Welcome to Year 6 Crew 2020-21!

Welcome to Year 6 Crew! Our class teacher is Miss McCabe and our Learning Coaches are Mrs Pile and Mrs McMahon. 

It doesn’t seem  that long ago that your children started in reception and here they are embarking on their final year at Stockbridge Village Primary. Year Six is a challenging year; the best way to describe it is like a roller coaster ride!

In Year Six, we do have the challenge of SATs and we work really hard to ensure that ALL the children have the best opportunity possible to achieve their full potential. However, we also try to ensure that we have fun along the way and provide the children with some lasting memories!

Developing independence is a really important part of being in Year Six. We are very aware that part of our role in school is to prepare our children for their move to secondary school, and with this in mind, much of the year six curriculum encourages responsibility and independence. From the moment the children enter year six, they are responsible for their own learning, expectations are high and they are encouraged to work independently.

Responsibilities are also earned in the form of Prefects.

Times tables Practice - Year 6 children are expected to know all of their multiplication tables up to 12×12. These should be practised regularly at home.

Daily Reading - This should be 15 minutes with someone at home and Reading Records must be signed and dated. Reading plus is an excellent intervention to support your child's reading. Please encourage use where possible; all children know their log in details. 

Weekly Home-Learning - 

Homework should never cause anxiety or worry. Spellings will be given and tested on a Friday.

PE Day 

Our PE day is a Wednesday.

Clubs

Autumn 2/ Spring 1 Year 6 children are invited to crew consolidation after school club on a Wednesday.

                                        AUTUMN PLANNING 

Expeditionary Project Narrative

Roots: Slavery and Belonging

In Autumn 2019, the Year 6 crew’s project was called  ‘Roots: Slavery and Belonging.’

We had to answer the essential question:

EQ: Is society fair now?

And these guiding questions:

• How did slavery begin?
• Who fought for the freedom of slaves in Liverpool?
• Does slavery still exist?
• What is slavery? 

The Learning Targets for this project were:

• I am aware that slavery has existed for many years by researching other time periods for example, the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.
• I am able to explain the development of the Trade Triangle.
• I know that the city of Liverpool had a significant role in the slave trade.
• I know how key people in my local areas, such as James Penny, had a significant role in slavery.   
• I know that throughout history many famous and influential people such as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks challenged slavery and the impact this had upon their lives.
• I am aware that slavery still exists in the world today and I am able to explain the different types of modern day slavery that exists , such as bonded slavery and child labour.

Case study 1:

At the outset of this project, our crew began by researching if slavery had existed in each of the previous projects that we had covered during our primary journey at Stockbridge Village Primary. The projects covered included the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.  

We established that slavery had been present during each of these time periods and we then compared and contrasted how the treatment of slaves differed throughout the ages. We presented our knowledge in small group presentations.

Case study 2:

Our crew then looked at the impact of slavery on African culture, with particular emphasis on the ‘The Trade Triangle’. During this stage of the project, we  looked at the substantial profit opportunities, increased access to raw goods, heightened political power and colonization outside Europe that the Trade Triangle provided.

To assist us in our studies, we considered the position and significance of latitude, longitude, the Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, The Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

Case study 3:

The crew, having now gained sufficient knowledge, were confident enough to answer one key question, ‘What is Slavery?’

We then looked at slavery much closer to home, in Liverpool. Firstly, we looked at why Liverpool was pivotal in the import and export of slaves. The children researched the use of the Albert Dock with a particular emphasis on The River Mersey. We looked at the physical and human features of this River. 

The crew then took a particular interest in unearthing famous street names in Liverpool that are named after slave traders, such as Penny Lane (James Penny). The crew displayed a particular enthusiasm in discovering that numerous attempts have been made to change these street names. However, a significant proportion of the local population feel they show Liverpool’s place history. We then participated in a class debate, which was then followed up by the children creating their own letters that went sent to Liverpool Council.   

Case Study 4:

The final case study of the project focused on how slavery has now reached a point never seen before in history. The crew paid particular attention to modern day slavery with a focus on: child slavery, bonded slavery and forced slavery.

Link to Global goals:

Global Goal 16- Peace, Justice and Strong Intuitions

The Year 6 crew understood that ‘compassion and a strong moral compass is essential to every democratic society.’

This allowed them to discuss the importance of standing up for what they believe in, even though at times this can be challenging and a little scary.

The Presentation of Learning:

The crew attended Liverpool Slavery Museum where they were able to share their new knowledge and understanding gained as a result of participation in this project to staff in the museum.

The children presented their work on project boards to the ‘museum experts’ and received overwhelming feedback. In fact, the museum were so impressed they wrote to our school to tell us that they could not believe children at their age knew so much about the slave industry both past and present.

English across the curriculum: Anchor text:

We used many texts but for English we read Henry’s Freedom Box and Unchained Voices.

We then used these texts to create our diaries and letters from the point of view of the characters we met in our texts.

Expeditionary Project Narrative from previous years. 

World War 2: Friend or Foe?

In Spring 2020, the Year 6 Crew’s project was called WW2: Friend or Foe?

We had to answer the Essential Question:

EQ: Is war ever justified?

We also answered the following guiding questions:

How important is freedom?

Why do people persecute each other?

Where does courage come from?

The Learning Targets for this project were:

• I can explain how WW1 ended and how the Treaty of Versailles was key in this.
• I can explain how and why WW2 started.
• I am aware of the political parties involved and can discuss how power was gained.
• I know who were considered allies and axis within WW2.
• I know how and why concentration and internment caps were used and why.

Our presentation of learning was due to be a class information book that would be displayed in our local library.

Case Study 1:

The first aspect of our project was to learn about WW1 and how this ended. The children were particularly interested in The Treaty of Versailles and its terms and conditions. The children participated in a class discussion as to whether they  felt this treaty was fair and were confidently able to support their answers with their knowledge. We discussed how this treaty caused a lot of resentment and angered the Germans, particularly Adolf Hitler.

Case Study 2:

In case study 2, the Year 6 focused on the political parties involved in WW2 with a particular emphasis on Adolf Hitler. The children researched his life, from his challenging childhood to his views and beliefs. The children’s understanding even impressed a very important visitor who came to our school. The children then created their own biographies based on Hitler’s life.

We also took this opportunity to look at other political leaders In WW2 (Winston Churchill, Joseph Starlin and Benito Mussolini). Using maps and our geographical awareness we identified allies and axis.

Case Study 3:

In case study three, the Year 6 crew then focused on Hitler’s ideology and hatred for certain groups of people that he targeted for various discriminatory practices due to their ethnicity, religion, political beliefs, or sexual orientation.

We learnt about Kristallnacht (The Night of the Broken Glass) and then created newspaper reports, reporting as though we were newspaper reporters reporting from Germany 1938. For many children this evoked lots of anger that humans could be treated so brutally by other humans. We then looked at equal rights and discrimination in modern day society and how we can make the world a better place to live in.

We looked how fake news and propaganda and fake news was used to support for the war and commitment to an Allied victory. We enjoyed creating our own propaganda posters using a variety of art mediums that included: oil paints, water colours and pastels.

Case Study 4:

The final aspect of our project led us to the children looking at concentration/interment camps. We learnt about the selection process for these camps and looked at survivor’s diary entries. Unfortunately, the children did not get to complete this part of the project due to the Covid-19 pandemic but home learning tasks have been set and our platform pages are full of interesting research and facts that the children have unearthed. The children were due to research the horrendous conditions and treatment that these innocent people had suffered.

Presentation of Learning:

Unfortunately, the Year 6 crew did not get to complete their presentation of learning which was to create an information book that would be displayed in our local library.

English across the curriculum: Anchor Text

Our English anchor text was “Rose Blanch’ and ‘Anne Frank’.

The children used this text to write their own biographies and diaries. The children wrote this from a variety of different character’s points of view.

SUMMER PLANNING 2021- Agents of Change 

Useful maths websites for children

• http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks1numeracy.html
• http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2numeracy.html
• http://www.mathsisfun.com/games/games-2.html
• http://www.ictgames.com/resources.html
• http://mathszone.co.uk/
  Another collection of games and activities across the full range of curriculum content, mostly appropriate to our

KS2 pupils:

• http://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games
  Fun games for children of all ages
• http://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/category/22/most_popular
  More free games to play on a variety of maths topics. If you browse this site, you will also find that it lists all the objectives for the new curriculum and suggests games that will help children achieve that objective.