English

The main focus of this terms' work in English in Year 6 is revision and consolidation of skills in preparation for Entrance Tests. Children will be revisiting a number of different writing genres including recount, autobiography and poetry. Particular emphasis is given to the narrative genre particularly, fantasy and adventure. Children will practice reading comprehension skills and verbal reasoning exercises. The teaching of spelling and grammar rules is on going throughout the term and prior knowledge is revised and consolidated. We will be completing past papers to gain confidence in examination rubric. Year 6 are encouraged to read widely during the course of the year and produce book reviews.

Mathematics

The first few weeks will be spent completing topics required for entrance exams, such as place value, proportion and the application of the unitary method to a range of questions, fraction arithmetic, probability, and volume calculations. We will revise all the topics required for entrance exams. Pupils will attempt past exam papers, and mistakes on these will be used as a focus for further practice. There will be opportunity for extension work.

Science

In the first few weeks of the term children apply their knowledge of a variety of forces including magnetic attraction, gravitational attraction and friction to contexts in which objects are stationary because forces on them are balanced. Children learn about the changes in motion which occur when forces are not balanced. They learn that forces have direction and can be measured. We then move on to looking at what happens when a variety of solids dissolve. Finally we consolidate previous work on reversible changes e.g. melting, freezing etc. and introduce burning as a change that cannot be reversed and which produces new materials. Experimental and investigative work focuses on making and repeating experiments, considering patterns in results, representing data in line graphs and interpreting what these show, using results to draw conclusions, making careful observations and suggesting explanations for observations and using scientific knowledge and understanding.

History

Britain since the 1930s is the study area for this (and next) term's work. Links are made with the Year 5 study area ‘The Victorians' by extending the time line into the twentieth century. The children will find out about the ‘Devil's Decade' and the reasons for the onset of WW11. Events such as The Blitz and D-day are studied as well as the effect of the war on Hampshire. Tony Cross, the curator of the Curtis Museum, will walk the children through Alton to find evidence of this for themselves. At the Allen Gallery, they will look at artefacts from this time in history.

Geography

In geography, we will be looking at aspects of world and national geography. Children will name the main physical and human features of the world and understand what is meant by the lines of latitude and longitude. By studying different mountain environments, they will begin to understand how varying weather conditions impact on life and why population density varies in different parts of the world. Ordnance Survey map work skills will be incorporated into a study of a rural locality in order to describe and understand the main features of National Parks.

Religious and Moral Education

RME links our core studies of religious education with moral aspects of everyday life. In ‘Homes and Families' we consider how the children experience love and care both in and outside of school. God, who never stops loving and caring, is at the heart of every family .We think about why we are all special and give thanks for our talents and opportunities. ‘Signs and Symbols, the second topic in the ‘Here I Am' programme, help us to reflect on the ways that signs and symbols are special in our lives. We will consider human needs as well as spiritual needs and look at the way living healthily can fulfil our lives. ‘Visitors' is our third topic and leads us through Advent to Christmas itself. We must appreciate our world, look after it and care for those who live in it. By studying Judaism, we can learn more about another world religion and draw comparison with our own.

French

In the autumn term, the children will consolidate and extend their learning from last year on the themes of personal details and those of family members, numbers and general classroom equipment. They will also learn numbers to 100, the names and types of shops in France and vocabulary related to Christmas.

German

This term, Year 6 will be starting their German course. They will have the opportunity to learn about German language and customs with a native speaker. Work will focus on teaching simple and short phrases of German in a fun way. The children will be able to say their name, age and birthday in German. They will also learn a song about the months of the year. But first of all, each pupil will make his or her own "Zuckertüte". This is a popular German custom at the beginning of the school year where children receive a cone filled with goodies.

ICT

After a brief introduction to our new facilities, we will experiment with creating web pages through editing HTML before exploring the use of blogging software to facilitate the construction of a password protected personal home page. If time permits we will experiment with vector graphics work, drawing inspiration from the work of Bridget Riley.

Music

The term will begin with revision of musical skills in singing, recorder and percussion playing. Greater emphasis is to be given to group composition this year with the children learning to read and play parts which are more independently challenging as well as learning to conduct their own compositions. There will be many new songs learnt for our Harvest Festival and Christmas productions. Choir, chanteurs and orchestra will also be busy preparing their music for our end of term Christmas performances.

Art and Design

Pupils will begin the autumn term by focusing on the theme of Harvest Festival. They will do so by completing a series of art activities, using a range of media, based on the areas of Still Life and Landscapes. Pupils will be encouraged to engage with the work of a variety of relevant artists including Cezanne, Constable, Garzoni, Picasso and Braque and gain an understanding of the links between realism and more abstract styles of art including Cubism. Following on from Harvest Festival pupils will continue to explore the ideas and possibilities of abstract art further, engaging with the work of Kandinsky, Klee, Mondrian and other abstract artists. As the term approaches Christmas, pupils will be encouraged to utilise the skills, understanding and ideas gained from earlier in the term to produce an imaginative and festive outcome.

Drama

Much of the drama work this term for Year 6 is linked to their history topic ‘Britain since 1930' The aim of the drama lessons is to develop role-play skills and give the children roles of responsibility within the drama thus enhancing their understanding of empathy and what life was like for children during this period of time. Children will also have the opportunity to develop their skills in devising and performing a play for younger children. During the second half of term drama lessons will include preparation for the Christmas Production.

Physical Education

The girls' games will be netball and hockey. We aim to further develop their skills in sending and receiving the ball, additional tactics to outwit the opposition, an understanding of positional play and team work. The girls will gain an understanding of the importance of being a team player, and the positive influence they have on others. They will work on building the link between developed skills and match performance.

Boys' games will focus on football skills, with a development from basic kicking and passing to game tactics, an understanding of differences between defensive and offensive play and improvement in stamina and fitness for game situations, as well as encouraging the boys to become better at evaluating their effectiveness. Work on rugby skills will look at the development of contact through tackling techniques, forward and backward play, mauling, rucking and line-our skills, and offloading in tackles.

Health and fitness work will build on prior knowledge to develop an understanding of the physical changes that occur when the body is working hard, and the psychology of pushing the body. We will measure heart rate and stamina levels. Our cross country work continues to improve stamina and fitness over longer distances, as well as introducing pacing and breathing techniques.

It is emphasised that the above is offered as a guide only, and the school retains the flexibility to adapt its schemes of work to the needs of the individual or the class.