Year 6 Term 2

January to March

Last updated

9 January 2026 at 01:25:27

Oceans & Explorers 🧭 🌏

This term, Year 6 students immerse themselves in the theme Oceans & Explorers, diving deep into a curriculum that spans historical inquiry, scientific exploration, and global geography. In Humanities, students examine the impact of European explorers such as Columbus and Vespucci, explore world oceans, and investigate climate patterns and ocean currents—drawing connections to contemporary issues like pollution and melting polar ice caps. In Science, they explore light and how we see, as well as the circulatory system, culminating in practical dissections and investigations into heart rate. English focusses on informative and persuasive writing, where students craft reports, adverts, and instructions with clarity, structure, and flair. Their reading journey includes Katherine Rundell’s The Explorer, an adventure story echoing their own explorations in the classroom.

In Maths, pupils develop a strong foundation in ratio, algebra, and decimals, applying their skills to problem-solving and real-world contexts. Through PSHE, they explore themes such as challenging discrimination, making informed financial decisions, and staying safe online. Art and Design lessons include a 3D modelling project using Tinkercad and a hands-on pizza design challenge. Music lessons support cross-curricular learning through remixing and film music composition, while PE, languages, and sustainability learning continues to promote creativity, responsibility, and physical wellbeing.

Maths 🧮

Ratio

Add or multiply?
Use ratio language
Introduction to the ratio symbol
Ratio and fractions
Scale drawing
Use scale factors
Similar shapes
Ratio problems
Proportion problems

Algebra

1-step function machines
2-step function machines
Form expressions
Substitution
Formulae
Form equations
Solve 1-step equations
Solve 2-step equations
Find pairs of values
Solve problems with two unknowns

Decimals

Place value within 1
Place value – integers and decimals
Round decimals
Add and subtract decimals
Multiply by 10, 100 and 1,000
Divide by 10, 100 and 1,000
Multiply decimals by integers
Divide decimals by integers
Multiply and divide decimals in context

Science 🧬

Light (Physics)

How we see
Light and straight lines
Shadow formation
Plan, investigate & evaluate shadow experiment
Refraction
Explore light
What is light pollution?
How can we reduce light pollution?

The Circulatory System (Biology)

The circulatory system
Blood
The heart
Blood flow and the heart
Oxygenated and deoxygenated blood
Dissection of the heart

Diet, drugs and lifestyle (Biology)

Diet
Drugs - what is the definition of a drug? What are some legal examples? Why are some drugs illegal?
Cigarettes
Plan, investigate & evaluate heart rate experiment

Reading 📖

Kensuke's Kingdom

Author: Sir Michael Morpurgo Illustrator: Michael Foreman

Michael is hungry, lonely and scared when he is washed up on a seemingly deserted island. He soon discovers another inhabitant - Kensuke, a former Japanese soldier - who, although initially unfriendly, provides Michael with food and water.

Gradually, a strong bond develops between the two castaways. This is a beautifully written tale of an exceptional friendship which survives beyond the boundaries of culture and language.

Reading age: 10+

A very brief introduction to Shakespeare:

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a story about two young people who fall in love, even though their families, the Montagues and the Capulets, are bitter enemies. Romeo, from the Montague family, and Juliet, from the Capulet family, meet at a party and instantly fall in love.

Since their families won’t let them be together, Romeo and Juliet decide to marry in secret. But misunderstandings and bad luck lead to a tragic ending, where both Romeo and Juliet make sacrifices for their love.

In the end, their families see how their feud hurt everyone and decide to make peace. The story teaches about love, forgiveness, and the harm that can come from holding onto anger and hate.

Who was William Shakespeare?
The Globe Theatre
Play script

Writing ✍️

Non-Chronological Report

Create a detailed information text
Create cohesion through a variety of devices
Use appropriate layout including headings, subheadings, columns, bullet points, and tables to structure texts
Use semi-colons for items in a list and colons to introduce lists
Sustained levels of formality demonstrated through sentence and word choices
The identification of different structures typical of informal and formal writing e.g the use of the subjunctive and the use of question tags
Use hyphens to avoid ambiguity

Persuasive Writing & Advert

Produce a strong opening statement
Use one paragraph for each argument / point
Use short sentences for emphasis
Use emotive language throughout
Use of hyperbole to exaggerate, intensify and emphasise
Create a conclusion
Use the subjunctive form for formal structure
Fully punctuate speech
Create memorable names and slogans
Use brackets and dashes for parenthesis and emphasis

Balanced Arguments

Introductory statement of the issue to be discussed
Paragraphs to structure arguments one point at a time
Maintain formal/ impersonal tone
Appropriate use of cohesive devices (adverbials)
Conclusion- a summary and maybe a recommendation
Technical vocabulary relevant to the subject
Modal verbs to convey degrees of possibility
Adverbials to provide cohesion across the text (despite its flaws... on the other hand....)
Passive voice and subjunctive form where needed
Semi colons and colons to punctuate where appropriate
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 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
Use appropriate vocabulary for formal and informal writing
Use rhetorical questions

Interviews

Introduction to the interview
Layout in question and answer style (can be organised in paragraphs according to idea/theme)
Second person for questions, first person for responses
Formal tone
Closing statement
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 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
Use appropriate vocabulary for formal and informal writing
Use rhetorical questions

Across the curriculum 🌏

Overview: Oceans and Explorers ♻️

15th Century Europe
Columbus, De Gama, Vespucci
Why did they go?
The voyages
What did they 'discover'?
What impact did they have?
Ocean currents
World oceans
World climate
Polar ice caps

Curriculum Objectives & Expectations ♻️

Accurately use dates and terms to describe historical events
Describe the key features of the past, including attitudes, beliefs and the everyday lives of men, women and children
Start to recognise that some concepts, such as technology, will be different across different periods of history
Continue to build a bank of appropriate historical vocabulary and use this to talk about the past and communicate information
Explain and give examples to show that things may have been different from place to place at the same time
Start to give reasons for these similarities and differences
Start to explain the importance of an event using the following criteria: significant individually, regionally, nationally or globally
Identify historically significant people and events from a period of history and give some detail about what they did/what happened and what impact it had
Analyse how historically significant a person/place was/is
Use a general statement to debate importance/significance of a person/place in history
Evaluate impact of a person/place on our lives today
Make inferences about changes using primary and secondary sources
Evaluate the validity of primary and secondary sources
Understand ocean currents
What creates ocean currents
Give examples of Gyres
Describe gyre rotation in each hemisphere
Identify the oceans of the world
Explain how this affects the world’s climate
Investigate the impact of polar ice caps melting
Investigate the Gulf Stream
Plastic and Pollution of our Oceans
Identify and describe the geographical significance of latitude, longitude, Equator,
Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, and Timezones
Mapping
Interpreting graphs and bar charts
Use of databases
Use of graphs to display data
Inference and Deduction from Data
Use maps, atlases and globes to locate countries
Evaluate the usefulness of images

Key Vocabulary ♻️

Trade, exploration, trade route, globalisation, trans-Atlantic, internationalism, superiority, continental, Latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, timezones, current, gulf stream, pollution, gyre.

Art, Design & Technology 🎨 👷

Use Tinkercad, a 3D modelling and design programme, to create a pizza as part of The Pizza Project.

Students complete a series of design challenges to learn the different tools within SketchUp
Students plan, make and evaluate their own pizzas

PSHE 😀 🫶

Personal, Social, Health and Economic education

Belonging to a community: Valuing diversity; challenging discrimination and stereotypes

Challenging stereotypes: What prejudice means, difference between prejudice & discrimination with examples; how to recognise stereotypes in different contexts and the influence they have on attitudes and understanding of different groups; strategies to safely respond to and challenge discrimination
Addressing extremism: Understanding what constitutes extremism with examples and how to seek help if faced with extremism

Media Literacy and Digital resilience: Evaluating media sources; sharing things online

Online fraud & staying safe online: Benefits of safe internet use, why people choose to communicate through social media and some of the risks and challenges with doing so, social media and gaming sites have age restrictions and regulations for use and how to report concerns
Making safe cyber choices: About sharing things online including rules and laws relating to this
Risks & realities of sharing images: How and why images online might be manipulated, altered or faked, how to recognise when images might have been altered, how to recognise what is appropriate to share online, how to report inappropriate online content or contact
Cyberbullying & online hate

Money and Work: Influences and attitudes to money; money and financial risks

About the role that money plays in people's lives, attitudes towards it and what influences decisions about money; how having or not having money can impact on a person's emotions, health and wellbeing
About value for money and how to judge if something is value for money; how companies encourage customers to buy things and why it is important to be a critical consumer