Welcome to Year 6, Crickets class.
This page will give you an overview of all of key information and homework for Year 6 this year.
The class teacher is Mr Farmer.
We also have fabulous support from Mr Fuller and Mr Venn during the week.
We have PE on Mondays and Fridays this term and we are learning gymnastics and dance.
Responsibilities in School
Within school we encourage Year 6 to take on greater responsibilities. The children have many opportunities to take a supporting role on how the school is run. The children can have roles ranging from the School Council; Sports Council; house captains; play leaders and Eco Council amongst others.
Homework
For homework this year, we will be completing grammar activities on a Monday; math activities on a Tuesday and reading comprehension questions on a Wednesday.
We actively encourage the children to keep active and enjoy sports clubs out of school. We love hearing about your successes and reading reports about your events.
We would like you to continue to use your TT Rockstars account at least twice a week, and we'd like you to read. This will either be on Bug Club, or a class book. We'll talk to you about how much you are reading in school.
Term 3 and 4's topics - the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings and the Normans
In terms 3 and 4, Crickets class will be going back to the Dark Ages and medieval Britain. We will study the battle for Britain after the last Roman soldiers left Britain in 410 CE and which civilisations invaded and then made Britain their home. In history, we will learn about the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings and then the Normans. We will cover the people, their beliefs and how their societies were formed.
Our writing focus will be shaped by two Anglo-Saxon and Viking inspired texts: Beowulf and She Wolf. The children will write persuasive letters in character; write explanation texts about Vikings and write a narrative based on She Wolf. In addition to these texts, we will write an information text about the River Severn and a biography about Tim Peake and William the Conqueror.
In maths, we will learn to use measures; apply ratio to different situations; understand algebra; develop our knowledge of decimals, percentage and fractions; learn about area, perimeter and volume and then statistics.
In science, we will immerse ourselves in Space and our Solar System. We will learn about why the seasons occur; the different planets; the movement of celestial bodies and stars and galaxies. In geography, Crickets class will learn about rivers through the Opening Worlds learning and then how rivers influenced settlement and movement of people throughout Britain. We will use our geography field trips to study the River Banwell.
In computing, we are going to learn about variables and spreadsheets. In P.E, we will explore movement and balance in gymnastics and we will learn and practise our dance choreography for the Perform Your Socks Off event at the Weston Playhouse in April. We will continue our Opening Worlds' topic of Hinduism and learning about Hindu traditions in Religious Education.
Term 1 and term 2's study topic - the ancient Greeks
For term 1 and 2, we have been studying the ancient Greeks. We have read myths such as Perseus and Medusa, Theseus and the Minotaur and Daedalus and Icarus. For our first writing genre we studied and then wrote a non-chronological report about the Greek Underworld. The class then learnt about the story of Theseus and the Minotaur and then wrote a retelling of the myth. After this, we discovered the twelve tasks of Heracles and the children wrote a narrative poem based on his adventures. For the final genre this term, Crickets will look at newspaper articles and journalistic writing. We will then use this learning to write a newspaper article based on the story Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.
In geography, we have studied the geography of Greece; compared and contrasted Athens to Bristol, explored why Greece is a popular holiday destination and introduced the terms relative and absolute geography.
In history for term 1 and 2, Crickets have explored the different Greek gods; answered enquiry questions about the Palace of Knossos and Arthur Evans' discoveries and discussed other civilisations that predated the Golden Age of Greece such as the Phoenicians and the Ancient Sumer.
Year 6's Bikeability Sessions
At the start of Term 1, Year 6 children undertook a two day course called Bikeability. This course has developed the children's understanding on checking their bikes before they ride; improving their control on their bikes; understanding road signs and how to cycle safety on the roads. The children were fantastic, they listened well and really wanted to improve their cycling ability and safety understanding.
To commence Year Six, the children undertook a new learning project called Into the Wilderness.
In this project the children studied poetry by Michael Morpurgo; wrote poems based on his work and developed their word class knowledge.
In the second week, the class studied the adventure book My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. This book is a fiction text about a fifteen-year-old boy who runs away from his New York apartment home to live alone in the wilds of the Catskill Mountains, in New York State. The children wrote vivid setting descriptions; painted fantastic landscapes and learnt about the geography and animals of the mountain area.
Click on the link below to take you to the National Online Safety website. Here you can download parent guides about popular apps and games.
At Banwell the children's wellbeing is always our priority and this year we are making mental well being a focus. Below is a link to the 'Wheel of Wellbeing' website that has some interesting information and activities to help with this.
Reading is so important!
We encourage you to listen to your child read and discuss the text at least three times a week. Sometimes it is hard to know what to ask them so below is some ideas of the type of questions that you could be asking your child whilst they are reading with you.
Times Tables
Being able to recall the times tables is a huge skill and will have benefits across all areas of the Maths curriculum. In Year 6, the expectation is that children can recall their times table up to 12 x 12 and often beyond. Make sure that your child is practising their times tables regularly at home both verbally and written.
