Gatten and Lake Primary School Curriculum News
Year 6 Spring 1- World War II
Over the forthcoming half term the children will be:
Developing their knowledge of the reasons for the war; what countries were involved and
identifying key events on a time line.
o Reading ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ by Michelle Magorian and some extracts from the Diary of Anne
Frank.
o Developing their painting skills when creating watercolour images of planes and tanks.
o Researching the changes to everyday life during the war years such as evacuees, air raids and
rationing.
o Researching how WWII impacted on local and island life and finding out how the island
supported the war efforts.
o Learning some famous songs from the war years.
o Experience writing newspaper reports on D-Day and Dunkirk and writing diary entries as
soldiers and evacuees.
o In Science, the children will be finding out about how living things are classified, famous
scientists involved in creating the classification system and experiments using micro-organisms
such as yeast.
o In PSHE, we will be thinking about ‘Going for Goals’ and how planning small achievable steps and
developing perseverance will enable us to be successful.
o In PE, the children will be developing their gymnastic skills and developing their own routines to
build endurance and stamina. PE will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays this term and although PE
kits should be in every day, please ensure that your child has a fully labelled kit in on these
days in particular.
At home your child could:
o Make war medals out of materials found around the home.
o Interview family, friends or neighbours who may have experience of living through the war and
finding about how it affected their lives.
o Design their own ‘Dig for Victory’ poster and research other propaganda posters.
o Read ‘The Boy in Striped Pyjamas’ by John Boyne, ‘Blitzcat’ by Robert Westall or ‘Friend or Foe’
by Michael Morpurgo.
As a family you may like to:
o Visit the Churchill War Rooms or Imperial War Museum, both in London.
o Research some recipes that were common during the rationing period and try to make some at
home.
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