Year 6

Central Idea: Mistakes can lead to developments

This term started fast and has continued all the way throughout. The children have started this year in the best possible way: determined; focused and enthusiastic. They have worked extremely hard to build on the skills and knowledge that they learned in Year 5 and are applying it to their work so far.

Inquiry

Our inquiry learning this term has stemmed around the idea that mistakes can lead to developments. We started by looking at what makes us human and animal. With this we learned about Darwin, his journey around the world on the HMS Beagle and his theories around evolution. We researched the locations that he journeyed to and the things that he found there. In order to enhance this experience, we invited Andrew Smith (a wildlife photographer) to show and discuss animals and evolution through their characteristics. Within Science, we also looked at genes and inheritance. We discovered which genes were dominant and which were recessive, investigating within our classes how many of each of us has these traits.

We moved onto Victorian Crime and Punishment and pondered the thoughts of the effects of punishment during that era. We discovered the differences and similarities in the ways that we now deal with crime compared to how it was dealt with in the Victorian times. This led us onto the children becoming a Victorian criminal being sent to Australia for committing a crime. The children really enjoyed devising the backstories for these people and writing about their journey through the justice system.