Owl Class

Welcome to Year 6!

Happy New Year! We hope you had a lovely Christmas and that the children had a well-earned rest. We had a very busy Autumn term with lots of extra activities such as lantern making, cross country and football tournaments. There is a lot to cover in year 6 and a lot of fun to be had as we move through the final year of Primary school. We have had visits from head teachers and open evenings and lots of discussion about Secondary School. Our aim is help prepare the year 6s for life beyond Bentham Primary School.

This Year, Mrs Shaw will teach on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, with Mrs Chapman teaching on Thursday and Friday. We are also extremely lucky to be supported by Mrs Barlow and Mrs Harrison throughout the week. We are looking forward to continuing our learning this year and producing wonderful work that we can be proud of. 

What will we be learning?

Maths – In maths we are looking at the relationship between fractions, decimals and percentages. This involves a variety of skills and for now the focus is fractions. We are currently looking at adding and subtracting fractions which involves finding common denominators, simplifying and finding equivalent fractions. Alongside this Mrs Chapman will be teaching ratio, area and perimeter.

English – Our first writing task in English is to write a persuasive speech. We are going to base this on our prior learning about the Anglo-Saxons. To begin with we have used films as inspiration for motivating battle speeches and we are working on writing techniques that support persuasion such as rhetorical questions, alliteration and repetition. For the first half term we will continue to explore the book ‘Cogheart’, answering questions and exploring the characters. We then move on to Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell.

Science – Our new topic is Space which coincides with a new voyage around the moon planned by Nasa!

History – In History we will be exploring the wicked and yet interesting theme of Crime and Punishment post 1066. We will be researching and investigating the main changes in crime and punishment and the judicial system. As part of this we hope to incorporate a visit to Lancaster Castle.

Important info ... 

School Bags/Book Bags:  A bag should be brought to school daily with your homework diary, reading book and water bottles in.

Spellings: Spellings will be sent home every week and will continue to be tested on a Friday. The children will have some class spellings and some individual spellings to learn. Spelling test books will go home on Friday for parents to check how their children did, but do need returning to School the following Monday. 

Reading Books: Year 6 will continue to use the Accelerated Reading Scheme. Children will now chose a reading book from the Accelerated Reading Scheme that they are to read at home and in school. Please can we ensure this book is in school every day. We will continue to encourage independent reading at home and effort stars and house points will be given to those children who are choosing to read at home. 

Homework: Throughout the Spring Term, a Brain Builder menu will NOT be sent out for our current Year 6 children. Instead, each week a printed booklet will be sent home which will either cover some Maths work that the children need to consolidate, a Reading comprehension or some SPAG work. This is to support children in the lead up to SATs. Homework will be marked in Class so that the children have an opportunity to go over their answers therefore we would really appreciate some encouragement at home to complete the work. If you have supported your child with this work at home, please let us know by making a note that they received adult support – thank you!

PE:   This term, PE will take place on a Monday and Tuesday. On Mondays this will be with Mrs Shaw and on Tuesday this will be with Kanga Sport. Children should continue to come to school in their PE kits ready for their lessons. Please could we make sure that all children have the following for PE: Plain white t-shirt, Plain dark coloured joggers or shorts, Plain dark coloured jumper (not school jumper), Trainers and/or pumps.

Water Bottle/Snack: Please ensure that all children have a water bottle everyday for school which will be also be returned home daily. Children are also encouraged to bring a healthy snack with them to enjoy at morning break.

If you have any questions or concerns, at any point, please do not hesitate to find us before or after school.

The Year 6 Team