Year 6 Curriculum outline Spring 2020
Year 6 Curriculum Outline Spring 2020 Stop, Think, Do More! ~ Born Identity
Humanities - Social Understanding In the first half of term in ​Humanities​, pupils will focus on settlements and land use in the UK, geographical similarities and differences particularly when we think about human and physical geography and different types of maps. We will then move onto thinking about sustainability, especially responsible consumption and production and different forms of energy. Finally we will try to make a difference in our school community and contemplate how this will impact the world. ​In the second half of the term, pupils will sequence the changes that have happened in the UK over time. Pupils will develop an understanding of how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of primary and secondary sources. We will investigate significant people in British history and pupils will have the opportunity to investigate their own family tree.
In RS we will explore further the beliefs and traditions of Judaism. Pupils will then move on to finding out about religious rites of passage including birth, moving on and change. Often ceremonies are held to observe a person's entry into a new stage of life and can be anything from a school graduation ceremony or a birthday party, to a funeral. Most rites help people to understand their new roles in society. They can also help others learn to treat people in new ways after they experience certain rites of passage.
Language and Communication In English Year 6 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. This term, our writing will link to our themes and current affairs and the text types include discussion texts, stories that raise issues, poetry - exploring form and newspapers 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. ● Talk to them about their writing target and encourage them to use it in homework. ● Remind them of the Expectations for Writing in Y6 (on Google Classroom) Assessment PTE (Progress Test in English) In Modern Languages, whilst maintaining a focus on communicative skills, pupils will be looking at and trying out strategies for learning and memorising language in order to boost their active vocabulary and develop good learning habits. In French there will be an increased focus on listening tasks to provide models for talking about their families and homes in greater detail. They will learn to use all parts of the verbs avoir and être and will work towards writing short paragraphs using writing frames. In Spanish they will be exploring and learning a Spanish poem and practising performance skills. They will also have a cultural focus and learn about key festivals in the Spanish-speaking world, which will lead into learning how to give opinions and justifications in Spanish.
Mathematical Understanding This term we will begin by looking at decimals, including identifying the digits in a number up to 3 decimal places, multiplying and dividing decimal numbers by 10, 100, 1000 and by integers not divisible by 10. We will also relate decimals to fractions and complete word problems relating to this topic including looking at how we use decimals in a real-life context.
Our next topic this term is percentages - finding equivalence between fractions, decimals and percentages and also finding percentage of amounts. We will then focus on Algebra which will be covered in terms of forming expressions, substitution, forming equations and finding one or two unknowns in an equation. Next we move on to measures, specifically converting between different metric units and solving problems relating to different measures. We will also look at some imperial units and focus on relating this work to a real-life context. We then finish off the term with some work on area, perimeter and volume before moving onto ratio and scale and solving problems relating to these topics. Assessment PTM (Progress Test in Maths)
Physical Education and Well-being In PE this term the boys will be taking part in indoor athletics, focusing on speed running, jumping at height and relays. Girls will also do some cross country running whilst netball and hockey will form the basis of games lessons for the children this term. Development of key skills, refinement of technique and a focus on integrating tactics into match play will be key features of lessons this term. For hockey the boys will need shin pads, moulded gum shields and hockey sticks. More information about fixtures can be found at www.stephenpersesport.com or www.damebradburyssport.com Do encourage your child to get involved with any of these sports outside of school by joining local clubs, and discuss the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle. In PSHEE, the pupils will learn about drugs and other substances, including their effects, risks and influences. They will use critical thinking skills to consider fact and opinion in relation to drugs and know where to check information and advice. Later in the term, they will concentrate on individual emotions such as boredom, worry and stress and consider the support that is available and how to build confidence as well as studying financial responsibility and competence, including debt and saving.
Creative and Performing Arts In Music p upils are continuing to study aspects of musical evolution this term, exploring key features of the elegant Baroque and Classical periods. Through studying key works in the musical canon from these periods, the pupils will explore more complex musical aspects within composition. This will include some of the key harmonic ideas that we hear throughout popular music today but whose actual origin is from the Baroque period. Pupils will explore the Baroque and Classical 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. Following this exploration, we will then consider traditional Brazillian samba - working together as a class percussion ensemble to combine increasingly complex rhythmic patterns which incorporate a great deal of syncopation.
Each week the pupils will develop their instrumental technique and ensemble performance skills as a member of a differentiated flexible performance group. 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. In Create Design Engineering pupils will investigate pedal power this term, linking in with mechanics and alternative energy. We will then return to the more traditional art of portraiture and use our drawing and painting skills as a starting point to create a more sculptural representation, taking the project in a direction best suited to our own individual skills. In Drama pupils focus on the use of body language in performance to achieve a specific audience reaction, including double-take, pause for humour. Bringing together skills of mime, movement and tableaux they consider the body language of whole groups of characters. Pupils will learn to make deliberate choices about how a character travels, reacts and freezes in context. In vocal work, they use deliberately chosen vocabulary, vocal tone and clear audible speech in performance. They begin to develop effective peer assessment and learn to respond to criticism positively and act on suggestions for improvement.
Scientific Understanding This term, in Biology, pupils will learn about Adaptation and Evolution, covering how living organisms can be classified into groups based on their features, what fossils tell us about ancient life and the changes that have happened over millions of years, and what genetics tells us about how characteristics are passed on from one generation to the next. In Physics, they will learn about Electricity, deepening their understanding of how to construct electrical circuits and how they work, the use of circuit symbols to represent components in circuit diagrams, the variables which affect the amount of current flowing through a circuit and the differences between series and parallel circuits. In Chemistry, they will learn about Elements, covering how chemical elements are arranged on the periodic table based on their properties and how our understanding of the structure of atoms underpins this cornerstone of modern Chemistry. 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.