Welcome to Year 6
Mrs Addison
What are we learning this half term?
Science - Electricity
Maths - Decimals and Measures, Percentages and Statistics and Proportion problems
RE - Sikhism
Design and Technology - Structures, Digital word, Electrical structures and Cooking and Nutrition
Reading - War Horse
English — Reading Comprehension, Grammar, Writing, Spelling and Handwriting.
PE- Please come to school in your PE kit every Tuesday. Please remember to tie your hair back and wear no jewellery. Your PE kit is a plain white t-shirt and plain black shorts.
ICT
We have loved our ICT block!
We have explored using secret codes and ciphers, researching the machine used at Bletchley Park during the war.
We researched into the history of computers and how technology has advanced over the years. We even used Tinker cad to design our own computers.
We also enjoyed using our knowledge of shapes and angles to create patterns and logos using python
Art
We have been really enjoying our current art block!
In unit one we explored photography, we took pictures and edited them in the style of Macro Photography. We made decisions about cropping, editing and presenting photographic images in different styles. We also recreated famous piece of artwork.
Throughout Unit 2 we explored different drawing techniques. We applied chiaroscuro to create light and form through a tonal drawing.
Music
Our Music block was made up of three topics: Dynamics, pitch and tempo, Theme and Variation, and Baroque Music.
During Dynamics, pitch and tempo we learnt the meaning of the keys words, how to layer music and how to respond to a conductor.
Throughout Theme and Variation we explored music patterns and linked this to pop art. We really enjoyed creating pop art themes.
In our final topic Baroque Music we explored classical music from 1600-1750, we researched famous composers before learning how to play some classical pieces on the glockenspiel. To finish the topic we looked at composing and playing our own peice of music .
Vincent Van Gogh
Before half term, we began exploring works of art by Van Gogh.
We looked in particular at Starry Night, we noticed the different colours and textures within the picture. We looked at how the stars may symbolise hope.
We researched city skylines and choose one to use to create our own version of Starry Night. We painted the skyline black so it looked like a silhouette before adding blues, whites and yellows in using different brush strokes to create the starry night back ground.
Remembrance day
With Remembrance day fast approaching, we have created our own Remembrance day artwork.
We took a photograph of our hand using iPads, when the edited them using filters to turn them black and white.
We then used red tissue paper and card to create a 3D, layered poppy to add to the the picture.
Light & Perception in Science
Our first unit in science this year is Light and Perception. The children have blown me away with their knowledge, they can tell you so much about the parts of a human eye and how light travels. Towards the end of this unit we observed the phenomenon of light refracting in water. The children observed the difference in size of a pencil out of water and when placed into a transparent glass, full of water.
Recently, children have also explored shadows! The children worked very safely and sensibly when working scientifically - we even wrote up our first science investigation! In this investigation, the children were exploring whether the strength (and distance) of a torch can affect the definition of a shadow.
Art - Paula Rego
We have been busy in art this half term, the children have researched David Hockney and adopted his pop art style to create their art work in memory of HM Queen Elizabeth II.
More recently, the children have begun exploring a new artist...Paula Rego. The children loved using their brand new art book/sketchbooks for the very first time.
After completing some research and engaging in class discussions on the emotions that 'The Dance' evoke - we created a factual mood board all on Paula Rego and her famous piece named, The Dance.
Children displayed key infomation on Paula, identified key colours from the famous artwork and began to practise their sketches of humans. The children displayed beautiful resilience in our art lesson!
Harvest Festival
The children have started their Harvest Festival themed work in Y5/6!
All the children have been very busy designing and creating their clay
pumpkin ornaments. We used fabulous observation skills to recreate
images on the interactive whiteboard. Now, the children are patiently
waiting for their clay model to dry so that they can begin carefully
painting them.
In the upcoming days and weeks, the children will also be producing
their very own Harvest themed prayer and non-chronological report.
We all look forward to showcasing our work in our Harvest Festival
assembly.
Gymnastics
This half term in PE, our class have been engaging in our Football and Gymnastic based lessons. In Gymnastics, the children have discovered how to elegantly and delicately mount and dismount a bench and gym box/horse. The children have also applied a variety of different jump and rolls to their carefully choreographed routines.
The children's objective was as follows:
- Organise equipment in small groups to create flight within their sequence
- Express cannon in sequences
- Work collaboratively together and to assign a leader within their group
Here are some images of the children working well and rehearsing their routines.
Queen Elizabeth II
In Y5/6 we have exploring the remarkable life of our longest ever reigning monarch - Queen Elizabeth II. The children have completed some beautiful pieces of work which include: a informative and factual Reading Comprehension, a Poem of Thanks to Elizabeth and some abstract art work.
Here are some wonderful images of the children applying their recently acquired knowledge of the famous Yorkshire artist, David Hockney, to their commemorative art work for Her Majesty.
David Hockney was an influential artist during the pop art movement who loved applying bright and unusual colour to his artwork. Can you spot your child in our art based lesson?
Welcome back!
I hope you all had a wonderful summer, which was full of happiness, smiles and memorable moments! The time has come for us to embark on our Y5/6 learning journey together. This year will be full of hard-work, dedication and resilience. But, it will also include...outstanding school trips, enthralling learning and immersive learning environments.
Mrs Dannatt and I would like to show you our Y5/6 classroom! Here is a short video that includes some pictures of our learning areas. Can you spot George the Giraffe?
My Movie.movThe Circulation System
We are continuing our journey through our biology based science unit this half term, this week we have been exploring the human circulatory system.
After a successful lesson of researching key vocabulary and retrieving key information from our Ark Books, the children enjoyed applying their new knowledge when creating their own scientific diagram of the human circulatory system. The children worked will to identify arteries and veins!
Our classroom was buzzing with scientific discussion too! It was wonderful to hear the children using and applying new high level scientific vocabulary in context with confidence.
Our new vocabulary included:
- Arteries & Veins
- Oxygenated & Deoxygenated
- Systole & Diastole
- Aorta & Pulmonary
A HUGE WELL DONE TO ALL THE Y6 CHILDREN FOR THEIR PHONOMENAL SATs RESULTS.
We are so proud of you! You have all worked so incredibly hard this year, well done. Miss O'Brien & Mrs Grace.
Egyptian Music
We have began our new Ark History unit this half term. We have completed our first two enthralling history lessons on Ancient Egyptian, learning all about the location of the civilisation and the pharaoh rulers! The children also loved their cross curricular music lesson, where we recapped our musical notation knowledge and applied it to our 'Egypt' based song.
Based on the theme of Ancient Egypt, children learn to identify the pitch and rhythm of written notes and experiment with notating their composition.
The children learnt to play a variety of instruments to a basic beat and sing in varied pitch. Additionally, the children managed to squeeze in a quick rendition of one of their favourite songs - Believer by Imagine Dragons.
Check out the video of our music lesson, please bare with us as we are a little shy during our first attempt of recreating our 'Gift of the Nile' song.
My Movie 11.mov
Heatwave Fun!!
The weather has been marvellous recently and Y6 have been making the most of this and...our outdoor reading area!
The children enjoyed some ice lollies too! The boys enjoyed sunbathing, with sun cream and sunhats of course. The girls enjoyed the shade underneath the trees!
Can you spot your child enjoying a relaxing ice lolly in the sun?
Y6 are certainly making memories during their last few weeks at Shafton Primary Academy!
Circulation and Lifestyle
This half term, the children have started their new science unit of learning...Circulation and Lifestyle! Y6 are thoroughly enjoying this area of science and have blown me away with how quickly and well they have soaked up knowledge on blood in the human body.
By completing our Ark curriculum activities and some quick few questions at the end of the school day, the children can now confidently discuss the four main elements of blood and discuss the responsivity of each component.
To further consolidate our knowledge on the four key components of blood, we created our very own 'bottle of blood'. The children combined:
- Plasma (water and yellow food dye),
- Red Blood Cells (Cheerio cereal covered in red food dye),
- White Blood Cells (white marshmallows) and
- Platelets (Rice Crispies covered in red food dye).
Our children can confidently discuss the means in which blood travels around the human body, using key vocabulary such as: capillaries, veins and arteries.
The Class of 2022
How did Y6 relax and unwind after their SATs? The children, alongside Miss O'Brien, created their very own plaques in honour of 'The Class of 2022'.
All the children loved this activity and carefully worked with clay and designed their plaque. After several days of drying the plaques in the sun, we managed to paint them in bright and vibrant colours. These are wonderful and personal keepsakes for the children!
Here are a few of the plaques that were created!
Y6 Kingswood Residential
At the end of our first summer half term, our year six children went on their Kingswood adventure residential trip. The children absolutely loved every minute of the trip, whether it was: playing sports on the field in their 'down time', completing Jacobs' Ladder or Archery, playing board games in their room with one another or busting some moves in the disco!!
It is safe to safe that the children have made memories to last a life time whilst at Kingswood and the staff have adored to see them smiling and giggling, but most importantly...pushing the limits and discovering what's possible.
Here are a few (of many) pictures from our time at Kingswood.
