Year 6 have worked extremely hard this term and we are very proud of them. They have been very sensible, mature and responsible as they have settled back into school routine and our new normal! We spent the first few weeks revising the ‘basics’ and getting back into our learning!
In literacy, we have been reading ‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret’ the story of an orphan who inherits a mysterious automaton and enters a world of secrets as he learns all about the mechanical man, a secret filmmaker and what all of it means for his future! The children have been hooked as we have read the book and written dialogues, narratives and diary entries. We have been very impressed with children’s writing skills as we have focused on effective descriptions through adjectives, verbs and varying sentence types!
Linked to our literacy work our theme is ‘Lights, Camera, Action. The children have been fascinated with learning all about how films began. We have learnt about and made our own optical toys such as a ‘Thaumatrope’ and ‘Flip Book’ to learn about how inventors created the first moving image. Year 6 have also explored early films such as Fred Ott’s Sneeze, A Trip to the Moon, Safety Last and films that star Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. The children loved the simplicity of the films, the chase scenes, the stunts and comical elements. We have been learning about different camera angles and shots used in films and their effect as well as creating our very own ‘Stop Tricks’ an early special effect used in early filmmaking. Our aim is to create our own mini-black and white films inspired by Hugo Cabret using everything that we have learnt!
We have also been learning from professionals in the industry; after a Skype call with Mr Bebb from Screen Alliance Wales and Bad Wolf studios we found out about the many amazing career opportunities there are in the Film and Media industry that use some of the skills that we have refining in our theme! We are very excited for an upcoming virtual prosthetics lesson from local make- up artist Jenna McDonnell where we will learn about and create special effects such as artificial wounds using theatre make-up! We are aiming to continue refining our film, media and animation skills next half term linked to our new theme ‘2040’. We hope to use them to enter a national competition! Watch this space!
In STEM, linked to ‘Lights, Camera, Action’, we have been finding out about light sources, how light travels and how we are able to see objects. We have watched some shadow theatre and are planning our very own shadow investigation. There is a great periscope activity the children could complete for homework to explore how light travels even further.
In Year 6, we ensure that we prepare our learners to be healthy, confident, ethically informed citizens of Wales and the world. As the oldest in the school and as Year 7 approaches it is important that learners are aware of issues that can affect them, their peers and their communities. We have completed activities and had discussions based around ‘Black History Month’, staying safe online and talking about our physical, emotional and mental well-being. Our school Police Liaison Officer also completed a lesson called ‘Griff’s Story’. Year 6 learned about how to stay safe in the community when meeting and getting to know different people.
We hope Year 6 have a fantastic half term and stay safe as they enjoy any autumnal activities. We look forward to welcoming the children back for a new half term full of exciting activities and learning! Well done Year 6!
