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 Talk Time and is due on Wednesday 22 October 2014.
Is this art?
You have got four pieces of art to look at. All of them are very different.
- ‘Swept under the carpet’ – Banksy
- ‘Family of man’ – Barbara Hepworth
- ‘Rain princess’ – Leonid Afremov
- ‘Essence of elephants’ – Greg du Toit
Have a conversation around the dinner table or in the car about these pieces. Are they art? Do you like them? Which is your favourite? Make some notes about your ideas in your homework book and bring these to our class discussion on Wednesday 22 October.
10 October 2014
This week’s homework is Creative and is due on Thursday 16 October.
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. Take real care with your work as it would be great to include this homework in our gallery event at the end of the topic. 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. I’m really looking forward to what you come up with.
03 October 2014
This week’s homework is Practice Makes Perfect and is due on Wednesday 08 October.
I can write a report.
In English, we have written a report on Vincent Van Gogh. It will now be great practice for your child to write their own report at home on a subject they know a lot about and we all know a lot about Moortown Primary School.
26 September 2014
This week’s homework is Practice makes perfect and is due on Wednesday 01 October.
I can use a number line for addition.
Your child has been practising addition in class for the last two weeks. They have work that is suited to their learning in their homework books which will allow them to practise the skills they have developed and offers the suggestion of learning that will challenge them.
Practice Makes Perfect
This is similar to what you might consider traditional homework: it may be a worksheet or a writing task (such as Y5’s current homework: I can write instructions). Practice Makes Perfect is useful homework when something has been taught in school but needs consolidation. The work should be fairly straightforward for the child as there should be no need for new learning, so just some encouragement from you is needed. However, it would be a great time to get your child to teach you – they should be able to explain the key points or processes! We use this type of homework less often because usually the best practice is where a teacher can keep feeding back and presenting new challenges when they see it as appropriate. Teachers mark these activities in line with our marking policy.
As always, please ask if you’ve any questions or concerns.
19 September 2014
This week’s homework is Talk Time and is due on Wednesday 24 September 2014.
I can talk about a painting.
Have a discussion at home (maybe over dinner) about ‘Sunflowers’ by Vincent Van Gogh. Here are some questions that might help your discussion.
- Do you like the painting? Why?
- What colours have been used?
- Why did the artist choose to paint it?
- Would you want it up in your house?
- How much do you think it would cost to buy the original?
From this year, your child is expected to make some notes about they they’ve discussed. Also, please could you (the adult) sign the page or possibly write a comment to show that this homework has been discussed and how your child engaged in the discussion.
12 September 2014
This week’s homework is creative and is due on Wednesday 17 September.
I can show what I have learnt about the world.
Remember, creative homework involves a creative piece of open-ended work based around the ‘I can …’ statement above. The only rule is not to use more than one page of A4.
You could
- create an information leaflet
- label a map of the world
- create a quiz
- do a mind map
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.
04 July 2014
This week’s homework is Talk Time.
Should we take care of the seaside?
Millions of people go to our seasides each year. With so many people visiting, these beautiful areas often get damaged, polluted or left to fall into disrepair. Is it important that we look after the seaside (including the oceans) and why?
This is due Wednesday 9th July 2014.
