Year 6 Curriculum Outline Autumn 2019
Year 6 Curriculum Outline Autumn 2019 Small Change, Big Difference ~ Sticks and Stones Humanities - Social Understanding In ​Humanities ​using their geographical skills, pupils will study a variety of maps familiarise themselves with continents, countries and biomes around the globe becoming more globally aware of issues occurring within countries around the world in which they live. After half term the focus is on history skills and pupils will ​develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of some British, local and world history. They will look at how consequences can be intended and unintended and understand the difference between causes and consequences. Throughout the term, pupils will use critical thinking and collaboration to complete a variety of topic related tasks.
In RS, pupils will learn about Victorian Christians, such as William and Catherine Booth, who were inspired by their faith and by their commitment to found the Salvation Army. They will also learn about Judaism, and the Jewish concept of the one God. They will learn about the covenant entered into between God and Abraham, 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. Weekly spellings will be given and tested the following week. Grammar and punctuation skills will generally be taught in context as part of our lessons, although certain topics may be taught discretely as necessary. Text types this term include stories from other cultures, diaries, poetry and contemporary fiction. This term pupils will also have lessons focussing on study skills. 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 proof read their work. In Modern Languages, the focus continues to be on good communication skills and on increasing independence in language learning. Linking to the thematic topics, the pupils will focus on talking about themselves and their families in Spanish and on weather and climate. In French, the emphasis will be on asking and answering questions and on big numbers. As Christmas approaches they will learn a Christmas song in both languages. This term Year 6 pupils will also have the first of two taster days to introduce them to the German and Mandarin languages and culture. Pupils can consolidate their learning at home by using the Linguascope or Grow Story Grow websites or by using one of the free websites which have been used in class.
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 from Year 5 by counting forward and backwards through zero. Our next topic is the four operations when pupils will use 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 multiply fractions. Our final topic of the term is geometry, specifically position and direction. We will ask pupils to describe positions on all four quadrants of coordinate grids and to draw and translate simple shapes on the coordinate plane, reflecting them in the axes.
Physical Education and Well-being In PE this term the pupils will be taking part in gymnastics and badminton. For their games session the girls will be doing Hockey in preparation for Autumn fixtures. Please ensure that all girls have mouthguards, shin pads and long socks. The boys will have football and some Touch Rugby also in preparation for local fixtures. More information about fixtures can be found at www.stephenpersesport.com or www.damebradburyssport.com For PSHEE, the pupils will consider roles and responsibilities and what makes a good leader. They will look at children’s rights and decide which ones they believe are the most important. Laws and rules will be studied and the pupils will consider how democracy works in our community. They will learn about how parliament works. After half term, we will look at definitions of bullying, how to respond to it and ways of preventing it in school and in the wider community.
Creative and Performing Arts In Drama pupils will begin to draw together skills of mime, movement, tableaux and body language to convey groups of people. They will devise scenes using effective tableaux and movement sequences to represent a specific setting or a group of characters. In characterisation, pupils will make deliberate choices about how a character travels, reacts and freezes in context. Pupils will use terminology of stage blocking confidently and begin to adapt blocking for deliberate effect. Vocal work will include modifying vocal tones to suit different characters. Pupils will begin to control their use of voice by experimenting with different levels of vocal power, according to context, such as stage whisper and choral speaking. In Create Design Engineering as a way of investigating some great artisans and their masterpieces, pupils will look at the work of individual artists and the impact their changes of direction within their art movement had on the art world. E.g. Rembrandt and Monet using new techniques. Pupils will use some famous artworks to develop physical soundscapes in the style of the paintings, using found materials and tinkering with code and simple mechanics to recreate what sound that painting makes. In Music pupils are studying aspects of musical evolution this term, looking back to an instrument used over 43,000 years old, and moving onwards via various musical developments to consider the key features of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Through studying some key works in the musical canon from these periods, the pupils will start to explore more complex musical aspects such as harmony, texture and tonality. Pupils will explore the Renaissance and Baroque periods of music through ensemble performances and compositional projects, with the opportunity to use their own instruments in these projects where appropriate. Pupils will regularly improvise, and will develop an increasingly broad and mature bank of music terminology. Each week the pupils will develop their instrumental technique and ensemble performance skills. Throughout the year the pupils will experience a holistic ensemble experience and
opportunity to explore a variety of instruments and musical genres. As a member of each ensemble, the 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 the term, pupils will develop their vocal performance skills in rehearsals for our formal Carol Concert.
Scientific Understanding In Year 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 and how our visual system enables us to see the world around us. In Physics pupils will study the nature of light itself, including light sources, reflection and refraction. In Chemistry pupils will look at the different kinds of changes undergone by materials and how they can be separated from each other. How you can help: Visit local museums, such as the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Saffron Walden Museum and Cambridge Science Centre Visit online resources like BBC Bitesize Science and look out for science programmes on TV
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 in Years 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.
Thinking Toolkit 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.