Year 6

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Meet the Staff

Class Teacher: Emma Witham

Teaching Assistant: Chris Purchase

Year 6 Term 2 curriculum overview

Discovering Ancient Egypt

This term, Year 6 will investigate Ancient Egypt and consider how objects, texts and discoveries help us understand the past. Secrets of a Sun King will inspire reading and writing for different audiences. We will also deepen our understanding of fractions, decimals and measurement, investigate light and create an interactive virtual tour.

English: reading Secrets of a Sun King

We will explore how the author develops a mystery, reveals information and builds atmosphere. Children will draw inferences from actions, dialogue and description, and explain how evidence supports or changes a prediction. Summarising across several paragraphs will help them identify important developments without retelling every detail.

Children will discuss themes, relationships and different viewpoints, building on one another’s ideas and challenging an interpretation respectfully. We will explore unfamiliar vocabulary and the effects of carefully chosen language. Connections with history will help us distinguish the novel’s imagined events from reliable information about Ancient Egypt and later archaeological discoveries.

Writing: a newspaper report

Children will develop a report with a clear headline and an opening that establishes the essential information: who, what, where, when and why. They will organise details in a helpful order, distinguish fact from opinion and consider the effect of a quotation. We will make clear when a report describes a fictional event from our reading.

Writing: a diary of an embalmer

Using historical learning, children will write an imagined diary from the viewpoint of an ancient Egyptian embalmer. We will consider the writer’s responsibilities and beliefs, sequence an account clearly and combine relevant information with personal reflection. The focus will be on historical understanding and an authentic voice, using age-appropriate descriptions.

Writing: a persuasive speech

Children will organise a speech around a clear position, support points with reasons and evidence, and consider a different viewpoint. They will explore how a rhetorical question, carefully chosen repetition or direct address can engage an audience. Rehearsal will help children use pace, pauses and emphasis so that their argument is easy to follow.

Language, editing and presentation

Across the three outcomes, we will compare formal reporting, personal reflection and persuasive language. Children will link ideas within and between paragraphs, maintain appropriate tense and choose sentence structures for a purpose. We will explore how active and passive constructions can change emphasis, then edit punctuation, vocabulary and spelling for clarity.

Peer discussion and reading aloud will help children evaluate whether their writing achieves its purpose. They will explain a revision and take increasing responsibility for presenting a complete, carefully checked piece of work.

Key vocabulary: inference, atmosphere, report, quotation, viewpoint, rhetorical question, cohesion, passive voice.

Mathematics and science

Mathematics: fractions and decimals

Children will use factors and multiples to simplify fractions, find common denominators and compare quantities. Diagrams and number lines will support explanations of equivalent fractions, including amounts greater than one. We will add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers, explaining why the size of the fractional parts must match before we combine them.

We will explore multiplying simple fractions and dividing a fraction by a whole number. For example, sharing three quarters equally between three gives one quarter each. Visual models will help children explain the calculation and judge whether an answer should be larger or smaller than the starting amount.

Decimal work will develop understanding of tenths, hundredths and thousandths and connect fractions with division. Children will compare, order and round decimals, calculate with them and explain the effects of multiplying or dividing by powers of ten. Estimation and inverse operations will help us check that answers make sense.

Mathematics: measurement

We will apply number skills to measurement problems, selecting suitable units and converting between metric measures. For example, children will explain why 1.25 metres is 125 centimetres. They will interpret scales, calculate with measures and record units accurately, considering when an exact answer is needed and when an estimate is sufficient.

Key vocabulary: common denominator, simplify, mixed number, decimal place, thousandth, conversion, unit.

At home: Compare quantities on food packaging or measure an object in two units. Ask your child to explain the conversion and estimate before calculating.

Science: light

We will use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain how we see. Children will distinguish an object that produces light from one that reflects it, and draw diagrams showing light travelling from a source to an object and then into the eye.

Investigations with mirrors will help children explore reflection and predict how a light path changes. We will also investigate shadows, explaining how an opaque object blocks light. Children will consider how changing the position of the light source, object or screen affects the shadow and design a fair comparison.

We will record results using labelled diagrams, measurements and tables where useful. Children will identify patterns, compare their findings with predictions and use evidence to explain a conclusion. They will consider which variables need controlling and when repeating a measurement would make a result more dependable.

Key vocabulary: light source, ray, reflect, opaque, shadow, variable, prediction.

Supporting learning at home

Ask your child how the same event might be described in a newspaper and a private diary. What would change, and why? Invite them to rehearse a speech, explain an Egyptian artefact or teach you a Spanish sentence. Encourage them to explain their reasoning in English or your home language.

History, design and digital exploration

History: Ancient Egypt

We will locate Egypt and the River Nile, place Ancient Egypt on a timeline and recognise that its civilisation developed over thousands of years. Children will investigate the importance of the Nile for farming, travel and settlement, connecting the environment with the choices and opportunities available to people.

Our enquiry will explore different roles in society, beliefs, writing and achievements. Children will consider what objects and images suggest about everyday life, while recognising that surviving evidence does not represent everyone equally. We will distinguish the ancient civilisation from the much later work of archaeologists who investigated its remains.

Children will examine how beliefs about the afterlife influenced burial practices and the objects placed with the dead. We will use carefully selected sources to explain the purpose of mummification and canopic jars, with respectful, age-appropriate discussion. Claims will be supported with evidence, and children will identify where an interpretation remains uncertain.

Key vocabulary: civilisation, pharaoh, Nile, hieroglyph, archaeology, afterlife, mummification.

Design and technology: canopic jars

Children will design and construct a model canopic jar, drawing on their historical enquiry. They will investigate the container’s form, lid and decorative features, then sketch a design and select suitable materials. Success criteria will include a stable base, secure joins and a lid that works with the shape of the container.

We will test construction methods, consider how to strengthen the structure and refine the finish. Children will explain how their choices reflect the historical inspiration and the practical demands of making a model. Evaluation will identify which criteria were met, what needed adapting and how a revised design could improve the result.

Key vocabulary: structure, stability, component, lid, join, finish, evaluate.

Computing: creating a virtual reality tour

Children will plan a virtual tour using 360-degree photographs, maps and information. We will consider the intended audience, choose viewpoints carefully and organise a route that makes sense. Captions and information points will help a viewer understand each location rather than simply look around it.

We will practise using the cameras, reviewing images and combining content into a coherent experience. Partner testing will check navigation, readability and accuracy. Children will consider what is appropriate to capture and share, and how to acknowledge source material. Finished work will be shared through school-approved arrangements.

Key vocabulary: 360-degree image, viewpoint, virtual tour, navigation, information point, audience.

Bringing learning to life

The curriculum map includes an Ancient Egyptian day and an activity exploring the mummification process. Age-appropriate models and demonstrations will connect these experiences with historical beliefs and our writing. Details of the planned activities will be shared once confirmed.

Beliefs, wellbeing and performance

Religious education: leading a Christian life

Children will explore how Christian beliefs and the teachings of Jesus can influence everyday choices. We will consider ideas such as love of neighbour, forgiveness, service and responsibility, and examine examples of people putting their beliefs into action. Discussion will recognise that Christians express their faith in different ways.

We will consider how worship, prayer and belonging to a church community may support a Christian’s life. Children will explain connections between a belief and an action, compare viewpoints respectfully and reflect on what guides their own choices. Questions will encourage thoughtful understanding rather than assuming that everyone shares the same beliefs.

Key vocabulary: Christianity, worship, prayer, forgiveness, service, community, commitment.

PSHE: celebrating difference

We will explore how identities, experiences and strengths contribute to a community. Children will examine the effects of stereotypes, prejudice and exclusion, and consider why treating everyone with respect sometimes involves responding to different needs. Scenarios will help us discuss fairness and the impact of both words and actions.

Children will practise challenging an unfair assumption respectfully, including someone and seeking support when discrimination or bullying occurs. We will explore how to disagree with an idea while respecting the person, and how everyday choices can help others feel that they belong.

Key vocabulary: identity, diversity, stereotype, prejudice, discrimination, inclusion, belonging.

Physical education: dance

Children will plan, rehearse and perform sequences with control and expression. We will develop a movement motif, vary its speed, level or direction, and explore how groups can move together or in a staggered sequence. Children will refine transitions and spacing, then use precise feedback to evaluate how effectively their performance communicates a theme.

Key vocabulary: motif, formation, transition, timing, expression, evaluation.

Music: Christmas songs

We will develop confident ensemble singing through Christmas songs, focusing on accurate pitch, clear diction and expressive phrasing. Children will respond to cues, maintain a steady pulse and listen to the balance of the group. Rehearsal will encourage them to identify a specific improvement and explain how it changes the overall performance.

Spanish: sports, frequency and La Navidad

Building on our sports vocabulary, children will explain how often they take part in an activity. They will listen for frequency expressions, ask and answer questions and extend short statements with useful detail. For example, “Juego al fútbol dos veces a la semana” means “I play football twice a week”. La Navidad learning will develop Christmas vocabulary and cultural understanding.

Key vocabulary: a veces (sometimes), todos los días (every day), una vez a la semana (once a week), nunca (never).

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