North Town Primary School

A guide to the curriculum for Parents/Carers of children in Year 6

Second half of the Spring Term 2017


A journey of exploration / In the second half of the Spring term we will be going on a journey of intriguing (and perhaps terrifying) exploration from sea to sea in a time of epic achievements in ferocious waters, uncharted mountains and bone-chilling cold. We will be exploring themes of great courage and endurance and how building resilience is not simply about being strong in body, but also about strength of character.
English / Writing
This half term we will be linking our writing to our topic of sea exploration: writing letters of application, keeping diaries and writing reports about discoveries. We will also be developing our understanding of some of the key areas of grammar, spelling and punctuation to help fully prepare the children for their upcoming SATs.
Reading
The children will continue to take part in daily reading sessions which will help them to develop their skills in retrieving and recording key information, how certain words can have different meanings depending on the context they are used in as well as using our inference skills to search for clues to identify meaning within a range of age-appropriate texts. The children will continue to visit the school library weekly and are encouraged to use this time to browse and select a book that they would like to read. Please encourage your child to read at home and complete their reading record every time they do so. Please also hear your child read and discuss their book.
Spelling
The children will continue to bring home a spelling log every Monday to help them practise and learn the week’s spelling rule which will have been introduced in class. The children will be tested on their weekly spellings every Friday and will need to have returned their completed spelling log each Friday. The children will also complete half-termly assessments in spelling which will be sent home to allow you to discuss these with the children and help them to continue progressing.
Mathematics / Throughout this half-term in Maths lessons the children will be exploring the different types of measure, including weight, length and capacity as well learning how to convert between different units of measure (e.g. from kilometres to metres). We will also be looking at algebra and simple formulae as well asunderstanding and interpreting statistics through different ways of presenting data, such as tables, lines graphs and pie charts. Finally, we will also be covering all of the key areas of the Key Stage 2 curriculum for Mathematics inorder to fully prepare the children for their upcoming SATs.
The children will continue to complete their times table challenges and we would encourage you to help your children learn these crucial facts in order to benefit their overall maths skills.
Science / In Science this half term we will be developing our understanding of how living things are classified into broad groups according to common observable characteristics and based on similarities and differences. We will be giving reasons for classifications we make based on specific characteristics and will also be exploring the habitats of different animals and how they have adapted to live in such conditions.
Art & Music / Art and Music will both be a focus later in the year. The children will continue to have observational drawing sessions fortnightly.
Computing / We will begin the half term by reminding ourselves of how to keep ourselves safe online and when using different technologies. We will also be exploring information technology (including the internet) as part of our computing curriculum.
Spanish / This half term, we will continue working on our targets for the year, including writing or presenting from memory and will be using the card game Kloo to help us construct sentences. We will also be looking at theme park rides using the Languagenut resource (online or the free app, section 23). This will improve our knowledge of verbs in the preterite tense, reminding us of personal pronouns at the same time. We will use these verbs to talk about a theme park visit. If you need to be reminded of your logon access or password for Languagenut, do not hesitate to contact me or your child’s class teacher.
Physical Education / This half term the focus in Physical Education sessions will be on physical skills and application. The children will have the opportunity to apply their skills through co-operative and competitive games and gym. The theme for the half term will be ‘Group Bench Sequences’. The children will be working on further developing physical skills such as performing movements and skills with good body tension and using combinations of skills in different contexts.
Please ensure that your child has their PE kit with them every Monday and that it is brought home every Friday.
History / History was a focus in our last topic on dinosaurs as well as during our Shakespeare topic in the Autumn term. As part of this topic, we will be exploring the history of different explorers and the experiences they had, as well as how this has impacted our lives today.
Geography / We will be developing our Geography skills as we follow paths of exploration. The children will become more familiar with different continents, the oceans and seas that surround them and what the conditions might be like in these areas. We will also be exploring this area of the curriculum later on in the school year.
PSHE&C / This half term the children will be working hard on the topic ‘Healthy Me’. They will be thinking about making healthy choices, eating a healthy and balanced diet, being physically active, keeping themselves and others safe, knowing how to be a good friend and maintaining healthy friendships as well as knowing how to keep calm and manage difficult situations.

RE / In RE this half term we will continue our work of values and commitments and linking these to attitudes and behaviours. We will also begin to think about the key features of Sikhism and how people show their beliefs by the way they spend their time.
Children’s Rights / This half term the children will be learning about the following rights through our topic sessions:
Article 13 Freedom of Expression – Every child must be free to say what they think and to seek and receive information.
Article 17 Access to information from the mass media – The media should provide information that children can understand.
Article 29 Goals of Education – Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full.
Homework / This half term we will continue to set the children Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation and Maths homework using the Achieve 100 Question Books. This homework will always be a consolidation of learning that has taken place within the classroom and the children should use their Revision Guides for extra advice and reminders.
Other information / Key dates:
Monday 20th February – First day of Spring 2 half term
Monday 27th February – PTA Rag Bag Day
Wednesday 1st March – Secondary School National offer day
Monday 6th March – MUFTI Monday (chocolate donations)
Thursday 9th March – Parents’ Evening (4:30pm – 7:00pm)
Wednesday 15th March – Parents’ Evening (3:30pm – 6:00pm)
Friday 24th March – Comic Relief Day
Wednesday 29th March – Parent share morning (9:00am)
Wednesday 29th March – House Treat
Thursday 30th March – North Town Book Day (dressing up)
Thursday 30th March – Last Day of Spring 2 half term
Friday 31st March – INSET Day (school closed to pupils)
/ You can keep up to date with all our learning by following us on Twitter @NorthTown6AR and @NorthTown6MK

We look forward to continuing our productive partnership with you and thank you for your continued support. If you have any questions please pop in to see us.

Many thanks

Mr Kerton, Miss Richards, Mr Hooper & Mrs Williams (Class teachers) and Mrs Friend (Teaching Assistant)