Year 5 Spelling

14 November 2014

The spellings for this week link in with our SEAL theme. They are the 8Rs for Learning which we will be talking about throughout the half-term.

07 November 2014

We are revisiting one of our key spelling rules this week: drop the y for an i. For each spelling, you have to drop the y and replace it with an i before adding ly to make the word an adverb. Children will be tested on the adverbs in Friday’s test.

Group 1

Group 2

17 October 2014

This week’s spellings are all words which use apostrophes to shorten (contract) two words into one word. I’ve found that a lot of children in the class are making mistakes in their writing when using these words.

03 October 2014

This week, the spellings are all verbs which end in the suffix ‘ify’.

Can you find other family members for some of the words? For example, the spelling horrify has these words in its family: horrific, horrible, horrifies.

The spellings will be tested on Friday 10 October.

26 September 2014

This week, the spellings are all verbs which end in the suffix ‘ise’.

Help your child: Can (s)he think of any other verbs which contain this suffix?  Can (s)he say / write sentences using the words eg I despise the way they advertise junk food so that children recognise brands.

Children will be tested on all ten of the words on Friday 03 October.

19 September 2014

This week, the spellings are all verbs which have the suffix ‘ate’. Your child will have one of two lists in their learning list. They should learn all the words on the relevant list.

Please make sure your child is spending around ten minutes each evening learning these.  As well as this, there are other ways to support your child at home:

• Use the words in sentences: your child might create some sentences, or you might dictate a sentence to them.  Each sentence might include just one adjective from the list above, or – for a challenge – include two, three or more! (I’ve then included a current affairs themed example, but this shouldn’t be needed after a while!)
• Look out for other words which have a suffix when reading with your child each evening.
• Turn the telly off and use the words in discussions around the table each evening, or on your way to school.All the words are adjectives – words that describe things (nouns); create a ‘bank’ of other ambitious adjectives, and start using them in every day conversation.All the words are adjectives – words that describe things (nouns); create a ‘bank’ of other ambitious adjectives, and start using them in every day conversation.All the words are adjectives – words that describe things (nouns); create a ‘bank’ of other ambitious adjectives, and start using them in every day conversation.
• All the words are verbs. Create a ‘bank’ of other ambitious verbs, and start using them in every day conversation.

12 September 2014

This week, the spellings are all adverbs which end in ‘ly’. This suffix is added to an adjective to form an adverb. For example, sad becomes sadly. 

Children will be tested on the ten adverbs on Friday 19 September.

It’s the Easter holidays…

…so we have no set homework or spellings, in line with our Homework Policy.

That doesn’t mean we expect your child not to be developing their skills in reading, writing and maths!

Your child should be reading daily – this could be fiction, factual books, a comic or newspaper, and could include being read to at bedtime, too.

It would be good to practise basic skills in writing by writing a letter or email to a relative, perhaps recounting a day-trip or reviewing a film your child watched.

We’re finding quite a few children are ‘squashing their sentences’ such as I went to Leeds City Museum it was really interesting which is wrong.  It would be much better with punctuation to separate or a word to join:

• I went to Leeds City Museum. It was really interesting. (A comma isn’t strong enough to separate two sentences.)
• I went to Leeds City Museum – it was really interesting.
• I went to Leeds City Museum; it was really interesting.
• I went to Leeds City Museum and it was really interesting.
• I went to Leeds City Museum which was really interesting.

Finally, to improve calculation skills, please keep practising mental number facts which your child must know:

• number bonds (two numbers which add up to 10, 20 and 100 eg 3+7, 13+7, 30+70) – these facts should be known by children in Y1 – Y2
• times tables (up to 12×12) and the division facts with your child – children in Y2 should have rapid recall of x2, x 5 and x 10 at least

We know we mention these ‘basics’ a lot, but that’s because they involve practice, practice and more practice – we practise a lot at school, but your child will need to practise at home, too, if they are to truly succeed.

Learn more about current expectations for reading, writing and maths.  However, do be aware that a new National Curriculum comes into effect from September, meaning these expectations have been raised and so many aspects of learning now feature in younger age groups.

It’s half-term…

It’s the half-term, so in line with our current homework policy, there are no homework tasks or spellings to learn.

However, please make sure you’re reading lots with your child – we’re finding children are reading less than they need to if they are to gain fluency and understanding.  You could take your child to a local library, hunt down an old favourite to re-visit, plan a story book for each bedtime over the holiday, read more about a favourite subject on the internet, buy a comic or magazine… And, so they have good role models, make sure your child sees you read, too!

Our current homework policy will be reviewed soon.  A small number of you have told us you’re not entirely happy with it – it would be really helpful if you tell us more about what you’d like.  Send us an email or speak with Mrs Weekes or me about this.  Thank you.

It’s half-term…

…so no specific homework, spellings or tables this week.  It’s a good time to relax and enjoy some time with your children – have you visited the free exhibition of Anthony Browne pictures at Leeds City Museum, for example?