Year 6

Literacy

This term, the children have been exploring the structure of explanation and instruction texts. By analysing recipes and non-fiction books, they identified key stylistic features such as formal tone, tense, and structural devices like subheadings, bullet points, and annotated diagrams.

Our creative spark came from Michael Morpurgo’s Kensuke’s Kingdom. Inspired by Michael’s survival on a remote island, the children authored their own gripping adventure stories. They did a fantastic job of building suspense around characters who find themselves stranded on "deserted" islands that may not be quite as empty as they first seem.

Maths

We began the year by consolidating place value and the four operations, with the children mastering compact and efficient methods for numbers up to one million. We have placed a strong emphasis on mathematical reasoning, encouraging the children to apply their skills to real-life contexts and use inverse operations to solve complex problems.

The children also tackled the complexities of fractions, including finding equivalents and ordering fractions with different denominators. They worked hard on the addition, subtraction, multiplication of fractions, which furthered their understanding of improper fractions and mixed numbers. Additionally, our 'Number Sense' initiative remains a popular part of our daily routine, helping the children build confidence and speed with their 12x12 times tables.

Geography, Science & History

• Geography: We delved into the Earth's structure, exploring tectonic plates and the causes of earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain formation. The children enjoyed debating why communities choose to live in high-risk volcanic areas, considering factors like tourism, fertile soils, and geothermal energy.
• Science: Our focus was on Charles Darwin and the fascinating world of adaptation. The children investigated inherited and non-inherited characteristics, with a particular interest in how finches adapted their beak shapes to suit different environments.
• History: We travelled back to Ancient Greece, placing the era on a global timeline. The children compared the rival city-states of Athens and Sparta and explored the origins of theatre, the Olympic Games, and the birth of democracy.

Creative & Physical Education

• PE: With support from the Guernsey Sports Commission, the children have been honing their hockey skills, focusing on stick control and teamwork. Indoors, they explored expression through dance and improved their agility via energetic fitness circuits.
• Art: The children studied the Impressionist movement, specifically the works of Monet and Van Gogh. They practised colour-mixing to recreate sections of Monet’s Water Lilies and used their fine-line drawing skills to produce versions of Van Gogh’s bedroom.
• Design and Technology: In D&T, the children entered the world of Computer-Aided Design (CAD). Working to a specific brief, they coded handheld navigation devices using Micro:bits and designed custom-built casing to house their electronics.