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Miss Ilyas
Teacher
Our role this half term is ‘I am a Cartographer’
Our Wonder questions are:
Who created the first ever map?
Why do maps have symbols?
Who collects all the information for a map?
Topic Launch
To launch our topic we discussed what we already know about maps and what we can see on them. We then used our dictionaries to find the definition of cartographer.
Miss Ilyas then showed the children maps of Burnley and asked them to find where they live and if they could find Worsthorne school. Some maps were very detailed and it was easy to find Worsthorne.
Once we had done this, we used the maps to help us be creative with our front covers for our new topic.
Ancient Egypt Workshop
In our History topic this half term we have been studying the Ancient Egyptians- for this we have been in the role of ‘I am an Egyptologist’. So, Year 6 were extremely lucky to have a visit from History Alive for an Ancient Egypt workshop. The morning began with the children acting as different people in the ancient civilisation. Some were peasants, temple dancers, soldiers, a script and a Pharaoh, amongst others. The children were shown artefacts and were allowed to handle them. Each one was individually described. Everyone was dressed up with costumes and played a role.
In the afternoon, we learnt about how food was grown, sown and made into food. We role played trading goods at the markets, trying to sell their wares and outshouting the other market sellers. We pretended to eat as the Egyptians did by reposing (laying down) and were told about the various foods that would be available. Later in the afternoon, we learnt about the pyramids. We discovered how the giant stones were moved, the conditions of the workers and how hard life was for an ordinary person.
Forest School
Year 6 loved taking part in forest school this half- term. They built dens, had hot chocolate and were even lucky to have a proper fire. All the children got stuck in and were soon covered in mud- the best forest school experience.
MP Anthony Higginbotham
Anthony Higginbotham, MP for Burnley visited Year 6 as part of our new topic. We are focusing on the United Kingdom and are in the role of ‘I am the Prime Minister’. The MP spoke to the children about his job. They took part in a mock Parliament where he explained how Parliament works and all the different seating areas. Year 6 then took part in two debates about two different topics- should gaming time be limited and should voting age be lowered to 12.
Year 6 learnt a lot about how British democracy works and the role the Prime Minister plays in Parliament.
Activism Art
This half- term Year 6 have looked at Print and Activism with Mrs Pier. The objective was That artists can use art as a way to express their opinions, using their skills to speak for sectors of society.
In this unit, children were introduced to the idea that they can use art as a way of sharing their passions and interests with their peers and community. We started by introducing the children to artists who are activists, and then we went on to help pupils identify and voice the things they care about as individuals.
The children chose a subject that was personal to them. Their art needed to challenge, provoke a response, communicate a strong idea and have a clear message.
As you can see from the art produced they have followed the criteria. They used a mixture of print, paint, pens and typography. We are so proud of their final pieces.
Electricity
Year 6 had so much ‘electrifying’ fun during our science topic of electricity. Firstly, we revised what we learnt in Year 4 about electricity including different types of circuits (series and parallel) and components of a circuit: bulbs, motors, buzzers and switches.
We also talked about careers which need a good understanding and knowledge of electricity.
Then we created our own investigations and linked the battery’s power with the brightness of a light bulb or how having more than one light bulb can make the light dimmer. We recorded how they were effected by adding additional components. We used appropriate symbols for each component. We worked in pairs to record our findings and came to a conclusion after completing the investigations.
English
We have made a wonderful start to our learning in Year 6. In English, we have been reading Kensuke’s Kingdom and are now well on our way writing survival stories.
PE
In P.E, we have developed our teamwork skills by playing games with our eyes closed or not being able to use our hands. This has encouraged us to work well as a team and follow instructions. We have also taken part in dancing and are keen to learn new skills.
Greek Food
In Year 6 this half term, we have been looking at Greek food in our D.T. lessons. This week, they have been very lucky and had a visit from Alex, who has Greek heritage. She came in and spoke to the children about the Greek foods she eats and cooks for her family. She told the children about her visits to Greece and what she enjoys doing whilst she’s there. They were extra lucky- she had cooked pitta with ztitziki, Greek chicken, gyros meat and humous. All the children absolutely loved the authentic Greek food and learning about the different ingredients that went into making them. They had a fantastic time!
Year 6 Resources
Below is a list of useful Year 6 revision websites. Please don’t try to use them all- have a look through them and find your favourites. Miss Ilyas’ favourites are BBC Bitesize and the learning games on Topmarks.
Maths and English Practise
IXL have separate pages of skills linked to individual Year group. The Y6 page has links to practise both English and Maths skills. Pages are then split into skills of which has a practise question for the children to think about.
BBC Education have produced a whole host of materials for KS2. Follow the KS2 link and then select either Maths or English. Each area usually has an information section for reading, plus an activity and then quiz which is marked online. Some aspects require a subscription.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education
A site with fantastic learning games. Pick a topic and play the game. Hit the button is fantastic for learning multiplications.
A site with both Maths and English based quizzes which are marked as you go along.
http://www.educationquizzes.com/ks2/maths/
A site with a range of information and questions – great for revision purposes!
http://www.icteachers.co.uk/children/children_sats.htm
A revision site based upon the old Key Stage 2 Tests but still contains lots of useful information for both Maths and English.
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/
Click on “For Kids” to access some fun games to practise speed of recall of times tables.
This site has loads of Maths games which help to practise a range of skills.
http://www.mathplayground.com/games.html
Loads of Maths games on a range of Mathematical concepts.
https://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm
A range of English games and activities.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2literacy.html
Activities to reinforce and practise a range of spelling rules.
http://www.keystage2literacy.co.uk/spellings-menu.html
A range of activities and games to practise a range of spelling rules and patterns.
http://www.spellzone.com/games/index.cfm?wordlist=2255
