07 November 2014
This week’s homework is creative and is due on Wednesday 12 November.
I can be an artist.
As we’ve been looking at so many pieces of art and tried a few ideas out in class, it’s now time to see what we can do ourselves. Create any piece of art you want. Don’t forget, there are all sorts of types of art. Choose the one you like best or one you’ve never tried before…
- painting
- sketching
- pastel/chalk
- sculpture
- ICT
- photography
…and many more. We’re really looking forward to seeing your amazing art.
It’s half-term…
…so there’s no specific homework this week, apart from ensuring your child spends at least 20 minutes each day reading and 5-10 minutes learning their number bonds / times tables.
Enjoy your October break. If you stay in Leeds, check out all the activities the museums and art galleries have on offer.
17 October 2014
This week’s homework is practice makes perfect.
Time is a very hard concept to learn but we have made a good start. After looking at all the different ways we can measure time, we’ve now started to look at actually telling the time. This has started with o’clock, with some children moving on to half past. This week’s homework is looking at telling the time so that the children can show you what they have been learning. Please make sure that you encourage your child to look at clocks and tell the time with them as it can take a while for them to become confident with this aspect of maths.
Thanks for your support with homework – the children are handing in some excellent stuff!
10 October 2014
This week’s homework is talk time.
Is it fair that some art is worth so much money when charities need money to help people?
The children are familiar with a few paintings by famous artists eg Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci. It will be interesting to investigate how much a painting like this is worth and then discuss whether this is fair when charities like St Gemma’s need funds to help look after people who are very ill. There is no right answer and everyone has different opinions – the children need to hear differing viewpoints so they can form their own opinions.
We will discuss this homework on Thursday 16 October as we’ll be at the Sculpture Park on Wednesday.
03 October 2014
This week’s homework is creative homework. It needs to be handed in by Wednesday 08 October.
We’ve been very lucky to ‘jump into’ many paintings with Katie over the past few weeks – her grandma is magical and can somehow make paintings come to life.
Which painting would you like to jump into? What would happen when you were inside the painting?
Be as creative as you like! Chat about ideas with your child: Could the homework be in the form of a poster, a letter, a comic strip, some writing, a PowerPoint…? Could it use photos, drawings, fold-out ‘extras’ on the page…?
I would like to jump into this painting:
What would I find? Who would I meet? What might change in the picture? Would I want to stay?
26 September 2014
This week’s homework is practice makes perfect. It needs to be handed in by Wednesday 01 October.
It is really important that the children know their number bonds to 10 – this means that they need to know the pairs of numbers that make 10. For example…
7 + 3 = 10 so 3 + 7 = 10
And if they know the addition facts, they’ll know subtraction facts, too…
10 – 7 = 3 and 10 – 3 = 7
The homework this week is looking at calculations that make 10 – if your child can recall these facts quickly then it helps with more complicated calculations as they progress.
(Thank you for the great discussions that seem to have happened about Katie – it’s an exciting topic!)
19 September 2014
This week’s homework is talk time homework. Your child needs to be ready to talk about this homework on Wednesday 24 September.
What did Katie do?
There should be lots to talk about this week after our exciting day with Splats. Here are some questions you might want to ask:
- Who is Katie?
- What happened when she went to the art gallery with Grandma?
- Who did she meet in the paintings?
- Which painting would you like to go inside?
- Did anything in the paintings change?
As this is talk time homework, we do not expect lots of written work from the children. There is a slight change in expectations this year – please make a few brief notes showing what was discussed. Older children are expected to write their own notes but this is something that we can develop during the year.
We are looking forward to hearing all about your discussions.
12 September 2014
The first piece of homework has been sent home with Year 1 children this week. There is a homework guide in the front of their homework book and there is more information on the website.
There are three different types of homework:
Creative homework – this is when the children can use their imagination as much as possible and be as creative as they want. There will be a statement or question and this is can be responded to through pictures, writing, photos, videos, presentations or anything else that grabs their interest. The only restriction is that they can only use one side of A4.
Practice makes Perfect – this homework is used to reinforce something that we have done in lessons or it might be that your child is finding something particularly hard and it is an opportunity for them to have more practice.
Talk time homework – this is when the children and you are encouraged to talk about a question or a statement and then the children feed back to the rest of the class. There does not have to be anything recorded in their book for talk time homework.
Homework is sent home on Friday and it must be sent back to school by the following Wednesday.
This week’s homework is “creative” homework and concludes our “Where in the World?” topic:
I can show where I live.
As always, if you have any questions or would like some support then please come and see us.
Ready to learn
It’s the summer holidays and, in line with our homework policy, there is no formal homework set over the six-week break.
That doesn’t mean that your child won’t be learning! We learn all the time – and so do children, whether it’s through play, day-trips, independent reading, discussions at home…
And of course, you’ll be keen to support your child at home so the basic facts aren’t forgotten. Please think about key English and Maths knowledge that you can gently practise over the holidays:
- number bonds: knowing pairs of numbers that add to make ten, like 3+7=10 and therefore 10-7=3). When your child is secure with pairs that total ten, can they extend this knowledge to pairs which make 20 (13+7=20, for example) and 100 (such as 30+70=100) – make this fun by using some sweet treats or how about stringing ten loom bracelets on string and then hiding some and making the link with the ones that are left (how many are hidden if you can see three bracelets?)
- times tables: Year 2 children should have an emerging knowledge of the 2 times table and the 10 times table at least, and children who have just finished Year 4 should know all their times tables (up to 12 x 12) and the division facts, too (7×8=56 so 56÷7=8) – think about chanting some times tables or buying an app to practise just a few minutes every day to keep your child’s knowledge sharp!
- reading: lots of reading over the holidays will help your child in lots of different ways – visit the local library; take part in our Extreme Reading competition; if you’re going to a theme park or museum, read the leaflet and the website… there are loads of opportunities to build in reading as a daily activity!
- writing: reading will help your child’s spellings and writing style, so don’t force lots of writing, but do try to encourage some useful, purposeful writing – write some postcards to friends and relatives , or send some emails instead, and make lists for what to pack on holiday, or what to buy if planning a sleepover.
Check out this guide about supporting learning, useful whether it’s term-time of holiday time!
Finally, make sure you enjoy the summer break!
11 July 2014
This week’s whole school homework is creative following our themed week, Staying Safe. It should be returned by Wednesday 16 July.
I know how to stay safe.
Throughout this week, a variety of visitors have worked with classes to deliver key learning about different aspects of safety. These include:
- water safety (lifeguard – Mr Glass and RNLI)
- scooter training (Mrs Strange)
- bike maintenance (Edinburgh bicycle cooperative)
- skateboarding (sk8 safe)
- trampolining (Roundhay high school)
- food/kitchen safety (school kitchen)
- first aid (British Red Cross)
- e-safety (One day creative)
- road safety (Leeds City Council)
- drug education (dside)
- safety within engineering (Mr McDermott)
- bike security (police)
Alongside these external visitors, children have been learning other aspects of safety within their class.
The creative homework is a great opportunity for your child to demonstrate their learning from this week. They could:
- write a poem
- produce a quiz
- create a comic strip
- produce an information leaflet
- create a crossword
- …or anything else they can think of.