Nansledan School

Darwin Class (Y6)

WELCOME TO DARWIN CLASS!

Darwin Class is our Y6 Class and part of the Pioneers Stage. Our teacher is Miss Durston. Our class is also supported by the TA team: Mrs Richards, Mrs Watts, Miss Ryan and Ms Mills-MacQueen. Our class is named after Charles Darwin. His pioneering research had an incredible impact across fields of science and our understanding of evolution.

Can you keep a secret? Can you crack a code?

The Spring Term will be full of exciting learning opportunities for Year 6. Our topic is history-based, with a focus on World War 2. We will explore key aspects of World War 2, including why the war started, evacuation, the Blitz, the Home Front and VE Day. We will link this to our learning in geography, where we will complete an in-depth study of Poland, in art, where we will research and design propaganda posters and to music, where we will listen to and appraise music that was created during wartime.

Talk for Writing

World War 2 will also be a base for our writing topics. We will start the term by writing character descriptions of William Beech and Thomas Oakley, the protagonists from 'Goodnight Mister Tom' by Michelle Magorian. We will also learn about the key features of information texts, and will use our knowledge to write our own information text about Poland.

VIPERS

We use VIPERS to cover the reading content domains across KS1 and KS2. In VIPERS, we will study 'Goodnight Mister Tom' by Michelle Magorian and will be able to explore the ideas and themes in the text, including the ideas of light and dark, in more depth.

Maths

Within maths, we will be continuing our learning of fractions. We will also cover metric and imperial units of measurement, decimals and percentages. Mental arithmetic will continue to be a focus within our maths sessions, having a daily arithmetic session to build on our fluency skills. Understanding of reasoning and problem solving strategies will also play an important role in the spring term.

Our PE days will be on a Wednesday and this year we would like children to bring their PE kit in, ready to change at school. This half term will consist of Outdoor Adventurous Activities and Quidditch!

Reading and Handwriting

We devote time daily to independent reading and handwriting, as these are vitally important skills which help us across all curriculum areas. Watch this space for examples of high quality reading and writing, coming soon!

Homework

Homework is set weekly, using the platform Google Classroom. Each week, there will be a piece which will support pupils in English, Maths or Topic learning. There will also be weekly spellings set through Spelling Shed, which are also available on Google Classroom. Daily reading and regular practise of times tables using Times Table Rockstars is also part of our homework expectation.