Summer Term – Year 6: Outline of Our Work
Numeracy
We will be developing these skills and concepts:
• reading, writing, comparing and ordering numbers with up to seven digits and decimal numbers
with up to three decimal places
• rounding decimal numbers to the nearest tenth and whole number
• rounding big numbers to the nearest thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand and million
• locating a number on a number line, marking numbers it lies between
• comparing and ordering negative numbers, including calculating differences between negative
numbers and positive and negative numbers.
• adding and subtracting whole numbers and decimal numbers using mental and written methods
• finding percentages of numbers, converting fractions, decimals and percentages and making comparisons using percentages
• revising how brackets can be used in calculation problems and the order for calculations including
the four operations
• solving missing number problems using inverse operations, finding missing lengths and angles and
finding unknowns to solve equations.
• revising mental and written strategies for multiplying and dividing
• solving word problems involving money and measures.
• calculating the mean average; reading and marking coordinates in all four quadrants
• drawing simple polygons and finding missing coordinates on a polygon or line. Revising equivalence, simplifying fractions and changing improper fractions into mixed numbers and vice versa
• adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators, multiplying pairs of fractions and multiplying and dividing fractions by whole numbers
• solving problems involving ratios and reading intermediate points on scales
• revising properties and classification of 2D shapes, drawing 2D shapes using a ruler, protractor and
compass, identifying parts of a circle and finding angles in polygons
• using a protractor to calculate and draw angles, finding the perimeter, area and volume of 2D and
3D shapes
• revising, reading and interpreting different types of data display
• exploring binary numbers
• solving mathematical puzzles
• finding digital roots and looking for patterns
• exploring Fibonacci sequences and Pythagoras’ theorem
How you can help
You could continue practising mental mathematics problems using the four operations with your child;
pose problems involving time and other measures; encourage them to give quick approximate answers first. Many pupils find working with fractions quite tricky: you could practise adding simple fractions – depending on their ability e.g. ¼ + 2/4, or ½ + ¼, or 3/8 + ½ as well as learning common fractions expressed as decimals e.g. ¼ = 0.25; 1/3 = 0.33; 1/8 = 0.125. Try looking for sequences of
numbers and asking your child to find the mean, median, mode and range of these. Give your child
angles to practise drawing with a protractor and circles of a given radius or diameter to draw with a
compass.
Language and Literacy
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We will be developing these skills and concepts:
Grammar
• punctuation
• paragraphs
• verbs
• sentences
• formal writing
• synonyms and antonyms
•
Spelling
• tricky words 3
• a + double letters
• ie and ei
• tricky words 4
• tricky words 5
Creative Writing
• formal writing (Minotaur)
• stories with issues
• science-fiction
• Eric the Viking
•
Reading/Comprehension
Past Papers
• She-Cub
• Being a volunteer at a sporting event
• Scholastic past papers
Skills
• Read, reread, and decoding
• Skimming and scanning
• Deducing information
• Developing their ability to find what has been inferred in the text
• Restating the question
• Using evidence to support their answers
• Searching for the writer’s viewpoint
• Understanding the purpose, audience and form of the text
• Using the text as a stimulus to develop writing skills
How you can help
Reading is still one of the most important ways in which your child will learn Literacy skills, so it is important that they not only read a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts, but that they can share this
with a parent. Reading to your child, a book slightly beyond the level of your child’s ability, allows them
to discuss unfamiliar words and more complicated plots with you. With non-fiction, it allows them a
point of discussion to express their thoughts, ideas and viewpoint. In addition, children must be able
to identify hidden themes and messages in texts, so it would be very helpful if you could encourage
this. Guided use of the internet to access news reports for major news stories, searches for information about an area of the curriculum they are studying and accessing educational sites are fun ways to
link their skills in ICT and Literacy.
Children should be reading for at least 20 minutes per day and need to write one constructive and
thorough book review every week in their reading records. Children will have Grammar and Spelling
Institut International de Lancy · Avenue Eugène-Lance 24 · 1212 Grand-Lancy / Case postale 1810 · CH-1211 Genève 26
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homework weekly; spellings can be tested aloud and in writing sentences, using them in context. Encourage them to check spellings of common words in their written work as each piece is completed.
Please ensure that your child understands both the meaning and contextual uses of all words they are
spelling to incorporate them in their own writing. Allow them to read their work aloud, identifying missing punctuation opportunities and discussing the development of their ideas. Encourage them to reword sentences that do not make sense. Visits to libraries and bookshops along with ‘book-swapping’
is a good way of allowing children to have access to as wide a range of literature as possible. Access
to a dictionary and a children’s thesaurus is essential.
Science
The topic we are currently covering is Classifying Living Things
We will be developing these skills and concepts
• how to classify living things
• identify and describe the observable characteristics of a range of classification groups including micro-organisms, plants and animals, showing results using classification keys, tables and bar-line
graphs
• compare the similarities and differences between different species of buttercup and earthworm
• make careful observations to identify the characteristics that help scientists classify all living things
• use their observations to construct classification keys of increasing complexity.
• use evidence from their investigations to predict and investigate how to accelerate the rate of decay
in a mini-composter
• plan and carry out investigations to observe how moulds grow over time
• use the evidence from previous investigations to make predictions
• report and present findings, drawing conclusions, and explaining results
How you can help
Discuss with your child about what classification is, what can we classify and how? Help your child to
develop their understanding of the different types of organism. Experiment with mould, looking at the
different conditions in which it thrives. Test you child’s understanding of different types of bacteria. Is
all bacteria harmful? Investigate how different types of organism combine to create eco-systems within different environments, looking closely at similarities and difference used to group and divide different species.
Geography (Coasts)
We will be developing these skills and concepts
• features of coasts
• grid references
• bays and headlands
• caves, arches and stacks
• longshore drift
• sand dunes
How you can help
Encourage your child to use a globe or atlas to locate coastal regions across the world and what
these have in common. Brainstorm places that you have visited with your child, looking at old photographs to assess how coasts change over time. Visit the library and/or use the internet to research
coastal features, separating them into man-made and natural; discuss the different types of beach
and how this impacts upon their use. Investigate how some coastal regions are used for tourism and
leisure activities - considering the positive and negative effect this has on both the environment and
Institut International de Lancy · Avenue Eugène-Lance 24 · 1212 Grand-Lancy / Case postale 1810 · CH-1211 Genève 26
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employment. Are coasts dangerous? Discuss ways to keep safe and the role of the lifeguard/coastguard in these regions.
Homework serves to reinforce the learning which takes place in school.
• Homework activities set for your child may not always correspond to the order of the skills listed
above.
• Weekly homework overview sheets are sent home with your child every Monday and must be
signed by parents each week; this signals to teachers that an effective dialogue has taken place between each child and their parent.
Year 6’s half termly project is to prepare a 5-minutes keynote maths lesson on a mathematical concept of their choice. This can be something they have learned in school, or an area of mathematical
interest outside of the curriculum. Children should build the keynote as though they were teaching a
beginner how to perform the calculation/operation. The learning objective needs to be written on the
first slide and a few questions need to be prepared in order to test the understanding of the class.
These will be presented to the year group. These will be due by the 24/05/2017 which will allow us
time to present every one and provide immediate feedback.
Due: 24th May 2017
Institut International de Lancy · Avenue Eugène-Lance 24 · 1212 Grand-Lancy / Case postale 1810 · CH-1211 Genève 26
Tél. +41 (0) 22 794 26 20 · Fax +41 (0) 22 794 51 13 / www.iil.ch · [email protected]