Year 6 - trench life experts!

Another week has flown by in year 6, with the children continuing to make huge strides in class. We have been learning about various afflictions that made life in the trenches unbearable for soldiers during World War I. Working in pairs, the children researched either: trench foot, body lice, rats, poor weather or shell shock. After summarising their research and experimenting with rich vocabulary - made for discussion - learning partnerships shared their findings with the rest of their class. We have been so very impressed with the quality of presentations, and particularly pleased with how engaged and involved the children have been with this topic. Using their newly aquired knowledge, everyone in the year group has completed a knowledge organiser - I can say with absolute certainty that we have three classes of trench life experts; ready and raring to share their learning! We all found it extraordinary that young men not only had to fight, but also had to live in such difficult and brutal conditions. We feel sure that this week has added yet another dimension to our key question 'World War I - celebrate or commemorate?'

We have also been furthering our understanding of the human heart and circulatory system. This week we have been discussing how exercise has a positive impact on heart health - and have been experimenting with how our pulse rate changes before, during and after exercise. We certainly have some budding athletes who could exercise and see little difference in their beats per minute - not always the case with the adults in the room! In Guided Reading, we discovered the fascinating personality that was Walter Tull- the first black soldier to be promoted in World War I...and also a Spurs footballer. The children were hugely interested in his life story, and so saddened that he died so close to Armistice. Some are now researching to find out if, perhaps, the war poets we know about may have ever crossed paths with Walter! We look forward to another wonderful week in year 6...and look forward to sharing our America Day with you.