Homework

15 October 2021

This week’s Talk Time has a Living and Learning focus.

I can describe and use self-care techniques.           

Everybody experiences a wide range of emotions (feelings). While many emotions are positive, some are not. There’ll be times when you feel sad, angry, anxious or low in some way.

No matter how old you are, feeling any one of these is completely normal. It’s important to know how you can manage these feelings. A strategy that works well for one person may not have a positive impact on you. That’s why this week’s Talk Time is all about finding strategies that will benefit you specifically.

When discussing self-care techniques, remember that this involves both mental and physical health. The following ideas can be used as a starting point for your conversations:

• Where can you go to combat feeling low and who can help you (trusted adults)?
• Think about exercises that you enjoy. This is the UK so it would be good to have indoor ideas, too.
• What creative tasks do you have access to (writing, music, arts, crafts, cooking/baking etc)?
• How do you relax and unwind (reading, watching a film etc).
• Consider strategies that will help you when emotions are heightened (breathing, counting, meditating etc).

This is not an exhaustive list. The link below has lots of great ideas that you may also wish to use.

https://www.annafreud.org/on-my-mind/self-care/

The oracy focus for this half term is voice projection, fluency and pace. As we’re nearing the end of this half term, this week’s Remember 2s are an opportunity for your child to showcase what they’ve been working on at school:

• Think about what you are going to say before you speak.
• Talk in a clear, loud voice without shouting.
• Sit or stand with good posture (eg not slouching).
• Face the person, or people, that you are speaking to.

08 October 2021

This week’s Talk Time relates to a moral issue and also links with our current Geography learning.

Is it okay to build new houses on green space (fields and parks in towns and cities)?

 Your child may already have some views on this. However, this statement is all about taking different viewpoints into account.

This week’s ‘Remember 2s’ (R2s) will support your child as they reflect on the pros and cons of building new houses on our green spaces:

• What are the reasons for (the pros) building new houses there?
• What are the reasons against (the cons) building new houses there?
• Reach a conclusion – Do you take one particular side or is there a compromise that could satisfy everyone?

 There’s a range of ways to approach this moral question. We suggest exploring the 5Ws and H (who, what, where, when, why, how).

Check out the examples below to help get discussions flowing:

• Who needs new housing (young people, families, elderly etc)? Who would build the new houses?
• What would new housing look like? What will be the impact on the environment with fewer trees and plants?
• Where would the animals from the fields/parks go? Where else could people go for walks/exercise?
• When would things be able to run normally (traffic, pathways etc)? When would people want more houses?
• Why don’t people move into houses that are already built? Why do we need more housing?
• How long would it to take to build the houses? How much would the new housing cost? How many people could live in the new housing?

Fancy an extra challenge? Your child might like to plan the new housing or design the type of housing that should go on some green space.

01 October 2021

This week’s Talk Time relates to the knowledge we’ve gained about British geography this half term.

I can show off my knowledge of British geography.

Years 1 and 2:

I know the four countries and capital cities of the UK, and the seas which surround the UK.

Years 3 and 4 (as above plus):

I know some of the counties in the UK, and some of the main rivers and mountains in the UK.

Years 5 and 6 (as above plus):

I know some of the main rivers, mountains and regions (eg the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District, the Highlands of Scotland).

With each geography topic that we teach, children are often building on the knowledge and skills gained in the previous years. We therefore recommend you start discussions around the Year 1 and 2 knowledge, before discussing the knowledge for your child’s current year group.

Check out this song about the countries and capital cities of the UK. We’re sure your child will have heard this before and know it almost word for word. If they don’t yet, they will soon!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDIZoQLgIE

At school, we refer to 8Rs to promote good learning behavior. You can read about them by following the link. See how many your child knows.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BJvRtT_rKqxoFvLCdpdcyoQ4OrbmKrON/view?usp=sharing

This week’s ‘Remember 2s’ (R2s) directly link to three of the 8Rs:

• Remember – Think back to geography lessons, learning, tasks, games etc.
• Reflect – Which facts are you most confident with? Which ones do you need to work on?
• Resourceful – For facts you’re unsure of, how can you improve your understanding? Who could you ask at home or at school? What resources could help you? (eg map, atlas, online tools such as Google Maps and Google Earth)

24 September 2021

Vocabulary is the focus of this week’s Talk Time.

Thinking about the new topic vocabulary, I can begin to use these words at home.

This half term, we’re all being geographers, learning specifically about British geography. Here’s a list of key words that are being learnt and applied as part of our learning:

Years 1 and 2 Geography vocabulary:

Years 3 and 4 Geography vocabulary:

Years 5 and 6 Geography vocabulary:

Some of these words have already been discussed in lessons but there may be others that are going to be covered in the coming weeks.

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 picture or clip that links to that word?
• Can you link this word to one or more of the other words?

17 September 2021

This week’s Talk Time homework links to our current Geography topic, ‘Where in the world am I?’.

 I can talk about my local area.

We encourage you and your child to go out and explore as part of this task. Be sure to find safe spaces to pause and reflect on the surrounding area.

Refer to these ‘Remember 2s’ (R2s) when discussions are taking place:

• physical features (natural things that would be around without people)
• human features (things that have been built by people)
• respect people whose views are different

You might wish to use these ideas as a starting point for your discussions:

• what facilities there are
• what I like
• what I don’t like
• how the area might be improved
• what I can do to help improve the area

This Talk Time is all about critical thinking. Your child might find it quite easy to talk positively about their local area. They may find it trickier to talk about aspects of the local area that they don’t like. Remind your child that it is okay to say that there are things they don’t like so long as they remain respectful and polite.

Skills developed in this Talk Time can help your child with other areas of learning, too. As part of your child’s daily reading, you could prompt your child to talk critically about a character or a part of the book that could be improved.

10 September 2021

Our first Talk Time homework of the year is related to Living and Learning:

 I can greet someone politely.

We greet people every day. Our greetings have the power to really improve other people’s moods. Here’s an example of a friendly greeting that we encourage children to use…

‘Morning!’

‘Hi. How’re you?’

‘I’m fine, thanks. What about you?’

‘I’m ok, thanks.’

Encourage your child to greet people out of school in a similar way! Our ‘Remember 2s’ (R2s) for this are:

• greeting
• ask how someone is / answer and ask back
• thank them for asking

Talk about different ways to greet people in a polite and friendly way.

Talk about why greeting people politely helps. To help with your discussions, you might consider these questions at home…

• When and where might you greet someone? (During school time, before school, after school, at weekends…)
• How will you greet someone? (Facial expressions, body language, tone of voice…)
• What questions might you ask when greeting someone?
• Why is it important to ask questions? (What does it show? How will the other person feel?)

16 July 2021

This week, I know how to make healthy choices is the Talk Time homework.

As a continuation of our physical health and mental wellbeing learning in Living and Learning, and having reflected on our own health, we now want to explore healthy choices we can make.

At home, you could talk about the healthy choices you could make for:

• your mind
• your heart
• your muscles
• your digestive system
• your family

Next week, each class will share what choices we can make, reflecting on whether they want to adopt any of the choices shared by their classmates to improved their own health.

09 July 2021

I can share my views about health

Each year, we ask you to complete a short health questionnaire.  Your views can help us to become happier and healthier.

Parents/carers: please complete this survey with your child and comment at the end. Please submit before 16 July 2021.

If you need a paper copy, please request one from your child’s class teacher.

02 July 2021

This week, the whole school has the same Talk Time homework: I know the key vocabulary from our Design and Technology topic.

We’re in the middle of our Design and Technology topic, the children should have now come across most of the following vocabulary:

Y1,2

• design – a plan or drawing showing what something will look like before it is made
• design criteria – the things a product must have to be successful
• design brief – a description of what a new product should do
• base – the bottom part of an object; the part on which something rests
• evaluate – to decide, after careful consideration, how good or bad something is
• structure – a combination of materials and/or parts to create a 3d shape
• stable – something that is unlikely to fall down or collapse
• freestanding – something that stands up by itself
• plan – to think about and decide how you’re going to do something

 Y3,4

• product – something that is designed and made to be sold
• function – the purpose of something
• design process – the series of steps that need to happen for a product to go from an idea to a finished product
• design criteria – the precise features a product must have in order to be successful
• prototype – an early sample or model of a product used to evaluate a design
• component – a part that combines with other parts to make something eg a machine or a piece of equipment
• annotated sketch – a detailed sketch labelled with notes (eg dimensions, materials)
• exploded diagram – a drawing that shows the individual components or parts of a product and how they fit together
• mechanism – a number of parts or components working together, usually as part of a machine

 Y5,6

• design process – the series of steps that need to happen for a product to go from an idea to a finished product
• design criteria – the precise features a product must have in order to be successful
• cross-sectional diagram – a drawing which ‘slices through’ an object to see some of the features inside
• computer-aided design (CAD) – a way of drawing on a computer to visualise designs and simulating them to see how they work
• innovative – a new or original idea about how something can be done
• sustainable material – obtained from renewable sources and do not damage the environment when produced
• dimensions – measurement of something in a particular direction, eg height, length, width
• aesthetic – pleasing in appearance
• reinforce – to strengthen or support

Discuss these words together:

• Can your child explain to you what they mean?
• Can they use any of them in a sentence?
• Can they suggest how some of the words link together?
• Can they tell you about the learning in school which linked to a certain word?

Next week, each class will reflect on this topic vocabulary and what they have learnt this half term. Prepare your child with explanations of as many words as possible.

25 June 2021

This week, our Talk Time homework is I can say something good about myself.

Our Living and Learning lessons focus on being positive about ourselves this week. Often, we find it easy to suggest what we’re ‘bad’ at or how we could improve. Sometimes, it can be more difficult to talk about the good. Ask your child what they think is good about themselves, making sure they know we can be positive about ourselves without being boastful.

Next week, each class will celebrate what they’re good at, recognising that we all have positive contributions to make.