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Elder Class Topic Letter Autumn 1

Tuesday 12th September 2016
Dear Families,
A new academic year is upon us and I am delighted to start it with a fascinating historical
topic about World War 2 which I have called Friend or Foe. The title is inspired by Michael
Morpurgos superb book about a young childs experience of evacuation and his dilemma in
helping the enemy. The topic will focus on the impact of the Second World War in Britain
and the in-class work will be themed around this.
I am excited to announce an evacuee experience aboard a local steam train near the end of
the topic which I hope will give the class a feeling of what the evacuation experience was
really like. I will provide further details in the coming weeks, but if you want to start to
think about suitable costume for this day out, that would be greatly appreciated!
I would also like to promote Michael Morpurgos Elephant in The Garden as an event you
could go and see with your child when it is performed quite locally at Malvern Theatre as a
one-man production on Thursday 6th October. Please do not see this as an essential part of
the class work but a further learning opportunity which you might wish to explore.
The Optional Homework is available on the class blog and I hope it provides you with an
opportunity to enhance the classroom learning, if you have the time to commit to it. Please
can I encourage you to regularly view the blog at www.elderclass.weebly.com.
PE will happen twice a week and the children need indoor and outdoor kit. Indoor kit is a
plain white t-shirt and plain black shorts; outdoor kit should consist of suitable footwear,
dark trousers, white t-shirt and a dark jumper if the weather is cold. Please ensure all these
items are clearly labelled.
I would also like to take this opportunity to invite you and the members of Elder Class to a
meeting on Monday 19th September about the potential Y6 Residential to the Isle of Wight in
Summer 2017.
Without wanting to jump-the-gun too much, I would also like to tell you about an exciting
possibility for our next topic Into the light where Sudeley Castle are having a special event
called Spectacle of Light throughout December. This event not only seems to be an
amazing experience, but it will also promote work we will be doing in class such as light
reflection, refraction, the colour spectrum and electricity to name a few positive aspects. I
will be there at 17:00 on Sunday 4th December and would happily explore it with you and
your family.
Many Thanks,
Mr. Tomkins & Mrs. Gosden (Y6 Team)

Friend or Foe (World War 2)

Elder Class Autumn 1 2016
Topic:
(World War 2 and its effect on
Britain.)
The work will focus on..
- Why World War 2
started.
- Understand the effect
of evacuation on
British families.
- The Blitz.
- Propaganda Posters
- Rationing
- 1940s Dance
- VE Day
- Democracy

English:
Flashback Stories:
Focus on Michael
Morpurgos text: Billy
The Kid.
War Poetry: Studying
a variety of different
poems to recite by
heart.
Journal Writing:
Reading WW2 Diary
Entries and creating
own based on
evacuee experience.

How did World War 2 affect Britain?

Other Areas of the Curriculum:

Maths:
(World War 2 will be used as a motive wherever possible)

PE: Orienteering and Cross-Country

running.
ICT: Advanced Coding (with Scratch)
French: Vocabulary related to
directions, time, season and weather.
RE: Aspects of Hinduism.

Work this term will focus on: ratio and comparing up to 3

quantities; understanding averages; converting
fractions to percentages; percentages of quantities;
angles on a straight line and around a point; drawing
shapes accurately.

OPTIONAL HOMEWORK
TO ENRICH THE CLASS CURRICULUM
Elder Class Friend or Foe (World War 2)

Please select a homework and bring it in to school on a Monday, clearly named.

Research a famous person

from WW2 e.g. Churchill,
Adolf Hitler, Anne Frank.

Write a newspaper report

about an air raid or the
importance of winning the
Battle of Britain.

Find and follow a World

War 2 recipe. You can bring
it in for people to try if you
wish!

Secret codes were vital to

all armies during the
Second World War. Can you
create your own? Can
anyone break it? You can
use symbols, letters,
numbers or combinations of
all three!

Write a diary in role as a

child who has been
evacuated.

Build a mini Anderson

Shelter.

Draw or make a model of a

famous World War 2 Plane.

Create a challenging quiz

(10-15 questions; maybe
multiple choice answers)
about World War 2.

Research and visit a local

site related to World War 2.

Create your own World War

2 Glossary to help you and
others understand the topic
even further.

Find out if any of your

relatives were involved in
World War 2 and create a
fact sheet of what they did,
where they were and how
old they were at the time.

If you were going to be

evacuated what would you
take with you and why?
Write about it, draw what
the suitcase would look like
or even use a box to make a
model of it.

Find the flags of the

countries that were
involved on the allied side
during World War 2. Draw
and label them.

World War 2 in numbers.

Create your own poem
about World War 2; it could
be about battle or having to
live through it.

Can you research any

numerical facts about
World War 2. (This is
always Mr. Tomkinss most
fascinating homework ;-) )