28 June 2024
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
This week’s Talk Time has a Living and Learning focus:
I can share my views about health.
We’re proud to be a happy and healthy school. Each year, we ask you to complete a short online health questionnaire. Your views can help us to become even happier and healthier.
Parents/carers: please complete this survey with your child, to find out their views on some of our key health issues at school, and comment at the end. You can find the link to the survey here:
Please submit before Friday 05 July 2024.
Year 5/6 – complete your My Health My School pupil diary from Saturday 29 June for the next seven days and return it to class once completed.
21 June 2024
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
During this week’s Talk Time, you’ll explore an important moral dilemma.
Shops should try to sell clothes as cheaply as possible.
When discussing the statement, there are a number of factors to take into consideration. Your conversations at home may begin by attempting to answer the following questions:
- Who would benefit from clothes being sold as cheaply as possible?
- Bear in mind that not everyone shares the same level of wealth.
- How would this impact on the amount of clothes people own?
- Would people buy more clothes than they actually need?
- How would lower prices impact on the shops themselves?
- If more clothes are needed in shops, how would that impact on the manufacturers?
- in terms of issues such as workload and pay
The following R2s will help your child to reflect on the discussion points:
- What are the reasons for (the pros) selling clothes as cheaply as possible?
- What are the reasons against (the cons) doing so?
- Reach a conclusion – Do you take one particular side or is there a compromise that could satisfy everyone?
14 June 2024
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
We’re now a couple of weeks into our final topic of the school year, Design and Technology.
Thinking about the new topic vocabulary, I can begin to use these words at home.
Years 1 and 2:
- design process: the steps that need to happen for something to go from an idea to a finished product
- to plan: to think about and decide how you’re going to do something
- to evaluate: to decide, after careful consideration, how good or bad something is
- felt: a kind of cloth made from wool
- needle: a thin piece of metal or plastic with a point at one end and a hole or eye for thread in the other, used in sewing
- thread: a long, thin strand of cotton used in sewing or weaving
- over stitch: a stitch that circles the edge of a piece of fabric
Years 3 and 4:
- product: something that is designed and made
- function: the purpose of something
- design brief: a description of what a new product should do
- design criteria: the precise features a product must have to be successful
- annotated sketch: a detailed sketch labelled with notes (eg dimensions, materials)
- fabric: cloth or other material produced by weaving or knitting fibres
- binka: a firm piece of fabric with holes in to help beginners to sew and embroider
- over stitch: a stitch that circles the edge of a piece of fabric
- running stitch: a line of small even stitches
- template: a tool used to mark out shapes repeatedly
Years 5 and 6:
- design criteria: the precise features a product must have in order to be successful
- innovative: an adjective to describe new or original ideas
- sustainable material: a material is sustainable if it comes from renewable sources and it does not damage the environment
- dimension: a measurement of something in a particular direction (eg height, length, width)
- aesthetic: something about the appearance (eg something can be aesthetically pleasing)
- running stitch: of a line of small even stitches
- back stitch: a method of sewing with overlapping stitches to form a solid line of stitching
- applique: pieces of fabric sewn or stuck on to a larger piece to form a picture or pattern
- pattern: a repeated decorative design
When having your discussions at home, you could start by explaining the end goal of this topic. What product are you designing and then making? What materials and skills will be required? Refer to the definitions provided when you’re explaining new vocabulary Challenge yourself to see if you can explain them in your own words.
07 June 2024
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
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.
17 May 2024
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
This week’s Talk Time is related to our core skills:
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 the earth, divided into a northern and southern hemisphere
- Equator: an imaginary line that circles around the earth and divides it equally into the two hemispheres
- latitude: the distance north or south of the equator, measured in degrees
- lagoon: a stretch of saltwater separated from the sea by a low sandbank or coral reef
- tourism: travelling to a place for fun
- economy: how a country or place makes and spends money
- over tourism: 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
- mining: the process of getting valuable or useful minerals from the ground
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?
10 May 2024
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
This week’s Talk Time is related to our core skills:
I can review and reflect on how I’ve used my Reading Record and how I’ve used NumBots and Times Tables Rock Stars.
Each week, there’s a reading and number fact fluency focus as part of our Talk Time homework.
Have a discussion with someone at home about how you feel you are achieving in your weekly reading and number fact fluency focuses. Are you managing to complete the focuses? Is there an area that you feel you could improve on?
03 May 2024
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
This week’s Talk Time poses an interesting question:
Should we only go on holidays in our country because long journeys are bad for the environment?
In our current Geography topic, we’re learning about a wide range of spaces and places across the globe.
In recent years, there has been growing concern about the environmental impact of long-distance travel. As people have become more aware of the impact that holidays and travel are having on our environment, a debate has emerged about whether individuals should limit their holidays to their own country to minimise environmental damage.
What is your opinion? Consider both sides of the argument and have a discussion with a parent/carer at home.
Remember to use the oracy skill ‘building on the views of others’ to frame your discussion. You may wish to use sentence stems such as:
I agree/disagree because…
- Adding to what has been said…
- I hear what you are saying. However…
- On the other hand, I think that…
Be ready to debate this topic in class next week.
26 April 2024
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
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).
19 April 2024
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
Our first Talk Time of this term poses a moral dilemma.
Should animals 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 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?
- These are some topics you might discuss: 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…
22 March 2024
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
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.
