5th February 2007

Weekly Update 5th February 2007

As this is the final week before the half term, we shall be reviewing the work we have done so far since Christmas and sharing the results of the recent assessments with your child. Many of them have improved their attainment superby and have already exceeded their end of year targets, so very well done! The children will be set a new group of targets this week, which are designed to move them even further ahead. We can’t believe it, but we are even having to cover some of the Key Stage 3 curriculum to challenge many of our Year 6’s ! Keep an eye on the diaries for more information.

Literacy

We shall be concluding our work on formal writing this week, and the children will be expected to compose their own piece of formal writing, using all the strategies learned last week. The ‘marking criteria’ from last week’s blog still stands and will be really useful to refer to, when self-assessing their writing. Also, a couple of the children stated that the links were just blank pages from last week’s literacy. If you scroll down on the pages from the links, there are buttons on the bottom right-hand side, which say ‘NEXT’ which you need to click on, in order to move the site forwards. OOPS! Sorry!!

Literacy revision

The objectives for this week’s Year 6 revision for Literacy are:

Monday

To understand what adjectives are and be able to use them effectively
To understand what adverbs are and how to use them effectively
To realise that word choice is important in all forms of writing

Tuesday


To understand the importance of a ‘well-drawn’ character in a story
To be aware of how other authors introduce characters
To plan a character sketch
To use knowledge of adjectives and adverbs to make characters more interesting


Wednesday

To understand the term setting
To become aware of how authors use setting
To be able to create atmosphere through description of setting


Thursday

To plan a story quickly and effectively
To understand the elements necessary to make a story interesting
To understand the terms: character, setting, plot, problem and resolution


Friday

To understand the effect of adding a modifying e to words
To distinguish between short and long vowel sounds
To spell multisyllabic and compound words that contain modifying e

Remember to use your CGP revision books as well as the SAT attack revision books in class as morning activities.

Numeracy

The Year 5’s will be covering strategies for addition and reviewing their knowledge of time. Can they read a timetable? Can they work out how long it is until the next train…What time will the next bus arrive…Have I just missed a tube train…When will the next one arrive…What time should I arrange for a taxi to collect me from my destination? This week, the children will hopefully be able to make the connection between what we learn in numeracy and its application in everyday life.

The children :

MUST Read the time from an analogue clock to the nearest minute, and from a 12 hour digital clock. Use am and pm and the notation 9:53.

SHOULD Read the time on a 24 hour digital clock and use 24 hour clock notation, such as 19:53. Use timetables.

COULD Use timetables to calculate the differences between times.

For an even bigger challenge, why not see if you can calculate the difference between the different time zones around the world?

http://www.10ticks.co.uk/s_heyYall.aspx This is a great site for lots of help and support for numeracy when you are working at home. There are even some games (which are VERY like Nintendo Wii games!!) for maths revision!! If you want to register, it is free, but you MUST ask a parent if it is ok to do so.

http://www.10ticks.co.uk/s_showGames.aspx?gameID=30#gamesContent Go on…if you work REALLY hard, you can even ‘soak the teacher’!! (On the computer, not in school !! J )

http://www.mathsonline.co.uk/freesite_tour/wrkshtlbry/ks3mental/testC1-16.html This is a mental maths test generator. Yes it does show you the answers, but it is best if you get someone to print it off first and then test you on it. You can then repay their kindness, by giving them a test back!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/measuring/time/timetables/ Can you read the timetables and answer the questions?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/measuring/time/calculatingtime/ This shows you how to calculate the difference between times.

http://www.rainforestmaths.com/ This is an excellent site from Australia, covering all the areas of numeracy. Just click on Year 5 or Year 6 for some great interactive animations.

Numeracy Revision

The Year 6 objectives for this week’s numeracy revision are:

Monday

To use written methods from adding whole numbers and decimals
To check answers using a different method or by estimating first
To recognise that addition is the inverse of subtraction
To work out problems which use addition

Tuesday


To use written methods for subtracting whole numbers and decimals
To check answers using a different method or by estimating first
To recognise that subtraction is the inverse of addition
To work out word problems which use subtraction


Wednesday

To draw lines of symmetry on 2D shapes
To understand that a symmetrical shape is exactly the same on both sides of the line of symmetry


Thursday

To name, make, describe and classify 3D shapes based on their properties
To identify different nets of 3D shapes
To visualise 3D shapes from 3D drawings


Friday

To know how to use a calculator correctly
To use a calculator to check estimated or written calculations
To use a calculator to interpret money calculations
To change a fraction into a decimal using a calculator
To recognise decimal fractions on a calculator display


Fancy a challenge? Well, have a go at this little gem…

http://kent.skoool.co.uk/keystage3.aspx?id=65 It is a website designed for Key stage 3 and it will really make you think about those strategies!!

Science

We will be finishing our topic on Light this week, and will be assessing the children’s understanding. The links in previous blogs still stand.

Science revision

The revision objectives for Science this week are:

Monday

To know that the earth, sun and moon are spheres
To know the orbits of the earth and the moon
To understand how night and day occur
To know that the position of the sun is fixed and that the earth moves around it

Tuesday

To know that sound is made when an object vibrates
To understand the difference between pitch and volume
To understand that the pitch and loudness of some vibrating objects may be changed
To know that vibrations from sound sources can travel through different materials


Wednesday

To know that electricity can be supplied from the mains and batteries
To understand how switches can be used to break a circuit
To know the factors that make a bulb brighter in a circuit
To know the symbols for items used in simple electrical circuits


Thursday

To know that magnets exert forces on each other
To know which materials are magnetic
To know that magnets exert forces on objects made from magnetic materials


Friday

To investigate the strength of the magnetic force exerted by a magnet.

http://www.constructionawards.co.uk/index.php?mode=stuact&t=f&w=584&h=438&n=2&f=ks1act2pre.swf Construct a circuit.

http://www.constructionawards.co.uk/index.php?mode=stuact&t=f&w=584&h=438&n=8&f=ks2act3pre.swf Find the fault in the circuit and repair it

http://www.constructionawards.co.uk/index.php?mode=stuact&t=f&w=584&h=438&n=9&f=ks2act4pre.swf information about basic circuits

http://www.andythelwell.com/blobz/ Remember using this one in class? The old ones are the best!!

And speaking of old ones being the best… http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/10_11/changing_circuits.shtml

http://www.seekscience.org/interact/ Click on the Sound link for an interactive challenge. Beware though, it will take at least 20 minutes to complete!

http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/mmg/teaching/peterstidwill/interact/resources/parkworldplot/parkworldplotlink.htm Forces revision - just click on the Parkland Plot logo

Thank you to all the children who took the plunge and dressed up as book characters on Friday. There were some very imaginative costumes and THING 1 and THING 2 made me smile all day long!! If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit the book fair yet, then don’t fret!! It is still open on Monday and Tuesday after school until 4pm. Let’s see if we can beat last year’s total!!

Think that’s all for now!!

Have a good week!!
Year 5/6 team.