Welcome to Year 6

Mrs Whelan

Welcome to Year 6

Welcome to Year 6 from Mrs Whelan (class teacher) - I am really looking forward to the year ahead and supporting the children on their learning journey and transition to high school.

I will teach the class full time, alongside Mrs Ellis who will cover my PPA time on a Monday last lesson and Tuesday morning.

We will issue Newsletters on a half-termly basis to provide a summary of the key topics your children will be exploring and provide an overview of enrichment homework opportunities. In the meantime, I have summarised below some key information that should be useful for the whole year. 

At the bottom of the page are some links and recommendations for additional activities children can access at home, specific to Maths and English.

Should you wish to talk with me on a specific matter please do catch me on the door at pick-up time. Alternatively, email the school office mail@addingham.bradford.sch.uk and I will respond as soon as I can.

Key information for parents

A copy of the Year 6 timetable is attached below.

10:10:10

Year 6 TENS will take place on a Thursday afternoon. During this time, the class will be split into three groups. One group will spend their tens time doing additional Art with Mrs Wellock, the second group will spend their time engaging in outdoor learning with Mrs Ellis and the third group will spend the afternoon with me doing a deep-dive into specific English and Maths focus areas. The groups will rotate each half term, so that each child will participate in each group twice throughout the year. 

Specific things to remember each day

Monday: please make sure your child has a reading book in school for independent reading. Spellings for the week will be issued on Spelling Shed and previous weeks tested.

Wednesday and Friday: PE kit required in school for PE

Thursday: 10:10;10 afternoon (outdoor learning kit to be in school)

Friday: Other homework due in from the previous week and new homework issued.

Timetable and yearly overview

 Please see below the weekly timetable for Year 6 and a copy of our Yearly Overview outlining the exciting learning we will be doing across the curriculum.

Maths

Times Tables, arithmetic, reasoning and problem solving

Times tables and arithmetic are essential for mathematics and we spend a lot of time developing these throughout the year. By building these skills, it helps children's efficiency, confidence and reduces stress on the working memory. Here are some resources to help at home.

• Use your own Times Tables Rock Stars account (https://play.ttrockstars.com/auth/school)
• http://www.transum.org/Software/Tablesmaster/
• http://www.learnyourtables.co.uk/en/index2.htm
• timestablesme.co.uk (printable and on line resource)

Other websites and resources to support learning outside of school.

•  https://www.mathsisfun.com/
• Maths Problem of the Day resources (search online Year 6)
• www.mathsframe.co.uk/ has a large number of online resources and worksheets
• www. mathplayground.com has a number of interactive games
• Any of the published books for SATS practice that you can buy online or in local bookshops (CPG, Schofield and Sims, Collins) as these will expose your child to a wide range of SATS equivalent questions and the familiarity and practice will help consolidate their learning in the classroom.
• Please try not to complete the prior year government issued SATS papers that are available to access on-line, as we do use these in school and if the children have already accessed them at home it doesn't give us an accurate picture of their individual learning and progress. Many thanks for your support on this.

English

Reading for pleasure remains a key focus throughout Year 6 and we will use Accelerated Reader to formally track reading. To support reading for pleasure, we have time allocated in the classroom for independent reading, a well stocked quiet corner containing fiction and non fiction books across the spectrum of genres, quiz activity on Accelerated Reader and various initiatives to encourage a love of reading (including recommend to a friend and teacher recommends).

We will also consolidate our passion for writing, encouraging the children to write with creativity and flair, stimulated by a range of sources including class texts, film clips and images. Through writing, the children will practice, develop and showcase their spelling, punctuation and grammar objectives.

Spelling remains a key focus area during Year 6 (and an area tested as part of the SATS papers). Weekly spellings will come home every Monday, using Spelling Shed - please encourage your children to practice these independently at home as the key spelling patterns, 'rules' and exceptions are a key part of your child's learning to make accurate spelling choices in their independent writing.

Resources to help at home:

I have attached a list of the Year 5 / 6 statutory spellings (part of the National Curriculum). One of the nationally set criteria for your child to be assessed as 'working at age related expectations'* in writing is for them to be able to spell 'most' of these words correctly in their everyday writing. We will support the children with this in the classroom and encourage them to practice at home too. 

*exceptions can apply for certain children who may have specific reasons for finding spelling more challenging.

As with Maths, good supporting materials for home include:

• Any of the published books for grammar or reading comprehension SATS practice that you can buy online or in local bookshops (CPG, Schofield and Sims, Collins) as these will expose your child to a wide range of SATS equivalent questions and the familiarity and practice will help consolidate their learning in the classroom.
• Please try not to complete the prior year government issued SATS papers that are available to access on-line, as we do use these in school and if the children have already accessed them at home it doesn't give us an accurate picture of their individual learning and progress. Many thanks for your support on this.