Year 6 Term 1

August to December

Last updated

2 July 2025 at 01:46:51

Understanding our World 🔎

In Term 1, Year 6 students at ISB explore the theme Understanding Our World, engaging in a broad and challenging curriculum that promotes independence, curiosity, and global awareness. In mathematics, students develop fluency in place value up to ten million, secure formal written methods for all four operations, and deepen their understanding of fractions, including multiplication, division, and multi-step problem solving. Science is split into two key units: Living Things and Their Habitats, where students learn to classify plants, animals, and microorganisms using systems like Linnaeus’, and Electricity, which explores circuit design, voltage variation, and renewable energy. In English, students read The Nowhere Emporium, crafting atmospheric narratives, structured poetry, and detailed news reports with a focus on cohesion, formal tone, and advanced punctuation.

The wider curriculum supports creativity, wellbeing, and intercultural understanding. In geography, students conduct an international case study comparing Brunei and Brazil, developing mapping, data interpretation, and analytical skills. In art and design, they explore shape, colour, and form, while PSHE lessons focus on relationships, consent, and growing up—preparing students with knowledge and confidence as they mature.

Language learning continues in Malay, Mandarin, French, or EAL, with an emphasis on real-world communication and cultural exploration. PE builds fitness, teamwork, and resilience across a wide range of sports, and music encourages expression through performance, composition, and listening. Highlights such as Barvember add challenge and fun to an already enriching start to the academic year.

Maths 🧮

Place Value

Numbers to 1,000,000
Numbers to 10,000,000
Read and write numbers to 10,000,000
Powers of 10
Number line to 10,000,000
Compare and order integers
Round any integer
Negative numbers

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division

Add and subtract integers
Common factors
Common multiples
Rules of divisibility
Primes to 100
Square and cube numbers
Multiply up to a 4-digit number by a 2-digit number
Solve problems with multiplication
Short division
Division using factors
Introduction to long division
Long division with remainders
Solve problem with division
Solve multi-step problems
Order of operations
Mental calculations and estimation
Reason from known facts

Fractions

Equivalent fraction and simplifying
Equivalent fractions on a number line
Compare and order (numerator)
Add and subtract simple fractions
Add and subtract any two fractions
Add mixed numbers
Subtract mixed numbers
Multi-step problems
Multiply fractions by integers
Multiply fractions by fractions
Divide a fraction by an integer
Mixed questions with fractions
Fraction of an amount
Fraction of an amount - find the whole

Barvember

Towards the end of Term 1, all students are invited to take part in Barvember Maths challenges. Find out more here.

Science 🧬

Living things and their habitats (Biology) ♻️

Conditions for life
Group organisms
Classify animals
Classify plants
Microorganisms
Classify microorganisms
Carl Linnaeus

Electricity (Physics)

Construct and draw series of circuits using symbols
Complete and incomplete circuits
Variations within circuits
Plan - voltage experiment
Investigate - voltage experiment
Evaluate - coltage experiment
Renewable energy

Reading 📖

📗 The Nowhere Emporium

Author: Ross Mackenzie

Orphaned as a toddler and growing up in a children's home, Daniel is constantly picked on by Spud Harper and his gang of bullies. However, his life changes forever when he stumbles upon The Nowhere Emporium, which has mysteriously arrived in Glasgow.

Its owner and creator, Lucien Silver, quickly spots something special about Daniel. He invites him to come and work at the Emporium, which can inexplicably travel anywhere in the world and at any time. It doesn't take long for Silver to realise the true extent of Daniel's talent - and so begins an exciting adventure to save the Emporium from his lifelong arch-nemesis, Vindictus Sharpe.

A dazzling and quirky tale, full of imagination and wonder. This one is perfect for fans of JK Rowling, Philip Pullman and Neil Gaiman.

Reading age: 9-11

Writing ✍️

Narrative

Developed narrative with focus on atmosphere and shifts
Cohesion through a wider variety of devices (e.g. repetition of a word or phrase, ellipsis)
Sustained register with well-rounded ending
Atmosphere and mood created through effective word choice, sentence structure and literary devices
Past perfect tense to link events, including past perfect progressive
Action, dialogue and description use to move events forward
Apostrophes for contractions
Apostrophes for single and plural possession
Fully punctuate speech
Commas after an adverb starter
Commas to avoid ambiguity and clarify meaning
Commas to mark clauses
Use ellipsis
Use coordinate and subordinate conjunctions
Use nouns and pronouns to avoid repetition
Form comparatives and superlatives
Use fronted adverbial phrases to say how, where or when
Use past, present and future tense
Use relative clauses
Use conjunctions, adverbs, adverbials and prepositions for time, cause and place
Use a range of modal verbs or adverbs to indicate possibility

News Report

Developed introduction (who, what, when, where, why, how)
Developed paragraphs (organised correctly into key ideas)
Subheadings used as an organisational device
Headlines include puns
Formal language used throughout
Eye witness quotations which are succinct and emotive
Conclusion- summing up and bringing the story up to date
Include a byline (reporters name and job title)
Modifiers used to intensify and qualify (e.g. insignificant amount, exceptionally well)
Active and passive voice to heighten engagement
A wide range of punctuation including colons and semi colons
Colon to introduce lists and commas in lists
Bullet points to list information
Apostrophes for contractions
Apostrophes for single and plural possession
Fully punctuate speech
Commas after an adverb starter
Commas to avoid ambiguity and clarify meaning
Commas to mark clauses
Use commas to mark parenthesis and brackets and dashes for parenthesis
Use coordinate and subordinate conjunctions
Use nouns and pronouns to avoid repetition
Form comparatives and superlatives
Use fronted adverbial phrases to say how, where or when
Use past, present and future tense
Use relative clauses
Use conjunctions, adverbs, adverbials and prepositions for time, cause and place
Use a range of modal verbs or adverbs to indicate possibility

Poetry

Syllable Poetry
Haiku
Diamond
Tanka
Cinquain

Across the curriculum 🌏

International Case Study: Brazil and South America ♻️

South America: human and physical characteristics
Geographical similarities and differences between countries

Curriculum Objectives & Expectations

Name and locate some of the countries in South America and their main human and physical characteristics
Understand some of the reasons for geographical similarities and differences between countries
Human geography including settlements, land use, economic activity and distribution of natural resources
Describe how the physical features of a location affect the human activity in a location
Use a range of geographical resources to give detailed features of a location
Collect and analyse statistics and other information in order to draw clear conclusions about locations
Mapping
Interpreting graphs and bar charts
Use of databases
Use of graphs to display data
Inference and deduction from data
Use of maps, atlases and globes to locate countries

Key Vocabulary

Populous, sparsely, landlocked, landmass, settlements, land use, economic activity, trade links, rivers, mountains, cities, lakes, oceans, equator, tropical, destination, tourism, pollution, poverty.

Art, Design & Technology 🎨 👷

Shape as building blocks to art
Understanding shape and colour
Line and shape
Form and space
Texture
Value of colour

PSHE 😀 🫶

Personal, Social, Health and Economic education

Family, friendships and Safe Relationships: Attraction to others; romantic relationships; civil partnership and marriage

Friendships and bullying – including online
Positive relationships and communicating effectively
About the qualities of healthy relationships that help individuals flourish

Safe relationships: Recognising and managing pressure; consent in different situations

What it means to be attracted to someone and different kinds of loving relationships
What consent means and how/when to ask for it
To learn about committed relationships including marriage and civil partnership

Growing and Changing

To recap on the learning from year 5 including:
Physical, biological and hormonal/emotional changes which happen during puberty
Importance of personal hygiene during puberty

Respecting ourselves and others: Expressing opinions and respecting other points of view, including discussing topical issues

The link between values and behaviour and how to be a positive role model
How to discuss issues respectfully
How to listen to and respect other points of view
How to constructively challenge points of view they disagree with
Ways to participate effectively in discussions online and manage conflict or disagreements