Y6 News of the Week 23.4.21

Welcome back to your final term in Y6. Your summer term has begun, and the sun has been shining. You have settled back into a busy week and you have all worked so hard. I am proud of you.

In Maths this week we have completed our percentages unit with a review and begun to investigate algebra. To begin our early algebra journey, we used function machines to find the input and output of numbers. We also used counters and art straws to understand the rule within an algebra equation by creating patterns of shapes. We are continuing with our journey next week. We finished our week off in maths with an arithmetic paper and a times table test and marked all. Brilliant job by all. Well done Y6.

In English this week we began a new Talk 4 Writing unit. Our new unit is on persuasive writing and we started by completing a cold write. We have begun to learn my model text using pictures and actions and have recited as a team. We have used our thesaurus skills to up level key vocabulary, and we have used different statements to complete a short burst piece of writing to persuade our reader. Can you persuade a cat to be friends with a dog?

In Book Club this week we have read with an adult and now have a comprehension question to complete. Please could you check that all comprehension questions are answered as some seem to have slipped through.

We continued our new RE unit this week by watching a clip from Nemo and considering the term Salvation. We used our Fruits of the Spirit and our Bibles to find different stories that may have a moral meaning to match. We will continue with our learning next week.

We also continued our Geography unit this week as we learnt about Operation Pied Piper. We joined the Anderson Committee who are responsible for the movement of people in Britain during WW2. We began by using our atlas skills to locate the cities and counties that were used during WW2 by evacuees. We will continue with our operation next week.

In History this week we looked at what makes primary and secondary sources. We listened to a radio broadcast of an air attack and thought about which type of source this would be. We were then introduced to 1st Lieutenant Arthur Brown and his link to our hometown. We researched articles about his tragic death and found out that his plane crashed on January 14th, 1944 near to the River Weaver.

In Computing this week, we continued with our Code Cracking unit. We became film planners using storyboards and simple algorithms. We each created our scene and worked as a team to link them together. We will continue with our unit next week.

We began our DT unit this week as we looked at the history of a poppy. We learnt about its beginnings and how the poppy is linked to the poem – In Flanders Fields. We reflected on John McCrae's poem and how his words made us feel. Next week we will consider our own poppy designs as we work on our textiles unit.

In Music, taught by Miss Holland, we read the lyrics of three wartime songs before we sang them. The objective was to reflect on the meaning behind them and to question why they were written in that way. We sang the three songs and assessed our own vocal performance. How did we feel about the pitch, tempo and dynamics? We logged this ready to revisit next week. We also decided to add some Charleston steps during the introduction to one of our songs as well as whistling to it. We will continue with this unit next week.

In French this week we learnt how to say our birthday dates. We found out that birthdays are written differently as the day comes after the month. Quelle est la date de ton anniversaire?

Our first tennis PE lesson took place on Monday. We began by warming up and then concentrated on our hand to eye coordination by playing different paired games. We ended our lesson with a rally or two. Our second PE lesson was taught by Mrs. Jenkins. Please see her separate website post.

In PSHE this week we considered different ways to keep our hearts soft but strong. We used the analogy of a trainer to think about the soft and durable qualities.

We all enjoyed a trip to a virtual theatre this week as we joined The Old Vic Theatre for the performance of Dr. Seuss' – The Lomax. It was a real treat for us all. Thank you Mrs. Chesters for organising this.

We began our after school well-being club this week in Y6. After taking part in a yoga session we turned our skills to basketball with a difference. We used a piece of Tchaikovsky music taken from the Nutcracker to add our moves to. Super fun and I wonder what will we get up to next time?

New homework has been set and details are in diaries or reading response books. I look forward to catching up with you all next week if you have a parent evening appointment arranged.

Y6, what a super week you have all had. I am so proud of you. You have settled back into Y6 quickly and you have worked extremely hard. Have a wonderful weekend.
Your teacher,
Mrs. B.