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

Vocabulary is the focus of this week’s homework. This half-term our topic has been Computing. We’ve been using and applying the key vocabulary below in our learning.

Years 1 and 2 Computing vocabulary:

• algorithm: a sequence of instructions or a set of rules to get something done
• command: an instruction that can be used in a program
• program: an algorithm or algorithms which can be run by a computer
• to debug: to find and fix errors in algorithms
• computer: a type of machine that can follow instructions and do useful things

Years 3 and 4 Computing vocabulary:

• computer: a machine that can input, process and output data
• program: an algorithm or algorithms which can be run by a computer
• code: the commands that a program can run (eg the blocks in Scratch)
• repetition: to repeat the execution of certain instructions
• sequence: to arrange instructions in a particular order
• logical reasoning: helps us explain why something happens
• sprite: a 2d character in a computer game
• decomposition: the process of breaking down a task into smaller, more-manageable parts
• input: data sent to a computer system from a device (eg keyboard, mouse, microphone)
• output: data sent out of a computer system via a device (eg monitor, printer, speaker)

Years 5 and 6 Computing vocabulary:

• decomposition: the process of breaking down a task into smaller, more-manageable parts
• repetition: to repeat the execution of certain instructions
• selection: choosing to execute one set of instructions over another
• variable: a value that can be set and changed throughout the running of a program (eg a timer, a score, a number of lives left)
• simulation: modelling a real-world or imaginary situation
• computer network: a collection of interconnected computer systems which ‘talk’ to each other by exchanging data
• world wide web: ‘www’ or ‘web’ for short is a collection of web pages of digital content found on the internet
• internet: a huge global computer network

All of these words have been introduced over the half term. How confident do you feel explaining what they mean? Can you traffic light them into green (very confident), yellow/orange (mostly confident) or red (

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 links to Science.

What’s growing?

As the season changes from Winter to Spring, you’ll begin to notice changes in gardens, parks, fields and any other green spaces! You may see flowers starting to bloom or new leaves starting to grow on trees. It’s a wonderfully magical time of year. This week, we’d like you to observe the different changes that you spot in your locality.

You could work scientifically by:

• recording your observations by taking photographs or sketching flowers
• using books or internet research to identify flowers
• spotting patterns relating to where particular flowers are growing eg sunny or shady spots
• identifying if all deciduous trees are sprouting new leaves at the same time

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 poses a moral dilemma and links to internet safety.

Is using the internet bad for your health?

You could start by listing reasons why you would use the internet (playing games, social media, watching videos). Are your reasons the same as other members of your family?

We suggest approaching this Talk Time with an open mind. You may already have strong views on this but it’s important to consider both sides of an argument before reaching your conclusions.

Check out these R2s to help you with your discussions at home:

• What are the health benefits of using the internet?
  • Remember that mental health is crucial to being a healthy person.
• How could using the internet negatively impact on your health?
  • How could this impact on your physical health?
  • Is using the internet always an enjoyable experience?
• Decide which argument is the
  • This might be the side with the most points to back it up.
  • You might consider some points to be more important than others.
  • You may not agree with people you speak to – that’s okay!

After the discussion with friends and family, what conclusion do you reach? Do others around you agree?

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

This week’s Talk Time has a moral and social theme:

I can lead a Philosophy Friday session at home.

What is Philosophy?

We’ve thought deeply about this and have written these simple definitions about what philosophy is:

Years 1 and 2	Philosophy is thinking deeply.
Years 3 and 4	Philosophy is thinking deeply about the world around us.
Years 5 and 6	Philosophy is thinking deeply about the world around us to become wiser.

Your task:

Choose one of the questions below or come up with your own thought-provoking idea. Gather your family and/or friends and ask them your chosen question. Explore each other’s different thoughts or views through discussion.

Year 1

·      If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

·      If animals could talk, what do you think they’d say?

·      What does it mean to be a good friend?

Year 2

·      Can animals be cruel?

·      Would you rather change into a bird and fly or change into a fish and swim?

·      If you were a biscuit, what type of biscuit would you be and why? What about other members of your family?

Year 3

·      Is it okay to take something that isn’t yours?

·      If you’d been given a different name, would you be a different person?

·      If it were possible to live forever, would you want to?

Year 4

·      Do computers have feelings?

·      What can you do that an animal can’t?

·      Would you rather meet a tarantula who was kind, or a puppy who wasn’t?

Year 5

·      Why are some memories more important than others?

·      Why can people own animals but not own people?

·      Is it important to stand out from the crowd?

Year 6

·      Would you rather be able to invent something incredible or destroy something terrible?

·      Can I think myself happy?

·      Who owns the sky?

As a facilitator try to:

• remain neutral
• allow each person to communicate their thoughts and opinions
• question, repeat or re-phrase and summarise
• it’s okay to disagree but everyone needs to be respectful

Below are some example sentence starters to help you express your thoughts.

When offering an opinion, use…	When agreeing, use…	When disagreeing, use…
I think… because… It’s my view that… A good example of this would be… Another reason why…	I agree with _____ because… To build on what _______ said, I think… I somewhat agree with ________ because… I would confirm that viewpoint because… Further to _______’s comments, I would also suggest…	I disagree with _______ because… To build on what _______ said, I think… I somewhat disagree with ________ because… I would counter that viewpoint because… In contrast to _______’s comments, I would suggest…

 

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 reading and oracy theme. This is because on Thursday 06 March 2025 it is World Book Day. To celebrate reading, we’d like you to have some conversations about your favourite books and or/authors.

I can talk about my favourite book and/or author.

You can come up with your own ideas for how to show this. Ideas might include:

• giving a verbal book review of your favourite book
• describing a character from your favourite book
• giving a one minute speech on your favourite book, persuading others to read it – consider what the most exciting parts are, which characters you love or you love to hate, who might enjoy reading it next and why

When you’re happy with what you want to say, turn your attention to speaking aloud with confidence and clarity. This week’s Remember 2s (R2s) will help with that:

• Speak clearly in a loud voice without shouting.
• Pause for breath at the right places to make sure your speaking at an appropriate pace.
• Face your audience.

This homework will be celebrated on World Book Day itself, Thursday 06 March 2025.

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, our Talk Time is in preparation for Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 11 February. We’ll have a full day of learning based around internet safety. With that in mind, start to think about ways you already keep yourself safe when online.

I can talk about ways to keep myself safe online

Things you might like to consider are:

• Age restrictions – where might you see these and why are these used?
• Digital content – do you know what a digital footprint is?
• Mis information, disinformation and hoaxes – are all things we read true?
• Fake websites and scam emails – are all websites trusted?
• Password safety
• Personal data and keeping it safe online
• Online vs offline behaviour
• Impact on quality of life and having a balance of online and offline activities

Have a conversation with your family and friends about how you already keep yourself safe online. After your conversation, take some time to reflect on yours and others responses. Is there anything that you could change or do differently to help keep yourself even safer online? Is there anything you’d like to know more about?

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

This week’s Talk Time has a moral theme.

Who’s responsibility is it to keep me safe?

Safety covers so many areas; your discussions could centre around these forms of safety as well as any others that you know of:

• Online safety (e-safety)
• Fire safety
• Road safety
• Electrical safety
• Water safety

For each type of safety, talk about different settings and examples of when you might be faced with risks and how your adult or you would safely deal with them. For each situation, think about who’s responsible for evaluating the risks involved. Is it solely your adult at home/school or do you hold some of the responsibility in keeping yourself safe? Does your age impact on your responsibility?

Here are some examples…

• My adult lets me have a social media account and regularly monitors it to make sure I am safe but it’s also my responsibility to keep myself safe by telling my trusted adult if something happens that I do not feel comfortable with.
• My adult lets me walk to and from school on my own but it’s also my responsibility to keep myself safe by walking on the footpaths, using crossings to cross the road safely and not talking to strangers.

Here are some R2s (Remember tos) to help you stay safe:

• Think before you act.
• Assess the risks. Is it safe?
• If something goes wrong, again, think before you act.
• Who can help you and how can you reach them?

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

Vocabulary is the focus of this week’s homework. This is because we’ve just begun a new Geography topic and with it comes new Geography vocabulary.

Here’s a list of key words that are being learnt and applied as part of our learning. Over the half-term, practise using these words with your child.

Years 1 and 2 Geography vocabulary:

• locality: an area or neighbourhood
• environment: the surroundings of a human, animal or plant
• recycling: turning waste into new materials
• pollution: something harmful or poisonous in an environment
• to survey: to find the opinions of a group of people by asking them questions
• physical geography: physical geography looks at the natural things in our environment
• human geography: human geography looks at changes in the environment by humans
• issue: an important topic or problem that needs discussion
• solution: a way of solving an issue or problem

Years 3 and 4 Geography vocabulary:

• tectonic plates: different pieces of the Earth’s crust which fit together like a jigsaw and move in different directions and at different speeds
• volcano: an opening in the Earth’s crust that allows magma, ash and gases to escape
• magma: molten rock (rock so hot that it has turned into liquid) which is underneath the Earth’s crust
• lava: when magma reaches the surface of the Earth it is called lava
• active volcano: these have a recent history of eruptions and are likely to erupt again
• dormant volcano: these have not erupted for a very long time but may erupt at a future time
• extinct volcano: these are not expected to erupt in the future
• land-use: the specific purpose that an area of land is used for
• geothermal: heat produced from within the Earth (geo means earth and thermal means heat)

Years 5 and 6 Geography vocabulary:

• climate zones: different parts of the world grouped by temperature and rainfall (eg the Met Office give six: arid, equatorial, Mediterranean, polar, snow and temperate)
• climate change: a change in climate (temperature and rainfall) over a period of time (also known as ‘climate crisis’ and ‘climate emergency’)
• global warming: an outcome of climate change: a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the Earth (also known as ‘global heating’)
• latitude: imaginary lines which show how north or south a place is (the equator is the best-known line of latitude)
• fossil fuel: a non-renewable energy source, formed from the remains of plants and animals that died millions of years ago (eg coal, oil, gas)
• renewable energy: a source of energy that is sustainable so it will never run out (eg wind energy, solar energy, tidal energy)
• emission: an emission is something that been released into the world (eg carbon dioxide is an emission created when fossil fuels are burned)
• erosion: a process where materials are worn away and transported by natural forces such as wind or water
• groyne: a low wall or barrier built out into the sea from a beach to slow erosion

Some of these words have been introduced already but there may be others that are going to be covered in the coming weeks.