Year 6 Newsletter – Autumn Term 2014

Dear Parents

May we take this opportunity to welcome your children back after the summer break. We hope that they have now settled into their new classes, for what will be a very important year. As the eldest children, they will be expected to take on extra responsibilities around the school and be role models for the younger pupils.

English / During the term your child will look at a range of different writing styles including poetry, stories, reports and autobiographies. In preparation for the new end of year writing S.A.T.s, the children will also be learning about grammar and punctuation, and will have weekly spellings to learn. They will also develop their abilities in answering comprehension questions - especially those that make them dig into a text to work out why an author has written in a certain way. Reading is fundamental to learning, and could we remind you that even competent readers should be listened to by an adult. We expect children to read EVERY NIGHT to an adult who should sign their reading record. When listening to your child read, please ask them questions about what they have read - there are ideas in the back of the reading record to help you.
Maths / This year in Maths pupils will be revisiting areas covered previously and further extending their understanding. This will include place value, the four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions and decimals. We will be concentrating on worded questions, as this is an area which we know is difficult for most children. Pupils will be given weekly mental maths test. We also ask that you spend some time going through multiplication tables facts with them, until they know all tables up to 12 x 12.
Science / During this term our science work will be looking at three topics in each half term:
AUTUMN 1
Living things
The classification of organisms
Evolution
Healthy lifestyle choices / AUTUMN 2
States of Matter & Materials
Reversible & Irreversible changes
Electricity
Light
ICT / This term the children will be using their knowledge and skills of the Internet and MicrosoftPower Point to create presentations about Carl Linnaeus (the scientist who developed a system of organism classification)by carrying out their own research.
RE / During this term we will be looking at the life of some prominent Christians and how their faith influenced their actions. These are: Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Teresa, Florence Nightingaleand Dr Barnardo.
Geography / In Geography, we will be focusing on North America (Canada, America and Mexico) this term and pupils will examine the physical features of this diverse continent through map work and investigative work.
History / Our history topic this term will bethe Vikings. We will be using various artefacts and written sources to investigate different aspects of the life and times of these interesting people. We will consider the reliability of evidence and bias in historical sources.
PE & Games / Games & indoor PE will be allocated on a rota throughout the year. This term our PE lessons will be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays(PM).
It is important that the children remember the appropriate kit:
For outdoor lessons: a plain white T-shirt, black or blue shorts and trainers. As the winter approaches, your child will also need suitable outdoor clothing, such as a plain, dark tracksuit or sweatshirt. Please do not send in replica football kits.
For indoor lessons: a plain white T-shirt, black or blue shorts and pumps.
No jewellery at all is allowed during Games lessons.
DT & Art / In Art we will be creating self-portraits with each class looking at a different style for our school-wide display in the hall.
Music / In Music this term we will be looking at how rock and jazz music developed in their own historical contexts.
PSHE / Our focus this term will be on healthy lifestyles. We will also be thinking about new beginnings, getting on and falling out and respect for others.
Ideas to Help Your Child
Snacks and Drinks / Children use up a lot of energy during the school day, and we would encourage them to have a snack at morning break to help them through until lunchtime. As LightOaksJuniorSchool is a HealthySchool, could you please provide only fresh fruit or vegetables for their snack. Water is also important to help the brain work efficiently, therefore your child should bring their water bottle in to school to keep on their table so they can have a drink throughout the day (no pop or juice though!).
Reading / Regular home reading is absolutely essential and is part of the children’s homework. This practice helps improve their fluency, expression and also feeds back into their written work, fuelling their imagination and helping with spelling and punctuation. We would refer you to the booklet at the back of the reading folder, which is full of advice and activities that you could follow.
Maths
/ As with all areas of the curriculum, any support you could give at home will only help to encourage your child and boost their confidence – especially with numbers! We are particularly keen that children know their times tables up to 12 x 12. We find that if children are regularly challenged with one or two random times tables questions, they will quickly learn them (not chanting in order as this only teaches them the pattern and not each individual fact). Children also need to know reverse facts (e.g. 42 ÷ 6 = ?)
It is also very useful to encourage children to use and practise their maths skills in everyday situations – ask them to tell you the time; to add up the cost of a couple of items when you are out shopping or to weigh some vegetables on the scales at the supermarket. You could even get them to work out how much paint you need when you next decorate!
Homework / In our school, we believe that there is an enormous advantage in children spending regular periods of time on homework, which supports the work they do in class. Hopefully, this will develop the skills and attitudes the children will need for successful, independent lifelong learning.
The homework will be given on a weekly basis. Tasks will be set on Fridays and collected in on Tuesdays. However, as the year progresses, the children may be given additional revision homework to help them prepare for S.A.T.s. Each child will have a homework book to work in which will contain details of the weekly homework tasks. This homework is seen as additional to your child's regular reading and learning of times tables and spelling.
The homework programme is an important part of the partnership between home and school and as always, we will rely on your continuing support and involvement to ensure its effectiveness. It is important that you support and encourage your child to do their best with the homework task in terms of content and presentation. We ask that you check your child's homework book every week to gain an understanding of the standard of work required. Please sign to say you have seen it and are happy with it. Please note that if the work is untidy, pupils will be expected to do it again.
Independent Work / Please try to encourage your child to research any topic that we are covering in class. We are always pleased to see any work that the children have done themselves on any topic they have become interested in. Please encourage them to share their interests and any achievements with the class, no matter whether they are academic, sporting or hobby orientated.
Some Useful Websites:

Use search engine to find: BBC Science Clips Channel 4 Science Essentials

The classes in Year 6 will be taught by different members of the school team during the course of each week.

6X will be taught by Mr Harrison.Year 6 will also be supported by Mr Wilde and Miss Bird.

6Y will be taught by Mrs Walker and Mrs Westcott.

6Z will be taught by Miss Buckley.

We hope that this will be a happy and productive term for your children. Please do not hesitate to contact your child's class teacher with any questions you may have – our door is always open.

Yours sincerely, TheYear 6 Teaching Team

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