Homework

09 September 2022

Vocabulary is the focus of this week’s Talk Time.

We’ve just begun a new Science topic and with it comes new Science vocabulary.

This half-term, we’re all biologists, learning specifically about Living Things and their Habitats. 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 Biology vocabulary:

Years 3 and 4 Biology vocabulary:

Years 5 and 6 Biology vocabulary:

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

15 July 2022

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.

08 July 2022

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 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 in the Homework page of our school website.

Please submit before Friday 15 July 2022.

01 July 2022

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

I can talk about how to be safe near drugs (over-the-counter medicines and prescription drugs, for example).

A good starting point for your discussions could be to identify the drugs you’re aware of that have the potential to be helpful. Then, you could discuss a range of scenarios, establishing what being safe around drugs does and does not look like.

The following R2s will help you to stay safe around drugs:

• Only take drugs as detailed by your doctor and/or in the instructions (if an over-the-counter medicine).
• Do not take drugs that are prescribed for someone else.
• If you’re not sure what the drug is or how much you can have, don’t take it.
• If you need any medicine or have any related questions, ask a trusted adult.

This week’s message (Friday 24 June 2022)

Thanks to everyone who responded to this year’s annual survey. We’ll spend the next few weeks reviewing the responses and building in some action points to our School Improvement Plan.

This week’s message is a little different: it comes from our Junior Leadership Team…

JLT stands for the Junior Leadership Team. The members of the team are voted for by the other kids in their class. All members are committed to their responsibilities.

As part of the JLT, we help to decide which charity the school should support. Each class puts forward a charity and the JLT make a democratic decision.

In meetings, we talk about the school’s safety and what needs improving. The JLT did a safety audit last term and looked at what could be improved or changed in school.

We discuss the school lunches and sometimes we get to choose which meals stay on the menu. We listen to our classmates for ideas and that really helps to improve our school.

As members of the JLT, we take on board all the suggestions that have been put in the Living and Learning box. It is important to listen, share and discuss classmates’ ideas, not just our own.

Friday 24th June

This week’s spellings are practising the  ‘al grapheme which can make the /l/, /or/ and /ar/ sound.

medal

talk

walk

calm

half

The spellings will be tested on Friday 1st July.

24 June 2022

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?

17 June 2022

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 / whip 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.

10 June 2022

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.

20 May 2022

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 Earth, divided into a northern and southern hemisphere
• equator – an imaginary line that goes around the centre of the Earth
• latitude – the distance north or south of the equator, measured in degrees
• tourism – travelling to a place for fun
• economy – how a country or place makes and spends money
• overtourism – 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

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?