Year 6

Summer

In Geography, we have been exploring the Big Question: What impact do earthquakes and volcanoes have on people’s lives? We have explored the different layers of the Earth and how tectonic plates create volcanoes and earthquakes and we have explored the positive and negative impacts on human lives. As well as this, we researched how you could make a house ‘earthquake proof’ and designed our own houses to withstand an earthquake.

In Art, we have been studying the pop artist ‘David Hockney.’ We explored the techniques that he used and the different ways in which he made his pieces of art such as the use of technology like iPads to film the landscapes beforehand. We then practiced using these techniques, sketched our own pop art volcanoes and used oil pastels to bring them to life.

In English, we have been using the book ‘Earth-Shattering Events’ to learn about the impacts of volcanoes on people’s lives. We captured lots of vocabulary from the text and practiced balancing arguments so that we could eventually write a discussion text about the question ‘Should people live near volcanoes?’

In RE, we have been exploring what religions teach about social justice and how religious people and charities work for social justice and to protect the environment. We researched what different religions teach about caring and explored The Parable of the Good Samaritan and how this can be put into practice today. In addition to this, we explored how different charities, such as Christian Aid, help the world, and the similarities and differences between the way in which each charity works.

Spring 2

This half-term, our topic has been based around Eyam and the Plague. As part of this History topic, we visited Eyam to get a first-hand experience of what it would have been like to live in the village in 1665. We have also explored a timeline of Eyam; used our mapping skills to draw a map of Eyam with what they did to stop the quarantine of the plague, and created our own quarantine plans.

In English, we have been reading the book ‘Children of Winter,’ which is set in Eyam during the plague. We looked at the old-fashioned language that they used and what life was like during this period. Then, we wrote our own sequels to the book as we wanted to find out what happened to the characters.

In Science, we have been studying the topic of Electricity. We have explored different circuit symbols and used kits to create our own circuits – exploring how adding in or taking out components affects the motor or bulb.

In DT, we have studied the engineer ‘Frederick Savage’ and how he created carousels. We used K’Nex kits to have a go at making fairground rides, before designing and making our own carousels in groups. We had to be very careful when sawing and gluing the components, and had to ensure we were accurate so that everything fitted together.

In RE, we have been exploring religions in Nottingham and how they show belonging and work together. We explored the different ways in which religions welcome people and what religious people might wear to show they belong to a religion. We then create similarities and differences tables to compare different religions.

Spring 1

During Spring 1, Year 6 have been learning about Ancient Maya. Within this, we have learnt about the hierarchy that they lived in and how their settlements were organised and we even played Maya ball! We also used primary sources to learn about the Maya and the legacy that they left. Did you know that some people still think aliens are the reason that the Mayas disappeared? We learnt that historians think it is more likely that they were hit by a drought and over-farming, which caused them to move cities and die out.

To link in with our Ancient Maya topic, in English we have been reading the story ‘The Curse of the Maya,’ and writing persuasive texts to persuade someone to visit Guatemala, which is one of the places where the Ancient Maya lived. We also wrote a persuasive letter to the government to persuade them to help the Father in the family who had been kidnapped by the protagonist of the story – Ernesto.

In Art, we have been designing and creating our own Maya masks out of clay. We learnt that the Mayas wore masks for special occasions such as weddings, or in battle. We had to use wet clay and cross-hatching to try and stick different pieces on and make patterns.

In RE, we have been learning about how religious people learn their moral codes from scripture. We looked at different scripture, such as The 10 Commandments and the 5 Precepts, and discussed what we could learn from this. We also explored how different religious people, such as Rosa Parks and Gandhi, put their beliefs into action.

Autumn 2025

Our topic this term was World War II. As Historians, we went on a trip to Perlethorpe to explore what life was like for children during WWII, including what it would have been like to be evacuated. We also focused on the Big Question ‘What impact did World War II have on Great Britian,’ and we looked at things such as a timeline of the main events during WWII, rationing, women’s roles in WWII and the Kindertransport.

As writers, we have been focusing on newspaper reports, diaries and horror stories. In Autumn 1, we read the book ‘Rose Blanche,’ and we wrote diaries from her point of view and newspaper reports about the missing girl. In Autumn 2, we read the prologue of the story ‘Silverfin,’ and wrote our own horror setting descriptions and stories based on this.

In RE, we have been learning about the Holocaust and the impact it had on the lives of Jewish people. We explored survivor stories and looked at how and why many religious people decided to help Jewish people during the Holocaust. We also explored and created our own artwork to represent their persecution.

As Artists, we have studied the work of Frida Khalo. We explored her life story and why she was inspired to create self-portraits, and then we used the grid technique to create our own self-portrait. We had to practice lots first, especially our facial features and getting them in the correct positions

In DT, we have been designing and making our own pizzas. We made the pizza dough out of flour, sugar, salt, oil, water and yeast and learnt about why dough has to prove. Also, we created a sauce and chopped up vegetables to add as toppings.

Summer 2025

In Geography, year 6 have been exploring the Big Question: What is the impact of volcanoes and earthquakes on human lives? We explored how volcanoes and earthquakes are formed, and then used this information to discuss the primary and secondary impacts. As well as this, we researched the positive and negative effects of volcanoes, and we used all of our knowledge to design houses that are earthquake proof.

In writing, year 6 have been looking at discussion texts and writing a text based on the question: Should people live near volcanoes? We used knowledge from our Geography lessons, and from the book ‘Earthshattering Events, and wrote a balanced argument, but we were allowed to give our own opinion at the end!

In RE, year 6 have been exploring what religions teach about social justice and how they try to work for fairness and equality. We explored different teachings, such as what Jesus taught about wealth, and we looked at what we would do if we had a never-emptying bank account. Furthermore, we researched how different charities, such as Islamic Relief and Christian Aid help people around the world, and reflected on what more we would like to do to help others.

In Science, year 6 have been learning about living things and their habitats. We have looked at food chains and how to create branching databases to categorise living things. As well as this, we have been exploring microorganisms, and we completed a bread experiment, whereby we observed different sorts of bread over time, and looked at how and when mould grew on them. We then used our prior knowledge to work out why different bread might grow mould at different rates.

Summer 2025