Year 6

“Pentecost: True Spiritual Unity and Fellowship in the Holy Spirit” by Rebecca Brogan

Welcome back, Year 6! During this half term we will be celebrating the season of Easter, which last 50 days and will finish on Pentecost Sunday (23 May). It is a season of grace and a time of joy and thanksgiving, and also an opportunity for us to cultivate a spirit that defines who we are. Here are some suggestions:

• Live with joy: through his Passion and Resurrection, Jesus has brought the Kingdom of God to us, because he wanted to save us. God loves us, and that makes us feel joyful. How can you share this joy with the people around you?
• Live without fear: Jesus was able to defeat death, and so we can overcome our own fears. How can the Resurrection inspire us to live these days to the fullest?
• Live with new eyes - Easter comes in the midst of Spring. How can the new life rising out of the earth—green shoots, lilies, daffodils... —inspire us to be grateful for the world around us?

Mrs Bellas

Homework

• Passport to the world - New Zealand
• Daily reading - at least 30 minutes per day
• Daily spelling and arithmetic (see weekly work attached below)
• Instrument practice

Homework Challenges

Maths

Fitted

Nine squares with side lengths 1,4,7,8,9,10,14,15 and 18 cm can be fitted together with no gaps and no overlaps, to form a rectangle. What are the dimensions of the rectangle?

Once you've had a chance to think about it, click below to see how three different pupils began working on the task.

This is how Anna started:

Here is what Brendan tried:
 

Here is Chandra's initial approach to the problem:

Can you take each of these starting ideas and develop them into a solution?

Literacy

In the novel “Who let the Gods out?” by Maz Evans, a young Zodiac goddess called Virgo lands on Earth. She has never been on our planet or met any humans before, and so her arrival turns Elliot’s life upside down, as she doesn’t know how to behave as a human and gets Elliot into a lot of trouble.

Have a go at writing a “How to live amongst humans” guide, explaining the main things a Greek god or goddess would need to know in order to come to our planet safely. Think about what things they might struggle to understand about the human world, such as how it is different from the Elysium or how things like money, public transport or restaurants work.
 

Science

Find out the names of 10 to 20 animals and plants that live in British woodlands. You could think about living things in your own neighbourhood or places you know about. 

Then, classify these organisms into groups with similar characteristics, and investigate how these animals and plants have adapted to live in this habitat. After this, find information about what dangers these creatures are facing and how we can best protect them.

Finally, create a colourful poster including your classification and all the information you have found out.

Religious Education

This half term we will learn about St Peter and how the Popes are his successors. Find information about Pope Francis and his work of continuing Peter’s mission, especially in protecting our planet and the poor. 

What do you find inspiring? What challenges might he encounter? Imagine you have been invited to a personal audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican. Write a list of questions you would like to ask him.

Reading together at home

Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. Sharing a book with your child allows you to share adventures and experiences in the safe world of the book. It allows you to ask questions, talk about what has happened and decide what you think together, as well as sharing quality time together. 

For these reasons I will be share here the books we will read in class every term, so that if you wish you can read them with your child at home. This term, our Literacy work will be based on these three books:
 

"Who let the Gods out?" by Maz Evans - Elliot's mum is ill and his home is under threat, but a shooting star crashes to earth and changes his life forever. The star is Virgo - a young Zodiac goddess on a mission. But the pair accidentally release Thanatos, a wicked death daemon imprisoned beneath Stonehenge, and must then turn to the old Olympian gods for help. After centuries of cushy retirement on earth, are Zeus and his crew up to the task of saving the world - and solving Elliot's problems too?

“The adventures of Odysseus” by Hugh Lupton - Set sail with Odysseus as he fights to find his way back home after the brutal Trojan War. On his ten year journey, he endures harrowing ordeals, battles monsters and learns what it means to be a hero. This gripping retelling breathes new life into Homer’s classic The Odyssey.

“Greek Myths” by Marcia Williams - The Greek myths are among the greatest, most exciting stories ever told and feature some of the world's best loved heroes and heroines. In this book, you'll find the stories of Theseus, conqueror of the dreaded Minotaur; the mighty Heracles and his twelve tasks; the tragic lovers Orpheus and Eurydice; Perseus, the Gorgon-slayer; the musician Arion and his rescue by the dolphins; Pandora and her little box of horrors; the feather-clad fliers Daedalus and Icarus; and the weaving contest between Arachne and the goddess Athene. Each of these tales has been retold with lively text and dramatic cartoon style, making them accessible and fun for children.

Times Tables Practice at home

It is essential for children to know their times tables fluently in order to access Maths confidently in Year 6, as well as to improve their pace. For this reason, they should practice their times tables at home daily. Not only they need to know their multiplication facts - they must be quick at recalling them in order to succeed. 

The website http://timestables.me.uk/ is a free site where you can set up automatically generated online times tables test, with an option to print them. You can select:

• The amount of questions you want them to do.
• The times tables that you want to test them on.
• Whether you want them to practice multiplication facts, division facts or both.

This is a fantastic resource for children to practice their times tables daily. At the end of the test, you will get a summary of your child's results, including how many questions they got right / wrong, the time they took to complete them and the answers to the questions they answered incorrectly. It is a great tool for children to improve not only their knowledge of the multiplication but the speed at which they recall them. Challenge them to beat their own score / time - they are always willing to improve their results!

The big question for the Summer term is...

Are we at the edge of reason?

Curriculum - Summer Term

This term, we will be learning about:

• History and Geography: Ancient Greece and Geography of the United Kingdom 
• Science: Living things
• Design and Technology: Mediterranean Diet
• Physical Education: Rounders and Athletics
• Art and Design: Digital photography (Summer 1) and Sculpture (Summer 2)
• Computing: We are Publishers (Summer 1) and Adventure gamers (Summer 2)
• Passport to the world: New Zealand (Summer 1) and China (Summer 2)

Waffle

If you would like to see some of the adventures Waffle has been going on, please go to our 'Waffle' page on the children section of the website where you will find a special message along with some pictures!

Sing Up at Home

If you enjoy singing and would like to learn a new song, follow the link below to visit the Sing Up at Home page. There will be a new song uploaded along with a performance track and backing track each week including pointers and tips on how to sing the song successfully.

Good luck and happy singing!

https://www.singup.org/singupathome/song-of-the-week

Numeracy

Throughout the year, Year 6 will be considering the question below...

We will be focusing on applying their numeracy skills to solve reasoning and real life problems. Children will deepen their understanding of the 4 operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and how they can be applied to the world around them.

Things to remember!

• Wider opps is on a Friday morning.
• Check Edmodo everyday.
• Spelling test is every Friday .
• Arithmetic test is every Friday.
• Read every day, and remember to get your reading diaries signed!

Don't forget to read every night and have your red books signed!

Try: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/maths/