Year 6 Topic English Mathematics Science This term we will be looking at South America and our overarching enquiry question will be: Which is the best country in South America? Initially we will be looking at the geographical location of South America and its relation to the UK. Following this we will be exploring the physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes of the continent Finally we will investigate the human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food and minerals Looking at these areas should allow us to start to decide which of these contribute to making a country great and we will work in groups to research specific countries and try and persuade others of their merits. English In Literacy we will be: Writing Quest Stories. We will be looking to use our all our writing skills to appeal to develop a longer narrative piece. To be successful, we will be looking at the use of: dialogue to advance action and evolve character; punctuation and language choices to impact the reader; and our ability to sustain excellent writing over a longer text. Following this, we will be writing biographies and developing our ability to: link paragraphs and ideas clearly; use research information in our writing; and present information in an interesting way. Our final unit of work this half term will be focussed on writing discussion texts. We will look at how to construct balanced arguments; deliver the appropriate level of formality; use technical language and inform the audience of a variety of viewpoints. Mathematics In maths we will be covering the following areas: Using, reading , writing, calculating with and converting between standard units.. Converting imperial units Revise area and perimeter - Notice that same areas can have different perimeters & vice versa. The use of formulae to find areas of triangles, parallelograms. Ratio and Proportion including unequal sharing . Percentage problems Formulas & missing numbers Additionally, we will continue to develop maths fluency, reasoning and problem solving skills through rich tasks and investigations. We will also start regular SATs revision based on areas of low confidence. Year 6 Science In science this half term we are looking at Electricity. Some of the specific areas of study will be: The ability to associate the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer with the number and voltage of cells used in the circuit . The ability to compare and give reasons for variations in how components function, including the brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches. The use of recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram. We will be also looking to develop our ability to write reports and explanation texts. P.E We will be continuing to develop deeper understanding of sport , and the roles involved in sports teams, by studying Basketball through a Sport Education Model. We will be moving from preseason to league play. In addition to this, we will continue to develop our gymnastic skills and move on to cricket as the term continues.

Thorn Grove Primary School Dear Parents and carers, Preparations for our end of key stage assessments are in full swing and we are working hard to support and boost children o help them feel confident with the upcoming tests. Please check the revision timetables on the website for the coverage areas based on the guides. Encouraging the children to focus on completing the tasks at home will help them build confidence and competence; working with the children is a great way to support their development and assist them in consolidating some of the skills and knowledge they may be finding tougher to retain. The Reading Journal scheme has been a great success and it is wonderful to see so many children reading regularly. If you have some time look over their journals to see how they are progressing. It has been great to see some of the children attending the early morning maths clubs and these will continue on Monday and Thursday mornings throughout the half term. Important dates for the diary: wc 27.2.2017 Spring 2 Booster sessions begin Thursday 9.3.17 World Book Day Thursday 16.3.17 Robinwood Meeting Friday 24.3.17 Red Nose Day Please do not hesitate to call or come and see me if you have any questions. Mr Wilson Year 6 Newsletter Thorn Grove Primary School