Topic - The Beatles and Liverpool 

English 

During this term, Year 6 will also undertake practice Reading and GPS SATs, using previous papers. 

Writing and reading: the children will consider the techniques writers use to create tension in their writing. They will then use such features to write a short story based on ‘Home From The Sea’: this will link to our Geography work on Liverpool as a port and the impact this has had historically on its inhabitants. In all their writing, they will discuss and understand the audience, purpose and effect, making decisions about the grammar and punctuation appropriate to use.  

Poetry: The children will also be reading, performing and writing poetry based on ‘The Nail Man’ by Steve Turner: a poem about the crucifixion of Jesus. As well as studying the lyrics from John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ and writing their own additional verses. 

Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPS): prepositions and adverbials; revision and consolidation of grammar and punctuation understanding in preparation for SATs; and in spelling, homophones, generating words from prefixes and roots, plus they shall continue to learn the statutory word list spellings and spelling errors from their own writing.  

Maths 

During this term, Year 6 will also undertake practice Maths SATs, using previous papers. 

  • Long Division 

  • Coordinates in four quadrants with translations and reflections 

  • Find and use algebraic rules and formulae 

  • Solve problems involving all metric measures for length, weight and capacity 

  • Convert and solve problems involving miles and kilometres 

  • Understand and use approximate equivalences between metric units and common imperial units such as inches, pounds and pints 

  • Solve problems involving area of parallelograms and triangles 

  • Calculate the perimeter of compound shapes 

  • Calculate and compare the volume of cubes and cuboids 

  • Calculating ratio and proportion problems 

  • Using scale factors 

  • Revision and application of all KS2 topics in preparation for SATs   

Science 

Living things and their habitats: we will be researching the work of Carolus Linnaeus and his clock gardens. The children will learn to describe how living things are classified based on similarities and differences and develop and understanding of how to interpret and read Classification Keys. They will do this by considering specific characteristics of plants and animals to sort them into groups. This will include looking at the main differences between vertebrates and invertebrates.  

History 

The Beatles: we will continue to learn about The Beatles. Through the development of a timeline, the children will identify key events from the life of John Lennon and his fellow bandmates. In addition to this, they will use historical sources, including video clips, to study key events from the life of John Lennon and The Beatles. We will look further into Beatlemania and how Lennon continued to be an influential figure following the band’s split, and after his death in 1980. 

Geography 

Liverpool: using maps and Google Earth, the children will continue to study the Liverpool (including the history). We will further explore how to use six figure grid references to pinpoint locations in Liverpool on OS maps and plan a virtual trip to the city. 

Computing and DT 

Year 6 will continue to develop their programming knowledge and skills using a Crumble Controller. The children will begin constructing their Beatles Diorama project, incorporating a servo motor to create a moving element and sparkles to provide light. The children will be encouraged to consider the timing of their sparkles to fit with their chosen song and write code accordingly. We will later create an ‘unplugged’ algorithm using a Flow Diagram. 

Art and DT 

This term the children will be learning about the history of the Super Lambanana sculptures from Liverpool as well as looking at other public sculptures. They will design and make their own mini Super Lambanana sculpture using wire, papier mache and acrylic paints. 

Music 

In music this half term, the children will continue to learn either the trumpet or trombone; this is taught by a peripatetic teacher from North Yorkshire’s Wider Opportunities. 

P.E. 

PE lessons this half term will be focussed on Cricket and OAA (Outdoor and Adventurous Activities). 

R.E. 

What Difference Does The Resurrection Make For Christians? This topic will lead on from our consideration of Incarnation in the Christmas term. This shall be explored through role-play, art, studying extracts from the Bible and hymns, and listening to each other’s views. 

French 

Our topic will be Le carnival des animaux (Carnival of the Animals) and we shall be building on vocabulary learnt in year 5. The children will learn new animal names and words connected to their habitat. They will also research carnivals around the world in French speaking countries. 

P.S.H.E. 

My Healthy Lifestyle: we will be studying the importance of hygiene and exercise as the children approach adolescence and looking at how we can develop positive body confidence.