On Wednesday, all of Year 6 took part in a wonderful topic day to support our learning of World War 2. World War 2 Day started with us enjoying the activities laid out on our tables which included colouring pages, crosswords and wordsearches. It was fantastic to see all our friends and teachers in their costumes and our teachers took photos of us dressed as soldiers and evacuees.
The whole of Year 6 then went to Hayes Hall with the excitement of listening to the adventurous stories of the school archivist, Mrs. Sue James. These stories were about the journey of our school during the time period of World War 2 and the experiences of the teachers and pupils. A bewildered uproar was the reaction when the Mrs. James whipped out a part of an incendiary bomb which surprisingly bore her father’s initials. She also brought her mother’s army uniform and made Rose, one of our classmates, a fashion model by helping her dress into the khaki-green shirt and navy-blue hat.
Most of the class agreed that codebreaking, which was the next activity, was the highlight of the day. We found out all about the incredible code breakers who worked at Bletchley Park during the war and we had a go at deciphering and writing challenging codes, including Morse Code and Pigpen Code.
Later that day, we took part in a Swing Dance Workshop, where we learned fun swing dance moves that were danced during World War 2 but have also continued to be used whenever the upbeat music is played around the world today. The dance consisted of fast and joyful feet and arm movements which were confusing to start with, but everyone threw themselves into the task and used our school value of Joy and Collaboration Superpower as we saw the routine coming together.
Next on the list of fun activities for the day was making our very own propaganda posters, which were inspired by ones that were used in Britain during World War 2. All of them were colourful, persuasive and extremely realistic and we focused on themes including evacuation, the role of women, rationing and careless talk. It was lovely to see all types of propaganda that the British would have used in those treacherous times to motivate their people and keep up the British morale.
In summary, World War 2 Day was a fun, inspiring and adventurous day that enhanced our topic learning. All of us heartily enjoyed this experience as it left a significant mark on our hearts.
