Our unit this term is Fashion; the Global Impact.

As the final term in Year 6 comes to an end, will be continuing to follow the Literary curriculum. This curriculum consists of whole-class reading, Literacy Leaves and Spelling Seeds. 

In Literacy sessions, we will continue reading Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is about an orphan, clock-fixer, and thief, twelve-year-old Hugo, who lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and her grandfather, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery. Pupils will be writing diary entries, journalistic reports, flashbacks, narratives, speeches, and film critiques. Their main outcome will be to write a biography of the life of Papa Georges.  After this, we will move on to studying Suffragettes. This narrative non-fiction book by David Roberts offers fascinating insights into the complex history of the Suffragette movement, looking beyond the stereotypes to include working-class women and diverse stories from around the world.  With strong historical links, children will develop analytical skills and explore ideas around comradeship, courage and protest. Their final written piece will be a Persuasive Campaign, an excellent opportunity for them to showcase their Voice 21 and oracy skills. 

Children will continue with Whole Class Reading sessions, designed to work alongside the texts within the Literacy curriculum by providing opportunities to practice spelling, reading, comprehension and engage in group discussions.

Our Guided Reading book will be When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr. The story is about a Jewish family escaping Germany in the days before the Second World War. Suppose your country began to change. Suppose that without your noticing, it became dangerous for some people to live in it any longer, and you found, to your surprise, that your own father was one of those people. This is what happened to Anna in 1933. Anna is too busy with her schoolwork and tobogganing to listen to the talk of Hitler. But one day she and her brother Max are rushed out of Germany in alarming secrecy, away from everything they know. Their father is wanted by the Nazis. This is the start of a huge adventure, sometimes frightening, very often funny and always exciting.

For Welsh this term, we will continue to deliver Welsh lessons every Wednesday.  During this time, children will be working towards writing and creating a Welsh digital book using an online platform. We will also be doing daily Helpwr Heddiw sessions. We plan to focus on providing the children with many opportunities to deepen their knowledge and confidence when using Welsh in and out of the classroom. We will be revisiting simple sentence patterns and extending our knowledge of the use of present, past and future tenses. The children will have access to Welsh reading books on Google Classroom that they can access at home or in school.  

Reading for pleasure is very important, and we expect pupils to be bringing their reading records to school everyday. All children have access to the school library if they wish to read something age-appropriate or different. Children should be reading with parents throughout the week and reading records should be signed. We encourage Year 6 pupils to sign their own if they are reading independently. 

We will finish off Year 6 maths and numeracy by developing our data analysis skills.  Children will use their four-purpose knowledge to calculate the mean and range of varying data sets, identifying key trends and patterns. After data analysis, we will move on to using our data knowledge and creating graphs and analysing graphs. Children will have the opportunity to collect their own data and identify and summarise their findings.  After this, we will return to all previous mathematical knowledge, applying the skills to a range of projects, allowing them to retrieve knowledge, correct any misconceptions and prepare them for their move into Year 7 maths and numeracy. 

During the summer term, we will focus on independence and perseverance in maths and numeracy, encouraging children to use their previous knowledge and transfer skills across a series of topics.  We will regularly answer reasoning-style questions, developing their logical thinking and fluency; incorporating their Voice 21 oracy skills. 

All pupils are encouraged to practice their times tables at home to support their learning.  Times tables are central to mathematics and the ability to recall tables will assist pupils with more challenging mathematical problems.

During the autumn term, our focus is Fashion: The Global Impact. This unit of work focuses on how the fashion industry has evolved, starting with an understanding of fashion and apparel.  Children will study the different fashions throughout various periods and how the birth of the sewing machine, the Industrial Revolution, flight and fast fashion have impacted a multi-billion pound industry. The unit will allow children to recall prior learning of Human Rights Acts and how non-sustainable fashion can violate rights. Throughout the unit, the children will explore how the industry reflects societal norms in its birth of sustainable fashion and embraces the ability to become more diverse. As the term progresses, children will be re-purposing second-hand clothing and creating bundles for those in need within the community. 

Oldcastle Primary School are fortunate to have adopted ‘Thrive’ a therapeutic approach to help support children with their emotional and social development. Children will take part in group activities in class. 

During lesson time, we will continue building our collaboration skills, and working with other members of Year 6, and we will encourage them to work outside of their classroom setting. At the end of each day, we have a check-in session; this allows pupils to speak freely about their day, ask questions, develop empathy skills towards one another and identify ways to move forward. 

Children will start to think about the transition to Year 7 through opportunities to meet and work with staff and pupils from Brynteg. For those who will not be attending Brynteg, we will work with them and their forthcoming schools to prepare them for their transition.

All pupils will be able to use these skills during our Outdoor Learning activities with Mr Murdoch. 

School values this term will be showing gratitude, care and generosity, honesty and trust, and taking and managing risks. We discuss these every morning during our Morning Thoughts sessions, whereby pupils are encouraged to share their experiences, knowledge and opinions. We will also discuss Children's Rights and Human Rights following the UNCRC format.

Children must remember to bring in a water bottle each day and weather-appropriate clothing; we aim to go outside each day; therefore coats are essential if forecasted wet weather. 

Health and Well-being sessions will continue to take place on  Monday's this year, focusing on theory (biomechanics and kinesiology) and physical PE (athletics and fitness). The pupils will be expected to wear their PE kit every Monday.

On Friday afternoons, during enrichment, Year 6 will be taking part in Annie rehearsals for the end-of-year production. All pupils will be involved and have specific responsibilities; costume designer, actor, music, lighting designer, set designer, hair, makeup and many more. 

Don't forget to download our School App via the Play or App stores - The School App will provide you with up to date information about activities and events at Oldcastle Primary School.  Please look out for our weekly newsletter issued via The School App and available on our website on a Friday afternoon.  The newsletter contains all forthcoming diary dates for the school.