Harmans Water Primary School

Please find attached the curriculum overview for each term.

In Year 6, our topics during the Autumn term revolve around the following questions: “What did it feel like to be a soldier in World War One?”,  “Why did Britain invade Germany?”  and "How do I avoid detection from the Nazis?" To answer these questions, we will be looking at how/ why the World Wars started, Hitler's ideology and how prepared Britain was for life in the trenches. As part of our introduction to the topic, Year 6 will participate in a mock- up conscription day. Here, they will participate in a day in the army! The day will be led by Corporal Lock, Lance-Corporal Lepage and Sergeant Merrills.

For the first half term, our class text is War Horse , with the children analysing and evaluating the effectiveneess of Michael Morpurgo's various uses of description, in order to create effective visualisations of his characters. In the second half term, our class text is The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. This text gives the children an insight into life for the victims of Hitler's oppression during World War Two.

And of course, in the Autumn term, the children will go on their first residential! Osmington Bay is always a great experience, where the children (and teachers!) challenge themselves both mentally and physically on a variety of exciting and enjoyable activities.

Our topic this term is "Monarchy Rules- or does it?" During this term, we will study the reign of the British monarchs: Henry VIII, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. We will also be visit Hampton Court, to allow the children to put their knowledge of Henry VIII into context and solidify their understanding of chronology.

During this topic, the children will hone their atlas skills, so that they can discuss the size of each monarch's empire. We will also be looking at Henry VIII’s wives and the duties and obligations of each monarch. This will lead us nicely into discussing democracy, and how parliament functions.

In the Spring term, our class texts are Oliver Twist and Wildboy. These give the children a key insight into the Victorian era, and equip the children with key examples of suspense writing and the use of Victorian language- which the children will apply to their own texts.

We will also be analysing the patterns of William Morris, and creating individualised printed patterns in the style of this Victorian artist. Year 6 will also be compiling a dance, and learning a song to a piece of music which describes the Tudors. Be warned: it is VERY catchy!

To celebrate our learning, Year 6 will have a Victorian day, where the children will participate in a Victorian school, and learn about Victorian education, literature  and playground games. 

Our focus this term is on the ancient Greeks, and their contributions to modern day society. Thus, our learning revolves around the questions: “How has Greece changed over time?” and "Where would we be without the ancient Greeks?"

To introduce the children to this topic, Year 6 will experience a 'Greek day'! Here, we will participate in the Grecian Olympics, study Grecian weapons and armour, listen to traditional Greek myths, solve Greek mathematical problems and play Grecian strategy games.

Throughout the term, Year 6's class text will be "The Girl of Ink and Stars," which gives the children ana rray of descriptive language, and introduces them to the power of myths and legends. We will also look at the Grecian empire and use atlases to discuss how its empire has changed over the years, and the possible reasons behind this. There will also be an analysis of the Grecian lifestyle of old and new- such as the clothing, transport, currency,  religion and education.

This term is packed with art! After studying Grecian theatre, Year 6 will design and construct Grecian theatrical masks for their chosen theatre character, and decorate them according to the appropriate symbolism used in ancient Grecian theatre! The children also get stuck into using clay, and after studing the pottery designs of ancient Greece, they will create their own pot and decorate this in traditional Grecian colours and patterns.

As per usual, the end of term will be celebrated with the Year 6 production! We cannot wait to get stuck into this, and bring our next West-End worthy production to HWPS!