Welcome to Year 6

Vikings: Were the Vikings always victorious and vicious?

We start Year 6 with teaching the children about the raids and invasions by Vikings in Anglo-Saxon Britain. The children will learn who the Vikings were, as well as when and where they raided and settled. They will learn about significant events from the period and order these chronologically on a timeline. The children will also have the opportunity to learn about different aspects of everyday Viking life. To help bring this unit to life, the children will be visited by a ‘real Viking’; they will wrestle with spears, examine artefacts and participate in a Viking battle.

Explorers: What makes a successful expedition?

Following on from the Vikings, the children will learn about other famous explorers and their importance to the history and geography of our world. The children will compare different expeditions form different periods in time and think about the challenges they faced. We put a special focus on Ernest Shackleton, including looking at his Antarctic expedition and the fantastic non-fiction book ‘Shackleton’s Journey’.

Chocolate: Feed your imagination!

In the spring term, we will be studying the history and geography of chocolate, making links to Mayan civilisation. We will focus on where chocolate comes from and how it is produced, as well as the children designing and advertising their own products. We will also be looking into the daily life of the Mayan citizens as well as their belief system. In art, we will be creating animal masks.

Space: Will we ever send a person to the moon?

During the summer term, the children will be learning all about space. Children will build and design their own rockets, sparking their curiosity about the different types of forces and motion. They will also learn all about our Solar System and the planets, as well about the seasons, day and night and space journeys! Children will ask and answer scientific questions such as: Why has Earth thrived whilst others have faded away? And, what is time?

I’m a Year 6, get me out of here!

Our final topic in Year 6 is called ‘I’m a Year 6- Get Me Out of Here’ which starts as a focus on map skills- looking at the local area and the journeys that we make and how we get there. We will look at map symbols and grid references and then using atlases and iPads to look at maps of the UK, Europe and the World. We will also be using maps for orienteering and completing a number of outdoor challenges, including den building and ‘bushtucker trials’! During this time, the children will also be rehearsing for their end of year 6 performance, which we will release details of nearer the time!

If you have any queries with regard to the curriculum for this year group, please contact the class teachers or Mark Morris (Assistant Headteacher).

If you would like further paper copies of the curriculum/newsletters, please contact your child's teacher.

Should you have any queries with regard to any of the Year 6 team, please contact Mark Morris (Assistant Headteacher) or Glen Golding (Headteacher).