Year 6

Lastly, with Miss Ratchford, the children crafted heartfelt letters to their beloved ones, capturing the perspective of an evacuated child, as part of an enchanting exploration into the emotional experiences and challenges children had faced during evacuation.The children then analysed what the central idea meant and created their own provocation questions, eagerly anticipating the discovery of their answers as their learning unfolded this term!

Commencing this fantastic term, the children delved into the fascinating exploration of ‘The Origins of War’ with an infectious curiosity. As inquirers, they passionately unravelled into how both World War One and Two started and how the Treaty of Versaille contributed in shaping history!  Incorporating both History and English, the children engaged in a debate where each child enthusiastically articulated their character’s desires for the meeting and the reasoning behind it. Fuelled by this deep dive into History, the children transitioned to the next phase of their learning, presenting their fabulous ideas in a way that they wanted using either a double page spread, a fusion of compelling text and images, or any other creative avenue they chose to explore. 

Our second line of inquiry this term was to investigate ‘How wars can shape lives’. The children started this line of inquiry by becoming local geographers and historians and investigated how specific parts of Dartford were impacted by World War Two. The children soon found out that Dartford had been impacted in many ways: the school used to have its own air-raid shelter, Carrington Road was bombed causing mass destruction and a spitfire crash landed in Hesketh Park, sadly resulting in the death of a pilot. 

After concluding our deep dive into the history and geography of Dartford, the children then had the fantastic opportunity to take part in a World War Two Workshop! This included some brilliant activities and allowed the children to experience what life really would have been like during that tragic time. The children also learnt about the different types of air-raid shelters: Morrison, Anderson and public. This built on their prior knowledge and helped them to understand how frightening an actual air raid would have been! Throughout the workshop, the children were given numerous opportunities to use drama to showcase the lives of evacuees. This showcased an evacuees journey, from the moment they found out they were being evacuated to their time in the countryside.  We were even able to read a postcard sent by an evacuee to their family during the war - it was extremely heart-wrenching!

To finish off this line of inquiry, the children wrote their own narrative in the style of ‘When the Sky Falls’ or ‘Letters From a Lighthouse’. They were able to really demonstrate all their knowledge of World War Two using a range of grammar skills and vocabulary to really show what life was like during the war. These narratives were fantastic and created some amazing imagery, allowing the reader to immerse themselves in the war setting. 

In our final line of inquiry, the children took proactive steps! They crafted their own speeches addressing the question: "How can we prevent future conflict?", drawing inspiration from the remarkable Martin Luther King, they employed speech techniques to convey their thoughts. The children brought together their many ideas and the links they’ve built throughout their inquiry journey this term and they outlined the reasons behind advocating for peace and its potential impact on our lives today and in the future. Some of the children were incredible risk-takers by delivering their speeches in front of their peers during a special remembrance ceremony held at Hesketh Park. Additionally, they collaborated on a collage project to complement the speeches presented at the park.