Dear Year 6 Parents/Carers,

Parent meeting – Thursday 19th September 2019

Welcome back and welcome to Year 6! I hope you had a lovely, restful summer. It has been great getting to know the children this week and I am really excited about our year ahead, as we have many wonderful experiences and learning opportunities to enjoy during their last year at Hawley.

Our topic for this term is, ‘Who’s in the Mirror’. Whenever possible, this topic will be covered through cross-curricular teaching and learning – linking subjects together to ensure a wholesome experience for the children.  

In English, during the first half of the autumn term, we will be focusing on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In the second half-term, we will immerse ourselves in the world of Alex Rider, with a focus on Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz. Both texts will provide rich opportunities for the children to develop their writing as we work on a range of genres, such as diaries, letters, newspaper reports, narratives and poetry. Furthermore, they will begin to develop their understanding of how to consider the audience and purpose of their writing and how this affects their choice of language. Grammar will be taught both explicitly and in context in order to embed the many objectives for KS2. Spelling and handwriting will be taught regularly in addition to English lessons although the children will be expected to transfer these skills when writing.

In Maths we will be consolidating our understanding of place value for numbers up to ten million. We will be revising the four operations as well as learning long division and the order of operations for the first time. When studying fractions, we will be revisiting our existing knowledge as well as learning how to multiply and divide fractions. Towards the end of the term, we will look at geometry, position and direction. The children will have daily opportunities to develop their arithmetic skills as well as having regular times table tests to ensure these vital skills are fluent.

In Science, we will be learning about light and electricity. In our lessons, the children will develop skills in scientific enquiry as they plan and carry out investigations. They will have opportunities to discover how light travels and understand how eyes work. Linking to our work on Shakespeare, we will explore shadows through puppetry and create our own shadow puppets and theatres.

History is our main focus this term and we will be studying the Tudors. We will learn about how the Tudors came to power and how Henry VIII ruled. We will also learn about life in London during Shakespeare’s time and how the Tudor’s entertained themselves, which will culminate in a trip to the Globe theatre.


In Geography we will learn how to use compass symbols and a key to build up knowledge of the U.K. We will use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area. There will also be opportunities for the children to develop their orienteering skills.

Art and D & T. will focus on portraiture. We will begin by creating self-portraits, in the style of the artist Chuck Close, to reflect our personalities and then move on to studying the symbolism in Elizabethan portraiture. This will enable us to create our own Elizabethan portraits. In D&T, we will be making puppets and masks.

In Computing, we continue to learn how to keep safe online and focus on deepening our understanding of social media. Later in the term, we will focus on coding using Scratch and learn how to design and program our own games.

In R.E. we will be learning about Christianity through our study of the Tudors. We will explore the differing views of Protestants and Catholics during this time and consider the impact religion had on Shakespeare’s success as a playwright.


In P.S.H.E. we will be thinking about our targets for the year ahead, healthy eating and learning about drugs and the risks involved.

PE/Games

Year 6 will have outdoor Games sessions on Tuesday afternoons with myself and Friday afternoons with Coach Charlie. It is vital that your child has the appropriate clothing and footwear in school for these lessons, wearing no jewellery and long hair must be tied back.

French

Year 6 will have French lessons on Friday afternoons.

Music

Brass will continue to be on Tuesday mornings (9.00am – 10.00am) with our KS2 music teacher, Simon. Please ensure children practise at home and have their instrument in school on Tuesdays.

Home Learning

Every Thursday your child will be given homework. This allows your child to share with you some of his/her school learning. Please participate in their homework but allow the child to take the lead, assisting only if they are unsure or need something reading or explaining.

Home Learning will consist of a maths, grammar and spelling task. The tasks will be an opportunity for the children to consolidate on the learning they have completed during the week in class.

Please also ensure that your child tries their best to ensure that their homework is of a good standard. Homework is due back on the following Tuesday.

Reading is extremely important so please ensure your child is reading a book and reading to an adult at least three or four times a week. When reading with your child, please ask questions about the text to develop their comprehension skills.

Punctuality
Please remember that children should be in the classroom at 8.55 am each morning. If they are not in the room by this time they will be recorded as late.

Visits and workshops this term:
Young Shakespeare Company Macbeth workshop              Wednesday 25th September
The Globe theatre                                                                   Monday 7th October
Escape room trip                                                                    Date to be confirmed  

Hampstead Heath Orienteering                                              Date to be confirmed

Yours sincerely,


Melissa Law

Year 6 Class teacher