WELCOME TO YEAR 6

Each week we will be keeping you up to date with a "Wow of the Week". In addition to this, please read our half termly curriculum map to find out what will be happening in Year 6.

Important information

PE - Tuesday and Wednesday: Please come to school in your PE kit on these days. 

Reading Books -  Each child in year 6 has a book-band book and a book from our class library, with one book staying in school and one going home. In year 6, we encourage the children to be responsible for changing their books when they need to.

Spellings - New spellings given every Friday. On a Friday afternoon, we will have our weekly spelling lesson, in which we will focus on learning our new words for the week ahead. At the start of this lesson, we will also have our weekly spelling test focusing on the previous week's words. Please see below our spelling page where you can easily access the spellings every week. 

 

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Spring 2

Week 4

Highlights from this week include investigating the strength of biscuits for our British Science Week experiment. Year 6 were tasked with finding out which biscuit is the strongest by designing a fair test to inform tea drinkers about the best biscuit for dunking. Year 6 made sure they took their role seriously, designing tests which were fair by only changing one variable and keeping all other variables the same. Hobnobs came out the undisputed winner, while digestives took last place!

On Friday, it was also Children in Need. Like the rest of the school, we all came to school dressed in red and had a good laugh at the Bake Off competition. We were also tasked with creating our own Newsround-style reports about what Red Nose Day is, why it started and how money is used to help others. We made sure we made our reports informative, engaging and also fun.

Week 3

This week, Year 6 have worked very hard on their biographies of Kissin' Kate Barlow- the teacher turned outlaw from our class novel Holes. Throughout the writing process, we have focused on the skills of linking our ideas together using adverbials, using relative clauses to add extra detail about places, people and events and using the passive voice to change the way some sentences are presented. This has been a big piece of writing and year 6 have displayed great focus, care and stamina whilst following our purpose to inform the reader as if they have never read the book before. 

In maths, we have started a new and very important unit- fractions, decimals and percentages. This week, we have been busy learning how to turn any fraction into an equivalent decimal or percentage. Once we mastered the basics, we were then able to apply our knowledge to a range of problem solving and reasoning questions. 

Take a look at our maths and writing from this week below. 

 

Week 2

This week marked Year 6s final World Book Day at Westroyd before they transition up to secondary school so we made sure to enjoy it. In the morning, we joined the National Lietracy Trust's Footy and Booky quiz on Zoom and had a blast. I'm disappointed to say quite a few children managed to beat my 18/20! We also took part in a reading session with our year 1 buddies as well as creating our own idea for a book, designing the front cover and writing a blurb with our buddies. Year 6 were great role models and made sure the year 1s really enjoyed the session. Thursday wasn't the only day we did something a little different : on Monday afternoon, we visited Farsley Library and took part in a drama workshop based on MacBeth. Year 6 had a great afternoon, performing scenes from the play and creating their own poetry and drama. 

Week 1

As you can see by the photos below, we've had a very busy week back in Year 6. 

In Maths, we have started our decimals unit and focused on rounding decimals up to 3 decimal places, as well as adding and subtracting decimals and multiplying them by 10, 100 and 1000. In writing, we have been working on the skill relative clauses and have used them to describe the Outlaw 'Kissin' Kate Barlow' from our class novel Holes. In Art, we finished our expressive drawing unit by creating our own street art in which we shared messages which we thought were important such as 'Dream Big' and 'Save the Oceans'.  In History, we finished our Census unit by conducting an enquiry about 'what kind of people lived in Farsley in 1921?' We also started our living things and their habitats unit in Science by learning what the scientific skill of classification is- we did this by first having a go with sweets, then ocean organisms. And finally, we also produced our own no smoking or vaping area posters on Friday afternoon as part of a Leeds-wide competition.

Spring 1

Week 6

Our highlight of the final week of this half-term was undoubtedly our heart dissection lesson on Friday. This was a great way to end our circulatory system topic and allowed the children to see and hold a real-life example of their learning. Year 6 did a great job at spotting the different chambers of the heart and applied their knowledge to identify the different blood vessels we have learnt about in our previous lessons. They also made some brilliant scientific observations of things they noticed whilst holding the heart, making some great comparisons between the diagrams and the real-life heart too. It was a lesson which put a lot of smiles on faces and gave us the opportunity to try something new, even putting some of us out of our comfort zone but I was really impressed with how every single person gave it a go.

This week, we also finished our waistcoats in DT and completed evaluations of our efforts. Throughout the topic, Year 6 have displayed great determination and resilience to overcome challenges in a topic where we didn't have a great deal of prior knowledge or experience. As you can see by the photos, everyone was successful in their ability to produce a waistcoat which we wore with a smile down to assembly on Friday. I was also really impressed with our ability to reflect on the project during our evaluations. Not everything went smoothly but we certainly learnt an awful lot (including myself). 

Week 5

This week, year 6 have been continuing to put themselves in Stanley's shoes as we have practised the skills of using parenthesis to add chatty thoughts to sentences and using semi-colons to join ideas together, ready to use them in our letters home to his 'Mom'. In maths, we have finished our unit of Algebra by learning how to create and solve equations. In History, we learned about the 1911 census boycott by the suffrages through looking at primary sources and making inferences about the people involved. We then created timelines of the Suffragette movement to show off our learning. 

On Friday afternoon, we had a visit from our school PAT (Pets as therapy) dog Rosie as part of Children's Mental Health Week. We learned all about how Rosie can help children and how she was trained to become a therapy dog. We loved having Rosie and she certainly put a lot of smiles on faces! 

Week 4

This week we have finished our narratives based on ‘Between the Lines’ in which we wrote in the 1st person about the invasion of Omaha Beach. This piece of writing really brought out Year 6s ability to create atmosphere and vivid imagery in the reader’s mind and most importantly, brought out a real passion for our writing. We have also started a new unit of writing based on our class novel ‘Holes’, in which we are going to create an informal letter from Stanley to his Mum, revealing the truth about Camp ‘Green Lake’. 
In maths, we have started Algebra and have learned how to create expressions and solve substitution equations, using lots of manipulatives and visual resources to aid our understanding. We had a very active Science lesson on Wednesday afternoon as we investigated the effect of exercise on our heart rate. After doing 2 minutes of exercise, we measured our heart rate every minute until it returned to our resting rate. We then, plotted a line graph to show our results. Finally, we have also made lots of progress in our DT waistcoats unit, cutting our fabric to size and beginning some of the stitching- by next week, we will hopefully be wearing them.  

 

Week 3

Highlights from Year 6 this week include our Chiaroscuro art lesson, in which we learnt about the drawing and painting technique of chiaroscuro and applied our understanding of using light and dark to create form and impact in Maya-inspired word art. In science, we researched the different components within our blood and their various roles and functions. In PSHE, we came to the end of our unit focusing on drugs, alcohol and tobacco and applied our knowledge by discussing the risks involved in a variety of different scenarios and exploring the different ways we can avoid them/handle them. Year 6 have also worked very hard in their maths lessons this week and have enjoyed learning about proportion- applying our knowledge to identify similar shapes, create recipes and work out the cost of products within problems. 

 

Week 2

In writing this week we have been using the video 'Beyond the Lines' to create a 1st person narrative about D-Day. Our focus has been on creating a picture in our reader's mind and creating atmosphere within our writing through personification and metaphors. In maths, we have been learning about ratio, applying our understanding to a range of problems and to draw shapes to scale. After learning about the function of the heart in our last lesson, this week we focused on blood vessels. Once we had learnt about arteries, veins and capillaries, we conducted an experiment to answer the question: 'What is the effect of arteries becoming restricted?' In history, we have started a new unit of learning focusing on the census. In our first lesson, we learned what a census is and why they were created by looking at a source from the Victorian era. We then created our own census to find out about each other. And finally, we finished the week by recapping how to use a running stitch to join fabric, ready to use this skill next week to sew the fabric of our waistcoats together. 

Week 1

Despite a very cold and slightly disrupted week, year 6 have settled back into their routines very quickly and have cracked straight back on with some great learning. Some highlights include:

We have started reading Holes by Louis Sachar, a personal favourite of Mr Fawcett's, and have used our inference and vocabulary skills to make informed impressions about Camp Green Lake and some of it's characters.  We have also made lots of predictions based on the evidence we have found so far and can't wait to see how the story develops next week. 

In DT, we have started a new unit in which we are tasked with designing and making waistcoats. On Friday afternoon, we began by researching waistcoat designs before selecting our fabric and designing our own. 

In science, we have started a new topic about the Heart and Circulatory System. In our first lesson, we learnt about the different chambers of the heart and its arteries and veins. We also learnt how oxygenated blood and deoxygenated blood flow through the circulatory system. 

We have also started a new unit of artwork, which focusses on expressive drawing. On Thursday afternoon, the stimulus for our learning was Mayan artwork and patterns. First, we had a go at sketching some of the patterns and creatures we were most interested in, before then being tasked with using a range of different tools to created an abstract piece of art based on patterns and mark-making. 

Take a look at everything mentioned in the photos below: 

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Autumn 2

 

Robinwood Day 3:

Our final morning began with leaping from the trapeze before going caving. We ended our amazing experience at Robinwood with the grand finale- Pirahna Pool, which we managed to escape from just in time. We arrived back at school at 4pm on Wednesday having had an amazing 3 days. Year 6 represented our school tremendously throughout their stay and one of our instructors even said that he couldn't have asked for a better group of children to finish the year with.  During our stay, we faced our fears, tried new things, had some brilliant laughs and created many memories to last a lifetime. Well done to all of year 6!

Robinwood Day 2:

Today, we have been non-stop from activity to activity with plenty of smiles on faces, laughs and new experiences. We started with the crate stack, before completing the knight's quest, canoeing, archery, a dungeon escape room and nightline. Year 6's behaviour, attitude and teamwork have really shone through today and has really caught the eye of their instructors. We even ended the day with a birthday celebration, cake and hot chocolate. 

 

Robinwood Day 1:

Since arriving at lunchtime, it has been an action-packed day with both groups going on the zip-wire, giant swing, completing a team quest and climbing challenges. We ended the day with a quiz and hot chocolate and can't wait for another busy day tomorrow. 

 

25.11.2024

This afternoon, we made periscopes as we continue to learn about reflection. After learning about how the periscope allows us to see over objects by positioning mirrors at 45 degree angles, we then played a game to test if they worked.  

19.11.2024

Today, we enjoyed a fantastic day out in York. First, we visited DIG, where we learned all about the role of an archaeologist and then got to try some for ourselves. Then, we walked the short distance to the Jorvik Centre where we learned all about York's Viking past. Year 6 represented Westroyd superbly and gained lots of knowledge to help bring our history topic to life.  

12.11.2024

This afternoon, we have explored which materials are the most reflective by creating reflection catchers and making scientific observations. 

11.11.2024

Today, we have started our new history topic- 'Were the Vikings, raiders, settlers, traders or something else?' 

To start the topic, we used a scale to create a timeline of Viking Britain using some the main events during this period. We can't wait to learn more about some of these events over the course of the half-term! 

8.11.2024

This week, year 6 have worked very hard on their diary entries based on the plane crash from the opening chapter of 'The Explorer'. We have worked on using parenthesis to add chatty asides as well as how to use subordinate clauses to create cohesion within our writing. They look and read absolutely brilliantly! As you can see, our writing includes lots of editing and improving, which is all part of the process of creating a great piece of writing.

4.11.2024

Take a look at our fabulous works of art. Our task was to recreate the famous painting 'the scream', which combined our photography skills, developed throughout last half-term, and our ability to use coloured pastels to create an abstract background. We also had a lot of laughs recreating our scream faces! 

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Autumn 1

23.10.2024

Over the past week, Year 6 have been working hard on their photography skills in our Art topic. Our first lesson, focused on macrophotography, which means taking close up photos of different objects. After practicing our skills, we then used fruit to create artwork in a pop art style, focusing on how we can edit our photos and use backgrounds to create contrasting colours. In our next  lesson, we were challenged to recreate some famous album covers by exploring our ability to use a range of techniques to take photos and edit them. 

15.10.2024

This afternoon, Year 6 have been out and about in Farsley completing some geographical fieldwork. We walked to a busy location and a quieter location to measure traffic levels to help us investigate how populations impact the environment. We also asked our parents to complete a survey about the two locations we visited to help us answer our question. 

14.10.2024

Year 6 have created some stunning poems based on 'The Dreadful Meance'- a poem all about the power and fury of winter. We used this as inspiration to create our own poems all about the force of nature. 

14.10.2024

Year 6 enjoying their final and 'sunniest' Welly Walk at Westroyd.

11.10.2024

On Friday afternoon, as part of our School Heritage Day, we did the short walk to Sunnybank Mills for a workshop, in which we learned all about its history and how it links to our school and Farsley. We had a great time learning about the process of how wool is turned into clothing. We then had a go at doing some of our own weaving and explored the archives of this amazing place of history situated right on our doorstep. 

27.9.2024

This afternoon in computing, we created presentations about a country of our choice in pairs. The twist was that both pairs had to work on the presentation on separate computers and on opposite sides of the classroom, with the only way they could communicate being through the chat feature on Google Slides. This was part of our communication and collaboration unit and was a task everyone really enjoyed! 

27.9.2024

This week in Year 6, we have been writing narratives based on the first chapter of our class novel- The Explorer. In our stories, we aimed to use a wide range of sentence starters, parenthesis and direct speech. We wanted to paint a picture in our reader's mind when describing the setting and characters as well as engage our reader by creating suspense when the plane is crashing. The example below certainly does that!  

24.9.2024

Today, we planned and carried out an investigation into air resistance as part of our Forces unit in Science. For our investigation we made our own parachutes and explored questions such as 'Does string length affect how fast a parachute falls?' and 'Does the size of a parachute affect how fast a parachute falls?' 

After planning our investigation and ensuring we kept our tests fair, we went into the hall and Mr Fawcett dropped them from a ladder, although if he was a little braver, he probably could have gone a bit higher! 

19.9.2024

Today in Year 6, we have been learning how to find common factors of numbers. Firstly, we used counters and cubes to create arrays and develop our understanding of what a factor actually is, before exploring how we find factors in a systematic order. We then challenged ourselves further to find factors of much larger numbers, using short division and facts about multiples. 

18.9.2024

What a beautiful afternoon for our Hockey lesson! 

16.9.2024

In music this half-term, we are performing some 'Classroom Jazz'. This afternoon, we learned to play the main tune of our song on the Glockenspiels and next week, we will be adding in some of our own improvisation into the song!

13.9.2024

The focus of our writing this week has been to use parenthesis to add extra detail into our writing. We were using parenthesis to help develop descriptions of the characters from our class novel- The Explorer. Have a read of some of our brilliant work below. 

10.9.2024

This afternoon, we planned and carried out an investigation into Gravity. We explored the question, "Does the mass of a ball, effect how fast it falls?" 

We found out that all of the ball fell at the same rate due to the fact there was very little air resistance affecting them inside- a result not many of us had predicted at the beginning!