Year 6

English

In English lessons, children are taught speaking, listening, reading and writing skills through studying a variety of styles of writing. Teachers follow the Teaching Sequence for Writing, which means that children will firstly be taught to read and understand the text, then practise the skills of the style of writing (including grammar) and apply into their own writing.  If you scroll to the bottom of this page, you will be able to read the English medium-term planning which details what your child will learn and when.   

Speaking and Listening

Children will be taught to discuss their learning and to develop speaking skills. They will become more familiar with and confident in, using language in a variety of situations, for a range of audiences and purposes. They will, for example:

• Develop their understanding of a subject through discussions, learning to give their opinions and listen to other viewpoints.
• Speak clearly and in different ways for drama, formal presentations and debate.
• They will prepare work orally, through drama and role play, discussing, rehearsing and recording their ideas.

Reading

Reading is broken down into ‘word reading’ and ‘comprehension’. 

Children will be encouraged to work out unfamiliar words that they meet.  They should use their knowledge of word roots and word families to help them to understand new words.  Children will be taught key comprehension skills to enable them to read, understand and enjoy a wide range of books. Year 6 will have the opportunity to read and discuss a wider range of fiction, poetry, plays and non-fiction.  They will, for example:

• Identify and discuss themes and conventions across a wide range of writing
• Predict what may happen based on evidence and clues given
• Give responses to texts and recommend books to peers, giving reasons for views and choices
• Use clues from the text to work out characters’ feeling, actions or motives and give evidence to back their conclusions
• Discuss and evaluate how authors use language and consider the impact on the reader
• Compare different texts

Writing

Writing is developed through teaching the following:

Spelling: Children should learn to spell new words correctly and have opportunities to practise spelling skills.  They will be taught spelling patterns and conventions, and draw on their knowledge of word families and roots to help them spell new words correctly.  They will continue to practise and use the words included in the National Curriculum for years 5 & 6. Children will be expected to use a dictionary and thesaurus.

Handwriting: Pupils will continue to be taught handwriting in order to increase speed, fluency and legibility.

Composition: This includes vocabulary, grammar and punctuation. To develop their composition skills, the children will be taught to:

• Plan, draft, compose, edit and evaluate their writing
• Use a wide variety of punctuation and grammar features with confidence
• Refine their grammar and vocabulary to further develop the effectiveness of their writing
• Use a wider range of techniques to build detail into their writing and ensure it flows smoothly throughout the sections of a piece.
• Build on their understanding of the differences between Standard and non-Standard English, and will also focus on how to achieve different levels of formality in their spoken and written language.
• Adapt writing for a range of purposes and audiences as part of their work across the curriculum.