Homework

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?

13 May 2022

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

I know what consent is.

Consent forms a part of everyday life: permission to take or publish a photo is a form of consent.

Because matters around consent can occur anywhere, it’s important to consider a range of scenarios. That way, you’ll be able to appreciate how you, or others, might feel in those situations and can think about the words or actions that follow. As a starting point, you could look at the following scenarios and consider how you might respond:

• A friend asks you to play football at playtime but you’re feeling quite tired.
• You and a friend did really well in a quiz so you want to give them a hug.
• You’re getting ready for school and you notice your brother/sister has their jumper on backwards.
• Your teacher wants to take pictures of some pictures of your writing to share with the class.
• You’ve been learning a poem and the teacher would like to record the class to use as part of an assembly.

What other situations can your child think of where consent is important?

When we reviewed our Relationships and Sex Education Policy, very many parents and carers wanted consent to feature more. This is why we’re including consent in our homework. Talking about consent in relation to our own bodies can be appropriate for children of any age.

These R2s will help you in a situation where you’re asking for consent:

• ask for permission
• if that person says yes, great
• if they say no, respect their decision (even if it upsets you)

06 May 2022

This week’s Talk Time poses an important question that everyone can and should be mindful of:

How can we better look after our planet?

 In our current Geography topic, we’re learning about a wide range of spaces and places across the globe. To ensure that future generations can enjoy those environments, it’s important that everyone plays a part in helping to look after our planet.

Whilst some actions may seem very small and potentially unimportant, small changes can lead to big differences. What do you already do to look after our planet? What changes can you make? You could use the following ideas as a starting point for your discussions:

In and around the home:

• Switch off lights when you’re leaving a room for a while.
• Reduce the need to put the heating on by closing doors and putting on an extra layer.
• When something can no longer be used for its purpose, how can you use it for something else?
• Don’t leave TVs, consoles and other electricals on (or on standby) when you’re not using them.

Out in the community:

• Hold on to litter until you can dispose of it correctly.
• Pick up litter and put it in a nearby bin when possible.
• Travel in ways that aren’t harmful to the environment (walk, cycle, scoot etc)
• Take a reusable bottle/cup with you that can be filled up in shops.

We look forward to hearing what creative things you’re going to do to help look after our planet when we have our homework reviews in class next week.

29 April 2022

The latest Talk Time relates to our current Geography topic, Explorers:

I can show off my knowledge of world geography.

Years 1 and 2:

I know the world’s seven continents and the world’s five oceans.

Years 3 and 4 (as above plus):

I know at least four European countries and their capital cities (not including those in the UK) and I know some of the main rivers and mountains in Europe.

Years 5 and 6 (as above plus):

I know some world-wide countries and some of their major cities.

Think back to your lessons as a geographer so far this year. What strategies have you used, or could you use, to help you remember these facts? It could be drawings, pictures, map, videos, songs or other resources.

Our oracy focus this half term is vocabulary so when having your discussions at home, make sure to use the correct terminology eg city, capital city, country, continent.

Week beginning 25 April 2022

Sorry that you can’t be in school this week. Here are a range of resources linked to what is happening in class. Don’t forget to get in touch with your class teacher if you need support.

Maths

Follow this sequence of maths learning which is linked to ratio, proportion and negative numbers.

Lesson 1: video, worksheet, answers

Lesson 2: video, worksheet, answers

Lesson 3: video, worksheet, answers

Lesson 4: video, worksheet, answers

Lesson 5: video, worksheet, answers

Lesson 6: video, worksheet, answers

Lesson 7: video, worksheet, answers

Lesson 8: video, worksheet, answers

Lesson 9: video, worksheet, answers

You don’t have to print the worksheet. Your child can write or draw their answers on paper. Your child’s learning will be most effective if you sit with them to pause the clip and check / praise / support your child as the clip moves on.

Practise times tables on Times Table Rockstars, too. Email the class teacher if you need your child’s login and password details.

(Suggested time: 30 minutes of Maths and 15 minutes of Rockstars daily)

Spelling

Look on the homework page to find this week’s spellings. They should choose some past spellings that they feel less confident with. Your child should complete one task each day.

• Day 1: Generate more words linked to the spelling pattern or ‘rule’. You could look out for the words in the book you’re reading at home, or any other text, like a website linked to our science topic of Living Things and their Habitat.
• Day 2: Practise the spellings using two of the ideas in our Super Spelling Strategies guide. (Set yourself and others at home a challenge of using some of the words when you’re speaking, too!)
• Day 3: Write separate sentences, each containing one of the spellings. (Don’t forget to show off really neat handwriting and make sure you sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, exclamation mark (!) or question mark (?).
• Day 4: Repeat Task 2 or 3.
• Day 5: Get an adult at home to test you on your spellings. Practise any you spell incorrectly – you could write them out carefully until you’re sure.

(Suggested time: 15-20 minutes daily)

Reading fluency.

This is the text that we will be using in school. In school, we generally follow this sequence:

• Day 1: Read the text aloud with your child listening. Read it clearly and slowly, pointing to each word as you read. Have a chat about any unfamiliar words.
• Day 2: Read aloud each sentence (a full short sentence or part of a longer sentence), and have your child read it back to you. Do this ‘echo reading’ for the whole text.
• Day 3: Read the text and talk about the effect of the punctuation on how you read it – pauses for full stops and expression for exclamations (!) or questions (?). Your child reads the text aloud.
• Day 4: Read together with expression (just like you practised on Day 3).
• Day 5: Your child reads independently and fluently.

(Suggested time: 15 minutes daily)

Reading comprehension

We’ll be using this RIC text in class to practise comprehension skills. RIC stands for:

• Retrieve: finding information in a text
• Interpret: using clues in the text to unlock information
• Choice: thinking about the author’s choice of words, techniques or organisation that make the text interesting and enjoyable to read

At school, we like to promote a passion for reading. This website has a range of extracts and interviews with different authors. Choose one author each day and read an extract from their book. If you like it, carry out your own research on the author and book.

(Suggested time: 30 minutes daily)

Writing

In writing, we will be reviewing how punctuation is used correctly in our writing. Follow this sequence of lessons on punctuation. There’s a whole series of lessons, but start at Lesson 1 and work through, doing one (or maybe even two) each day. (If you’re self-isolating in your second week, stick with the series of lessons you’ve already started and aim to complete the full series.) Finished? Try this mixed grammar practice.

(Suggested time: 30-40 minutes for each)

Topic

Our topic this half-term is Explorers. In school, we’ll be comparing an area of South America with that of the UK.

Follow these lessons on Building Locational Knowledge: South America from Oak Academy. Follow the lesson sequence. It has 4 lessons so you could do two a week. We’ll also be looking at different biomes.

 (Suggested time: 30-40 minutes)

Science   

This term is all about electricity.

These six lessons from Oak Academy link closely to what we’ll be doing in class this half term. Start at Lesson 1 and work through, doing two or three in the week.

If Science really motivates your child, you could also use look at these lessons all about practical Science.

(Suggested time: 30-45 minutes)

PE

Don’t forget to do some daily exercise!

Do two or three of these Five Minute Moves from Joe Wicks each day – spread them across the day as if they were playtimes, maybe!

Try working through this series of 25 lessons from the Association for Physical Education – do two or three in the week.

(Suggested time: 5 minutes daily, plus 30 minutes for the longer PE lessons)

Extra stuff…

As an extra (or as an alternative, if this helps to motivate your child)…

Geography is our topic-driver this half-term so you could brush up on your locational knowledge. You could explore some online maps and try to memorise some new countries, capitals, rivers and mountain ranges. These three lessons about Europe are worth checking out.

What about some Living and Learning? While you’re away from school, you could check out these lessons on money!

22 April 2022

Our first Talk Time of this term poses a moral dilemma.

Plants and animals should not have the same rights as humans.

 In a previous Talk Time, you’ve discussed human rights and the responsibilities that go with them. Recapping these could be how you choose to start this week’s conversations.

You might already have strong opinions on the matter but when faced with a statement such as this, it’s always worth exploring both sides of the argument so that you can make an informed decision.

These prompts might help you to consider things in a different way:

• Could plants and animals share all of the same rights as humans?
• If the rights were the same, who would be responsible for ensuring it?
• Are some rights easier to achieve than others?
• What should the consequences be for neglecting those rights?
• Should the level of punishment depend on whether the victim is a plant, animal or human?
• These are some topics you might discuss: deforestation, animal testing, human diet, hunting animals for fun

 Last half term’s oracy focus was turn-taking. This skill will be very important in this task so refer to these R2s:

• If a person is speaking, listen to what they are saying.
• Let that person finish their point without interrupting them.
• When that person has spoken, acknowledge what they’ve said before making your point. Try using some of these phrases:
  • I agree with that because…
  • I also think that…
  • Adding to what you said…
  • I disagree with that because…
  • I hear what you’re saying but…
  • On the other hand, …

25 March 2022

As we near the end of our Computing topic, this Talk Time will help you to reflect on your learning.

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

Years 1 and 2:

• algorithm – a sequence of instructions or a set of rules to get something done.
• program – a collection of algorithms
• debug – to find and fix errors in algorithms
• computer – a type of machine that can follow instructions and do useful things
• password – a string of letters, numbers or symbols which give you access to something (eg a computer, a service like NumBots)
• personal information – something that can be used to identify you (eg age, school, address, password)
• appropriate – something that is suitable

Years 3 and 4:

• computer – a machine that can input, process and output data
• program – a collection of algorithms
• 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)
• digital footprint – information about a particular person that exists on the internet as a result of their online activity

Years 5 and 6:

• computer – a machine that can input, process, store and output data
• computer network – a collection of interconnected computer systems which ‘talk’ to each other by exchanging data
• internet – a huge global computer network
• 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 – something that is stored in a program and can be changed or used (eg a timer, a score, a number of lives left)
• logical reasoning – helps us to explain why something happens
• simulation – modelling a real-world or imaginary situation

 For your discussions at home, think about the learning that has happened in your Computing lessons. What was your favourite lesson and why? Refer to the list of vocabulary for your year group.

18 March 2022

Living and learning provides the focus for this week’s Talk Time.

I can describe what to do in different sorts of emergencies.

 An emergency situation is when there is an immediate risk that needs to be addressed right away.

We suggest approaching this Talk Time in two parts. First, where and when might you face an emergency? Think of a range of settings and scenarios.

After that, consider what your response would be. If there’s not a trusted adult around, call 999 if possible. The LIONEL acronym below is one that we’d like you to learn. It will help you if you ever need to phone the emergency services.

L – Location – Tell them where the emergency is and where they need to come to.
I – Incident – Tell them what has happened.
O – Other services – Do you need the ambulance, police and fire service?
N – Number of people – How many are involved?
E – Extent of injuries – How badly are they hurt?
L – Location – Repeat again where they need to come to.

11 March 2022

This week’s Talk Time poses a moral dilemma and makes links to our current computing topic.

Playing computer games is bad for your health.

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 playing computer games?
  • Remember that mental health is crucial to being a healthy person.
• How does playing computer games negatively impact on your health?
  • How could this impact on your physical health?
  • Is gaming always an enjoyable experience?
• Decide which argument is the strongest.
  • 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?