Welcome to Year 6!

Welcome to Year 6, 2023-24.

What an exciting year of historical time travelling and globe trotting we have ahead of us! Even though school might look a little different at the moment, we are getting straight into our exciting topics and having fun learning together and asking the ‘big questions’ across our curriculum.

Our topics are fascinating. This year we are kicking off with ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’ which is all about conflict and the impact of war on the 20th Century and beyond. Our class novels, Private Peaceful, White Feather and Once will support the children to learn about the big questions linked to this time in European history.

In the Spring term, we will be focusing on Asia and the Middle East. We will consider physical and human geography including natural disasters and the impact of humans on the environment. We will also learn about Ancient Islamic Civilization, studying the gripping stories of 1001 Nights, and Islam’s impressive contributions to the modern world and global trade.

In the Summer term, to support transition into the Year 7 curriculum, we will be studying Meddling Monarchs – Lock them in the Tower! During this topic, we will be analysing the Kings and Queens of Britain and their impact on British values and law through some challenging enquiries and investigations. For the last half term, we will continue with the same topic, incorporating a local history focus when studying the the reformation and the consequent religious tensions in Great Britain. We will complete a focused investigation into the work of the Witch Finder General and compare views of witchcraft at the time through comparisons of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, with contemporary portrayals of magic.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one year, we are also looking forward to some amazing trips including our annual residential trip (this year to Aylmerton), our cultural trip to London to see St Paul’s Cathedral, the Tate Modern, the Globe theatre and our much anticipated trip in the summer to the Tower of London. We will also be working with a professional theatre director to learn, rehearse and perform Macbeth in only one day! We will use the skills that we learn with our director to help us put on the annual year 6 production. Last year, the leavers did a wonderful job of ‘The Amazing Adventures of Super Stan!’ Keep your eyes peeled as the year progresses to see what this year’s show will be!

Through our Christian values we promote happiness, care, consideration and respect for all, we build confidence, independence and self-esteem. Enjoying success within a healthy, safe, and stimulating environment, we learn in an engaging and exciting way. As life-long learners, everyone in our school community is encouraged to achieve excellence in all we do.

We cannot wait to see how high our Year 6 will soar!

Mr Innocent (Class Teacher)

You are a Child of God. You are wonderfully made, dearly loved, and precious in His sight. Before God made you, He knew you… There is no one else like you!
Psalm 139

In the Autumn term, we learnt all about the first and second World Wars and the impact they had on Europe with a particular focus on Britain. We also learnt about some dances that were popular during the era and produced and performed our own Charleston! We hope you enjoy our music video.

Useful information for this year

Autumn Term

Autumn 1

Keep the Home Fires Burning: Conflict WW1

Why and what should we remember? What was ‘great’ about the ‘Great War’?

The children will learn about the impact of the first World War on Britain and the wider world. They will apply their knowledge from previous year groups surrounding the idea of empire and potential reasons for conflict and will use this knowledge to make connections between events to form their own ideas. They will learn about the impact of WW1 on Europe as well as the Home Front (including changing traditional roles and responsibilities). They will also learn about the development of science and technology at this time, including changing warfare and technology. They will also learn about the impact of soldiers from around the world who fought during the first world war and consider the idea of Empire. They will also consider a range of ‘Big Questions’ about cowardice, conscription and the idea of justice and fairness, even in times of conflict.

Autumn 2

Keep the Home Fires Burning: Conflict WW2

Are we all born free? Freedom: is it free?

Children will build on their learning about WW1 and how it laid the foundations for WW2. They will make comparisons between both wars and be able to articulate more complex cause and effect. Changes in war tactics and how it impacted people in the UK and commonwealth will be studied in detail with reference also to our local context in Weeley and the Clacton area.

They will analyse the geography of Post War Europe and the development of human rights. In addition, they will explore philosophical and religious interpretations of freedom and the dangers of intolerance and persecution.

Year 6 Curriculum

Spring Term

Spring 1

1001 Nights: Early Islamic Civilisation
What is the ‘Golden Age of Islam’? What makes it ‘golden’?

Children will track the development of the great Islamic city of Baghdad including trading practices and everyday life and compare it with other cities, both historic and contemporary. They will learn about key Islamic thinkers and how they have contributed to the modern world.

Children will learn about the spread of Islam through the Middle East and beyond, and the legacy of and continuing influences of early Islam. They will learn about trade and travel and some of the human and physical features of the modern Middle East in comparison.

Year 6 Curriculum

Summer Term

Summer 1

Meddling Monarchs: Lock them in the Tower!
Who defines what a crime is and who should decide the punishment? Why?

During this thematic unit, children will build upon their learning throughout their time at St Andrew’s to make deeper connections to prepare them for their Year 7 curriculum journey. They will learn about the impact and influence of various Kings and Queens (since 1066) and how they asserted their power and authority over their subjects using the ever-developing legal system. As part of this, they will learn about the Norman conquests, the development of Magna Carta, the Reformation (In Europe and how it was brought to the UK) and the consequent impact of continuous religious tension in England. This will be connected to sites of cultural significance in the UK, specifically the Tower of London as a prison, fortress and national treasure.

Summer 2

Meddling Monarchs: Suspicious Minds and a touch of Magic!
Why did people have such suspicious minds in 17th century Essex?

Children will apply their on-going learning about the monarchy to consider the impact of King James I and the continued religious tensions following the infamous Gun Powder Plot. They apply this to explore and make hypotheses as to why people in 17th Century England took part in witch hunts and will look at the local history of the Witch Finder General. To further support transition to the Year 7 curriculum, they will learn about the context that inspired the works of the great playwright, Shakespeare and will complete a focus study of Macbeth.

Year 6 Curriculum

Class Information

What values and expectations are there in Year 6?

We follow our school values of Love, Trust and Wisdom and build our class expectations from these.

Find out more information here.

As a parent/guardian, where can I find out information about what happens in the Year 6 classroom?

We provide daily updates on Marvellous Me.

How can I support my child in their reading?

Reading Spine – see what books your child can read as well as what other year groups are reading.

Reading Lists for all year groups

Events

https://st-andrewsprisch-weeley.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Year-6-Charleston.mp4

WOW! Autumn Term has been amazing, we have all truly risen to the new challenge of Year 6!

We are having a really busy first term with our topic, “Keep the Home Fires Burning”. We have learnt a lot about WW1 and how conflict impacted the geography and future of Europe. We are using all kinds of skills in our topic – we became cartographers, showing historical maps and plotting new borders countries; artists, by exploring background, middle ground and foreground in the work of Paul Nash; philosophers by asking the big questions about the ethics of war and authors, writing gripping texts to entertain our readers!

In addition to all of this, we worked hard on our maths skills, a particular highlight was using our knowledge of angles and direction to plot a zeppelin raid route on the United Kingdom. We enhanced our writing skills through a range of genres including letters, flashback stories, balanced arguments, non-chronological reports about the developments in Science and Technology in WW1 and adventure stories that were full of spies and espionage! We read LOTS of books together as a class but our favourites sp far are definitely White Feather and 1918 – Coming Home!