Author: Mr Catherall

Creative homework review

This afternoon, we spent some time reflecting on last week’s creative homework. We had a chance to look at everyone else’s before voting for our favourite (with a focus on effort and originality).

The standard was high across the class. In particular, we loved Henry’s, Ethan’s, Laurielynn’s, Gloria’s and Jennifer’s.


  
  
Homework is a really important part of school life and can lead to some very rich learning. We can’t wait to see next week’s!

 

Drama day! 

Yesterday, we spent the whole day focusing on drama. Francis, from a company called ‘Ignite Lights’, came into school and delivered a whole day of drama that was linked to our class novel: ‘The Thornthwaite Inheritance’.

We started the day by looking at stereotypes and how they are often used in writing/theatre. We discussed how stereotypes also affect our day-to-day lives and made some freeze-frames based on some stereotypical characters.


Next, we donned some outfits and became story detectives. First, finding the stories that contained our characters. Then, proposing an alternative plot before devising a short play.


Last, we studied the poem ‘Caged Bird’ by Maya Angelou. The poem reminded us of a character from our class novel. We created soundscapes and imagescapes to show our understanding of the key emotions in the poem. Brandon amazed us with his understanding of key themes, showing a real maturity in his answers. (Well done, Brandon!)

We had a great day exploring our class novel through drama and would like to thank Miss Valentine for organising the visit.

It was particularly fun to dress up. Can you guess whose hair got covered in black and white paint?

You could really help at home by discussing stereotypes with your child. You could discuss questions such as…

  • which stereotypes are prevalent in society?
  • is stereotyping always a negative?
  • what can we do as individuals to combat stereotyping in society?

Tchoukball returns to Year 6!

This half term, in PE, we will be learning all about Moortown’s favourite sport: tchoukball!

We spent our first lesson yesterday reminding ourselves of the game, its rules and the skills we need to play it. We arranged our thoughts using a spider-diagram as we moved through the lesson (sorry about the shadow!). You could ask your child: Are any of these skills transferable to other sports? Can you discuss each skill in more detail? Is one skill more important than the others? Which skills are you most confident with? Which skills do you feel you need to improve most?

photo 1 (18)

We had lots of fun playing this action-packed game again; here are some action shots:

photo 2 (17) photo 3 (10)

Please remember, children need their PE kit in school on Tuesdays and Fridays – this is their responsibility!

15 January 2016

This week, we have creative homework:

I can show what I know about shape.

We have spent the last two weeks learning all about shape. Children should reflect on this learning to show what they about this area of maths. Children might wish to:

  • Identify shapes around them
  • Demonstrate a particular skill (e.g symmetry) creatively
  • Identify angles around them
  • Explain/show the area of ‘shape’ maths they have found most interesting or feel most confident with

We also have Practice Makes Perfect homework:

I can use abstract nouns in sentences.

Children have a worksheet which helps them to practise using abstract nouns in sentences.

This homework is due on 20 January 2016.

This week, by Jennifer and Ethan

This week, Jennifer and Ethan have spent some time reflecting on our learning over the last week.

English

This term in English we have been planning and writing news articles about the three little pigs but this time the wolf is innocent. We have already done the main news and the background. This a piece from Bailey’s writing:

At approximately 15:17, Bradley and Albert Pig were left no option but to run to their sister’s house. Mr A.Wolf, who claimed he wanted to invite them to his house welcoming party, said the attack on Wheat Dale Farm was accidental. 

Maths

In maths we have been focusing on drawing and calculating angles – including missing interior angles. We have also learnt about symmetry and circles!

Here are some examples of our learning (drawing angles and finding the total of the interior angles of a shape):

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Next week, we will be starting our new topic: Life!

Loving our library!

This afternoon, as we do every Monday, we went to the library to change our books. We really enjoy this experience and are making a conscious effort to raise the profile of reading in our class. It’s great that we have this facility in school and Year 6 are certainly making the most of it – everyone seems to be enjoying reading their books!

It would be great if you could help at home by:

  • reading with your child
  • asking questions about what you have read (e.g. How does the character feel? What might happen next? What did the character say when…?)
  • encouraging your child to read for pleasure
  • asking questions about reading in general (e.g. Do you like the book? Who is your favourite author? What makes this book different to a fiction/non-fiction book? Is there a particular genre you enjoy/don’t enjoy reading?)
  • raising the profile of reading at home – Do you read? If so, could you and your child spend time reading your own books at the same time?

We know you help lots at home and it really shows in the learning we do at school. Thank you for your continued support.

08 January 2016

This week, we also have Practice Makes Perfect homework:

I can find missing angles around a point.

This continues on from maths lessons recently. Children have learnt how to calculate missing angles in a straight line and should should apply this knowledge to the worksheet.

This homework is due on 13 January 2016.