What is happening in the curriculum in the Autumn Term?

Year 6 | Year 7 | Year 8

Year 6

Science – Pupils will begin the year with a look at Health and Safety issues in Science lessons. They will then move quickly on to studying “Forces”, looking in particular at equal and opposite forces, friction and upthrust (floating and sinking). This is followed by a module on “Materials”, in particular solutions and solubility. Later work moves on to “The Human Body” and how it works.

English – Pupils will follow a unit of work on ‘Food’ to include writing and oral work. This is followed by a mini unit on Shakespeare. After half term, pupils will concentrate on genre and journalism. Some pupils will be studying a novel in English sets, ‘Children of Winter’ by Berlie Doherty, ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’ by C.S. Lewis, ‘The Sheep Pig’ by D. King-Smith. After half term, pupils will study Autobiography and Biography.

Humanities – (Geography this half term). Lessons this half term involve studying the physical, human and environmental features of Geography.

P.E. – This term pupils will take part in multi-skills activities (principles of fitness), introductory invasion games, gymnastics and dance.

I.C.T. – ICT work begins with a basic baseline assessment of the pupil’s abilities. We then introduce pupils to our desk-top publishing program “MSWord”, illustrating how to edit text, make changes to fonts, save and re-load work. The pupils produce a poster about themselves, incorporating digital images using both a camera and a scanner.

Music – During the first part of the Autumn term, Year 6 pupils will complete a Transition Unit of work which consists of performing, composing, listening and appraising. Pupils continue to learn about “What music is” studying the elements of music and developing their understanding of rhythm and notation through composing and performing, in groups and as a class. Pupils will also develop their vocal skills singing a variety of unison and part songs.

P.S.H.C.E. – Lessons this term are aimed at settling pupils in to their new environment, addressing their hopes and fears of Kirkburton Middle School and looking at, in particular, making friends and issues such as bullying. Pupils will continue to identify strengths, achievements and areas for improvement.

R.E. – This term we will be thinking about what we mean by a religion and finding some of the similarities and differences in the major world religions. This will be followed by work on festivals and red-letter days.

Art – The Art year begins by thinking about the assessment of art and what attributes pupils need to develop as artists. This is then followed by a drawing and painting module, concentrating on “line”, which then leads onto studying colour and a still life painting.

French – Pupils will begin by learning/developing further their previous knowledge of greetings, names, months, numbers and the alphabet. They will talk about their brothers, sisters and pets in the second unit of work.

Design and Technology – As an introduction to their work in graphics, pupils will be learning how to draw objects in isometric, leading to them designing and making an acrylic egg holder and an aluminium coat hook.

Maths – Pupils will complete a variety of modules using the SMP Interact Maths scheme. The order of coverage may vary from class to class. These are (i) Number and Place value, (ii) Fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio, (iii) Shape, space and measure, (iv) Data handling and probability.

Science – This term’s modules are “Cells” – the study of the basic blocks of life changes; “Changes - Solid Liquid Gases” – introducing pupils to the particle model of matter; “Energy and Fuels” and the importance of conservation of scarce resources.

English – Pupils will be reading the novel ‘Holes’ by Louis Sachar, working on related reading, oral and written tasks. This work is planned according to the KS3 Framework. After half term, pupils will study the story ‘Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens and produce some ghostly tales of their own.

Geography – Pupils will study “Kenya”, its human and physical features, population distribution, commerce, sustainability and economy.

History – Pupils will study “The Roman Empire” until February half-term. During this unit the pupils will learn about the origins of Rome; its growth and decline; the Romans in Britain and the legacy they have left behind and the growth of Christianity.

P.E. – Activities undertaken in games and P.E. this term will include Multi-skills, Netball (girls), Rugby (boys), Gymnastics, Hockey and Dance.

I.C.T. – Pupils will be taught file management, effective use of spreadsheets, to investigate and amend a simple model. In Year 7 class groups, pupils will use e-mail and plan and design the presentation of information in digital media.

Music – Pupils will study African Music this term. They will listen to a variety of African music; compose, perform and record their own version in groups; learn about the different instruments and develop their knowledge of the musical elements in this style of music. Pupils will also rehearse and perform a variety of African songs with rhythmic accompaniments.

P.S.H.C.E. – Our first module develops study skills, i.e. presentation, organisation and using reference materials and how to get the most out of school life. The pupils then study ‘Sex and Relationships’ in particular the changing nature of relationships within the family as they grow older, the characteristics of loving, caring relationships and the emotional changes which take place at puberty.

R.E. – The religion studied this term in R.E. is “Judaism”. We will be concentrating on how people show their beliefs, using a range of thinking skills.

Art – The Art year begins with a drawing module which concentrates upon the representation of “form” and “tone”, looking in particular at the work of Caravaggio. This will be followed by a study of African mask-making.

French – Vocabulary associated with the family, appearance and character will be learned this first half term. Then pupils will learn how to describe where they live.

Design and Technology – In “resistant materials” pupils design and make an electronic night light. In “food technology” the pupils design and make food as part of a main course.

Maths – Pupils are now mainly using the new Heinemann Connect curse and will cover modules in the order suggested by the National Numeracy Strategy. An interactive maths programme called ‘Kaleidos’ provides much of the lesson resources. Main topics covered are number sequences, angle, fractions, probability, averages, expressions and formulae.

Science – Pupils will be looking at food and digestion including studying the role of diet in a healthy lifestyle. This will be followed by a study of the method of heat transfer.

English – Pupils will be studying a novel this half term: “Across the Barricades” by Joan Lingard ‘Friend or Foe’ by Michael Morporgo. After half term, pupils will complete work relating to Knowledge About Language. This work is planned according to the KS3 framework.

History – Pupils will learn about “Tudors” this term.

Geography – Pupils will learn about “Tourism”; its growth, development and importance economically. Pupils will also study how different places are affected by tourism. Several case studies will be used – a National Park, Majorca, London, The Alps and Disneyland Paris.

P.E. – Activities undertaken in games and P.E. this term will include Multi-skills, Netball (girls), Hockey, Rugby (boys), Dance (girls) and Gymnastics (boys).

I.C.T. – Pupils will learn file management skills on the P.C. Network. They will use spreadsheet to develop ICT based models and test predictions by changing variables and rules.

Music – The work this term concentrates on listening skills and developing knowledge of appropriate musical vocabulary. We continue developing our vocal skills, enjoying a variety of songs from ‘Raise the Roof’ by Jon Raybould. There will be opportunity for solo and group performances.

P.S.H.C.E. – Pupils begin the year with lessons relating to personal reflection, identifying strengths and areas for improvement. They will set targets in light of this information. They will then focus on citizenship education considering morals and moral dilemmas. They think about cultural norms in society, including the range of lifestyles and relationships.

R.E. – Pupils will be looking at Sikhism this term. The focus will be on how lives are affected by beliefs and we will be starting to develop our own skills in writing about our own beliefs/onions.

Art – This year begins with looking at assessment in art and looking at developing sketchbook work. This is then followed by a drawing and painting module looking at the abstract artist Georgia O’Keefe. Pupils will then produce an independent project on an aspect of Graphic Design.

French – Vocabulary concentrates upon clothes and fashion and different types of television programmes and films.

Design and Technology – Using resistant materials pupils will design and make an automaton and in Food Technology, pupils do experimental work on break leading to designing and making a bread. In textiles, they are designing and making a pencil case based on the theme of sweets.

Maths – Pupils are now mainly using the new Heinemann Connect curse and will cover modules in the order suggested by the National Numeracy Strategy. An interactive maths programme called ‘Kaleidos’ provides much of the lesson resources. Main topics covered are integers, angles, probability, fractions, equations, formulae and measures.