Author: Mrs Quirk

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time

This week’s Talk Time homework brings together the learning that has happened in our Living and Learning sessions last week. The children will be reading and talking about the Acceptable Use Agreements in class this half-term, as well as a copy being sent home to be agreed, signed and returned to school.

As well as considering these agreements within their classrooms, also talk about how these agreements can be applied at home and take the opportunity to set or reaffirm some ground rules for the use of technology in and around home.

Living and Learning

Each week’s Living and Learning statement features in the school calendar – check out the prompt to support you and your child in this area. Find the statements in the calendar – you’ll see it in the Find Out section of our website.

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time

There’s a social theme to this week’s Talk Time.

In our school, we have 3 school rules:

1. We’re ready.
2. We’re respectful.
3. We’re safe.

Is it important to have rules to follow in and outside of school? Is there a rule that we’re missing?

This week’s R2s (‘remember tos’) will help you to provide a balanced argument before you reach a conclusion:

• What are the reasons for having rules to follow (the pros)?
• What are the reasons against having rules to follow (the cons)?
• Reach a decision. Is it valuable to have rules to follow?
  • One list may have more points than the other.
  • Some points have a greater importance than others.

One way to approach this Talk Time is to have a debate with people in your household. This will not only help you generate ideas but also practise a range of oracy skills. Last year, one of the oracy focuses was building on the views of others and reasoning. When someone raises a point that you’re in agreement with, use one of the following phrases to start your response:

• I agree with you because…
• That’s a good point. I also think that…
• Furthermore, I’ll add that…

On the other hand, you may disagree with a point made by a family member. When that’s the case, it can be hard not to interrupt them. Another oracy focus from last year was turn-taking. To be respectful of others’ opinions, wait until a person has finished speaking and then respond using one of these sentence starters or one of your own:

• I hear what you’re saying but…
• That’s a good point. However…
• I take your point but…

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time

This week’s homework relates to our food technology lessons this year:

I can prepare some food at home and then review how it might be changed in some way.

This week, we’d like you to have fun making a simple dish at home. This could be cooking a dish that you’ve made in food technology lessons this year, helping to cook a meal that you eat at home, or as simple as preparing small healthy snack after school!

Here are some steps for you to follow:

1. Have a discussion with an adult at home and chose a simple recipe you’d like to make.
2. With the help of an adult, follow the recipe to make your dish. Remember to practise all the skills that you have learnt in your food technology sessions this year.
3. Taste your dish!
4. Review and reflect on your dish. Did you like it? Could you make it better? Would you add or remove any ingredients, spices or toppings?

Be ready to share what you made in class next week. If you really liked a dish, you could bring the recipe to share with your peers!

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time

This final Talk Time of the academic year relates to your end-of-year report.

I can talk with adults at home about my report, recognising successes and strengths.

It’s important to remember that your achievements come in many forms. Your key strengths could relate to your learning behaviour, your attainment in a particular subject or your speed of progress.

This is also a great opportunity to apply your understanding of the 8Rs for learning:

• responsive
• ready
• (safe) risks
• responsible
• resourceful
• resilient
• remember
• reflect

Being reflective will be the most prominent of the 8Rs in your conversations as you’ll identify successes recognised by your teacher in the report but also other strengths that you’re aware of. Consider which of the other 8Rs you currently excel at the most. Perhaps you’re a very responsible individual who always demonstrates good learning behaviour. Maybe you’re extremely resilient and have a never-give-up attitude. It could be that you’re very resourceful, using what’s around you to support your learning and not always seeking help right away.

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time

This week’s Talk Time has a Living and Learning focus:

I can share my views about health.

We’re proud to be a happy and healthy school. Each year, we ask you to complete a short online health questionnaire. Your views can help us to become even happier and healthier.

Parents/carers: please complete this survey with your child, to find out their views on some of our key health issues at school, and comment at the end. You can find the link to the survey here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdX0MMIeXO3Ppu7bWbcl3rC76uwyN2aR772mLvCXqAGTkX1Bw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Please submit before Friday 05 July 2024.

Year 5/6 – complete your My Health My School pupil diary from Saturday 29 June for the next seven days and return it to class once completed.

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time

During this week’s Talk Time, you’ll explore an important moral dilemma.

Shops should try to sell clothes as cheaply as possible.

When discussing the statement, there are a number of factors to take into consideration. Your conversations at home may begin by attempting to answer the following questions:

• Who would benefit from clothes being sold as cheaply as possible?
  • Bear in mind that not everyone shares the same level of wealth.
• How would this impact on the amount of clothes people own?
  • Would people buy more clothes than they actually need?
• How would lower prices impact on the shops themselves?
• If more clothes are needed in shops, how would that impact on the manufacturers?
  • in terms of issues such as workload and pay

The following R2s will help your child to reflect on the discussion points:

• What are the reasons for (the pros) selling clothes as cheaply as possible?
• What are the reasons against (the cons) doing so?
• Reach a conclusion – Do you take one particular side or is there a compromise that could satisfy everyone?

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time

We’re now a couple of weeks into our final topic of the school year, Design and Technology.

Thinking about the new topic vocabulary, I can begin to use these words at home.

Years 1 and 2:

• design process: the steps that need to happen for something to go from an idea to a finished product
• to plan: to think about and decide how you’re going to do something
• to evaluate: to decide, after careful consideration, how good or bad something is

• felt: a kind of cloth made from wool
• needle: a thin piece of metal or plastic with a point at one end and a hole or eye for thread in the other, used in sewing
• thread: a long, thin strand of cotton used in sewing or weaving

• over stitch: a stitch that circles the edge of a piece of fabric

Years 3 and 4:

• product: something that is designed and made
• function: the purpose of something
• design brief: a description of what a new product should do
• design criteria: the precise features a product must have to be successful
• annotated sketch: a detailed sketch labelled with notes (eg dimensions, materials)

• fabric: cloth or other material produced by weaving or knitting fibres
• binka: a firm piece of fabric with holes in to help beginners to sew and embroider
• over stitch: a stitch that circles the edge of a piece of fabric
• running stitch: a line of small even stitches

• template: a tool used to mark out shapes repeatedly

Years 5 and 6:

• design criteria: the precise features a product must have in order to be successful
• innovative: an adjective to describe new or original ideas
• sustainable material: a material is sustainable if it comes from renewable sources and it does not damage the environment
• dimension: a measurement of something in a particular direction (eg height, length, width)
• aesthetic: something about the appearance (eg something can be aesthetically pleasing)
• running stitch: of a line of small even stitches
• back stitch:  a method of sewing with overlapping stitches to form a solid line of stitching
• applique: pieces of fabric sewn or stuck on to a larger piece to form a picture or pattern
• pattern: a repeated decorative design

When having your discussions at home, you could start by explaining the end goal of this topic. What product are you designing and then making? What materials and skills will be required? Refer to the definitions provided when you’re explaining new vocabulary Challenge yourself to see if you can explain them in your own words.

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time

Our first Talk Time of this half term has a moral theme.

I can talk about the difference between needs and wants.

Although very similar, our needs and wants aren’t always the same. In your discussions this week, consider if the things you want are things that you need or things that you could, in fact, live without.

One way to approach this Talk Time is to recall your Living and Learning lessons about basic human rights. Identify what those rights are – things that fall outside of those could be considered wants instead of needs.

Our oracy focus for this half term is liveliness and flair. The following R2s will help you to keep others engaged when you’re speaking:

• Talk with enthusiasm in your voice.
• Use your imagination to think of scenarios to support your viewpoint.
• Maintain a good level of eye contact with your audience.

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time

This week’s Talk Time is related to our core skills:

Our Talk Time this week relates to our recent Geography learning:

I know and can use the topic vocabulary from this half term.

Years 1 and 2:

• continent: a very large area of land
• globe: a model of the Earth which shows what it looks like from space
• ocean: a large area of water between continents
• Equator: an imaginary line that goes around the centre of the Earth
• physical geography: physical geography looks at the natural things in our environment
• human geography: human geography looks at changes in the environment by humans
• population: the number of people living in a certain place
• national park: a park or area of land looked after by a country’s government

Years 3 and 4:

• climate zones: areas of the world with similar temperature and weather
• hemisphere: a half of the earth, divided into a northern and southern hemisphere
• Equator: an imaginary line that circles around the earth and divides it equally into the two hemispheres
• latitude: the distance north or south of the equator, measured in degrees
• lagoon: a stretch of saltwater separated from the sea by a low sandbank or coral reef
• tourism: travelling to a place for fun
• economy: how a country or place makes and spends money
• over tourism: when there are too many tourists and it results in conflict with local people who live there
• flood defences: used to prevent flooding in a specific place

Years 5 and 6:

• biome: areas of the world with similar climate, landscapes, animals and plants
• vegetation belt: an area with distinct plant types
• climate zone: areas of the world with similar temperature, weather and precipitation
• natural resources: something that is found in nature and can be used by humans
• exports: goods that are sent to other countries for sale
• deforestation: the destruction of forests by humans
• agriculture: growing and harvesting crops and raising animals; another word for farming
• indigenous people: the earliest or original inhabitants of a place
• mining: the process of getting valuable or useful minerals from the ground

Encourage your child to think back to their Geography learning so far. The following questions might prompt your child to remember even more about the vocabulary:

• What does this word mean?
• Can you use the word in a sentence?
• Can you (where possible) give an example of this?
• Have you seen a piece of art that links to that word?
• Can you link this word to one or more of the other words?

Which of these words would you group together?

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time

This week’s Talk Time is related to our core skills:

I can review and reflect on how I’ve used my Reading Record and how I’ve used NumBots and Times Tables Rock Stars.

Each week, there’s a reading and number fact fluency focus as part of our Talk Time homework.

Have a discussion with someone at home about how you feel you are achieving in your weekly reading and number fact fluency focuses. Are you managing to complete the focuses? Is there an area that you feel you could improve on?