D&T Bridges: Evaluating
We spent some time looking at other group’s bridge structures and offered feedback. We were then set the challenge: If you had one more hour, what would you do to improve your bridge? There were some really practical and thoughtful suggestions! And we will be getting some more time to put our midway evaluations in to action!
Maths Geometry Challenge: Nets
Today, Mr Stanley’s maths set have been learning about nets of 3D shapes. We were given a selection of nets which had been split in two. Our task was to match up the pairs and create the correct nets!
Computing: Exploring ‘Fake News’
As part of our learning about the internet and the worldwide web, we have been using html code. To explore how webpages are created, we have used programs to show them in code form. Taking this further, we have ‘remixed’ webpages using Mozilla XRay Goggles. This prompted an interesting discussion about fake news and critical thinking when using internet sources.
World War II D&T: Can you design a bridge strong enough to withstand bomb attacks from the air?
We have been learning about how bridges played an important part of army strategy in WWII. We learnt about the battle for Remagen bridge in Germany between the retreating German army and the advancing Allied forces. For our D&T project, we will be using woodwork skills to create the strongest possible bridge structure. They will be bombed to see which one is the strongest!
Science Buzzer Games
We have been applying our understanding of electricity and circuits to complete an exciting TASC project. The task we were given was to design and make Buzzer Games for a stall at the Christmas Fair. We had to think about the science that would help us do this as well as an interesting design that would result in a game that would be fun to play and appealing to others.
Anti- Bullying Week
During Anti-Bullying Week we worked in groups to direct, film and edit our own iMovie clips to raise awareness of making the right choices and the importance of always taking a stand against bullying. Our theme 'Change Starts With Us' made us think about the power of our choices and links brilliantly with two of our school values: We Support and Care for Each Other and Together We Are a Team.
Quest Speed Writing
We have started our new English unit: Quest Stories. After reading some great examples from this genre, we have picked out language and content features. As a short writing activity, we had to continue from a point in a quest story extract. Working in pairs, we had only twenty minutes to create a fantastic continuation of the story! Then we moved around the room, reading other pairs’ work and giving SHaK feedback!
World War Two: How does it impact on our lives today?
We are three lessons into our new topic and we have learnt so much already! We have gathered our existing knowledge and understanding of World War II, explored the reasons and factors that led to the war and the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany. Some really deep thinking and empathy has been required!
Year 6 Reading Journals
To show our love of reading, we have started to create our reading journals to document our journeys through books. We began this before half-term and we are really impressed with the start the children have made on this project. There are some really creative works in progress!
Science
What a super start to our science topic about the circulatory system! Today we dissected hearts and tried to find structures such as ventricles, atria and significant arteries. We loved being able to use scalpels to cut through the tissues and it was great fun to use a practical, hands-on approach to labelling the heart!
Halloween and Bonfire Night Fire Safety
Thank you to the firefighters of Blue Watch from Sale Fire Station who came to visit us yesterday morning. They gave us some really important messages about keeping ourselves safe around fire and fireworks, which is particularly relevant for events happening over the next couple of weeks. We learnt about the dangers of fireworks and bonfires and also had the chance to have a look around the fire engine.
Word of the Day
Every day in Year 6 we look at the Vocabulary Ninja Word of the Day. We have been expanding our vocabulary for our writing but also to aid our understanding in reading. As we have started a new topic in English, we took the opportunity to create our own Word of the Day cards for new and challenging vocabulary we identified in our WAGOLL.
Peer Editing & Editing Stations
In our English today, we have been editing our ghost stories. We worked in pairs from across the year group, sharing our stories and making improvements. Moving around the room, we visited a number of focused editing stations with instructions for targeted editing work. We have found it’s good to be more focused in our editing!
Peer Editing & Up-Levelling
We are writing our ghost stories this week so, in preparation, we have been looking at some common errors. Working in pairs, we made corrections and suggestions for improving Mrs Baxter’s Build Up ​​​​​​​part of her story - there was a lot of work to do!
King John I
This week we have been learning about King John I and the impact he has had on lives today. We were amazed to discover that his signing of the Magna Carta was the first time that a British monarch gave away some of their powers. Working from a range of sources, we were able to discuss and present the events which led to the signing of the Magna Carta. We also explored the repercussions of this historic event and how parts of the original document form our British values today!
Gymnastics: Can you create a sequence?
We began our lesson with floor-work, focusing on balances with a changing number of points of contact with the floor. We practised connecting our balances with interesting and fluent rolls. After this, we transferred our sequences and practised our skills on the apparatus. Some outstanding work from some of our expert gymnasts!
Problem Solving: What do you need?
Today in maths, we worked in groups across the year group to solve a challenging problem involving properties of numbers. We were given eight clues to find a missing number and then we had to decide which of the clues were necessary and which weren’t.
Can you order significant monarchs on a timeline?
Today we started to use our knowledge of chronology to order significant British monarchs. We used mixed up facts and pictures to try and gain knowledge to help us. It was really tricky, but a great start to the topic!
Values Artwork
To refocus on our school values at the beginning of a new year, we have been working with a variety of materials to create a piece of art. Our artwork will portray one of our school values using imagery, colour and collage!
Which British Monarchs have had an impact on our lives today?
Today we introduced our new topic for this half-term. We have been collecting our initial thoughts about our ‘big question’. Working in groups, we discussed key vocabulary and issues raised. Following this, we gathered our thoughts on what we think we currently know, what we need to find out and how we will find the information we need to answer this question!