Year 2 Homework

More homework? No – more encouragement

Posted on Friday 13 February 2015 by Mr Roundtree

We had a record number of parents / carers who attended parents’ evenings this week – thank you to all who showed up.

A small number of parents asked for more homework. Please bear in mind we asked your views about homework in the Annual Survey last year, and the findings were quite mixed: some thought there was too much whilst about the same proportion thought there was not enough. The majority agreed with us: the amount of homework we set is about right.

Taken from our Homework Policy, this is our rationale for giving homework:

Educational experience that a school by itself provides is limited; children benefit from wider, complementary experiences out of school. However, some prompts and guidance from school can direct these experiences and develop greater learning. We see homework as an important example of cooperation between teachers and parents / carers. An aim of our teaching is to promote independent learners; homework is one of the ways in which children can acquire the skill of independent learning.

We recognise the importance of quality family time; this policy should help to promote opportunities to be creative rather than labour over frequent worksheets or carry out activities that pupils and / or parents / carers may not understand.

Whilst homework develops children’s learning and independence, quality family time, play and free time are also important. Homework should not prevent children from taking part in wider activities such as those offered by out-of-school clubs and other organisations. Children develop their interests and skills to the full only when parents/carers encourage them to make maximum use of the opportunities available outside school.

Also in our Homework Policy is this statement:

We believe the frequency of homework set out here provides the right balance for pupils and meets the expectations of most parents (whose opinions we sought in the Annual Survey, 2014). Staff may occasionally provide additional homework; this will amount to two or three extra pieces across the year. As an alternative, staff will be happy to suggest to parents other ways they can support their child’s learning at home.

Please do not expect extra homework for you child to be set as a matter of routine. Governors want to protect teachers work / life balance, but – importantly – we believe extra homework would not be helpful for most pupils.

 

 

 

06 February 2015

Posted on Thursday 05 February 2015 by Mrs Taylor

For all children in Year 1 – Year 6, the homework this week is talk time and is due in on Wednesday 11 February.

I can prepare a speech (School Council elections).

or

I know the importance of voting.

It’s time for children to consider if they would like to stand for election for our new school council.  With two representatives from each class, chosen democratically by their peers, all children at Moortown Primary are encouraged to take an active part in pupil voice.

Elections for our new school council will take place next Thursday 12 February with our polling station and ballot boxes at the ready.  Candidates will have the opportunity to give their election speech to their class on Wednesday 11 February.

What makes a good school councillor has been considered by our current school council.

  • ‘Communicating with others – pupils and adults.’
  • ‘Having good listening skills to know what to contribute in meetings.’
  • ‘Thinking of realistic ideas to suggest in meetings.’

Hints for your speech include:

  • What skills and abilities would a good school councillor have?
  • What are you particularly good at that would help you to be a great school councillor?
  • What do you think would make the school better? What could you do that people would really like?
  • Think of things that are realistic, maybe that you could do yourself, rather than having to ask other people to do?

Thank you to our current school councillors for all their ideas and contributions over the last year.  We hope you have enjoyed this role and responsibility and you are welcome to stand again for election.

Good luck to all children who decide to stand in the elections.  Results will be announced in our assembly on Thursday 12 February.

If you choose not to stand in the election then you should consider the importance of voting.

30 January 2015

Posted on Thursday 29 January 2015 by Mr Roundtree

This week’s homework is creative and is due on Wednesday 04 February.

I can write a story set in a Norman castle.

R2s (our ‘remember to’ reminders…):

  • capital letters and full stops
  • adjectives
  • conjunctions

Before you write your story think about these questions…

  • Who would live in the castle?
  • Do you have a goodie and a baddie?
  • What does the castle look like inside and out?
  • What main event happens to put one of your characters in danger?
  • How do they get out of this danger?
  • Is it a happy ending?

23 January 2015

Posted on Thursday 22 January 2015 by Mr Roundtree

This week’s homework is Talk Time and is due on Wednesday 28 January.

Which house would you live in and why?

All of the houses in your book are from different periods in time. Have a look. Imagine what they would be like inside and what it would be like to live there. Then, decide which house you would choose to live in and explain why you have chosen this.

Talk Time homework encourages discussion at the dinner table but please write a couple of notes explaining your choice to help you when we discuss the subject in class.

 

 

 

 

16 January 2015

Posted on Monday 19 January 2015 by Mr Roundtree

This week’s homework is creative and is due on Wednesday 21 January.

What can you make out of the rubbish (recycling) you produce in your home?

Look around the house at the things you’re throwing away and think about what you could make out of them. The old man made a forest out of tin – think about useful, attractive and magical things you could make.

This homework is creative so you could decide to actually make an item and take a picture or bring it into school or you might want to design something in your homework book (especially if you’ve got an idea as big as the forest the old man made).

12 December 2014

Posted on Thursday 11 December 2014 by Mr Roundtree

This week’s homework is Practice Makes Perfect and is due on Wednesday 17 December.

I can practise telling the time.

You have been assigned three activities on Mathletics, all to do with telling the time and days of the week. Have a go at these as many times as you want and, if you want to go on and do more, please do! We can then have a look at how we did and what we need to practise more in class. Don’t forget to use the question mark: if you’re not sure how to answer a question, click on the question mark and it will give you some help.

As a challenge, have a go at the test and see how you do then we can take it again later and see how much better we are.

 

 

05 December 2014

Posted on Thursday 04 December 2014 by Mrs Taylor

The whole school homework this week is creative: children are invited to respond to something from either a cultural or spiritual perspective.

I can show what I know and think about something cultural.

We’d like children to present their responses about a recent book they’ve read, film they’ve watched, piece of art they’ve looked at, piece of music they’ve listened to – anything cultural in fact. We’re interested to read some sort of description (a summary, for example) and then your child’s opinions. This review might include pictures, an interview (your child could write a fictional script between himself/herself and the artist, for example), a letter (eg to or from a character, or perhaps even the author) – anything which might include your child’s responses!

However, your child might prefer to do the following:

I can show what I know about a festival.

Over the course of this term, some children in school will have celebrated a religious festival of some sort. This might have been

  • the Muslim festival of Eid ul Adha, this year in October
  • the Sikh and Hindu festival Diwali, also in October
  • the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, coming up in December
  • the Christian festival (of course, celebrated by many non-Christians, too) of Christmas
  • the Chinese New Year festival which next year will be in February

There are lots of other festivals and celebrations which you and your child together might want to reflect on, from the anniversary of the crowning of Selassie (a festival which might be celebrated by Rastafarians) to the Winter Solstice (a Pagan festival). You can also research more festivals.

We invite children to respond to the sentence above – they might include a recount (like a diary entry), pictures, an interview (perhaps in a script). Your child might also choose to research a completely unknown festival, or they might even think about creating a brand new festival, one that everyone will celebrate.

Whether inspired culturally or spiritually, your child’s homework is due on Wednesday 10 December.

28 November 2014

Posted on Thursday 27 November 2014 by Mr Roundtree

This week’s homework is Practice Makes Perfect and is due on Wednesday 03 December.

I can remember my lines for the Christmas Production.

The Christmas Production is drawing nearer and that means it is now really important for everybody to know their lines. Not only that, you need to make sure that you know when you come on stage and what you do when you’re on.

Here are a few ways to help you practise…

  • Sing the lines to your favourite song.
  • Say them in a silly voice.
  • Get somebody to read the other lines so you know when you say yours.
  • Record yourself and listen to it. Are you speaking clearly and with a confident voice?
I look forward to practising next week with no scripts in hands!

 

 

21 November 2014

Posted on Thursday 20 November 2014 by Mrs Taylor

Following our Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds themed week, our whole school creative homework this week is:

I know how to have a healthy body and healthy mind.

Each class has taken part in a variety of learning this week including a range of visitors to support our teaching of keeping healthy bodies and healthy minds.  These include physical activities such as karate, tai chi, tennis, Leeds United football, assemblies by Leeds Rhinos and Leeds anti-social behaviour unit, class talks by Heart Research UK, d:side (drug education), various parents with health-related jobs and visits to Tesco for their Farm to Fork scheme and Allerton Grange.  Class-based learning has also included dental health, hand-washing, the importance of sleep and breakfast, healthy eating and food preparation and mental health.

Your child could present this creative homework in a variety of different ways:

  • a quiz which tests the knowledge of other children
  • art work
  • poetry
  • a poster
  • writing: diary, story, letter, instructions, report
  • a rap
  • a mindmap
  • your own creative idea

We look forward to seeing your creative ideas to demonstrate how to keep a healthy body and healthy mind.

Please return this homework by Wednesday 26 November.

14 November 2014

Posted on Thursday 13 November 2014 by Mr Roundtree

This week’s homework is Creative and is due on Wednesday 19 November.

I can show what I have learnt in Katie and…

It is the end of our first Big Topic and we have thoroughly enjoyed it. Now it’s time to show everything you have learnt over the last eight weeks. Here are some ideas of ways to present your work.

  • Poster – make a poster showing all of the different subjects we’ve covered.
  • Quiz – create a quiz.
  • Presentation – prepare a presentation to talk about what you’ve learnt (Maybe you could record yourself and bring in a video!).
  • Examples – give examples of the different pieces of work we created.
Use the questions to help your memory…
What has been your favourite bit of learning?
What did you find the most challenging?
What subjects did we learn about?
What do you know now that you didn’t know before?