Year 6 have had a busy day problem-solving in Maths this morning, before problem-solving again this afternoon, however in History this time.
In Maths, we investigated solving multi-step problems using multiplication and division, working as teams and showing our problem-solving techniques using Big Sheet Maths. I was impressed with how quickly the children were able to sort themselves into really supportive groups which consisted of a range of confidence levels. It was good to see children tackling problems they might otherwise feel they'd struggle with, not to mention share their knowledge with children they might not usually work alongside. A real team effort across the board!
I very much enjoyed listening to how they explained the solutions to one another, and importantly, how to get there - it created some great debate and use of Mathematical vocabulary.
This afternoon, we took a walk to the War Memorial in Embsay Village before moving on to St. Mary's Church. At the War Memorial, the children made sketches of the Memorial itself, and noted down the names and regiments of those local heroes we lost as part of the fighting in The Great War and World War 2. It was a good opportunity to understand how World War 1 affected our local community - and bridge the gap so the children could really develop an appreciation of how such a huge, world-wide event caused suffering even to small communities such as our own.
We then walked up to St. Mary's and further investigated some of the names of those we'd seen on the War Memorial. It became yet more personal as the children discovered the first names of those fallen soldiers, and that one of those was in fact the son of the vicar of St. Mary's at the time - Christopher Wilkinson Brown. We looked at memorials within the church and discussed their importance. Afterwards, we spent a short time identifying those graves of WW2 heroes who have been buried at the church.
Our next plan is to further investigate the names we have learned of today as part of our Local History Study into World War 1 and how it impacted on our local community.
The children were respectful today and eager to share their knowledge. Well done, Year 6. A very productive day all round.
Many thanks to St. Mary's Church for accommodating our visit today and thank you to Mrs Crompton for sharing her local knowledge with us. We learned so much; it certainly was an invaluable opportunity we are very grateful to have been afforded. Thank you from all in Class 6.
