Welcome to Year 6 (Mrs Donaldson)
Our Year 6 Class
Welcome to Year 6! The final year of primary school is very special. The children take on more responsibilities in school. Throughout the year, children will be working hard to ensure that they achieve their full potential in the Key Stage 2 SATs and we will be here to help and support them every step of the way. But, it’s not all about tests in Year 6! We will be having lots of fun exploring topics such as World War 2 and finding out all about Brazil and Italy. We will be having lots of fun exploring new topics as well as revising previous learning.
If you have any questions at all, please just ask!
There are 28 children in Year 6 overall. In my class, there are 14 children and there are also 14 children with Mrs Allport. Mrs Fletcher works between the two classes. On Wednesday mornings and Friday afternoons, the whole year 6 class come together and are taught by Mrs Burgess. We have P.E on Monday and Wednesday so please ensure that your child has their full PE kit on those days.
Home Reading
The children choose their home reading book and need to read for at least 15 minutes every evening. Children have a specific day in which they are to bring their reading book back. If your child is a confident reader, you do not need to hear them read aloud but it would be very beneficial if you talked to them about what they have read. E.g. What is the plot? Which is your favourite character? Why? What have you learnt that they didn’t know before?
Please can you ensure that you sign their reading book every night.
Group 1 – Monday: Jorja, Joshua and Maisie
Group 2 – Tuesday: Darcey, Thomas H, Daniel B, Guy and Daniel W
Group 3 – Thursday: Amelia, Matthew, Anna, Anna, Taylor and Chloe
We have just launched a new program called ‘Reading Plus’ to encourage our year six children to practice scaffolded silent reading. Children have their own usernames and passwords. To access this at home visit https://student.readingplus.com/seereader/api/sec/login
Homework
Spelling homework will be given out every Thursday for a spelling quiz the following Thursday. Children who get all spellings correct get to pick out of the prize box on a Friday afternoon. The amount of homework that your child receives will increase in Spring term but we would like them to concentrate on times tables, reading and spelling this term.
Last year we launched a new program called ‘Times Tables Rock stars’ to encourage children to practice more. Children have their own usernames and passwords. To access this at homehttps://ttrockstars.com/login
Our Classroom
We are very lucky to have a beautiful classroom in the recently built extension. We have a fabulous teaching assistant, Mrs Fletcher, who creates some wonderful displays.
What we are learning about
The final year in primary school is a very busy one! We will be working very hard to make sure we achieve our full potential.
Please take a look at our Curriculum Map to view what we have been learning about across the curriculum this term.
During the Autumn Term, our main topic is World War Two. Each child was given a Page 1 Fact Sheet and Page 2 Fact Sheet to learn about the subject.
Autumn 1
During this first half term in Autumn, we are reading ‘Letters from the Lighthouse’ by Emma Carroll. We are using this fabulous story, set during WW2, as a stimulus for a range of reading, writing and topic activities. We created some beautiful works of art and also some very effective writing such as, diary entries and letters.
In maths we are working very hard and revising all areas in preparation for our SATs.
In history we are learning about World War Two which is a great link with our Literacy work.
Beamish Visit
We are so lucky to have a brilliant museum close to where we live. We got dressed up as an evacuee and were evacuated to Beamish Home Farm. We were collected by bus and transported back in time to find out what life was like for children who were evacuated. We learnt all about the animals on the farm, made carrot cookies and trained to be part of the Home Guard. We had a fabulous day.
Spring 1
During this first half term in Spring, we will be reading ‘Holes’ by Louis Sachar. We will be using this tremendous mystery story, as a stimulus for a range of reading, writing and topic activities.
In maths we are working very hard and revising all areas in preparation for our SATs.
This half term, we will be focusing on: fractions, decimals and percentages; measurements (conversions); perimeter, area and volume; co-ordinates and angles
SATs
As you will be aware, your child will be sitting their SATs (Standard Attainment Tests)
KS2 SATs Parent and Carer Information Sheet
Below you will find the dates for the different tests.
Key stage 2
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| Monday 13 May 2019 | English grammar, punctuation and spelling papers 1 and 2 |
| Tuesday 14 May 2019 | English reading |
| Wednesday 15 May 2019 | Mathematics papers 1 and 2 |
| Thursday 16 May 2019 | Mathematics paper 3 |
Here are some very useful websites which will help your child for their SATs revision.
English grammar, punctuation and spelling
Paper 1 (spelling test) children are tested on spelling rules from years 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Paper 2
https://www.educationquizzes.com/ks2/english/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/english
English Reading
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/topic-group/reading
Mathematics
Paper 1 https://myminimaths.co.uk/year-6-arithmetic-practice-papers/
Paper 2 and 3 ks2-reasoning-and-problem-solving-questions-white-rose-maths-hub-twitter-march-2016
Literacy Outdoor Learning
On a very windy Friday morning, we went into our outdoor area to take part in a literacy lesson.
We all produced a Haiku. A Haiku is a traditional form of Japanese poetry. Haiku poems consist of 3 lines. The first and last lines of a Haiku have 5 syllables and the middle line has 7 syllables. The lines rarely rhyme. Our Haiku was based on our area around us and we used our senses to help us generate ideas.
Examples of our Haikus,
The wind is blowing,
It’s a cold Seaham morning,
Can this go away?
The salty cool breeze,
Fluffy clouds sail the deep sky,
Exciting fresh life.
