Wolves

Letters/handouts

Transition letter (given in July 2018)

There is a change in information in this letter (Maths and Reading homework will be given out on a Friday and will be due in on a Wednesday. Spelling will run from a Monday to a Friday)

Recommended Reading List

Welcome back to Year 6! It is our pleasure to teach your children for their last year of their primary schooling and we are looking forward to working with them and yourselves to make it a memorable and productive year.  Mrs Phillips, myself and Mrs Tait will be teaching the class this year and if you have any concerns or queries please do let us know. A good time to catch us is preferably on the playground at the end of the day - rather than in the morning as we are with the class - and we will be happy to assist in any way we can. Alternatively, we will arrange a time where will can discuss more fully. We value the partnership with have with you in developing your child's learning. On this note, we are very keen to see your child's Summer Holiday Art Project on Tuesday and we have set up an 'Art Gallery Wall' ready to showcase them! Throughout the year, we will use this class page to update you and the children with any homework information, letters, handouts and curriculum information.

Organisation

Mondays - Mrs Halfhide/Mrs Tait

Tuesdays - Mrs Halfhide/Mrs Tait

Wednesdays - Mrs Phillips/Mrs Tait

Thursdays - Mrs Halfhide/Mrs Tait

Fridays - Mrs Phillips/Mrs Tait

School Day

The doors will be open at 8:30 to allow children to come into school earlier should they wish and the children will leave at 3:15.

We would encourage the children to enter the classroom at 8:30 so they can make the best use of their Target Time.  Target Time activities in the first term will focus on handwriting of their spellings in isolation and in higher order sentences.  On the other days they will be revising and developing their application of SPaG in sentence level work.  Therefore, it is in their academic interest to enter the school promptly at 8:30 and this will contribute to their success in writing and SPaG. 

Fridays

On Friday the children will engage with an 'Off/Wider Curriculum Day'.  This will mean - aside from a spelling test - they will not have maths and literacy lessons.  They only exception to this is if there is a school trip in a given week.  This does not mean they will be learning less Literacy or Maths! Smaller sessions will take place at the beginning of some afternoons (Spelling, reading comprehension etc).  We will be placing great emphasis on RE, MFL/French, Computing and PE on a Friday.  On the occasional Friday, your child will have a forest school session or singing practice with Mr Eaton. MFL will be taught weekly throughout the year to ensure that your child is prepared for the demands of the MFL curriculum in Secondary School.

Key Dates

Equipment

Learning

This term the children's topic will be 'Boundless Biodiversity'.  This topic is a science and geography focused topic. All learning is detailed in the term's curriculum leaflets attached below - hopefully you will find it useful and informative.  Please click images to open the PDFs.  Throughout the year, further leaflets will be added so you can follow and join in with their learning at home. Although the learning has been planned, as detailed in these documents, it is not set in stone and is dependent upon many factors and can be impacted by time constraints.

Autumn 1 Planning	Autumn 2 Planning
Spellings for Weeks 1-7	Spelling for weeks 8 - 14

Homework

English

Detailed within the curriculum leaflet is the spelling focus per week which will relate to their weekly lists to learn. Spellings will be given out on a Monday and tested on a Friday. A link to your child's spellings are in the learning section underneath the curriculum leaflets. Children are able to move between groups if they find them too hard or too easy. If your child's score is significantly low and indicates a lack of learning, they will be set a retest for the following Monday. Every child will also be assigned a 'Reading Eggs' comprehension each Friday using our online programme.  

With regard to reading, children should still read with adults to ensure that their comprehension is progressing and can hold high quality discussions about their understanding; however, they should also read on their own for pleasure - most days.  It is important for children to read a range of fiction and non-fiction.  It can be tricky as children approach Year 6 to get them to sit down and read with an adult! Therefore, I would recommend selecting one book that they only read with you (to prevent you dipping in and out of a story) and then your child having their own books they read independently.  You could then select a more higher order text that perhaps they would struggle with independently but can access when they can discuss language with an adult.  Additionally, subscriptions to science magazines, National Geographic and First News are great for reading short texts with your child and discussing.  

In class we will be operating a house competition for reading.  Every time your child completes a book, they can complete a smaller than A6 book review to add to the class collection of reviews.  This will require your signature before they hand it in. They will be given a glass bead (colour matching their house) to add to their jar.  If their book is from the recommended reading list, or a class adults deems it to be worthy of being a recommended text - down to our discretion - they will be given a diamond to add to their jar.  Beads are worth 10 hpts and diamonds are worth 15 hpts.  As you are aware, I gave our recommended book lists out at the end of July.  If you have purchased any of these texts and your child has read them, we would be grateful for any kind donations to our class library. In this way, the children can share books they have read and they can read a range of texts from other children.  

Maths

Inside the leaflet is also some ideas for supporting their mathematics at home which will serve to boost their progress in the planned learning for the term.   It is expected that children know all of their times tables by the end of Year 4.  If your child does not know their times tables, they need to prioritise practising them during the Autumn term so they can become a times table tester by Christmas.  This will be based upon them knowing their multiplication and division facts.  They will be tested by asking 10x, 9x, 5x, 6x and then other facts.  After they will be tested on their division facts in a similar order.  This is to encourage their understanding of related facts. Not all children can learn facts in a random order, struggle with retention and can panic if questions are fired in this fashion. It does not matter, if they do not simply KNOW the answer, they just need strategies to derive it efficiently.  Our brains all work differently. Once your child knows all their times tables, they will become a Times Table Tester, earn 50 house points and be awarded a certificate to recognise their knowledge of multiplication in assembly.  As a school we cannot emphasise enough the importance of times tables in making expected progress in the mathematics curriculum.  

Wider Currciulum 

Each half term a piece of homework will be set at the beginning which will be expected to be handed in on the last day of Term.  The details of this project will be in the curriculum leaflet. As the eldest children in the school, the highest of standards are expected and work where poor effort and standards of presentation have been applied will be expected to be redone.  We aim to make the activities creative but challenging; furthermore, we intend to allow an element of choice so they can be individual and unique in the way the present their learning and understanding.  The children are approaching secondary school and will be given homework to complete which is more self-directed.  These termly projects aim to prepare them for Secondary Educations and the increasing demands that will be placed on them in KS3.

Mrs Phillips and I will be flexible if children would like to use the classroom at lunchtimes to work on their projects should they wish. This will not necessarily be permitted every day and will depend on wet-play and meetings that Mrs Phillips and I may have. The children will be treated as young adults in this regard and be trusted to use the classroom sensibly if they would like to engage in a homework activity to free up time at home.

Timing

Spellings - Out on Monday - Tested on Friday

Maths - Out on Friday - In on Wednesday

English - Out on Friday - In on Wednesday

Reading - Children are expected to read most days for pleasure and I would recommend they read to an adult 3-4 times a week and discuss their understanding.