Innovators Class - Year 6

Welcome to Innovator's Class

What we will be learning this half-term:

In maths, we will focus on understanding place value and properties of numbers up to 10,000,000. We will be looking at the four operations in maths and developing fluency with efficient columnar written methods for addition and subtraction, without and with exchanges. Alongside this we will be building an understanding of how the four operations can be used to manipulate numbers and solve problems. In addition to our maths lessons, we will have morning maths to start the day and arithmetic after lunch to consolidate new skills.

In writing, we will be writing non-chronological reports linked to our geography topic on volcanoes and mountains. Additionally, we will be writing persuasive leaflets to persuade the readers to visit a volcano or mountain of the world, as well as persuasive letters campaigning for the rights of mechanical people from our text Cogheart.

In reading lessons, we will be looking at the text Cogheart. This text will enable us to further develop skills such as inference, retrieval, summarising, comparison, prediction and looking for meaning. As we will be reading this text regularly, the children will become familiar with the story and may want to share this with you at home.

In science, we will be studying the topic of Electricity. This will build upon what we already know about materials that let electricity flow. We will learn more about how to make lights brighter or motors faster in a circuit. We will also understand why we use certain symbols to represent components in a circuit. During this unit we will conduct full investigations using electrical circuits whilst making connections to what we know about electricity in our everyday lives.

In DT, we will be exploring mechanisms, structures and electrical systems. We will be researching, designing, creating and evaluating our own miniature ski lifts.

In Art, we will study the artist Claude Monet and be sharing our opinions and interpretations of his work by studying his work and the art movement at the time. We will also be developing our skills using the medium of paint and create a work in his style before evaluating the final pieces.

Our topic this term is Geography focused and we will be answering the enquiry question How are volcanoes and mountains different? Throughout this enquiry we will be building upon our knowledge of volcanoes from Year 5 and discovering how mountains and volcanoes are formed. We will look at and learn about some of the volcanoes and mountains of the world, compare their similarities and differences and learn about the hazards and physical phenomena that can impact human activity.

Our PE days will be Thursdays and Fridays and children will need their PE kits in school to fully participate in the lessons. We will be covering the Fitness unit where we will develop our speed, stamina, strength, co-ordination, agility and balance. Additionally, we will cover the Basketball unit where we will discover how to dribble when there is pressure, make room, use defensive and shooting methods and put the principles, rules, and strategies into practice during games.

In music, we will be recognising styles, finding the pulse, recognising instruments, listening and discussing all dimensions of happy-pop and neo-soul music in greater depth and with confidence

In computing, we will be using the Purple Mash program where we will be designing and making complex computer programs. This will include flowcharts to debug computer programs, computer simulations and text based adventures.

In RE, we are looking at the question When Christians need real wisdom where do they look for it? Through exploring this question we will talk about wisdom and wise choices, moral decisions, commitments, values and make links between these and Christian beliefs and stories from the Bible.

In PSHE lessons, we will be learning about rights and respect. Including working collaboratively, solving friendship problems, assertive skill and acting and behaving appropriately.