13 March 2023
English
This week in English, we will be beginning a new unit of work on biographies. We will be looking at existing examples in order to identify features of a successful biography text. We will also be planning our own text based on the life of an inventor. Think about an inventor who you may like to write about and the information which you may need to find out about them. You may also like to have a look at the features of a biography mat below to familiarise yourself with this genre and the requirements for this text type:
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: relevant, restaurant, rhyme, rhythm. This week we will be thinking about the etymology of words. Etymology is the study of words, including how they got their meanings and how words develop throughout history. Some of the words in our year 5 /6 spelling list are made up of morphemes that have come from other languages many years ago. E.g. secretary (from the Latin word secretus, meaning secret, and the suffix -ary, which means “connected with” (i.e. a place or person connected with something). So a secretary was someone or something trusted to hold your secrets. Can you think of any other words ending in -ary, such as library, and work out what it may mean (connected with books), or use an online dictionary of etymology to decipher the meaning behind trickier examples, such as veterinary (connected with cattle)? There is further information and activities on the link below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/teachers/literacy_7_11/word/newsid_1681000/1681165.stm
Now is also the time to continue to revise all the words from the year 3/4 and the year 5/6 spelling lists. This will really help to give you confidence in the term to come. The complete lists of 3/4 and 5/6 spellings are in your spelling folders, on the class webpage and on the links below:
Grammar
In grammar, we will be reminding ourselves of all of the terminology that we need to know in year 6. The following links gives a helpful summary of the vocabulary that you should be familiar with:
https://www.theschoolrun.com/primary-grammar-glossary-parents
Now is the time to revise any areas which you are struggling with. Please ask if you need any specific additional help. Please login to SPAG.com and complete ‘Terminology Year 6 C.’ Don’t forget to also complete any previously incomplete tests. (The timetable for the whole term is also on this class webpage.)
Google is also always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three entries with parent signatures in your reading diary. Don’t forget to complete a book review each time you finish your book for a chance to be entered into the prize draw.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘Detective Nimble and the Falcon Fugitive. Please complete the fact retrieval questions from pages 36-37 of your fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
This week in Maths, we will be finding the missing angles in a triangle and quadrilateral. All triangles have internal angles that add up to 180°, no matter the type of triangle. An isosceles triangle will have two angles the same size. In an equilateral triangle, all angles will be 60°. A right-angled triangle will have one angle that is 90°, which means the other two angles will have a total of 90°.
A scalene triangle will have all angles of a different size.
Example:
Look at this scalene triangle. How would you work out the value of a?
Since you know that all angles in a triangle add up to 180°, you have to add up the values of the angles that you do know and then subtract them from 180°:
40° + 60° = 100° 180° – 100° = 80° Therefore: a = 80°
We will also be investigating the missing angles in quadrilaterals, using our knowledge that the angles in a quadrilateral total 360 degrees.
Please investigate the following links to help reinforce your learnng:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zb6tyrd/articles/z8twr2p
https://www.blackheathprimary.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Properties-of-Shapes-4.pdf
Many thanks for your continued support,
Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
06 March 2023
English
This week in English, we will be completing our work on villains. We will explore how to successfully edit a piece of writing a sentence at a time, considering the difference between proof-reading versus editing and the need for cohesion and clarity through the story as well as up levelling our writing to meet year six expectations. Time will be given, in pairs, to support each other in meeting both the toolkit and year six expectations for writing and grammar. We will try to meet the expectations of the following toolkit and look for opportunities to meet target card expectations for punctuation and grammar.
- Use an interesting character name (proper nouns.)
- Mirror the character’s feeling through the setting. E.g. sinister gloom crept over the decayed treehouse.
- Explore the character’s inner thoughts: talk to the reader, first person narrative, informal.
- Suggest character traits through inner feelings. (Abstract nouns, word waiter.) E.g. rusted greed assembled within.
- Focus on the intricate and unusual details e.g. mannerisms, facial expressions, strange objects. (I am a … poem, twisting his beard to a point.)
- Explore / exploit a character flaw e.g. erratic, naive, callous, greedy, and arrogant. Show not tell. Develop a back story (empathy?)
- Develop contrasting characters. Explore how the characters react to one another.
- Use dialogue to convey emotions and feelings.
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: pronunciation, queue, recognise, recommend. This week we will be learning to spell words with unusual letter combinations. We will try to identify the tricky bit in each word (such as the rhy in rhyme or the c making a “sh” sound in ancient)? You can break the words down by colouring the predictable parts in one colour, and the tricky letters in another colour. Alternatively, you could look at the tricky letters, such as artificial articulation (con-ven-ience, fru-it) and create mnemonics or helpful combinations such as:
It is a nuisance when fruit bruises. I guarantee to be your guide.
A queue of true blues. Rhythm: rhythm has your two hips moving.
Now is also the time to continue to revise all the words from the year 3/4 and the year 5/6 spelling lists. This will really help to give you confidence in the term to come. The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
SpellingWordList_Y3-4.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
SpellingWordList_Y5-6.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
Grammar
In grammar, we will be reminding ourselves of the use of hyphens, dashes and bullet points. Hyphens are very useful. They can be used to link two words together, so the word or phrase makes sense and doesn’t confuse the reader. Look at how using a hyphen can completely change a sentence’s meaning: The superstar player decided to resign his contract. (This means the player is leaving the club.) The superstar player decided to re-sign his contract. (This means the player is staying at the club for longer.) Dashes can be used to add extra information within a longer sentence, so are a way of showing parenthesis, similar to the way brackets and commas can. Dashes shouldn’t be confused with hyphens as their job is very different! For example: The superstar player – who is loved by many fans – decided to stay at the club.
Please login to SPAG.com and revise ‘hyphens, dashes and bullet points A and B.’
Don’t forget to also complete any previously incomplete tests. (The timetable for the whole term is also on this class webpage.)
You may find it useful to look at the following web page which has further explanations, videos and activities:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zvwwxnb/articles/zg8gbk7
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zmnwjhv
Google is also always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three entries with parent signatures in your reading diary. Don’t forget to complete a book review each time you finish your book for a chance to be entered into the prize draw.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘Beneath the Waves.’ Please complete the word meaning, summary and language questions from pages 30-31 of your fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
This week, we will be looking at finding missing angles in a straight line and around a point.
Angles on a straight line add up to 180°. So if you had a missing angle on a straight line, you would subtract the known angles from 180. For example:
You know that one of the angles is 90°, represented by the right angle symbol, and another is 35°. And you also know that angles on a straight line add up to 180°.
To find the unknown angle, first add the known angles together:
90° + 35° = 125° Now subtract from 180°: 180° – 125° = 55° The missing angle above is 55°.
Angles around a point total 360 degrees. See how you can calculate missing angles in the example below:
What can you see on this diagram? 168°, angle B and a small square. We typically represent a right angle with a small square. A right angle is always 90°.All these angles together must equal 360°. B + 90° + 168° = 360°. First add together the angles we know the value of: 90° + 168° = 258°. Then subtract this from 360° to find the missing angle. 360° – 258° = 102°. Therefore, angle B is 102°.
There are videos and quizzes to help support our learning on the links below:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z8twr2p
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zb6tyrd/articles/z7p4g7h
Many thanks for your continued support,
Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
27 February 2023
This week in English, we will be continuing our work on villains. We will be exploring the physical appearance of our invented villains as well as their character flaws. A flaw in someone’s character is an undesirable quality that they have. This quality is often the thing that we despise as a reader. Great villains are often plagued with flaws, such as greed, jealousy, vanity, spitefulness or vengefulness. We are going to consider how we can build empathy for a villain by tuning in to their backstory. It forms the foundations of a character and often helps to explain their desires, fears and motivations. Finally, we will consider how we can write the same events from a different, contrasting perspective e.g. hero and villain.
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: Prejudice, privilege, profession, programme. This week we will be learning to spell words using the letter strings ough, ight, eigh and augh. Ough is a difficult spelling pattern because this string of letters represents many different sounds, and there are relatively few words with this spelling pattern. You could try to create rhyming pairs with the same gh spelling patterns, e.g. weight / sleigh, enough / rough, although / dough, brighter / lighter. Alternatively, try the following game: Partner A writes down a word containing the digraph gh (without showing it) such as fought and tells Partner B. Partner B then has to come up with a rhyming word that uses the same pattern, such as brought. Compare spellings and check.
Now is also the time to continue to revise all the words from the year 3/4 and the year 5/6 spelling lists. This will really help to give you confidence in the term to come.
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
SpellingWordList_Y3-4.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
SpellingWordList_Y5-6.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
Grammar
In grammar, we will be developing our understanding of the active and passive tense. A sentence is written in active voice when the subject of the sentence is performing the action. A sentence is written in passive voice when the subject of the sentence has something done to it by someone or something. For example: Active voice: The cat was chasing the mouse. In this sentence, ‘the cat’ is the subject, ‘was chasing’ is the verb and ‘the mouse’ is the object. Passive voice: The mouse was being chased by the cat. In this sentence ‘the mouse’ has become the subject which is having something done to it by the cat.
Please login to SPAG.com and revise ‘passive and active A and B.’
You may find it useful to look at the following web page which has further explanations, videos and activities:
https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-are-active-and-passive-sentences
Google is also always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three entries with parent signatures in your reading diary. Don’t forget to complete a book review each time you finish your book for a chance to be entered into the prize draw.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘Beneath the Waves.’ Please complete the inference questions on pages 28-29 of your fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
This week in maths, we will be consolidating our understanding of line graphs, bar charts and pie charts. We will be discovering how pie charts can show quantities, fractions and percentages. Take a look at the example below:
There are opportunities to consolidate your learning through the links below:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zqgrd2p/articles/zcwfp4j
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z7rcwmn/articles/zqv8bqt
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z7rcwmn/articles/zrdm8hv
https://www.st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=1555&type=pdf
If you wish to consolidate your learning further, please continue exploring the White Rose Maths Statistics booklet. There is a link below:
Y6 – Statistics.pdf
Many thanks for your continued support,
Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
20 February 2023
English
This week in English, we will be considering what makes an effective villain. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a villain as ‘an unprincipled or depraved scoundrel; a man naturally disposed to base or criminal actions, or deeply involved in the commission of disgraceful crimes.’ Almost every great story has a truly great villain. So, what makes a villain a villain? What is the makeup of a villain? How are they made? What is their physical, mental, and moral constitution? How do they act, feel and behave? How do they become ‘bad?’ We will begin manipulating words, creating poetical phrases and developing sentences to describe a villain. You could begin by brainstorming and describing your favourite villains from comics, books and films.
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: opportunity, parliament, persuade, physical. We will also be revising further prefixes, suffixes and affixes. Can we create pairs of related words by changing the affixes? For example: excellent/excellence, hinder/hindrance. Can we explain the difference in meaning between the words in each pair? Challenge: create a chain of related words such explain, explained, explanation, explanatory. What is the longest chain you can find?
Now is also the time to continue to revise all the words from the year 3/4 and the year 5/6 spelling lists. This will really help to give you confidence in the term to come.
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
SpellingWordList_Y3-4.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
SpellingWordList_Y5-6.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
Grammar
In grammar, we will be consolidating our understanding of semi colons and colons. We use colons and semi-colons to join independent clauses and make them part of one sentence. A clause is a group of words. An independent clause is a group of words that could make some sense when used on its own, but is clearer when it is joined to another clause. Look at these examples: 1. Hannah loves football; it’s her favourite sport. In this sentence, one of the clauses (‘it’s her favourite sport’) wouldn’t make full sense on its own. It needs the first clause to be completely clear, so we link the two clauses together with a semi-colon (;). 2. Jay loves to work on penalty shots: he does 20 minutes’ football practice every day. In this sentence, a colon (:) marks a longer pause when the sentence is read out. It joins two clauses that could be broken into two short sentences instead, but as the bits of information in the two clauses are so closely linked, we use the colon to connect them. Sometimes it can be tricky to decide when to use a semi-colon and when to use a colon. It’s often a matter of judgement.
Please login to SPAG.com and revise ‘semi colons and colons A and B.’
You may find it useful to look at the following web page which has further explanations, videos and activities:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zvjgf82
Google is also always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three entries with parent signatures in your reading diary. Don’t forget to complete a book review each time you finish your book for a chance to be entered into the prize draw.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘Beneath the Waves.’ Please complete the fact retrieval questions on pages 26-27 of your fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
This week we will be continuing work on are and finding the area of a parallelogram. The area of a parallelogram is the base x perpendicular height. The area of the parallelogram below is 7cm x 3cm = 21 cm².
We will also be calculating, estimating and comparing the volume of cubes, cuboids and other shapes using standard units, including cm3. We will be discussing when it is appropriate to use a formula to find the volume of a shape, height × width × depth = volume.
There are videos and quizzes to help support our learning on the links below:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zjbg87h/articles/zsqxfcw
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zjbg87h/articles/zcrxtyc
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zjbg87h/articles/z3jrxfr
If you wish to consolidate your learning further, please continue exploring the White Rose Maths Spring Block 5 Perimeter, area and volume learning booklet. There is a link below:
Y6 – Perimeter area and volume.pdf
Many thanks for your continued support,
Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
06 February 2023
English
This week in English, we will be continuing our unit writing a non-chronological report or information fact sheet based around the topic of ‘fears.’ We will focus on animals or creatures which people are traditionally fearful of, whether real or mythical e.g. spiders, sharks, werewolves, dinosaurs. Why might people be afraid of this creature? How does the fear manifest itself? Is there a solution or cure? How will you present this information on a page?
We will remind ourselves again of year six requirements for a range of punctuation: commas, colons, semi-colons, ellipses, parenthesis, dashes, hyphens. We will also edit our texts to include the following year six expectations: simple and complex sentences, main clauses, subordinate clauses, adverbial starters, commas after fronted adverbials, colons, ellipsis.
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: neighbour, nuisance, occupy, occur.
This week we will be looking at the meanings of various common affixes. Once we know how to spell a root word, the affixes can help them create several new words in the same family. E.g. appreciate, appreciating, appreciated, appreciative, appreciation, appreciatively, unappreciated, unappreciatively.
We will be thinking about the following list of affixes and exploring their meanings: con-, sub-, pre-, co-, uni-, bi-, ex-, em-, -ive, -ish, -ship, -ary, -ise, -ify, -ity. You could pick out one affix at a time and think of a word that employs the affix, e.g.: -ship – friendship; ex- – explain.
Now is also the time to continue to revise all the words from the year 3/4 and the year 5/6 spelling lists. This will really help to give you confidence in the term to come.
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
SpellingWordList_Y3-4.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
SpellingWordList_Y5-6.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
Grammar
In grammar, we will be consolidating our understanding of layout devices and paragraphing. When writers want to convey information in a way that’s clear and easy for readers to follow and understand, they will make use of different layout devices, such as the following: headings, sub-headings, columns, bullet points, tables or diagrams.
Please login to SPAG.com and revise ‘layout devises and paragraphing.’
You may find it useful to look at the following web page which has a little quiz:
https://www.educationquizzes.com/ks2/english/text-features/
Google is also always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three entries with parent signatures in your reading diary. Don’t forget to complete a book review each time you finish your book for a chance to be entered into the prize draw.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘Chioke’s Chance. Please complete the word, summary and prediction questions on pages 20-21 of your fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
This week, we will also be discovering that shapes with the same areas can have different perimeters and vice versa. We will be reminding ourselves how we find the area of a rectangle and a rectilinear shape, discussing when it is appropriate to use the formula length x width and when to count squares. To find the perimeter, we will be remembering that Percy Penguin patrols the perimeter and measuring around the total length of shapes. We will embed our understanding that same shapes can have different perimeters. There is a helpful video to watch on the link below:
If you wish to consolidate your learning further, please begin exploring the White Rose Maths Spring Block 5 Perimeter, Area and Volume learning booklet. There is a link below:
Y6 – Perimeter, area and volume.pdf
Many thanks for your continued support,
Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
30 January 2023
English
This week in English, we will be beginning a new unit writing a non-chronological report or information fact based around the topic of ‘fears.’ We will brainstorm common fears e.g. spiders, dark, dinosaurs, scary films, heights as well as more unusual fears e.g. mobile phones, broccoli, baked beans, rain, jam etc. We will also discover their technical names, symptoms and possible causes and cures. We will then create a toolkit for an information text and plan our own information text. You could search information at home about your own fears.
Toolkit:
- Sub-headings to show subjects / content of the paragraphs,
- Expert opinions,
- Technical vocabulary to add precision,
- Brackets or dashes for extra information,
- Use of provisional statements with words and phrases like usually…, seem to be…, tend to…,
- Opinions as well as facts e.g. Some people still believe that… It used to be thought that…,
- References to sources of evidence to add authority e.g. However, last year, a new variety was discovered…,
- Colons to introduce lists.
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: neighbour, nuisance, occupy, occur.
This week we will be looking at further words with silent letters or unstressed vowels. We will discuss strategies for remembering and spelling the unstressed vowels in words with more than one syllable.
Possible strategies for remembering unstressed vowels/consonants :
- Write the word out and use a highlighter pen to emphasise the unstressed part.
- Look for words within words, e.g. remember the ‘ar’ syllable in separate because there is a ‘rat’ in the middle.
- Use spell, speak for some words, to over-articulate the unstressed part, e.g. choc-o-late, fam-i-ly.
- Think of the history of words, e.g. holiday comes from holy day, and when the two words are together, the y becomes i.
- Think of the word family (e.g. definite, finite, infinity / family, familiar) because sometimes the unstressed vowel is clearer in other words in the family.
- Look for prefixes or suffixes and think of the root word (e.g. differ+ence.)
Now is the time to continue to revise all the words from the year 3/4 and the year 5/6 spelling lists. This will really help to give you confidence in the term to come.
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
SpellingWordList_Y3-4.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
SpellingWordList_Y5-6.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
Grammar
In grammar, we will be consolidating our understanding of parenthesis and commas.
Parenthesis is a word or clause added into a sentence to give extra information. It is particularly useful for adding more information about a setting or character. For example: The old man (who had hair as white as snow) peered curiously through the window. Brackets, dashes or commas are used to enclose the extra information.
Please login to SPAG.com and revise ‘Parenthesis and commas (C).’
You may find it useful to look at the following web page which has more information, examples, activities and videos:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zcnbn9q
Google is also always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three entries with parent signatures in your reading diary. Don’t forget to complete a book review each time you finish your book for a chance to be entered into the prize draw.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘An Underground City.’ Please complete the inference questions on pages 18-19 of your comprehension homework book, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In Maths this week, we will be continuing the topic of algebra. We will be thinking about how to find pairs of numbers that satisfy an equation with two unknowns. For example, if a + b = 6, what possible solutions can we think of? Taking this further, think about the following example: 𝑋 and 𝑌 are whole numbers. • 𝑋 is a one digit odd number. • 𝑌 is a two digit even number. • 𝑋 + 𝑌 = 25. Find all the possible pairs of numbers that satisfy the equation. We will also be solving formula such as: 4x+2=22 or 2n+3=11
There are videos to help on the link below:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zghp34j
There is also a video to help you and your parents at home, explaining how algebra is taught through the White Rose scheme.
https://whiterosemaths.com/maths-with-michael
Please complete your White Rose Maths Spring Block 3. Algebra learning booklet, questions 5-9. (You have a paper copy and the link is below.)
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
23 January 2023
English
This week in English, we will be continuing our narrative unit based on creating suspense. We will be creating a further suspense story and thinking about the purpose of dialogue in narratives. We will discuss how dialogue can be used to: move on the story, give a moment of clarity or present a significant thought from a character. We will also be considering how spoken English is different from standard written English, looking at the use of contracted forms in speech, possible slang or casual terms. We will also be watching a short film entitled ‘Almas.’ We will be discussing how the author / director creates suspense through this short film. We will then write our own version based on this stimulus.
You may like to watch the film on the link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw0uORumRts
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: interrupt, language, leisure, lightning.
We will also be discussing words with silent letters e.g. doubt, island, lamb, solemn,
thistle, knight. There are some teaching points that can help:
- Silent b always occurs after m (lamb, thumb) and before t (doubt, debt)
- Silent k and g are found before n (gnome or knight)
- Silent l follows vowels a, o and ou – it produces a flat-sounding vowel (salmon, palm, could)
- Silent w often precedes r (write, wrong)
- Silent t is often found nestled in between s and le in words with a “sul” ending (whistle, castle, nestle) or between s and n (listen, fasten)
- Silent n follows m (autumn, hymn, solemn).
Now is also the time to continue to revise all the words from the year 3/4 and the year 5/6 spelling lists. This will really help to give you confidence in the term to come.
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
SpellingWordList_Y3-4.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
SpellingWordList_Y5-6.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
Grammar
In grammar, we will be consolidating our understanding of subject verb agreement. In order for sentences to be grammatically correct, the subject and the verb must agree in number, whether singular or plural. This is referred to as subject verb agreement. In most cases, a singular subject will require a singular verb and a plural subject will need a plural verb. For example, ‘The pig was playing in the mud.’ In this case, ‘pig’ is singular, so we choose the corresponding singular verb ‘was’. The plural form of this sentence would be: ‘The pigs were playing in the mud.’
Please login to SPAG.com and revise ‘subject verb agreement.’
You may also find it useful to look at the following web page which has more information, examples, activities and videos:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/znfbf82
Google is also always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three entries with parent signatures in your reading diary. Don’t forget to complete a book review each time you finish your book for a chance to be entered into the prize draw.
The comprehension text for the week will be: Chioke’s Chance. Please complete the fact retrieval questions on pages 16-17 of your fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In Maths this week, we will be recalling and using equivalences between simple fractions, decimals and percentages. Look at the diagram below and think about how you can find simple equivalents:
You may like to consolidate your learning by completing the following lesson or playing the following matching game:
https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/120/match-fractions-decimals-and-percentages
If you wish to consolidate your learning further, please continue exploring the White Rose Maths Spring Block 1. Percentages learning booklet. There is a link below:
Many thanks for your continued support,
Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
16 January 2023
English
This week in English, we will be continuing our narrative unit based on creating suspense. We will be creating a further suspense story and thinking about the following:
- Including –ing clauses as starters? (verb /adverb) E.g. grinning menacingly, laughing wildly, whispering softly, crying desperately.
- Including year six requirements for a range of punctuation: commas, colons, semi-colons, ellipses, parenthesis, dashes, hyphens.
- Using a thesaurus to improve vocabulary and grammar choices. What are we trying to make the reader think and feel?
We will also be watching a short film entitled ‘Road’s End.’ We will be discussing how the author / director creates suspense through this short film. What techniques are used? We will then write our own version based on this stimulus.
You may like to watch the film on the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQN-KvFvTJg
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: immediate, immediately, individual, interfere.
We will also be exploring words with different suffixes, taught from year 1 to year 6. Choose one or two suffixes that would be familiar from earlier work, such as –y / -ly / -ous / -ness / -ally / -ation. Write out as many words as you can using these suffixes.
Now is also the time to continue to revise all the words from the year 3/4 and the year 5/6 spelling lists. This will really help to give you confidence in the term to come.
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
SpellingWordList_Y3-4.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
SpellingWordList_Y5-6.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
Grammar
In grammar, we will be revising tenses, with a focus on the present progressive and the past progressive as well as the present perfect and the past perfect.
Please login to SPAG.com and revise ‘Verbs in perfect form.’
You may also find it useful to look at the following web pages which have more detailed explanations, examples and videos:
https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-are-present-continuous-and-past-continuous
https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-are-present-perfect-and-past-perfect
(Google is also always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/. )
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three entries with parent signatures in your reading diary. Don’t forget to complete a book review each time you finish your book for a chance to be entered into the prize draw.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘The Perfect Photo.’ Please complete the word meaning, summary and structure questions on pages 10-11 of your fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In maths, we will be continuing our work on decimals with all four operations. We will be looking at various problems involving decimals and thinking about how we can solve these using different methods and working.
The following questions will give you some helpful opportunities to consolidate your thinking about decimal numbers. (Answers are also attached.)
If you wish to consolidate your learning further, please continue exploring the White Rose Maths Spring Block 1. Decimals learning booklet. There is a link below:
https://www.smitham.croydon.sch.uk/croydon/primary/smitham/arenas/websitecontent/web/decimals(1).pdf
Many thanks for your continued support,
Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
04 January 2023
English
This week in English, we will be introducing a new narrative unit based on creating suspense. We will be thinking about how the author creates atmosphere by hiding the threat. For example:
It started with a creak. Just a small creak: a cat’s paw stepping on a wooden floor, an old barn door being moved slightly ajar…that kind of thing. And Jack could deal with that kind of thing.
The following website also offers some advice for writing scary stories:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zx339j6/articles/zy3sk2p
Spelling
Now is the time to continue to revise all the words from the year 3/4 and the year 5/6 spelling lists. This will really help to give you confidence in the term to come.
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
SpellingWordList_Y3-4.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
SpellingWordList_Y5-6.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
Grammar
In grammar, we will be revising expanded noun phrases. An expanded noun phrase adds more detail to the noun by adding one or more adjectives. An adjective is a word that describes a noun. An expanded noun phrase can also add detail by saying where a noun is. For example: a tree next to the house, some sweets on the floor, the castle by the ocean. Please login to SPAG.com and revise ‘expanded noun phrases.’
There are further examples and explanations at BBC bitesize:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zwwp8mn/articles/z3nfw6f
(Google is also always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.)
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three entries with parent signatures in your reading diary. Don’t forget to complete a book review each time you finish your book for a chance to be entered into the prize draw.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘The Perfect Photo.’ Please complete the fact retrieval questions on pages 6-7 of your fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In maths, we will be revising identifying the value of each digit in numbers given to 3 decimal places and reminding ourselves of the concepts of tenths, hundredths and thousandths. For example:
You can support your learning by looking at the following tool:
https://mathsbot.com/tools/placeValue
If you wish to consolidate your learning further, please begin exploring the White Rose Maths Spring Block 1. Decimals learning booklet. There is a link below: https://www.smitham.croydon.sch.uk/croydon/primary/smitham/arenas/websitecontent/web/decimals(1).pdf
Many thanks for your continued support,
Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
12 December 2022
English
This week in English, we will be exploring a range of different Christmas adverts. We will be considering the overall structure, story and intention behind Christmas adverts and evaluating their effectiveness. We will then be planning, writing and performing our own Christmas adverts. You may wish to Google past Christmas adverts to watch for example: John Lewis and Partnership adverts.
Spelling
This week we will be revising and assessing all of the spellings from the year 3 / 4 and the year 5 / 6 word lists. We will be identifying those spellings which still cause us difficulties and think about ways in which we can change our errors and re-learn these words.
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
Grammar
In grammar, we will be consolidating our understanding of the grammar we have looked at this term so far, with a focus on general terminology. There are suggestions for how you can revise the different grammar taught in year six on the following website:
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/
Please complete the ‘Terminology Year 6 A and B’ tests on SPAG.com. Your logins will be in your reading diary.
Remember, Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary. Make sure you have chosen yourself a book ready for the Christmas holidays. Don’t forget to complete a book review each time you finish your book for a chance to be entered into the prize draw.
There is no specific page of comprehension for you to complete this week, just look over the ones we have done this term and see if there are any errors which you are still finding tricky. (The page at the back helps you to analyse this.)
Maths
In Maths this week, we will be consolidating our knowledge of the topics we have covered this term in year six. Can we show our thinking in a methodical way? We will also be looking at our explanations of problems and our reasoning skills when trying to justify our answers. The following sentence stems are helpful to use:
If you wish to consolidate this work at home, you could take a look at some questions from the White Rose Maths booklets for the Autumn term. (Make sure you click on year six.) The link is as follows: https://whiterosemaths.com/parent-resources
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
05 December 2022
English
This week in English, we will be continuing to explore a range of different poems and attempting to follow the style of a specific poet. We will be studying Kit Wright’s poem: ‘The Magic Box’ and Miroslav Holub’s poem ‘The Door.’ You may like to find a poem of your own which you can bring into school and perform.
When choosing, think about the following questions:
- What did you like about the poem?
- What was your favourite line and why?
- How did the poem make you feel?
- Which line in the poem did you find the most interesting and why?
- Are there any parts of the poem that leave you with unanswered questions?
- What questions would you like to ask the poet?
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: foreign, forty, frequently, government.
We will also be discussing words with the ending -tion, -sion, -ssion, -cian. How do we know which ones to use (t, s, ss or c)?
- -tion is the most common spelling. It is used if the root word ends in t or te.
- -ssion is used of the root word ends in ss or -mit.
- -sion is used if the root word ends in d or se.
- -cian is used if the root word ends in c or cs, and these words generally link to a
profession.
You could always google ‘words ending in ….’ and choose one of the above endings. How many examples can you discover?
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
SpellingWordList_Y3-4.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
SpellingWordList_Y5-6.pdf (oxfordowl.co.uk)
Grammar
In grammar, we will be consolidating our understanding of suffixes and prefixes. A prefix is a string of letters that are added to the beginning of a root word, changing its meaning. Each prefix has a meaning (for example, un- means not, sub- means under mis- means wrong or badly). Year 6 Prefixes: bi-, aqua-, aero-, super-, micro-, audi-, trans-, prim-, auto-, tele-, re-, pre- Example words: bicycle, aquarium, aeroplane, supernatural, microscope, audible, transport, primary, automatic, telephone, replay, prehistoric. A suffix is a string of letters that go at the end of a root word, changing or adding to its meaning. Suffixes can show if a word is a noun, an adjective, an adverb or a verb. The suffixes -er and -est are also used to form the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and some adverbs.
There are further explanations, videos and activities on the following link:
https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-is-a-prefix
https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-is-a-suffix
Please complete the ‘Suffixes and prefixes A and B’ tests on SPAG.com. Your logins will be in your reading diary.
Remember, Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘Diving the Depths.’ Please complete the word meaning, summary and prediction questions from pages 40-41 of your non-fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In Maths this week, we will be continuing to explore the concepts of scale factor and solving ratio and proportion problems. We will be learning that ‘similar’ in mathematics means that one shape is an exact enlargement of the other, not just they have some common properties. We will look at examples where we can use multiplication and division facts to calculate missing information and scale factors, finding missing lengths and areas of shapes. Look at the picture below for a simple example:
There is also useful support on BBC Bitesize:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zvmxsbk/articles/z2vm8hv
If you wish to consolidate this work at home, you could take a look at some questions from the White Rose Maths Ratio booklet.
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
28 November 2022
English
This week in English, we will be exploring a range of different poems and attempting to follow the style of a specific poet. We will be looking at examples by Pie Corbett, Roger McGough and Michael Rosen and thinking about how the poets use: abstract nouns, alliteration, juxtaposition, patterns, couplets, similes and the use of rhyme.
You could look in advance at example poems ‘The Writer of this poem’ and ‘The hearer of this poem’ by Roger McGough. You can listen to them being read by the poet on the following link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/english-ks2-roger-mcgough-talking-poetry/zmqf2sg
You may choose to listen to the poet Michael Rosen read ‘Words are ours’ on the following link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/english-ks2-michael-rosen-talking-poetry/zn37rj6
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: excellent, existence, explanation, familiar.
In spelling, we will be thinking about words with -ant / -ent, -ance / -ence, -ancy / -ency. Try to create strings of words with the same root such as:
-
- observe, observant, observation, observance
- depend, dependence, dependable
- independent, independently, independence
- You could also sound out words and clap the syllables of the root word, e.g. de-pend / tol-er / con-fid before ending -ence / -ance.
- You could always google ‘words ending in ….’ and choose one of the above endings. How many examples can you discover?
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
Grammar
In grammar, we will be consolidating our understanding of formal and informal language. We often use formal language when we write. However, there are times where writing can be informal, like when we’re writing text messages, emails, postcards or letters to friends. We use informal language more when we speak, but there are also times where it is expected that we speak formally. For example, in a classroom presentation or when meeting someone new.
There are further explanations, videos and activities on the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zv7fqp3/articles/z498dp3
Please complete the ‘Formal and informal language A and B’ tests on SPAG.com. Your logins will be in your reading diary.
Remember, Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘Diving the Depths.’ Please complete the inference questions from pages 38-39 of your non-fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In Maths this week, we will be exploring the concepts of ratio and scale factor. For example, Ron plants flowers in a flower bed. For every 2 red roses he plants 5 white roses. He says, “2/5 of the roses are red.” Is Ron correct? (No, 2/7 are red.) The ratio however, is 2:5. How can we show this in a pictorial way? We will introduce the colon notation as the ratio symbol, and continue to link this with the language ‘for every…, there are…’ so that we can read ratios e.g. 3 ∶ 5 is “three to five” relating to the order of parts. For example, ‘For every 3 bananas there are 2 apples would be the same as 3 ∶ 2 and for every 2 apples there are 3 bananas would be the same as 2 ∶ 3.’
We will also be thinking about how to draw bar models / pictorial representations to represent further ratio problems. E.g. A farmer plants some crops in a field. For every 4 carrots he plants 2 leeks. He plants 48 carrots in total. How many leeks did he plant? How many vegetables did he plant in total?
Jack mixes 2 parts of red paint with 3 parts blue paint to make purple paint. If he uses 12 parts blue paint, how many parts red paint does he use?
Eva has a packet of sweets. For every 3 red sweets there are 5 green sweets. If there are 32 sweets in the packet in total, how many of each colour are there?
There are videos and quizzes to help support our learning on the link below:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zsq7hyc
If you wish to consolidate this work at home, you could take a look at some questions from the White Rose Maths Ratio booklet. A link is below:
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
21 November 2022
English
This week in English, we will be completing a series of short writing tasks based on our class novel of ‘Goodnight Mr Tom.’ We will be exploring writing in character, with a particular focus on the language spoken by the characters and their particular dialects.
We will also be considering letter writing and the use of the third and the first person as well as ensuring that we are meeting the “all the time” expectations for year six writing.
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: equipment, equipped, especially, exaggerate.
In spelling, we will be thinking about the “i before e except after c” rule which applies to words where the sound spelt by ei is “ee” /i:/. (There are, however, words where i does indeed come after c, such as science, ancient, or glacier.) We will introduce the mnemonic: “When an i and an e make the sound ‘ee’, use i before e except after c.” We will be exploring words using ei making an “ee” sound after a soft ‘c’: deceive, conceive, receive, perceive, ceiling. We will also consolidate ei words where ei makes an “ay” sound, such as weight or weigh.
There is a quiz on the following link:
https://www.educationquizzes.com/ks2/english/spelling-ie-or-ei/
There is also a lesson produced by Oak Academy on the link below:
https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/to-investigate-ee-sound-ie-or-ei-spelling-74t3jc
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
Grammar
In grammar, we will be consolidating our understanding of subordinate clauses and the use of conjunctions. A subordinate clause contains both a subject and a verb. A subordinate clause must be attached to a main clause as it would not make sense on its own. For example “I was hungry because I missed breakfast”. In this sentence “because I missed breakfast” is the subordinate clause to the main clause “I was hungry”. The subordinate clause may also appear at the beginning of the sentence, for example: “Unless it is the weekend, I don’t eat meat.” Here the subordinate clause is “unless it is the weekend.” Subordinate clauses often start with these words…after, although, as, because, even, how, if, now, once, since, so, than, unless, where, when, whenever, where, wherever, while. These words are known as subordinating conjunctions. There are further explanations on the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zwwp8mn/articles/zqk37p3
Please complete the ‘Subordinate clauses and conjunctions B’ SPAG.com. Your logins will be in your reading diary.
Remember, Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘Diving the Depths.’ Please complete the fact retrieval questions from pages 36-37 of your non-fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In Maths this week, we will be thinking about different units of measure and converting between them. We will be re-visiting metric units and the relationships between mm – cm – m –km, ml –l, g-kg. We will be converting between different units of measures and thinking about the place value involved. We will also be converting between miles and kilometres and having a brief think about some imperial measures.
There are videos and quizzes to help support our learning on the link below:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z4nsgk7/articles/z63qdp3
If you wish to consolidate this work at home, you could take a look at some questions from the White Rose Maths Converting Units booklet. The link is below:
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
14 November 2022
English
This week in English, we will be completing our narrative unit with a focus on setting description. We will continue to discuss how we can improve our own writing, to develop or challenge the description.
- Think about the need to ensure that the character (and the reader) has a strong reaction to this place and how we can enhance this feeling.
- Remember to include all the senses.
- Consider the effective use of synonyms.
- Leave elements unsaid.
- Include a well-placed line of dialogue from inside the character’s head.
You may wish to explore a thesaurus to extend vocabulary choices, making a word list of some possible, descriptive vocabulary. There are helpful suggestions on using a thesaurus on the link below:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zcc2gdm/articles/zf96ncw
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: dictionary, disastrous, embarrass, environment.
In spelling, we will be working on -ous endings with straightforward adding of -ous to words like danger and poison, and then higher-frequency -ious or -eous endings such as various, curious. Think about breaking the words up into syllables and spelling each part, e.g. poi-son-ous. You could even write the -ous suffix in a different colour or highlight any tricky parts to the word. Year 3 /4 statutory words: famous, various. Year 5 /6 statutory words: conscious, disastrous, marvellous, mischievous. There is further information on the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zqqsw6f/articles/zqcpv9q
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
Grammar
In grammar, we will be consolidating our understanding of synonyms and antonyms. Synonyms are words with the same or similar meaning: words such as happy, cheerful and merry or words such as sad, miserable and heartbroken. Antonyms are words with opposite meanings: words such as angry and peaceful or words such as funny and serious. You may like to use a thesaurus to find synonyms and antonyms for words.
You may like to watch the video and complete the quiz on the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zfkk7ty/articles/z8t8pbk
There are further explanations, videos and songs on the ‘School Run’ website:
https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-are-synonyms-and-antonyms
Please complete the ‘Synonyms and antonyms A and B’ tasks on SPAG.com. Your logins will be in your reading diary. Remember, Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘From Sketches to Cinema.’ Please complete the word meaning, summary and comparison questions from pages 30-31of your non-fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In maths, we will be completing our unit of work on fractions. This week we will be consolidating how to find fractions of amounts with unit and non-unit fractions. One of the ways we will think about this process is through the use of the bar model. If we know that 1/5 of 40 kg is equal to 8 kg, how can we find 2/5 of 40 kg? To find 2/5, we need to find the total value of 2 of the parts. 2 × 8 kg = 16 kg therefore 2/5 of 40 kg = 16 kg.
You could also watch episode 5 – fractions – on the following link:
https://whiterosemaths.com/maths-with-michael
There are explanations, activities and videos on the following link too:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zt8dmp3/articles/zjtg47h
If you wish to consolidate this work at home, you could take a look at some questions from the White Rose Maths Block 3 – Fractions booklet (B.) The link is below:
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
07 November 2022
English
This week in English, we will be continuing to write a narrative with a focus on setting description. We will be taking inspiration again from the text called ‘My Iceland.’
We will begin by creating a boxed up plan for our text, based on overall similarity to the initial text. In our story, we need to focus on describing the fantasy landscape.
Remember, the content of vocabulary and grammar choices are important in year six– aim high! Think back to how we developed the initial setting images by crafting the language and use a thesaurus to choose some really impactful vocabulary. It may be useful to google images of the country of Iceland or watch some online videos to give you some initial inspiration.
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: definite, desperate, determined, develop.
In spelling lessons, we will be exploring words that end in the suffixes -able or -ible. We will be discussing the convention that we normally add -able if the root word is a complete, recognisable word, e.g. lock > lockable, consider > considerable. The -ible ending is generally used if a complete root word cannot be heard before it, e.g. poss > possible. We will also be thinking about the fact that we normally just add the suffix to the root word. However:
- If the word ends in an e or consonant +y, then the usual rules of dropping the e or changing y to an i apply, e.g. excite> excitable, rely> reliable.
- If the -able ending is added to a word ending in -ce or -ge, the e after the c or g must be kept, as those letters would otherwise have their hard sounds (as in cap and gap) before the a of the -able ending, e.g. change > changeable, notice > noticeable. There is further explanation on the links below:
https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/when-use-able-and-ible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhHuVWtMMbg
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
Grammar
In grammar, we will be consolidating our understanding of modal verbs (or probability words.) These are verbs that indicate likelihood, ability, permission or obligation. Words like: can/could, may/might, will/would, shall/should and must. In the sentence: “The Sea Monster should go away,” ‘should’ is the modal verb as it indicates the likelihood of the Sea Monster going away.
You may like to watch the video and complete the quiz on the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zwwp8mn/articles/zps4pbk
There are further explanations, videos and songs on the ‘School Run’ website:
https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-are-modal-verbs
Please complete the ‘Probability Words’ task on SPAG.com. Your logins will be in your reading diary.
Remember, Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘From Sketches to Cinema.’ Please complete the inference questions on pages 28-29 of your non-fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In maths, we will be continuing our unit of work on fractions. This week we will be learning how to multiply and divide fractions. To multiply fractions, you need to multiply the numerators together and multiply the denominators together. To divide fractions, we will be using the KFC method – Keep the first, Flip the second, Change the sign.
There are explanations, activities and videos on the following links:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zhdwxnb/articles/z8fyv4j
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z2b83k7/revision/3
If you wish to consolidate this work at home, you could take a look at some questions from the White Rose Maths Block 3 – Fractions booklet (B.) The link is below:
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
01 November 2022
English
This week in English, we will be writing a narrative with a focus on setting description. We will be exploring and interpreting a text called ‘My Iceland,’ as well as the wordless picture book ‘Journey’ by Aaron Becker. Here is a link to explore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWqhNpjvcSs
You may like to practise writing about a setting by choosing a picture to describe in detail e.g. a door, a turret, the grass, the sky. What can you see? Choose three key words that describe that feature. Can you improve these initial choices using a thesaurus?
Change the word into a short phrase thinking about adjectives / nouns / verbs / adverbs e.g. towering trees were rising relentlessly, ghostly lanterns are glowing menacingly, cobbled paths wind furiously.
Think about how you can combine your ideas into an interesting or powerful sentence e.g. ‘The quivering leaves balanced precariously on the tree’s frail branches.’ Write short description for one of the images, including all the senses and / or examples of figurative language.
There is further support and suggestions about writing a setting descriptions on the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zx339j6/articles/zdfytrd
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: convenience, correspond, criticise, curiosity.
In spelling lessons, we will be exploring words ending in -cial or –tial. We will be discussing the rule that we normally add -cial if the root word ends with a vowel, and -tial if the root word ends with a consonant. We will also be considering how we can turn these adjectives into adverbs by adding -ly in the same way as we have for other adjectives in the past. For example, the addition of -ly to words: confidential > confidentially, official > officially. There are some quizzes and games to support your understanding on the following link:
https://wordwall.net/en-gb/community/cial-tial
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
Grammar
In grammar, we will be consolidating our understanding of parenthesis and commas. Parenthesis is adding extra information to a sentence using brackets, dashes or commas. Parenthesis adds extra information to a sentence or a paragraph but the passage should still make sense without it. This can be done using: brackets, dashes or commas. For example: ‘The case was worn – and very full – and its straps struggled to keep in its contents.’ Here’s another example: ‘James (who was terrified of heights) was taking part in a charity skydive at the weekend.’ The sentence still makes sense without the words inside the brackets, it’s just a bit more interesting with the added detail.
You may like to watch the video on the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zmfc7ty/articles/z7hppg8
There are further explanations, videos and activities on the ‘School Run’ website:
https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-is-parenthesis
Please complete the ‘Parenthesis and commas A and B’ tasks on SPAG.com. Your logins will be in your reading diary.
Remember, Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘From Sketches to Cinema.’ Please complete the fact retrieval questions on pages 26-27 of your non-fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In maths, we will be continuing our unit of work on fractions. This week we will be learning how to add and subtract fractions with different denominators and mixed numbers, using the concept of equivalent fractions. When fractions do not have the same denominator, before we can add the fractions together, we must first create equivalent fractions that have common denominators. For example to complete the calculation 3/5 + 2/7 we could use the common denominator of 35 and make 21/35 + 10/35. Now that the denominators are the same, we can add the numerators and put the answer over the same denominator e.g. 31/35.
There are explanations, activities and videos on the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zhdwxnb/articles/z9n4k7h
If you wish to consolidate this work at home, you could take a look at some questions from the White Rose Maths Block 3 – Fractions booklet (A.) The link is below:
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
17 October 2022
English
This week in English, we will be completing our unit of work based on discussion texts. We will be holding a formal classroom debate to finally answer the questions which are important to us. We will include our own knowledge as well as any facts we have discovered and can use to support our opinions. The following video explains what a debate is and how to present and evaluate facts and opinions when debating.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zxvv4wx
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: competition, conscience, conscious, controversy.
In spelling lessons, we will revising the year 5 / 6 words we have learnt this half term and testing our knowledge. Here is a reminder:
accommodate, accompany, according, achieve, aggressive, amateur, ancient, apparent, appreciate, attached, available, average, awkward, bargain, bruise, category, cemetery, committee, communicate, community, competition, conscience, conscious, controversy.
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
Grammar
In grammar, we will be consolidating our understanding of fronted adverbials. Adverbials are words or phrases that give more information to the sentence. E.g. “I discovered fronted adverbials earlier today.” ‘Earlier today’ is the adverbial. A fronted adverbial is when the adverbial word or phrase is moved to the front of the sentence, before the verb.” Earlier today, I discovered fronted adverbials.” So here, ‘earlier today’ is a fronted adverbial.
You may like to complete the quiz on the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zwwp8mn/articles/zp937p3
Please complete the ‘Fronted adverbials A and B’ tasks on SPAG.com.
Remember, Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary.
There is no comprehension text for this week. Instead, please can you look over all the pages we have completed this half term and identify any areas you are more and less confident with. Think about the preciseness of your answers.
Maths
In maths, we will be beginning our unit of work on fractions. This week we will be finding equivalent fractions, using common factors to simplify fractions, converting between mixed numbers and improper fractions and vice versa and comparing and ordering fractions including fractions greater than one.
There are explanations, activities and videos on the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zhdwxnb/articles/zcdgxfr
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zhdwxnb/articles/zxcfjty
If you wish to consolidate this work at home, you could take a look at the opening questions from the White Rose Maths Block 3 – Fractions booklet (A.) The link is below:
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
10th October 2022
English
This week in English, we will be continuing our unit of work based on discussion texts. We will be completing our texts, focussing on our conclusion. This is the point of the text where, as an author, you need to bring a sense of conclusion and balance, but also make a decision as to for or against. Try to include a variety of phrases for drawing conclusions e.g. In conclusion…, to sum up…, Having considered…, In the light of…, given these arguments …, On the whole…, By and large…, In the circumstances…, All things considered…
Time will also be given to edit your own and a partner’s work with attention to one element of the toolkit only. Have you fulfilled that criteria? This may require particular paragraphs to be re-written or key elements to be modified and improved e.g. vocabulary, grammar or punctuation.
- Keep in mind what makes an effective text and think about power of vocabulary choices and impact of changes.
- Consider modal verbs e.g. should rather than could.
- Look for opportunities to include reported speech.
- Find other opportunities to address readers directly from time to time to hold attention and draw them in to the arguments: inviting them to speculate e.g. You may be wondering why…, asking questions e.g. How would you like to meet one of these creatures on your way home… using exclamations e.g. …and they smell horrible!
We will also be beginning to plan a second discussion text thinking about whether or not something should be ‘given up,’ for example – homework, school uniform.
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: cemetery, committee, communicate, community.
In spelling lessons, we will be thinking about the convention that we normally double a single consonant in a multi syllable word after a short vowel sound and how this can be helpful in learning some of the Y3/4 and Y5/6 spelling list words. We will be trying to identify the short vowels and double consonants and attempting to spell the words below:
Year 3 /4 examples: appear, arrive, different, difficult, disappear, grammar, occasion, opposite, possess, possible, pressure, suppose.
Year 5 /6 examples: accommodate, accompany, according, aggressive, apparent, appreciate, attached, committee, communicate, community, correspond, embarrass, equipped, exaggerate, excellent, harass, immediate, interrupt, marvellous, occupy, occur, opportunity, sufficient, suggest.
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
Grammar
In grammar, we will be consolidating the concept of cohesion and how to make a piece of writing flow. We will be looking at particular grammar which aids cohesion, for example – adverbials or conjunctions. What does cohesion do?
- It keeps order in the paragraph.
- Related ideas are kept together.
- It makes it easier for the reader to understand the text.
- Ideas flow more smoothly.
- It provides links between ideas.
You may like to watch the video on the following link:
Please complete the ‘Linking ideas and cohesion A and B’ tasks on SPAG.com. Your logins will be in your reading diary.
Remember, Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘The Problem with Plastic.’ Please complete the word meaning, summary and language questions on pages 20-21 of your non-fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In maths, we will be thinking about how we can use estimation to check answers to calculations and determine, in the context of a problem, an appropriate degree of accuracy. Estimating the answer of a calculation serves as a sense-check on whether your answer is correct, and this can be done either before or after a calculation. We will also be considering how to work out other facts from a given fact using our knowledge of place value, inverse operations, commutativity and mental strategies.
There are further explanations and videos on the following links: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zh8dmp3/articles/z874h39
https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-estimate
If you wish to consolidate this work at home, you could look again at the questions from the White Rose Maths Block 1 – Four Operations home learning booklet (A) – but this time, make an estimate for each question. The link is below:
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
03 October 2022
English
This week in English, we will be beginning a unit of work based on discussion texts. We will be discussing and debating various issues, considering view for, views against and our own personal opinions. We will be exploring examples of discussions texts and discovering how they have to put forward both sides of an argument before reaching a conclusion. As a class, we are going to answer the question – ‘Should daleks be allowed on Earth?’ and writing our own texts based on this discussion, linking ideas to our topic of ‘Time Travellers.’ You may like to start to think about how you would answer this question, ensuring that you consider both sides of the argument. The following table suggests some features which may be helpful in a discussion text:
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: awkward, bargain, bruise, category.
In spelling lessons, we will be continuing exploring rules for applying suffixes, this time, looking at those beginning with vowel letters: -ed and -ing / -er and -est / -y – . Do we keep, chop or change the ending? Look at the rules below, can you think of further examples?
When you add suffixes beginning with vowel letters, you either:
- Do nothing, just add the suffix (where word ends in two consonants) – sort, sorting, sorted / long, longer, longest.
- Drop e and add the suffix – dance, dancing, danced / nice, nicer, nicest.
- Change y to i and add the suffix (where the word ends with consonant followed by a y and only for -ed) – reply, replying, replied / copy, copying, copied but play, playing, played / noisy, noisier, noisiest.
- Double the consonant and add the suffix (where the word ends in a short vowel sound and consonant) – shop, shopping, shopped / fit, fitting, fitted / fit, fitter, fittest.
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
Grammar
In grammar, we will be revising apostrophes for possession and contraction with a further exploration of plural apostrophes. An apostrophe can be used to show that one thing belongs to or is connected to something. This is called a possessive apostrophe. Let’s take a look at some examples.
The cat’s tail was fluffy. Cat is a singular noun so you need to add an apostrophe and “s” to show that the tail belongs to the cat.
Charles’ cat was naughty. Charles is a singular noun that ends in an “s”, so you need to add an apostrophe to show that the cat belongs to Charles.
The brothers’ feet were muddy. Brothers is a plural noun that ends in an “s” so you don’t add another “s” after your apostrophe. You can just add an apostrophe to show the feet belongs to the brothers.
The children’s toys were broken. Children is a plural noun but it doesn’t end with an “s” so you need to add an apostrophe and “s” to show that the toys belong to the children.
You may like to watch the videos and try the quiz on the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zvwwxnb/articles/zx9ydxs
Please complete the ‘Apostrophes and Plurals A and B’ tasks on SPAG.com. Your logins will be in your reading diary.
Remember, Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘The Problem with Plastic.’ Please complete the inference questions on pages 18-19 of your non-fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In maths, we will be learning to divide, building to dividing four digit numbers by two digit numbers using the formal written method of long division. If the number which we are dividing by is quite large, it can be useful to write the multiples in a list before beginning. (See the example below.)
There are further explanations and videos on the following link:
https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-is-long-division
If you wish to consolidate this work at home, you could complete questions from the White Rose Maths Block 1 – Four Operations home learning booklet (A). The link is below:
Y6-HL-Autumn-Block-2-Four-operations-A-2020
There are also a video for you to watch at home with your parents on multiplication from the link to White Rose, Maths with Michael, Episode 4 – Division below:
https://whiterosemaths.com/maths-with-michael
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
26 September 2022
English
This week in English, we will be continuing to look at stories which contain a ‘time slip’ or a ‘flashback.’ We will be continuing writing our own stories based on an extract with a flashback from the Pixar movie ‘Up.’ We will be finding clues which suggest the flashback elements and discussing how it evokes an emotional response from the watcher / reader. How can we get an emotional reaction from our reader? Focus on how the character is feeling / how they move in and out of the flashback. The use of dialogue could also feature here. This flashback text will be written in the first person – I – looking back on events through the central man’s eyes – putting themselves into his shoes.
The flashback for ‘Up’ is available on the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2bk_9T482g
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: appreciate, attached, available, average.
In spelling lessons, we will be exploring rules for applying suffixes beginning with consonant letters. -ment, -ness, -ful , -less, -ly.
- The suffixes -ness and -ment will generate a noun from an adjective or verb, such as: A happy child is full of happiness, or I enjoy singing as it gives me enjoyment.
- The suffixes -ful and -less will turn a noun into an adjective: If you do not have a penny, you are penniless.
- The suffix -ly will convert an adjective into an adverb: When people are kind, they behave kindly towards others.
How many words can you think of with the suffixes -ment, -ness, -ful, -less and –ly?
You may like to watch the video below which explains how suffixes are added to the root word:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/english-ks2-wonderful-words-suffixes-part-2/zvjvrj6
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
Grammar
In grammar, we will be revising direct speech and how to use full speech punctuation. Here are a few general rules for punctuating speech:
- Start a new line for a new speaker.
- Add a comma before the opening speech marks.
- Open and close speech with speech marks (or inverted commas).
- Begin what is spoken with a capital letter.
- End the line of speech with a comma, exclamation mark or question mark.
There are further explanations of the rules, with videos to watch, on the link below:
https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-are-direct-and-indirect-speech
Please complete the ‘Direct speech punctuation A and B’ tasks on SPAG.com. Your logins will be in your reading diary.
Remember, Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘The Problem with Plastic.’ Please complete the fact retrieval questions on pages 16-17 of your non-fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In maths, we will be learning about square and cubed numbers. A square number is a number multiplied by itself. The square numbers up to 100 are 0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, and 100. A cube number is a number multiplied by itself 3 times. The cube numbers up to 100 are 1, 8, 27, and 64. Cube numbers can be depicted as three-dimensional cubes.
We will also be revising the formal written method of long multiplication, moving up to multiplying a four-digit number by a two-digit number. If you wish to consolidate this work at home, you could complete questions from the White Rose Maths Block 1 – Four Operations home learning booklet (B). The link is below:
There are also a video for you to watch at home with your parents on multiplication from the link to White Rose, Maths with Michael, Episode 3 – Multiplication below:
https://whiterosemaths.com/maths-with-michael
If you need further reminders about written multiplication strategies, you could also watch the videos, try the quiz and complete the activities on BBC Bitesize:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z4chnrd
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
20 September 2022
English
This week in English, we will be continuing to look at stories which contain a ‘time slip’ or a ‘flashback.’ We will be writing our own stories based on a video called ‘The Piano,’ by Aidan Gibbons and an extract with a flashback from the Pixar movie ‘Up.’ We will be considering how important it is to move the reader cohesively between the present time and the flashback.
The film ‘The Piano’ can be accessed on the following link:
The flashback for ‘Up’ is available on the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2bk_9T482g
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: aggressive, amateur, ancient, apparent.
In spelling lessons, we will be learning to distinguish between the spelling and meaning of homophones. A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another but is spelt differently, e.g. mail, male; to, too, two. We will be identifying some of the pairs of homophones from Y3/4 and Y5/6 teaching, where one of the words is a verb, for example: passed / past, missed / mist, guessed / guest, allowed / aloud. We will be discussing how we might recognise which of these is a verb in each case (-ed endings.) We will also be exploring the difference between verbs and nouns such as advice / advise, device / devise, licence / license, practice / practise, prophecy / prophesy, following the convention that nouns are generally spelt with a c and verbs with an s.
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
Grammar
In grammar, we will be revising relative clauses. A relative clause can be used to give additional information about a noun. They are introduced by a relative pronoun like ‘that’, ‘which’, ‘who’, ‘whose’, ‘where’ and ‘when’. For example: ‘I won’t stand by the man who smells of slime.’ In this example, the relative clause is ‘who smells of slime’. It provides more information about the man. The relative pronoun, ‘who’, is used to connect these clauses in the sentence. You may like to complete the quiz below:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zwwp8mn/articles/zsrt4qt
Please complete the ‘Relative clauses’ task on SPAG.com. If you have lost your login details, please ask me.
Remember, Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘Angel of the North.’ Please complete the word meaning, summary and prediction questions on pages 10-11 of your non-fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In maths, we will be learning about factors, multiples and prime numbers.
A factor is an integer (whole number) that will divide exactly into another number. For example, 8 is a factor of 24 because 8 will divide into 24 exactly 3 times with no remainder.
The multiples of a number are the values in that number’s times table. For example, the multiples of 5 are 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and so on. There are an infinite amount of multiples of any given number.
A prime number is a number with exactly two factors. A prime number is only divisible by 1 and itself. Another way to think of prime numbers is that they are only ever found as answers in their own times tables.
There are further explanations, activities and videos on the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zfq7hyc
Please complete your White Rose Maths Block 2 – Four Operations home learning booklet (B) – Questions 2,4,7,8 The link is below:
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
12 September 2022
English
This week in English, we will be continuing to look at stories which contain a ‘time slip.’ We will be writing our own stories and editing them to meet year six targets and expectations, completing the following process:
- Editing for mistakes – Check writing for spelling, punctuation and grammar errors.
- Editing against toolkit – Highlight key features of language e.g. historical vocabulary, rhetorical questions, short sentences.
- Editing for improvements to vocabulary and grammar to create impact– focus on improvement of vocabulary and sentence structure. Focus on cohesion within and across paragraphs through sentence starters and use of nouns / pronouns. Consider changes of synonyms for effect and suspense. What changes can they make to impact the reader?
We will also be looking at texts where the character has a flash-back, rather than physically travelling to the past.
Spelling
Our year 5 / 6 words to practise this week are: accommodate, accompany, according, achieve.
This week, we will be continuing our work on revising the statutory spelling lists for years 3 / 4. We will be highlighting any tricky words and thinking about strategies to learn them, such as splitting up into letter strings or creating mnemonics. A mnemonic is a tool that helps you to memorise something specific, like how to spell a word. For example, the following is a mnemonic for the word ‘necessary’ – ‘one collar and two sleeves’. This mnemonic could help you remember that the word ‘necessary’ has one ‘c’ and two ‘s’s’, which enables you to remember the tricky parts of this spelling.
The complete list of 3 /4 and 5 / 6 words to learn are on the links below:
Grammar
In grammar, we will be revising main and subordinate clauses and conjunctions. A main clause is a clause that contains a subject and an object. Main clauses make sense on their own. E.g. The cat sat down. Sometimes a sentence is made up of two clauses: a main clause and a subordinate clause, which relies on the main clause. A subordinate clause contains a subject and a verb, but it needs to be attached to a main clause because it cannot make sense on its own. For example:
This is a complex sentence (also referred to as a multi-clause sentence). It has a main clause (‘I first met her in Paris’) and a subordinate clause (‘where I lived as a small child’), which relies on the main clause to make sense. The two clauses are joined by the conjunction ‘where’. You can watch the following videos for more information: https://youtu.be/pWS3Cbf5h9U or https://youtu.be/ErwKUGfBzhg
Please complete the ‘Subordinate clauses and conjunctions A’ task on SPAG.com. If you have lost your login details, please ask me.
Remember, Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘Angel of the North.’ Please complete the inference questions on pages 8-9 of your non-fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In maths, we will be learning to: round any whole number to a required degree of accuracy and using negative numbers in context, calculating intervals across zero. 
Please complete your White Rose Maths Block 1 – Place Value home learning booklet– Questions 4 to 11. The link is below:
There are also videos, tutorials and quizzes to support your learning on BBC Bitesize on the following links:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zh8dmp3/articles/zpx2qty
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/znwj6sg/articles/zxthnbk
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.
5 September 2022
English
This week in English, we will be looking at stories which contain a ‘time slip.’ We will be exploring how the differences in time are made clear to the reader and the type of clues that are given; how does the vocabulary used help suggest different time periods? We will also be creating our own tool kit for a time slip story:
* use well-chosen adjectives to build the description, e.g. white dust, smashed furniture, crazy angles;
* use historical details to bring the description alive, e.g. gas masks, ‘careless talks,’ Morrison shelters.
* describe what you can see but also use other senses, e.g. smelt of moth balls, the tormented sound of the siren
* use extended punctuation e.g. dashes, ellipses
* use well placed dialogue to set the atmosphere e.g. “God help us! Mum’ll be livid with Hitler.”
* use similes to help the reader imagine what something is like, e.g. his breathing sounded like Darth Vadar.
Examples of a Time Slip include:
‘Tom’s Midnight Garden’ – a popular children’s book first published in 1958. Tom discovers a grandfather clock that strikes 13 and then finds a secret garden!
‘A Christmas Carol’ – a very popular novel by Charles Dickens. The main character Scrooge is greeted by ghosts of his past, present, and future!
The popular films ‘Back to the Future’ include a time slip after the main character is accidentally sent back in time.
‘Jumanji’ – another popular film where a character is trapped in a board game.
‘Doctor Who’ – a long-running TV show about a time lord called ‘The Doctor,’ who travels through time in the TARDIS.
Can you think of any others? You may wish to research information about a time period of your choosing in preparation for your story.
Spelling
This week, we will be assessing our knowledge of the statutory spelling lists for years 3 / 4 and years 5 / 6. We will be sending home a highlighted copy of our current knowledge so that you can see what spellings you still need to learn. The complete lists are in your spelling folders, on the class webpage and on the links below.
Grammar
In grammar, we will be revising grammar vocabulary from previous years, classifying: nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, determiners and articles. Please login to SPAG.com and attempt Terminology Year 5 A and B. (Ask me if you have lost your login details.)
Google is always very useful for grammar definitions and reminders, as is the following site: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-6-age-10-11/.
Reading and Comprehension
Please ensure you are reading with your parents regularly, with at least three comments with parent signatures in your reading diary.
The comprehension text for the week will be: ‘Dare to Dance.’ Please complete fact retrieval questions on pages 6-7 of your non-fiction workbook, we will then discuss the possible answers in class next Monday.
Maths
In maths, we will be learning to: read, write, order and compare numbers up to 10,000,000 and determine the value of each digit. One way to remember the place value of each digit is through the use of a place value chart:
For example, the number in the chart above is made up of: 4 hundred thousands, 3 ten thousands, 4 thousands, 5 hundreds, 3 tens and 3 ones which makes 434,533. We will be discussing the use of commas to help represent numbers and consolidating our understanding of the value of each column.
To support your learning, you may like to complete the White Rose Maths Block 1 – Place Value home learning booklet– Questions 1 to 3. The link is below:
There are also videos, tutorials and quizzes to support your learning about place value on BBC Bitesize on the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zfjgf82
Many thanks for your continued support, Mrs Field and Mrs Parry.