Topic ideas for Year 6 next academic year

[Strawberrybubblebath]

Any idea for things that Year 6's are into? I am a TA and have a planning meeting soon with the Year 6 teachers and we want things we can use to link into the curriculum get the children engaged in September (or onwards) e.g. any new films being released, the next fad thing on from fidget spinners (?balancing birds), popular TV programmes or books, any special sports events, world events?
Anyone with children in Year 5/6/7 with any ideas? I would be very grateful.
I am going to do some googling but nothing is better than ideas straight from the horses mouth.
Thanks.

Avoid fads

I'm not a very cool teacher but I like to keep things current by using current affairs/topical issues. So this year I used the Paralympics for some mapping/geography work and to look at values and sport. We also learnt about political systems linked in with elections (expecting local and got the bonus general!) and Brexit. My class (P6) are really interested in being able to discuss those big issues. Of course terrorism has been a great concern for them too this year.

The only thing I can see is the Football World Cup next June. It will be in Russia. Not sure whether I'll use it much though as I teach in Scotland and it'll be the very end of year for us.

The local area and local issues, eg, planning developments etc give them the opportunity to form opinions and debate. Similarly, Brexit is an opportunity to explore politics. Real life tangibility is something that children can relate to so it can also help children who have ASD.

My year 5 dd was fascinated by WW1 and WW2 which they covered as topic last Autumn term. They spoke to an evacuee, visited the local memorials, read stories from the time, cooked food with rations and much more.

Great thank you. Those sound great. I would like to go to the meeting with some good ideas.

DS1 is in Y5 and this year has done:

The Golden Age of Islam (maths, religion, geography)
Fighting for Freedom (suffragettes, WW1 and 2, Rosa Parks)
Tomorrow's World (inventions and environmental concerns)

The periodic table and rocks and minerals seems to hold imagination.

Some very interesting ideas I would not have thought of - thanks

Is your area doing a Neighbourhood Plan where children's voices could be heard? WW1 events are ongoing with 1918-2018 being 100 years after the end of the War.

When my DDs were in Y6, all the children ran stalls at the school summer fair. They had to plan the stall, decide how to organise it, price it, take money etc. It was a very good thing to do and the children really stepped up to take responsibility.