Bear Class (Year 6) 2025 - 2026

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the class page for Bear Class.

Here you will find all of the exciting and wonderful things that your child will be learning during their time in Year 6. If you have any questions, please use Class Dojo or speak to a member of our team at drop off/ pick up.

Thank you 

Autumn 1- 'Rose Blanche'  

In English this half term, we will be looking at the book Rose Blanche written by Christophe Gallaz and Roberto Innocenti

Based on the vehicle text *Rose Blanche*, children will explore themes of empathy and courage through two key writing outcomes. They will learn to write a diary entry from a character's perspective, developing their skills in first-person recount with informal language. For their non-fiction outcome, pupils will craft a formal Bravery Award Speech, learning to inform and honour through a hybrid recount. Grammatical skills will be strengthened through the use of colons and semi-colons for lists, adverbials for cohesion, and the use of the passive voice and dashes for parenthesis to enhance their formal and informal writing. 

In Reading, the children will explore Poems from the Second World War by Gaby Morgan

In our Autumn Term reading sessions, Year 6 will be delving into the powerful theme of the Second World War through a rich selection of texts. The core text, *When We Were Warriors* by Emma Carroll, will be complemented by a poignant anthology of wartime poetry. Children will develop their mastery of key reading skills by drawing inferences about characters' motives and feelings, analysing authors' use of figurative language, and making comparisons across different texts. This unit will enhance their ability to summarise, retrieve information, and engage in thoughtful discussion about the historical context, emotions, and consequences of war, building a deep understanding of the period through literature.

We will be using our different VIPERS skills: Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve and Summarise to improve our understanding of what we read.'

'Reading for Pleasure' has great amounts of benefits for your child. In Year 6, we ensure your child has time to read for pleasure and each day, we set time aside to read our class book for pleasure. 

Benefits of 'reading for pleasure':

Inspires imagination and creativity.

Enrinches cultural awareness and understanding. 

Increases empathy and improves relationships with others.

Lifts well-being levels and improves mood.

Improves progress in vocabulary, spelllings and even maths.

Encourages children to take a screen break.

Read with your child every day even if it is just 2 minutes- this can make all the difference. 
Record in their reading diaries to ensure that your child is receiving their stamp for their book from the vending machine, or reading buddy. 

You could ask your child about what they think might happen next in the story, how do they think the character is feeling, who is the author and what do they do. 

This half term, the children will explore place value and the four main operations.

During our maths topics, there is a large focus within TimesTables. We will, therefore, be building on our times table knowledge as we will be using this to help us solve our maths problems. 

Children will have ongoing access to their TT Rockstars logins at home. I will set your child specific times tables for them to practice. Please ensure that your child is practising them at home as it is very beneficial for their learning.

If you have misplaced your child's login, please drop me a message on Dojo and I will resend for you.

In science this half term, our class will learn all about Animals Including Humans!

In Year 6, our 'Animals including Humans' topic delves into the fascinating complexities of the human body. Children will learn to identify and classify the main parts of the human circulatory system, explaining the functions of the heart, blood vessels, and blood. Building on this, they will explore the impact of diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices on how their bodies function. The unit also introduces them to the work of scientists and doctors, learning how nutrients and water are transported within the body. Furthermore, pupils will build on their prior knowledge by describing how living things are classified into broad groups based on observable characteristics, giving reasons for classifying plants and animals in specific ways.

In our upcoming history lessons, we will be exploring The World Wars 

Our World Wars topic provides a profound exploration of the two global conflicts that shaped the 20th century. Pupils will investigate the complex causes that led to the outbreak of both WWI and WWII, and chronologically study key events and turning points, such as the Battle of the Somme and the Blitz. They will learn about the roles of notable figures, from political leaders like Winston Churchill to everyday heroes on the home front. A significant focus will be placed on analysing the immense impact of the wars on the United Kingdom, including the home front experience, rationing, and evacuation, as well as their lasting consequences for the modern world, ensuring a respectful and age-appropriate understanding of this pivotal period in history.

In our music lessons, the children will explore their musical abilities.

This half term we will be looking at dynamics, pitch and texture, with a focus on Fingal’s Cave by Mendelssohn.

Your child will have 2 PE lessons each week. Their days this half term are Wednesday and Friday. Please ensure they come into school in their PE kit on these days. This half term we will be developing your child's Basketball skills as well as learning how to play Football!

 Mondays- Each Monday, your child will be given 10 spellings to learn over the course of the week. They will complete a spelling test each Friday, and, if they receive a mark of 10/10,  they will get a Dojo point. They will have opportunities to learn their spellings each morning in class, however, extra practice at home is essential.

Your child will also receive their Family Maths Toolkit Task on Mondays. Enjoy completing this as a family at home and return your book to school by Thursday for a shiny star sticker on your chart and lots of Dojos! There are prizes for completing 10, 20 and 30 tasks. 

Please note: I will often upload additional activities and links for your child to support their learning at home, however this is not specific homework, this is just a little extra for them. For example, I may upload interactive links to games that I know they will like. 

Other useful links:

Please see below links to useful websites for your child to use when they are at home. I will be adding to the list throughout the course of the year so please make sure you check for updated links.

Oxford Owl - Linked to our phonics Read, Write Inc programme https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/free-ebooks/   

Story Nory - A range of stories by classic authors as well as poems musicals and fairytales. https://www.storynory.com/archives/classic-authors 

Story Berries- Read along with audio clips. https://www.storyberries.com

Monkey Pen-  Free downloadable children’s books in PDF format. https://monkeypen.com/pages/free-childrens-books

Free Children’s Stories-  https://www.freechildrenstories.com

Keeping Safe Online-  www.esafety.gov.au/kids 

Topmarks- A great way for children to practise many of their maths skills https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=16&AgeGroup=3

Newsround is a very good outlet for your child to watch each day to gain a wider understanding of what is happening not only in our country, but the rest of the world. We will be watching newsround every afternoon in class.