Year 6 English Curriculum Led Activities for KS2 Students
Hands-On Education will offer a comprehensive range of Year Six English curriculum activities designed for home educators and primary school teachers. It will provide resources that cover key areas such as reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, and spoken language. In reading, students engage with a diverse selection of texts, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and plays from various cultures. Writing activities focus on advanced skills like using prefixes and suffixes, spelling complex words, and employing sophisticated punctuation. Grammar lessons emphasize understanding formal and informal language, the passive voice, and the subjunctive form. Vocabulary development is supported through strategies that encourage the use of formal and sophisticated words. Additionally, spoken language skills are honed through activities that promote effective communication and collaboration. By the end of Year Six, students are expected to be confident in their reading, writing, and communication abilities, preparing them for secondary education.
What are some of the key areas covered in English at different year levels within Year Six?
In Year 6, students focus on developing advanced English skills across reading, writing, and spoken language. Here are some of the key areas covered:
Reading
Year 6 students are expected to:
- Read a wide range of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and plays, including texts from different cultures and traditions
- Prepare poems and plays for performance, demonstrating understanding through intonation and expression
- Infer characters' feelings from their actions and justify inferences with evidence
- Discuss how authors use figurative language
- Distinguish between fact and opinion
Writing
Key writing skills developed in Year 6 include:
- Using prefixes, suffixes, and understanding guidance for adding them
- Spelling words with silent letters and more difficult homophones
- Using dictionaries and thesauruses effectively
- Writing with neat, legible handwriting at increasing speed
- Using advanced punctuation, including semi-colons, colons, dashes, and hyphens
- Employing the passive voice in writing
- Structuring texts with organizational devices like headings, bullet points, and paragraphs
- Describing settings, characters, and atmosphere in narratives
- Writing dialogue effectively
Grammar and Vocabulary
Students in Year 6 focus on:
- Understanding and using the passive voice
- Distinguishing between formal and informal language
- Using the subjunctive form in formal writing
- Employing question tags in informal speech
- Expanding their vocabulary with formal and sophisticated words
Spoken Language
- Listen and respond appropriately to adults and peers
- Ask relevant questions to extend their understanding
- Use strategies to build their vocabulary
- Articulate and justify answers, arguments, and opinions
- Give well-structured descriptions and explanations
- Participate actively in collaborative conversations
Year 6 students are expected to:
By the end of Year 6, students should be confident readers, writers, and communicators, prepared for the transition to secondary school and capable of expressing themselves clearly and creatively across various contexts.
How do Year 6 students develop their vocabulary skills?
Year 6 students develop their vocabulary skills through a variety of engaging and systematic approaches. Teachers introduce new words systematically, focusing on Tier 2 words (academic vocabulary) that are crucial for comprehension across subjects. They select 3-7 new words per week from high-quality texts, teach words explicitly, providing clear definitions and examples, use visual supports like word walls or graphic organizers, and incorporate multi-sensory learning techniques.
Students expand their vocabulary through reading a wide range of texts, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and plays. They learn to infer word meanings from context and use strategies like analysing word parts (prefixes, suffixes, root words) and reading around unfamiliar words for clues. Teachers employ various activities to reinforce new vocabulary, such as word games like vocabulary bingo, Pictionary, and charades. Students create songs, rhymes, or jingles with new words and their definitions, act out words to provide physical associations, and draw representations of words to enhance memory.
To ensure retention, students encounter new words multiple times (4-12 exposures) in different contexts, revisit words throughout the year using ongoing word lists or "word pots," and are challenged to use new words in their speaking and writing. Students are taught to use dictionaries and thesauruses effectively, keep vocabulary notebooks to record new words and their usage, and select their own words to learn, promoting ownership of their vocabulary development.
Vocabulary development is not limited to English lessons. New words are introduced and reinforced across all subjects, and students learn subject-specific terminology alongside general academic vocabulary. By combining these approaches, Year 6 students develop a rich, nuanced vocabulary that enhances their reading comprehension, writing skills, and overall academic performance.
What types of texts do Year 6 students read and analyse?
Year 6 students read and analyze a diverse range of texts to develop their literacy skills and broaden their literary exposure. The types of texts they engage with include:
- Fiction texts, both modern and classic, from various cultures and traditions1. This helps students explore different writing styles, themes, and cultural perspectives.
- Poetry, including different forms such as free verse and narrative poetry12. Students prepare poems to read aloud and perform, demonstrating their understanding through intonation and volume.
- Plays, which students may read and perform to enhance their comprehension and expression skills.
- Non-fiction texts, covering a wide range of topics to expand students' knowledge across the curriculum.
- Short stories with flashbacks, allowing students to analyze more complex narrative structures.
- Biographies and autobiographies, which help students understand different writing perspectives and real-life experiences.
- Journalistic writing, introducing students to factual reporting and news article structures.
- Persuasive writing, enabling students to identify and analyze techniques used to influence readers.
- Texts featuring poetic imagery, helping students recognize and interpret figurative language.
Year 6 students are encouraged to read independently and participate in guided reading sessions with their teachers. They are taught to analyze these texts by:
- Inferring characters' feelings from their actions and justifying inferences with evidence
- Discussing how authors use figurative language
- Distinguishing between fact and opinion
- Identifying themes and conventions in different types of writing
- Summarizing main ideas from multiple paragraphs
This diverse range of texts and analytical approaches helps prepare Year 6 students for the more advanced literary studies they will encounter in secondary school.
How is persuasive writing taught in Year 6?
In Year 6, persuasive writing is taught through a comprehensive approach that combines explicit instruction, analysis of examples, and practical application. Teachers begin by introducing students to various persuasive devices such as alliteration, rhetorical questions, emotive language, modality, repetition, and personal pronouns. Students then read and analyze different types of persuasive texts, learning to identify these devices and discuss their effectiveness. The writing process is structured, with teachers guiding students through planning, drafting, and editing persuasive texts. This includes identifying the audience and purpose, selecting appropriate grammar and vocabulary, and using organizational devices effectively.
Students are taught to write clear thesis statements and are given exercises to practice careful word selection and the use of rhetorical questions. The strategy of repeating main arguments is emphasized to help normalize ideas and make them more memorable to readers. Teachers use various practical activities to reinforce learning, such as creating persuasion maps, playing word games, and practising speaking directly to the reader in their writing. Persuasive writing skills are often integrated across different subjects, allowing students to practice in various contexts.
Throughout this process, students learn to identify the audience and purpose of their writing, select appropriate grammar and vocabulary, and use a wide range of devices to build cohesion within and across paragraphs. They also practice using organizational and presentational devices like headings and bullet points. By combining these approaches, Year 6 students develop a strong foundation in persuasive writing, preparing them for more advanced writing tasks in secondary school. This comprehensive approach ensures that students not only understand the techniques of persuasive writing but can also apply them effectively in their own work.
What are some examples of poetic imagery studied in Year 6?
In Year 6, students typically study various examples of poetic imagery to develop their understanding and appreciation of figurative language. Some common types of imagery explored include:
Visual imagery, which appeals to the sense of sight. For example, in Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind," students might analyze lines like "Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead / Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing". This creates a vivid mental picture of autumn leaves being blown by the wind.
Auditory imagery, which evokes sounds. A classic example often studied is "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes, which uses lines like "The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees". This helps students imagine the sound of wind rushing through trees.
Tactile imagery, appealing to the sense of touch. Students might examine poems like "Pleasures" by Denise Levertov, which describes the texture of fruit: "cased in rough brown peel, the flesh / rose-amber, and the seed: / the seed a stone of wood, carved and / polished".
Olfactory and gustatory imagery, relating to smell and taste, are also introduced. While specific examples aren't provided in the search results, teachers often use poems with rich sensory descriptions to help students understand these types of imagery.
Year 6 students are encouraged to identify and analyze these different types of imagery in various poems, understanding how poets use language to create vivid sensory experiences for the reader. They also practice incorporating imagery into their own writing, learning to "show, don't tell" when crafting descriptions.
How do Year 6 students prepare for reading aloud and performances?
Year 6 students prepare for reading aloud and performances in several ways:
- Text selection and practice: Students choose or are assigned poems, plays, or prose passages to read aloud. They practice reading these texts multiple times to become familiar with the content and flow.
- Developing expression and intonation: Teachers guide students to use appropriate expression, tone, and volume when reading aloud. Students learn to vary their voice to convey meaning and emotion in the text.
- Understanding the text: Students analyze the text to comprehend its meaning, themes, and characters. This deeper understanding helps them interpret the text more effectively when reading aloud.
- Focusing on fluency: Students work on reading smoothly and accurately, paying attention to punctuation and phrasing.
- Performing in groups: Students often prepare plays or group readings, learning to coordinate their performances with others and developing teamwork skills.
- Memorization: For some performances, students may memorize parts of the text, enhancing their ability to engage with the audience.
- Audience awareness: Teachers help students understand the importance of projecting their voice, making eye contact, and using appropriate body language when performing.
- Feedback and improvement: Students receive feedback from teachers and peers, and use this to refine their performances.
By engaging in these year six English activities activities, Year 6 students develop their ability to read aloud with understanding and perform texts effectively, demonstrating their comprehension through intonation, volume, and expression.
