Welcome to Year 6.
Our Teachers are Mrs Collins and Mrs Aitbenmoussa and our Teaching Assistants are Mrs Rimstad and Mrs Cheruvarthur.
Dec 082023
Modroc Madness!
Visiting Verulam School was a well deserved treat this week. Year 6 were invited by the secondary school to watch a production of The Wizard of Oz. Following a bit of a wet walk, we were treated to a great performance with live accompanied musical soundtrack. There laughs and lots of booing (in the appropriate places!)
In English, we have been wearing out our pens, writing the long-awaited Day of the Dead stories. The children have worked hard, focusing each day on a different part of the story. On Monday, we started with the opening, setting the scene and introducing a character; we followed this by writing the build up and moved on to the main action / problem.
In art, we got the modroc back out again. This time we had to attach the wire model to the base using modroc and made sure it was secure by adding layers around the base and feet of the wire.
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Dec 012023
Singing, Signing and Sculpture
We had a great afternoon of art this week, bringing our Alberto Giacometti sculptures to life. Using wire, the children followed instructions to create a figure with a head, shoulders and long limbs – not as easy as it sounds! The children then manipulated the sculptures into different positions according to their designs.
Some of the Year 6 children had the pleasure of taking part in the Christmas service at The Abbey this week. They had a number of hymns to sing and Pihu had a reading to do for the service. It was very much enjoyed by all.
Sunday 3rd December is Disability Awareness Week. In class we practised greeting each other in sign language and even managed to take the register. We read about different types of disabilities and how we should treat each other as we would like to be treated and respect people’s differences.
Next week we will focus on property of shape in maths and finally write our stories about Day of the Dead.
Enjoy the Alban City Christmas Fair tomorrow and have a great weekend.
The Year 6 Team
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Nov 242023
Dialogue, Decimals and Discussion
Another busy week in Year 6!
In English, started the week practising the skill of ‘Show, don’t tell’ to describe the feelings of a character. We continued on with a focus on the variety of punctuation needed when writing speech and ended the week by writing an extract of a story with a balance of both dialogue and description. This will all come in handy when we write our stories in the coming weeks. Next week, we will begin to plan our stories by creating characters and settings.
In maths this week, we have worked on equivalence. Recognising the common fraction, decimal and percentage equivalents such as 1/2 , ¼, ¾ and practising methods for working out other more challenging amounts. Next week, we will revise percentages and multiplication.
In Topic, we had a brilliant discussion about tribes in South America and found out some very interesting information about how different their lives are with little, or in some cases, no contact with the outside world. We then put ourselves in the shoes of a tribal leader whose land is being illegally mined by prospectors. We wrote formal letters, seeking support from neighbouring tribes to overcome the invaders and their terrifying machines.
Thank you for the generous chocolate donations so far. Please keep them coming to raise money for the end of Year 6 celebrations.
Homework:
Topic: South America slides
Maths: FDP Equivalence Quiz
Spellings – 10 sentences
Reading x 3
Have a great weekend everyone!
The Year 6 Team
Nov 172023
Chocolate, Chocolate and More Chocolate!
In English this week, we read the book The Dead Family Diaz – a beautifully illustrated story based around the festival of Dia de los Muertos. We researched this joyful celebration which honours the spirits of the deceased. We learned some of the Spanish words for the objects which form an integral part in preparation for writing a story in the coming week.
The stand out lesson of the week had to be the topic lesson on chocolate. Mayans were the first people to discover the precious cacao beans and they believed they were a gift from the gods. They would dry, grind, and mix the beans with water and chilli to create a drink and even used them as currency to trade. The children had the opportunity to touch, smell and taste cocoa nibs, cocoa butter and then four different types of chocolate of varying from 90% dark chocolate to extra creamy and then a final chocolate where they had to identify the missing ingredient!
In PE, we have been preparing for the Sports Hall Games – an indoor athletics competition which will be held in January. So far, we done relays, soft javelin, long jump and speed bounce.
Homework:
Topic – Slides about 2 South American countries
Maths – Adding and Subtracting Fractions
Spelling x 10 sentences
Reading x 3
Have a great weekend!
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Nov 102023
Rights, Rhyme and Rocking out!
As we approach the weekend, we say a massive well done to Amethyst class who performed their sharing assembly to the parents today. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed making it for you.
This week, we have tried our hand at writing poems inspired by Macavity. We used poetic devices such as: alliteration, similes, metaphors, hyperbole, rhythm and rhyme to write poems about fiendish felines. Check out some of the examples in their books.
Next week in English, we are looking forward to starting a story unit based on a lovely picture book called The Dead Family Diaz. This story links to our Spanish unit and the recent Mexican celebration of Dia de Los Muertos (Day of The Dead).
In Topic this week our focus was on the comparison between modern day children and children in the Mayan times. We looked at the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child and used these to see if Mayan children had similar rights. The classes were very shocked to learn that children, those who were poor and female in particular, had no rights and must have lived very different and difficult lives.
Homework
- TTRS- England Rocks battle
- Spelling- sentences and words to learn
- Maths quiz on fractions
- Reading- minimum of 3 times a week
Nov 032023
Macavity’s a Mystery Cat…
This week has absolutely flown by! Congratulations to Magenta class for their hard work and efforts in preparing and delivering their class assembly. It will be Amethyst’s turn next week!
In English this week, we have had the pleasure of reading what is arguably T.S Eliot’s most famous poem – Macavity. We’ve spent time reading the poem, defining unfamiliar vocabulary and getting to know this mystery cat. Finally, we created our own ‘Wanted’ posters to aid the authorities in capturing this fiendish feline.
In maths, we have started a unit on fractions. Although many groaned at the thought of 4 weeks of fractions, we’ve made a positive start, easing into the unit by simplifying fractions and finding common denominators. Next week, we will be comparing and ordering fractions.
Homework this week will be to complete the quiz on Google forms about Malorie Blackman, fraction questions on Google classroom, spellings and reading.
Have a great weekend!
The Year 6 Team
Oct 202023
Mudras, Monsters and Masterpieces!
Just like that, another week has flown by and what a week it has been.
Linking in with our PSHE unit, in English this week, the children have been working extremely hard on creating leaflets about harmful substances. Demonstrating a wide range of writing criteria (numbered lists, bullet points, extended sentences, rhetorical questions to name a few) the leaflets look good enough to publish! Please take a look at the display next time you are passing through the Year 6 corridor.
In maths this week, we have revised different mathematical terms, explored multiples and common multiples with a view to starting our fractions unit after half term. As always, we encourage the children to continue practising their times tables at home and on Times Table Rock Stars to increase their recall and accuracy.
After weeks of hard work, the children finally presented their Antony Gormley inspired hand sculptures to the public (by which we mean the other classes!) We set up the classrooms and invited our partner year groups to come and enjoy the art exhibition. It was clear that the younger children and teachers were very impressed and the Year 6 children enjoyed answering all the questions that were thrown at them. The hands have now been sent home for you to enjoy. Please see some photos below:
Magenta Gallery
Amethyst Gallery
In RE, as part of our studies about Buddhism, we looked at the symbolic gestures known as mudras. In this lesson we talked about the different Buddha statues and what their hand positions meant for example fearlessness, teaching, generosity and concentration. The children then chose a series of mudras and practised a synchronised routine, some of which were performed to the class.
A few photos from the Halloween Disco!
Following on from Crazy Hair Day and the Halloween disco, we are all ready for a good rest. We wish you all a lovely half term and will see you back here on Monday 30th October.
The Year 6 Team
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Oct 132023
Times Tables, Tests and Travelling (sort of)
It’s been another busy week in Year 6. Despite the disappointment caused by the cancellation of the Tag Rugby event, the children soon shrugged it off and got to enjoy a mixed doubles badminton challenge yesterday afternoon. On Tuesday, the classes thoroughly enjoyed a Virtual Reality workshop organised by Mr Bushell where they got to experience the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza!
We managed to squeeze in a few mock SATs papers this week. All we asked were that the children give them their best shot and we were really impressed with how the children coped. We will be sending the papers home once they are marked so you can see the results. Please be assured that we are using them as a starting point, to identify areas to focus on and to help the children get used to the format of the assessments.
In History, we have been learning about the legend of the Mayan Hero Twins: One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu. Despite their talents, they angered the Lords of Death who sentenced them to death after failing a number of tests put before them. Fear not, the story does have a happy ending – the next generation of twins learn from their mistakes to defeat the Lords of Death once and for all. Inspired by the story, the children are in the process of creating phenomenal comic strips to retell the key events. We look forward to displaying the finished pieces.
Year 6 have triumphed in a Times Table Rockstars Battle against Year 3 gaining a huge lead throughout the week. Please encourage your child to use the platform on a regular basis as it does have a positive knock on effect in all areas of the curriculum when they have a confident and speedy recall of the multiplication and division facts.
Homework
Reading x 3
Spellings – 20 words plus write 10 sentences.
Arithmetic – Google Quiz
RE – Buddhism Information Poster on paper (Find details of what to include on Google Classroom)
Have a great weekend!
The Year 6 Team
Oct 062023
Masks, Modal Verbs and Modroc!
Another jam-packed week has flown by in Year 6. In English, we have combined our studies in PSHE to learn more about harmful substances and their effects on the body. We have explored different grammatical terms, for example modal verbs and have generated a series of high-quality sentences that we will be able to use next week when creating an informative leaflet. On Friday, the children had the opportunity to create a labelled diagram and we discussed the nature of these in order to fulfil their intended purpose.
In Art this week, we have started painting our modroc hand sculptures and will add finishing touches next week in time for an exhibition.
We have been blown away with the quality of the Mayan masks which the children made for homework – they are incredible!
A quick reminder about the importance of playing TTRockstars regularly to practise times table knowledge. The game allows pupils to learn their times tables all the way up to the 19 times tables as well as multiples of 10 up to 120. This week, we are in a battle with Year 3!
A huge well done to all the children taking part in Bikeability this week. The instructors have been very impressed with the children and how well they listened and following instructions. Certificates and badges to follow in due course.
Have a great weekend!
The Year 6 Team
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Sep 292023
Division and Dissection
It has been such a busy week for us all in Year 6 with lots of stand out moments to share with you.
In maths, we have focused on multiplication and division. When using multiplication, the children explored using both the formal written and the lattice method to see which works best for them. Following on from a recap on the bus stop method for short division, we had a challenging lesson on the formal written method of long division. The children worked really hard to understand the method of DMSB (Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring down) and no one gave up. We will re-visit and practise this again throughout the year. The maths homework this week is a real push on times tables on TTRS, really encouraging that speedy recognition and recall which will help immensely in almost all areas of the maths curriculum.
The messy Modroc came out this week so that the pupils could create their own personal hand sculptures in the style of Antony Gormley. Despite its challenges, everyone had a great time using this medium and we are excited to show you the results when they are finished.
Undeniably, the stand out moment of the week has to be the lamb heart dissection in science. The children thoroughly enjoyed investigating this fascinating organ and most were able to find the four main chambers, identify main arteries and valves, as well as compare the thickness of the walls on either side of the heart. It was so lovely to see the children’s enthusiastic approach to the task with some claiming it to be the best lesson ever! Warning: Gruesome images below.
We wish you all a great weekend.
The Year 6 Team
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