupils will study aspects of musical evolution, considering the key features of the Renaissance and Baroque periods Through investigating some key works in the musical canon for these periods, pupils will start to explore more complex musical aspects such as harmony, texture and tonality Pupils will develop their understanding of the Renaissance and Baroque periods through ensemble performances and compositional projects where they will have the opportunity to use their own instruments, as appropriate. Pupils will regularly improvise their own melodic and rhythmic patterns, and develop an increasingly broad and mature bank of musical terminology
Each week, pupils will develop their instrumental technique and ensemble performance skills.Throughout the year, pupils will experience holistic ensemble experiences and opportunities to explore a wide variety of instruments and musical genres. Pupils will build their confidence and fluency with reading staff notation and learn how to convey expression and more detailed musical markings Towards the end of term, pupils will develop their vocal and instrumental performance skills in rehearsals towards the formal Carol Service
Scientific Understanding
InYear 6, the pupils experience the three disciplines of Science: Biology, Physics and Chemistry, separately for the first time This allows for a greater focus on specific scientific skills and subject knowledge, and for the pupils to benefit from the specialist experience of a range of teachers
This term, in Biology they will learn about how microscopy and other scientific methods allow us to study microorganisms, how our visual system enables us to see the world around us and how the brain ultimately processes visual information
In Physics, they will study the nature of light itself, including light sources, reflection and refraction, and some of the practical uses of this kind of optical knowledge
In Chemistry, they will look at the different kinds of changes that materials can undergo, both reversible and irreversible, and how they can be separated from each other, using techniques like filtering and evaporation.
How you can help:
Visit local museums, such as the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Saffron Walden Museum and Cambridge Science Centre. Subscribe toThe Week Junior Science & Nature Magazine, encourage your child to explore online resources, such as BBC Bitesize Science, and look out also for science programmes onTV orYouTube
Digital
The Inner Wheel
With the Google apps at the heart of digital curation our pupils use Google Classroom to complete work digitally and hand in work that is produced in a variety of ways We have identified 7 main apps, our EverGreen apps, that help to showcase our pupils’learning An animation, movie or annotated piece of work provides richer feedback for the teacher and ultimately helps to make greater progress.
Explain Everything www.explaineverything.com Green Screen www.doink.com Stop Motion www.cateater.com Strip Design www.vividapps.com/Strip Designer/ Notability www.gingerlabs.com Book Creator www.bookcreator.com Puppet Pals www.polishedplay.com
The Outer Wheel
We have a number of apps that we use consistently throughout our curriculum that lend themselves to our creative approach. We avoid apps that are specific to a particular outcome, preferring content free apps that can help to enhance our pupils’work and understanding. Some examples are: Minecraft, iMovie, KeyNote, Pages and Padlet.
Coding
Another aspect of our digital curriculum is the coding/programming skills that are embedded in all subjects or taught discretely inYears 5 and 6
We have identified a progression of apps that help to develop our pupils’ability to code.The apps provide variety and challenge and help to develop the computation skills that are crucial learning in our digital work.
We combine the coding experiences with physical output. Using Spheros, BBC Micro:Bits and Ozobots provides visual outcomes that bring our code to life.As our pupils develop further they transition on to written code.
Alongside and underpinning our curriculum we ensure that our pupils are developing as active learners and active thinkers Throughout each subject area pupils are encouraged to use their range of thinking tools and reflect on when and how they are using them Pupils are encouraged to reflect on how their thinking tools underpin all aspects of their learning and not just in the more obvious ways How are they creative in maths? How do they enquire in English? How are they critical in Music? How do they think computationally in PE?
Inclusion
This curriculum map outlines the core curriculum for each year group each term but at the heart of our wheel is the individual learner Each subject area has a progression of skills which enables staff to stretch or support individuals as and when they need a little help, a bit of a push or a just a different way in Within our classrooms through planning, teacher knowledge and interactions work is differentiated to suit the needs of each individual