This week, we will be commencing our full curriculum for all children. We know you are all raring to go and are keen to get back into the full swing of things, so here's what's on the menu...
Science – How we see things
In this topic, children learn that mirrors and shiny surfaces alter the direction in which light travels and that when they see objects, light enters the eye. Children will also contrast reflection and shadow formation.
When we are doing experiments and investigations in this topic, the children will need to focus on the following areas:
· planning and carrying out a fair test
· making observations and measurements
· recognising when to repeat measurements
· presenting results in line graphs
· identifying patterns in data.
You can help at home, by asking questions about where a particular shadow is coming from; naming light sources etc. One important fact to remember and reinforce, is that the moon is NOT a light source - its light is reflected from the sun. This very often catches children out!
For this topic, the children will need to know and be able to use the following vocabulary:
· words and phrases related to shadow formation and reflection eg opaque, reflect, reflection, light beam, mirror, light travelling
· expressions making generalisations about patterns in results ; descriptions and explanations involving a sequence of ideas.
Being able to describe their ideas and findings using scientific vocabulary, is an important feature of the work this term.
When we are assessing how the children have done in this area, we will be using the Must, Should and Could criteria for them. The Could areas, provide a real challenge for them, and it really does give them all a real focus of what they should be aiming for.
MUST recognise that when light is blocked, a shadow is formed, and that reflections can be seen in shiny surfaces; make measurements and present these in a table
SHOULD recognise that light travels from a source, that when it is blocked, a shadow is formed and when it hits a shiny surface, it is reflected; that light sources are seen when light from them enters the eyes; make careful measurements of shadows and represent these in a line graph
COULD explain the difference between shadow formation and reflection in terms of the path of light
As this is the beginning of the topic, we will start with a review of children’s understanding of light and shadows by asking them to draw and annotate a diagram to show how a shadow is formed. You could help at home, by suggesting children use terms eg light source, opaque, travel, block.
The websites from last week, provide a great starting point for this topic. The most important aspect to reinforce is that light travels in straight lines and always comes from a light source.
Numeracy
This week in numeracy, we will be reviewing our work on place value. We will be assessing the knowledge which the children have retained from last term and seeing whether they can apply their knowledge to new situations.
We shall be assessing the children, using the Must, Should and Could criteria, with the COULD element providing the challenge for some children. All children are made aware of these expectations and you would be amazed at just how many strive to achieve the COULD target…Fantastic!
In Year 5, the children :
MUST - Know what each digit in a four digit number represents and can partition into thousands, hundreds, tens and ones.
SHOULD - Know the value of each digit in a six digit number and a number with up to two decimal places.
COULD - Know what each digit represents in a number with up to three decimal places.
In Year 6, the children :
MUST Know the value of each digit in a six digit number and a number with up to two decimal places.
SHOULD Know what each digit represents in a number with up to three decimal places.
COULD Give a decimal fraction lying between to others e.g. between 3.4 and 3.5
The children will review the following objectives:
· Use the vocabulary of comparing and ordering numbers, including symbols such as <, >, ≤, ≥ and =.
· Order a set of integers (numbers) less than 1 million.
· Order a given set of positive and negative integers (e.g. on a number line, on a thermometer).
· Solve a problem by representing and interpreting data in tables, charts and diagrams.
· Develop calculator skills and use a calculator effectively.
They will also need to be familiar with certain vocabulary to help support them with this work. This is a particular area which seems to create a stumbling block for some children; it can appear that they are having difficulties in understanding a particular mathematical concept, when it may simply be an issue with misunderstanding the vocabulary.
Vocabulary for this unit includes –
greater than
less than
greater than or equal to
less than or equal to
minus
degrees Celsius
integer
positive
negative
Should you wish to support your child, there are a number of sites below to facilitate this.
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/853/PVcardsdecimalv2.swf This is an on-line version of the place value cards that we use in class. If you match up the points on the cards, you can see the value of each of the numbers both before and after the decimal point.
http://www.sums.co.uk/playground/c4a/playground.htm Just click on continue on the pop up screen to enjoy this activity. It uses partitioning skills to help multiply the darts. A real fun activity!
http://www.toonuniversity.com/flash.asp?err=503&engine=15 start with level 1 and then see if you can work your way up to level 3 by Friday!
http://www.emaonline.org.uk/ema/client_files/resources_ftp/netmedia/digitwize/english/index.htm Select ‘three decimal places’ for the number type and then click on ‘Start.’ You need to select numbers, which when added together, will total the target number. Remember to click on ‘check’ to see if your answer is correct or not!
An important point to reinforce with the children, is that they need to include the ‘0's’ after the decimal point when there is no number in the column. (the place value cards will help with this.)
Literacy
As well as continuing with our topic work in Literacy, we will be commencing our Revision programme with the Year 6 children. One area that we will be focussing on is our Word level work – spellings and word patterns.
You can help support this important area at home by reinforcing the work that is going on in school on a daily basis. Little, often and repetitive is the key to develop good spelling techniques.
We have included the objectives we will be covering for all of this half term to give you a head start :
The children will need to…
identify mis-spelt words in own writing; to keep individual lists (e.g. spelling logs); to learn to spell them;
use known spellings as a basis for spelling other words with similar patterns or related meanings;
use independent spelling strategies, including:
· building up spellings by syllabic parts, using known prefixes, suffixes and common letter strings;
· applying knowledge of spelling rules and exceptions;
· building words from other known words, and from awareness of the meaning or derivations of words;
· using dictionaries;
· using visual skills, e.g. recognising common letter strings and checking critical features (i.e. does it look right, shape, length, etc.)
When checking your child’s homework, have a look at how they have done with their spellings and handwriting. Have they made any errors in copying spellings which have been given to them? Have they remembered the simple things, such as capital letters and full stops? Have they underlined the date and title of their homework? They may seem like ‘little things’, but they really do make a difference, and will help them to ‘raise their game’ significantly…try it and see!
Comprehension homework and spelling homework will re-commence this week and your child should bring home their blue folder on Monday evening. It needs to be handed in on THURSDAY MORNING, so that it can be marked with your child and handed back for next week. Spelling tests will take place, as always on Fridays in all classes. If there are any difficulties in completing homework on time, please do see a member of the 5/6 team as soon as possible.
ICT
In this area of the curriculum, children learn how to control simple devices, such as buzzers, small motors and lights, using basic control boxes. They learn how to control devices by turning them on and off according to a set of instructions. This will be developed so that children understand how to sequence a set of instructions to get a desired outcome.
By the end of this topic, the children…
MUST design and create a simple advertising display which produces a limited number of events; need help to write simple procedures and design the display
SHOULD design and create a simple advertising display which produces a combination of events; write simple procedures and be able to link output devices together; amend their procedures to get a desired outcome
COULD design and create an imaginative advertising display which produces a combination of events; write, correct and improve procedures to link output devices together; realise the limitations of the system
How many things are controlled automatically? Car park barriers; ticket machines; pelican crossings and traffic lights… Think about what would happen if other things were automated…Robot Teachers…!!!! Maybe they could make a costume or a ‘jacket’ for our resident Roamers??
Here I Am
We will beginning the first of our three Spring term topics this week which is based on Books. You will have also received a Parents Information Leaflet, to help you place this topic into context. Please let one of the team know if you haven’t received your copy.
By the end of this topic, the children will be assessed according to the following criteria:
MUST be able to identify different books they use and why. They will know that the Bible is made up of different kinds of books and be able to find some references.
SHOULD be able to explain why the Bible was written and why it contains different kinds of writings. They will demonstrate their ability to look up references.
COULD be able to describe the different types of books that make up the Bible and how they help Christians in different ways.
During the first week of a new topic, we focus on three areas – Recognise, Reflect and Respect. For the topic of books, the children will :
RECOGNISE : that different books have different purposes.
REFLECT: on the many books they use.
RESPECT: Appreciate the variety of books they use for a variety of reasons.
This week, the children will be asked to share one of their favourite books from home and will be expected to say why it is so important to them. If they could bring this into school on Tuesday, it would be a great help.
Here's to a great week!
Best Wishes,
Year 5/6 team
