Year 5/6 Weekly Update

NEW BLOG ADDRESS

2007-08-29T14:24:00.000Z

Please remember that your new blog address is http://www.year56.blogspot.com/. You will find all the latest weekly information there from September.

...and now the end is near...

2007-07-12T19:11:00.000Z

As in the title of this week's blog, we are speeding towards the end of the school year, with tremendous speed. I can't believe how quickly this year has gone and how much we have managed to achieve in the year.

You will all have received your end of year reports last Monday and hopefully you will have enjoyed reading the contents. It would be great if you could spare a few minutes to send a comment back to us, using the sheets supplied in the envelopes. We do like to read them all and they provide a lasting memory for us, of each of our classes.

Even though it is the last week of term, it is probably the busiest one, so here goes with the diary for this week...

Monday

9.30am sees the 'Musical Medley' production in the hall. As always, entrance will be strictly by ticket only in order for us to comply with Health and Safety regulations. We are thrilled with how much effort the children have put into this, and have in fact, done most of the preparations themselves. From singing and dancing, to some fabulous musicians, there is something for everyone to enjoy and it will memorable end, for some, to their time at St.Vincent's.

Tuesday

As you will know by now, Sports Day has had to be cancelled for this year, due to the unseasonal weather we have had. The children and staff are disappointed, but mini-sports activities will take place during the day - one of which will undoubtedly be 'Shower-Dodging!!'

The evening performance will start at 7pm. We would be grateful if you could ensure that children return to school no earlier than 6.30pm, when the doors will be opened. Again, please ensure that you remember your tickets, as they will be requested on the door. Many thanks for your co-operation with this.

Wednesday

We're all going on a ... school trip!! Yes, it's the day many of us have been waiting for - the whole school outing to Gulliver's World! You will have also received a letter of the things to bring and the timings. We will return to school for 3pm in order for children to be collected in the normal way - please allow the children to return to their classrooms, so that they may be dismissed from there, rather than trying to collect them from the coaches. Please ensure that you have returned your permission slip by Monday - thanks.

Thursday

We will be finalising a few things in school today, but mainly we will be practising for the Leaver's Mass.

Friday

A very sad day for everyone - our Leaver's day. The most important part of today, will be our Leaver's Celebration Mass, taking place at 10.30am. You are most welcome to join us in the school hall, although please note that space is at a premium for this Mass. It is a very special occasion and a very fitting end to the school year.

As is tradition, the Year 6 children are allowed to bring in AN EXTRA shirt for their friends and staff to sign, as a keepsake of their time at primary school. From experience, a little tip is NOT to use permanent markers on the shirts, or else you could end up with what looks like 'mini-tattoos'!!

and finally...

As you all know by now, I shall be moving to Year 1/2 in September. I shall miss working with everyone in Key Stage 2, but will still see everyone in and around school! You will still be able to access this blog on the internet over the holidays, so you can look at past weblinks, but from September, Year 5/6 will have a new blog address http://www.year56.blogspot.com/ If you click on this now, there are no posts as yet, but you will still get your weekly updates from September.

Thank you for all the lovely comments I have had this week and the comments on this blog.

Good luck in Year 6 and 7 - you will be fantastic!!

Mrs Worrall, Mrs Millington and Mrs Morgan xxx

Week beginning 9th July

2007-07-05T18:00:00.000Z

Well, we begin this week's blog with an apology. Last week, we promised that the reports were going to be sent home this Friday. They are all ready to go, complete with envelopes...however, the SATs results for the Year 6's have not yet arrived in school. Unfortunately, this is completely out of our control, as we rely on external markers and assessors to return the marked scripts by the deadline. We hope to be able to able to send them out on Monday, so let's just keep our fingers crossed that Parcelforce arrive early!!

Production

You should have all received your tickets last Wednesday, apart from a few children who were absent due to 'bug' which seems to have infiltrated school. If you don't require tickets for a particular performance, please retuen them to school so that they may be utilised by another family. Again, please remember that admittance will be limited strictly by ticket only, to adhere to Health and Safety regulations. Thank you for your co-operation with this.

Although this Friday is 'Friday the 13th' (oh dear, better not say 'break-a-leg to anyone to wish them luck!) we will hopefully be performing the dress rehearsal for the rest of the school.

The children have also come home with lots of words to learn, so please indulge them the 'hairbrush in front of the mirror' technique for this weekend! They really are true performers, and they are really giving it some 'welly' (I had to get in some joke about this fabulous weather we are having!!)

Here I Am

During the rehearsals this week, we will be completing our final Here I Am topic this year of Special Places.

We will:

Recognise a place that is special for people from all over the world

Reflect on some other places that are special for people from all over the world

Reflect that many places from all over the world are regarded as special

We would like you to come armed with lots of photographs and stories of all the places that are special to you. The teachers might even bring some of their embarrassing holiday photos in...!

Numeracy

The year 6's will continue their transition booklets, whilst the Year 5's will be working on the second week of problem solving. Look on the websites from last week's blog and remember to apply the 3 step strategy.

Remember, you can also check on http://www.numeracybooster.blogspot.com/ for booster group sites. This week, you will be investigating fractions.

Other curriculum

During the 'in-between' rehearsal times, we will be working on the Geography activities from last week's blog. Some children have even brought in some of their own research work from home, so we would love to see more!

If you would like to see some of the artwork we produced during our African week, have a look at the display in the junior area, complete with African Dan masks. A big thank you to Mrs Clancy, Mrs Riley and Mrs Hemmings who have worked their magic on making the display, complete with animal print background, look so fantastic!

And finally...

You will have read in the newsletter about the staffing changes for September. Just to clarify, the teachers will be:

Foundation Stage - Mrs Narraway

Year 1/2 - Mrs Worrall, Mrs Pinto-Edwards, Mrs Malone

Year 3/4 - Mrs Harding, Mrs Bethell, Miss Robinson

Year 5/6 - Mrs Morgan (Wilson), Mrs Millington, Miss Wright

Mr McGreal will continue to be the floating teacher, until Mrs Morgan returns from her maternity leave in February 2008.

Miss Wright has been into school to meet the children and staff, and she is delighted to be joining the team from September. I am sure she will be a great asset to the Year 5/6 team and we are looking forward to welcoming her to St.Vincent's.

Have a good week!

Year 5/6 team.

Week beginning 2nd July

2007-06-28T17:19:00.001Z

For the next two weeks, we will be really focussing on our rehearsals for the End of Year production – a musical medley of songs and dances that the children have chosen from their time at St. Vincent’s. We have some very talented youngsters in our team and they can’t wait to show off their skills and abilities...complete with cockney accents!! The tickets for this should be going out this week, so please keep an eye out for them. Admittance into the hall will, as always, be strictly by ticket only. This is in order for us to comply with Health and Safety regulations. Many thanks for your co-operation with this.

You should also receive the words for the songs on Monday and it would be a BIG help, if you could help your child to learn these words. Don’t worry, even I know some of these words, so it shouldn’t be too much of a trauma!

So...that’s for the afternoons, but what about the mornings? Well...

Geography / Literacy / ICT

Much as I hate to say this, but the current ‘webbed-feet’ weather, has actually worked to our advantage! This week, we are looking at why floods happen and the effect they have on the environment.

It may seem hard to believe that a small, slow-flowing stream or gentle river could cause serious damage to people and the places in which they live and work, but looks can be deceptive! Rivers can be things of beauty and the historic lifeblood of a settlement. We will find out how we use flowing water to enhance life and living, whilst trying to contain its destructive powers when in flood, using the enquiry resources of the Internet!

Activities for you to try

We will be doing these activities in class this week, but have a go at home first – it will give you a great head start!

Identifying a river catchment - Use a map or atlas to identify a major river near to where you live, and use tracing paper to identify and draw its source (where it begins) and its mouth (where it ends). Then trace on the streams, brooks and smaller rivers that feed into your main river - these are called the tributaries. The source of each of these tributaries marks one point on the boundary of the river - joining these points up shows the approximate limits of the catchment area of your river.

Use an atlas to locate and mark Nottingham and the course of the River Trent on a blank outline map of the British Isles.

Try searching for information on how the Ancient Egyptians used the regular annual flooding of the River Nile to help their agricultural activities.

Why do you think that so many cities developed close to rivers despite the obvious risks?

Carry out a debate in the classroom presenting arguments for and against the damming of the River Nile.

What do people see as the advantages of the dam? What are seen as the disadvantages?
Investigate the factors which cause rivers to flash flood and why this is an increasing occurrence compared with past times?

Write a report on how the Thames Barrier works and why it was necessary to protect the city of London.

Locate Mozambique and mark the main rivers. How close are the main settlements to those rivers? Why?

Investigate what could have been done to avoid the devastating floods in Mozambique?

Find out how the world supported Mozambique in its struggle to cope with and recover from the devastating floods?

The following websites will be helpful when trying some of these activities:

http://www.mrdowling.com/607-aswandam.html information on the Aswan Dam

http://www.internet-at-work.com/hos_mcgrane/egypt/egypt2.htm the geography of the Nile

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/flood/1797794/ flood warnings from The Environment Agency’s website

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/662472.stm news story about the floods in Mozambique in 2000.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/655510.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/662847.stm

Numeracy

The Year 6’s will be working on their transition booklets, whilst the Year 5’s will be working on Problem Solving activities.

This is one of the most difficult areas of numeracy, and once you figure out the operation you have to use, the rest is easy (well, that’s the theory anyway!!)

A really good way of organising your problem solving, is to think in 3 steps:

Step 1 – read the question (obvious though it sounds, people often forget to read the actual words!)

Step 2 – highlight the information from the question using a highlighter pen, or just circle it with your pencil (if the question says ‘How much CHANGE...?’ remember not to write how much you have spent.) These are known as TWO-STEP or MULTI-STEP problems.

Step 3 – write down the calculation that you need to do to work out the answer

By then end of the week, we will have:

· Solved mathematical problems or puzzles, recognise and explain patterns and relationships, generalise and predict.
· Suggested extensions by asking ‘What if … ?’
· Known when all possibilities have been found and check for repeats.
· Organised the recording of possibilities, e.g. in an ordered list or table.

MUST: solve a problem by listing all possible answers in a systematic way.

SHOULD: begin to see how working systematically helps me make general statements.

COULD: find and prove that I have found all possible answers to a problem by checking against criteria.

These are some fun websites to help with problem-solving:

http://www.actionmath.com/GSM2/GSM2wp1.html

http://www.actionmath.com/GSM1/GSMwp1.html

http://www.actionmath.com/Katie2/Katie2wp1.html

http://www.actionmath.com/Katie1/Katiewp1.html

http://www.mathplayground.com/mathhoops_Z1.html

http://www.interactivestuff.org/sums4fun/nummaze.html

http://www.channel4learning.net/sites/puzzlemaths/

http://www.transum.org/Software/SW/Starter_of_the_day/index.htm

Also, remember to go to http://del.icio.us/amworrall/numeracy for lots of other websites to support your numeracy work.

http://www.freeducation.co.uk/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=downloads&cat=mathspowerpoint has some great powerpoints fro numeracy, which will guide you through lots of key concepts on numeracy. Try out some of the problem solving ones and use the 3 step strategy to see if it works.

http://www.timetoteach.co.uk/booster6.html click on lessons 5 and 6 for the activities we will be using this week.

Reports

On Friday you will receive your reports. They are for you and parents to share as a celebration of your achievements. They will be sealed, so PLEASE try to avoid the temptation to open them on the way home. We know that you want to know your SATs results, but it is much better to sit and open them away from your friends at home. As I write this, they haven’t actually arrived back in school from the external markers, so even the teachers don’t know yet!! The results for may look a bit confusing at first, but you will get your ACTUAL results and something called TEACHER ASSESSMENT. These are the levels which your teacher thinks you have been working at through the year. St. Gregory’s get BOTH sets of results.
The year 5’s will also find out which teacher they will be going to next year and the results from your test.

There is also a comments sheet included with your reports, for your parents to send back to school. The teachers do love to read them, so please do remember to send them back into school as soon as possible.

Sports Day

As you may have gathered, due to the very wet weather over the last week, we have had to postpone Sports Day until the 17th July. Unfortunately, this is the only available date, so if it rains on this day, Sports Day will have to be cancelled.

Barbeque

There are still some tickets available for the FOSV ‘BBQ’ this Friday from 6 ‘til late! If you haven’t got your ticket yet, please send requests into school, or see any member of the FOSV.

Here’s to a dry week!!??!!

Year 5/6 team

Week beginning 25th June 2007

2007-06-22T17:25:00.000Z

Rich task week

This week is a multi-cultural week across the whole school, and as such we will be focussing on many different aspects of African art and music.

We don't want to give too much away (who am I to spoil the surprise?!), but here are just a few of the things we will be getting up to...

African Tribal Masks

You will need to bring in a 2 litre bottle of milk (an empty one!!) in order to make this one. Also, any 'junk' collage materials would be great to bring in, and would give you more materials to work with. If you click on the links below, there are some great photos to inspire you.

http://www.webquestuk.org.uk/what%20a%20performance/index.htm a great webquest, based on the art topic of what a performance!! – click on the African masks on the links section.

http://www.rebirth.co.za/masks4.htm click on this link to show some examples of the African masks you could make this week.

African art

There will be lots of opportunties to work with different art media this week, to create pieces of work for block printing, watercolours, charcoal, chalks and batik.

http://www.african-collection.co.uk/about.php click through the menus to see lots of images of African art

African music

We will have the opportunity to work on lots of musical performance skills this week, particularly looking at rhythms.

http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/index.html?genre=African this site has lots of examples of African music to download for free. We will be using this is class, so if you have had a chance to listen to it beforehand, you will have a real advantage.

Summer Concert

We will be rehearsing the songs for our Summer Concert this week. Please bear with us, as there are a lot of words to learn, in a short amount of time. Also, we have had lots of children coming forward to let us know about talents (such as dancers, musicians etc.) that they persue
outside school. Please let us know as soon as possible, so that we can include them in the concert. The cut- off will be Wednesday of this week, when the order of songs and acts will be finalised.

Housekeeping

There are lots of things going on this week, so here is running order of events...

Tuesday - Year 5 Rugby afternoon
Wednesday - Year 6 Visit to St. Gregory's - all day.
Thursday - Science show in the morning; Mass at 2pm for Saint Peter and Paul

In order to help out with time etc., homework will now be sent on TUESDAYS to be returned on MONDAYS. Many thanks for you co-operation with this.

Here's to a fun-packed week!

Year 5/6 team

Week beginning 18th June

2007-06-14T19:40:00.000Z

Literacy

This week, we will be looking at how good we are at persuading people to come round to our way of thinking. We will be dividing the classes into half...one half will be animal rights campaigners – the other half will be circus owners.

By the end of the week, we will have covered issues such as bias and writing for different audiences.

While composing the pieces of writing, we will be focussing on the following:

Style: sentence construction
· Adapt or rearrange sentences in relationship to persuasive texts, using subordinate clauses to add information, to give reasons and to explain.
· Write complex sentences, selecting and using a wide range of subordinators.

Style: language effects
· Use well-chosen phrases and vocabulary to engage the reader.
· Use appropriate grammatical features for different text types.

Purpose and organisation

· Draw writing, both narrative and non-fiction forms, towards a defined conclusion.
· Use a repertoire of causal and logical connectives as well as those that signal time, e.g. however, therefore, next, meanwhile.
· In non-fiction, elaborate the basic structure of text types in order to make writing more effective in relation to audience and purpose.
· to construct an argument using note form or full text to persuade others of a point of view;
· to understand how writing can be adapted for different audiences and purposes.
· to construct an argument to persuade others of a point of view;
· to use connectives to link clauses within sentences and to link sentences in longer texts.
· to construct an argument to persuade others of a point of view;
· to use connectives to link clauses and sentences (see pp.130–1 Grammar for Writing);
· to investigate clauses.

When we are marking your piece of writing, we will using the following statements from the marking ladders:

· I stated my point of view clearly in the introduction and in the conclusion
· I backed up each argument with relevant evidence and detail
· My argument is mainly in the present tense
· I used conditionals
· I used connectives: to structure the argument: ‘first’, ‘finally’; to link ideas with in the argument: ‘because’, ‘consequently’
· I used persuasive devices such as: statistics, emotive language; rhetorical questions

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/writing/index.asp?topic=Persuasive mini lessons to help you get to grips with persuasive writing. Have a look at the teacher’s section too!
http://www.little-g.com/shockwave/hotel.html although this is aimed at younger children, the questions that are asked via the ‘story machine’, will give you a few ideas for your own writing
http://www.kidsonthenet.org.uk/dragonsville/poster.htm designing a persuasive poster. Maybe you could use your ICT skills to print your own design off?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/activities/argument.shtml choose an activity and then argue against your partner’s point of view.

Numeracy

The year 6’s will continue to work on their transition booklets, whilst the year 5’s will be working on the following objectives:

· Express a quotient as a fraction or as a decimal when dividing a whole number by 2, 4, 5 or 10

http://teacher.scholastic.com/maven/virtual/index.htm solve the mystery by answering the multiple choice questions
http://nwlg.org/pages/resources/ma_num/swf/para002c.html click on the percentages which match the fractions in the top left hand corner
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/mathsfile/shockwave/games/saloonsnap.html if you spot a snap, click on the bell, but you have to be quick!
http://www.ictgames.com/equivalence.html drag the fractions, decimals and percentages onto the correct place on the number lines
http://www.mathplayground.com/Matching_Fraction_Percent.html click on the cards to turn them over and see if you can find the matching pairs.
http://www.freewebs.com/weddell/FDP%20contents.html choose whether you want to convert decimals to fractions or vice versa
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/fracto.html play on the ‘decifractor’ to change a fraction into a decimal
http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/decimals/fraction%20of%20amount.swf finding fractions of amounts

· Represent halves, tenths, and fifths as fractions and decimals

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/3_num_multiply/eng/Introduction/default.htm click on each of the lesson parts to take you through each section, step by step
http://www2.sherston.com/freebees/act/MSactivity/loadms.htm imagine that you are in the sandwich shop – this is a spreadsheet simulation, in which you have to calculate how much money your shop has made
http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/short_multiplication/3x1contents.swf multiplying a HTU number by a single digit
http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/long_multiplication/long%20multiplication.swf multiplying a two digit number by another two digit number. This shows you how to use the grid method to multiply numbers together.
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/teachingresources/mathematics/nns_itps/multiplication_grid/num_itp_multi_grid_2_2.swf another example of the grid method for multiplication

· Use informal written methods to support, record or explain multiplications

· Identify and use appropriate operations (including combinations of operations) to solve word problems

http://www.actionmath.com/GSM2/GSM2wp1.html solve the word problems for the baseball game
http://www.actionmath.com/GSM1/GSMwp1.html solve the word problems for the baseball game
http://www.actionmath.com/Katie2/Katie2wp1.html solve the word problems for the baseball game
http://www.actionmath.com/Katie1/Katiewp1.html solve the word problems for the baseball game
http://www.mathplayground.com/mathhoops_Z1.html again, solve the word problems in order to win the basketball game
http://www.interactivestuff.org/sums4fun/nummaze.htmluse use your multiplication knowledge in order to move the circles around the grid
http://www.channel4learning.net/sites/puzzlemaths/ how many of the puzzles can you solve?
http://www.transum.org/Software/SW/Starter_of_the_day/index.htm look back at this site every day for a new word problem

By the end of the week, you could be able to:

· Represent the remainder as a fraction, using the divisor as the denominator
· Use the grid method for multiplying three-digit numbers by two-digit numbers or by numbers to one decimal place
· Identify the key words and select the appropriate calculation

Geography

This week, we will be reviewing our knowledge of the water cycle and describing in using the words evaporation and condensation. We will also be discussing how site conditions can influence the weather. We will be looking at the playground or school field and asking the children to note run-off – water collection areas – after rainfall. We will be identifying areas of poor drainage; measuring how puddles change over time; photographing and tracing changes; and carrying out controlled experiments in the classroom.

By the end of the week, we will have:

· drawn puddle maps to scale
· described what happens to rain water when it reaches the ground
· identified forms in which water occurs in the environment

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/riversandcoasts/water_cycle/rivers/index.shtml lots of information to refresh your memory about the water cycle. Can you remember all the vocabulary? Click on the animated diagram to show you step by step how the cycle works.

http://www.angliacampus.com/public/pri/geog/rivers/ lots of ideas and links for all things to do with rivers and how they are formed.

Look back at all the links for Rivers and Coasts from last week’s blog to help.

Design and Technology

The children worked really hard on the start of their Spanish Galleon last week and are ready to apply the flourishes this week. We have even christened the vessel the Santa Vincent!! A huge thanks to Mrs Lockett, without whom, this would never have got off the ground (or set sail!!) We have even heard a rumour that Foundation Stage children can’t wait to come and conduct the boat’s maiden voyage! Photographs will be put on the blog when it’s finished.

First Holy Communions

The children in Year 3 will be receiving their First Holy Communion this Saturday at St.Joseph’s Church. We and they, would love you to join them at 9.30am for their special day. Our prayers and thoughts will be with them and their families as they continue on their spiritual journey.

Future planning

For those parents who need to book time off work, the Leaver's Mass will take place on the last day of term, but now at 10.30am in the school hall. Thank you for your understanding with this.

Have a good week.

Year 5/6 team

There's no business like...

2007-06-01T16:13:00.001Z

Welcome back to the last half term before the long summer holidays. Maybe we will get SOME sunshine this time, rather than the constant drizzle we have just had! We may need to get ourselves ‘rust-proofed’ before long!

This half term is fun-filled, action-packed and certainly extremely busy! At the end of it all, will be a fabulous production, which we can now reveal is called ‘Olivia’. No, it isn’t a typing error, it really is a musical called ‘Olivia’, based on the more familiar tale of ‘Oliver’! Although the songs are beautiful, we may include one or two favourites from the original...’Consider yourself’....!!!??? We will cast parts for the play this week, so hopefully you should all know which part you are doing by Friday (fingers crossed!) We hope to keep the costumes fairly simple, so there is no need to rush out and hire anything.

Whilst the play will take over many afternoons, full curriculum will still continue up until the end of term. It will take on many forms, although there will be definitely be an ‘arty’ slant on it...you just can’t keep me away from a paint brush and glitter!

This week is a Rich Task week, where we will complete our History work on the Spanish Armada from last half term. We were so impressed by the standard of the work which was completed using the Bloom’s activities, we have decided to extend them into this first week.

In order to do this, we need you to bring in a medium-sized box (about the size of a crisp box) for Monday, or Tuesday at the latest. They will all be joined together and made into a Spanish Galleon. Hopefully, weather permitting, we will be able to construct our galleon on the patio.

More will be revealed on Monday!

The rest of the curriculum for this half term consists of:

Citizenship/SEAL
Children’s rights – human rights

In this topic, you will learn about every human’s basic rights and the differences between needs, wants and rights. You’ll learn that with rights come responsibilities, such as the responsibility not to infringe the rights of others and the responsibility to support others in their quest for rights. You’ll learn about the importance of honesty, trust, tolerance and respect for others. You find out about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and that it applies to all children, whoever or wherever they are. You will also learn how human rights apply in their school and in the local community. You will develop strategies for ensuring that rights are upheld and to promote equality in the classroom and playground, and you will learn how to encourage others to respect and care for one another.

By the end of this topic, you:

Must: know that we all have basic human rights. They take some responsibility in the classroom for ensuring the rights of others are not infringed. They consider the viewpoints of other children.

Should: understand that we all have basic rights (known as ‘human rights’) and that there are particular rights for children. They discuss issues of rights and responsibilities with others. They take responsibility within their own school community to effect positive change and to ensure the rights of others are not infringed.

Could: know what basic human rights are and can give examples of these. They are aware of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. They recognise that with rights come responsibilities. They know about human rights issues, how these affect people in other places and how they affected people in the past. They know what action they could take to ensure rights are upheld in the school community. They assume responsibility for others in the classroom and playground.

Music
What a performance

The play...!!! Need we say more??

Geography
Investigating Rivers / Coasts

During this topic, through research, you will learn about rivers and the effects they have on the landscape.
The unit focuses on the components of the water cycle, how rivers erode, transport and deposit materials to produce particular landscape features and the characteristics of a river system in another part of the world
By the end of this unit, you:

MUST: offer appropriate observations about river features; identify how people affect the environment and recognise ways in which people try to manage it

SHOULD: recognise selected physical processes relating to rivers and begin to appreciate how these can change the character of places; draw on their own observations and secondary sources and use their awareness of river events to suggest geographical questions and raise issues that might be studied, eg floods, drought, pollution

COULD: use confidently a full range of skills and different kinds of maps and resources to undertake independent investigations; offer explanations for river features observed; relate local river work to generalisations about rivers elsewhere

http://www.old-glossop.com/flood2002/floodpages2002/indexflood2002.html These images record the dramatic events of 2002 when Glossop in Derbyshire was flooded. There are some lovely archived images of the same location during floods in the twentieth century.
http://www.topicbox.org.uk/browse.php?item_ID=1096&subject=Geography&topic=Rivers Find out about the way the river transports its load see waterfalls and ox bow lakes being formed.
http://www.topicbox.org.uk/browse.php?item_ID=1100&subject=Geography&topic=Rivers understanding flooding.
http://www.globaleye.org.uk/primary_autumn2001/focuson/index.html focus on rivers. A great site for background reading before we start the topic.
http://www.topicbox.org.uk/browse.php?item_ID=1091&subject=Geography&topic=Rivers click on this link to download a Powerpoint for information about rivers.
http://www.cleo.net.uk/resources/displayframe.php?src=307/consultants_resources%2F_files%2Fgorge.swf a short animation which shows how a waterfall creates a gorge...remember gorge walking in Conway?
http://www.cleo.net.uk/resources/displayframe.php?src=309/consultants_resources%2F_files%2Fmeander4.swf meander formation
http://www.nwlg.org/pages/resources/geog/hydro_cycle/alt/alt_into.htm looks at the River Alt
http://www.swgfl.org.uk/rivers/ some good information if you want to do a project about rivers on your own.
http://www.schoolsliaison.org.uk/woodgate/activities/stream01.htm photographs of river features including pollution
http://www.angliacampus.com/public/pri/geog/rivers/ fantastic resources which poses questions for you to think about and then attempts to answer them.
http://home.freeuk.net/elloughton13/contents.htm you might recognise the little avatars from Snaith Primary!
http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/rivers/index.html this provides a real challenge and is definitely a ‘could’! Locate the rivers using the keys and maps provided.
http://icteachers.co.uk/children/cyberhunts/riverhunt.htm great to use as a webquest
http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConMediaFile.6373/Watch-the-Thames-rise-and-fall.html watch the River Thames in tide!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/riversandcoasts/rivers/whatis_river/index.shtml this is really good site, packed with useful information

HISTORY – TUDOR EXPLORATION

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/TudorExploration/NMMFLASH/index.htm love it! Click on the two rats at the beginning (aka Sir Walter Rodent and Sir Francis!) As you work your way through this site, you are sure to learn lots and smile throughout!
http://www.channel4learning.net/sites/essentials/history/units/tudorexpl_bi.shtml

Literacy

This term, we will be looking at the following areas:

Poetry – work by significant authors
Authors and text – class model
Extended narrative
Impersonal writing

PE
Athletics

In this unit, you will focus on developing your technical understanding of athletic activity. You will learn how to set targets and improve your performance in a range of running, jumping and throwing activities.

As in all athletic activities, you will have to think about how to achieve the greatest possible speed, height, distance or accuracy. This will be great preparation for Sports Day!
By the end of the topic, you:

Could: show good control, speed, strength and stamina when running, jumping and throwing; adapt skills and techniques to different challenges and equipment; use good technique; pace their effort well; know the rules; organise and judge events and challenges well; identify activities that help develop stamina or power and suggest how some can be used when warming up; pick out the important features of a performance; make good suggestions about what could be improved

Here I Am

We are continuing our topic of Freedom and Responsibility with the Relate section. We shall be focussing on the idea of Forgiveness. You should be familiar with some of the reading that we will be looking at, as they were explored during your Reconciliation.

Forgiveness

In the Gospel according to Matthew, we learn about an important way of
loving other people, of setting them free. When the friends of Jesus
asked him to teach them how to pray, he taught them the ‘Our Father’.

A reflection

I wonder if Peter thought a lot about this prayer, especially the words,
‘Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us’.
I wonder if these words puzzled him, if he did not quite understand what
they meant. We cannot expect God to forgive us, if we are not ready to
forgive others when they have hurt or harmed us. I wonder if Peter
thought as I sometimes do, ‘Sometimes when I forgive someone, they
just go and do the same thing again or something else that hurts me just
as much, or more’. I wonder if that is what led to a question Peter asked
Jesus. Read about this in the Gospel according to Matthew 18:21-22, or
read or listen to the simpler reading version on Copymaster A. Each time
we say the ‘Our Father’, we remind ourselves that we, too, must always
be ready to forgive.

Competition

Have you seen the new Olympic logo for the London 2012 games? What do you think of it? Think you could do better? Well, you could have a chance of doing just that. Go to http://www.fubra.com/london2012/ to have a look at some of the alternatives that have been submitted. If you do have a go, we could submit them through school! Go on...be creative!

As you can see, we have so much to get through and to write your end of year reports too!

And finally...

Just as we have had a great holiday, Miss Wilson has also had a fantastic time in Cyprus for her wedding to Anthony. I am sure that we will all still call her Miss Wilson for ages,(sorry Miss!) but just in case you are fantastic with names, she will now be called Mrs Morgan. (This could get confusing when the other Mrs Morgan returns from having her baby!!) We wish her and her new husband every success as they start their married life together. xxx

Here’s to a successful end to the year!

Year 5/6 team.

Onward and Upward!

2007-05-18T16:36:00.000Z

Well, we managed to get through what seemed like a VERY long week last week! At one point, we didn't think we would ever get to Friday afternoon and THAT CAKE! We were extremely pleased with how hard all the children worked during their tests and we know that they all tried their best. The papers have now been sent off to be marked, courtesy of those 'nice' Parcelforce people! We shall be eagerly awaiting their return at the beginning of July...as soon as we know, you'll know!

As the half term draws ever closer, we shall be tying up a few assessments in order for us to be able to plan the last half term's work. Can you believe that for some of you, this will be your last six weeks at St. Vincent's??!!

Material hunt

We were slightly ambitious last week in trying to get our Spanish artwork completed, so Monday and Tuesday will be Operation ART! We have some material already in school, but we need lots more. Any colour, texture or size is needed...just make sure you don't bring your mum's favourite dressing gown, as it will be cut up!

Creativity Week

Remember the Blooms activities that we did during our revision? Well, we have lots of them for you to have a go at this week. Each activity will have a number of points allocated to it, and you will be told on Monday the number of points you have to score, in order to complete the task.
Here's how it works...

On Monday, you will get a score card, on which you will collect your points throughout the week - don't lose it, or you might have to start again!
You will be given a Bloom's sheets which contains about 25 different activities for you to choose from, each with a different number of points allocated to them; the harder the activity, the greater the number of points
The activities you choose, will be up to you - writing, music, artwork - whichever way of learning suits you best
On Friday, whatever you have made, learned, produced etc., you will need to share with the rest of your class.

This will be a great opportunity to show off all those creative skills and I can't wait to get the sparkly stuff out...(I'm sure I was a magpie in a former life!)

These websites will help you find out information when completing your Blooms Sheet. You will also have access to all of the text books etc. in class and in the library.

http://www.brims.co.uk/tudors/index.html

http://www.britainexpress.com/History/tudor/armada.htm

http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/background/span-armada.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/tudors/adams_armada_01.shtml

http://www.historyonthenet.com/Tudors/spanish_armada.htm

http://www.snaithprimary.eril.net/ttss.htm if you scroll down and click on the guitar on this one, you can hear some Tudor music!

http://www.coxhoe.durham.sch.uk/Curriculum/History.htm#Year%205%20Links%20to%20Tudor%20Sites I know this is a long one! If you can’t find it, then just Google COXHOE SCHOOL and click on their HISTORY resources. Then, click on Year 5 Tudor resources.

http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/spanisharmada.htm

http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/walterraleigh.htm

http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/francisdrake.htm

http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/phillipofspain.htm

Numeracy

The children will be working on the key objectives for Year 5 (Year 6 children will be starting the transition units). As in previous blogs, there a number of sites that are really useful for this. These were stuck into the Y5 diaries, but just in case they have been misplaced, here they are again:

http://www.mathszone.co.uk/ click on the Key Objs tab at the top of the page and then select Year 5

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/x10x100/x10x100.swf a really useful site for multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/negnumorder.swf order a set of positive and negative numbers

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/decimals/tenths-hundredths.swf use decimal notation for tenths and hundredths

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/rounding/nearest1.swf rounding a decimal to nearest whole number

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/fracto.html relating fractions to decimals - I love the name of this...The Decifractor!!

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/add_sub/sub%20large%20nos.swf can you calculate the difference between two large numbers mentally?

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/tables_backwards/tables%20speed.swf how fast can you do your times table? Be warned - the FAST is like lightening!!

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/short_multiplication/3x1contents.swf short multiplication

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/division/3x1%20division.swf short division - remember the bus stop method?

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/shape/area/area.swf find the area of a regular shape

As well as all of these links, remember to have a look at the Delicious links for any area of numeracy.

Here I Am

We will continue the second week of our new topic 'Freedom and Responsibility'. The children will learn about the Commandments and how these help Christians to be free and responsible.

http://www.refuel.org.uk/curric/festivals/pentecost/index.html

http://www.request.org.uk/main/basics/rightandwrong/rightandwrong01.htm scroll down to read the excerpts from the Bible.

Forward planning

After the holidays, the first week back will be a rich task week - yes, more artwork!!! The children will need a fairly large box, (about the size of a large box of crisps) and an old one of dad's/ grandad's/ older brother's shirts for painting. We will be keeping our fingers crossed for fine weather, as we intend to make our very own Tudor Galleon on the patio area. We have even saved some large tubes to use as the oars! If anyone has access to any large cardboard carpet rolls (aka the mast) that would be great! Depending on the number of boxes brought in, we could even have our very own Spanish Armada!

ICT

I came across an on-line 'add-on' for Google, that some of you may be interesting in. http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html This will take you on a tour of a word processor and spreadsheet that you can experiment with on-line. Why not give MSN a rest over the holidays, and use this to write collaborative stories with over the net. If you manage to save some, then we could post some of them on the school website!

Can you hear the bells?

Well, if you listen really carefully during the holidays, you may be able to hear the faint ringing of bells from Cyprus. What am I talking about you may wonder?! Well, Miss Wilson will become Mrs Morgan over the holidays! We wish her and her future husband all of our very best wishes and look forward to seeing the gorgeous photographs on her return.

Have a really restful holiday and enjoy the break! You have earned it!

Year 5/6 team.

SATs Week

2007-05-11T16:37:00.000Z

Well, after all of the revision and preparation that has gone on for what seems like forever, the chance to show off has finally arrived.

I promise that I will try to keep this blog short this week, (ooh that'll be difficult!) so that you can spend some time relaxing in-between the tests. If you really can't resist the urge to do a bit of surfing, then either use previous week's blog entries, or have a look through some of the 'fun stuff' on http://del.icio.us/amworrall

Here's a quick reminder of the things you should bring with you on Monday morning:

yourself (not an impersonator!)
your pencils, pens, maths equipment, rubber and pencil sharpener
a water bottle (with a sports cap)
a SMALL good luck charm (not the biggest teddy in your collection!)

Remember you need to arrive in school in PLENTY OF TIME - set your alarm a few minutes earlier, so that you are up and awake before having a hearty breakfast. This is not the week for grabbing a piece of toast on the way out through the door - make time to eat properly!

The Year 6's have to follow a set timetable, which should have gone home on Friday. Just in case that piece of paper has shuffled off to where all letters in Year 6's bags go, here's a reminder of what tests you will be doing on which day...

MONDAY

Science Test A and Test B

TUESDAY

Writing (short and long papers) and the Spelling Test

WEDNESDAY

Reading Test

THURSDAY

Maths Test A and Mental Maths Test

FRIDAY

Maths Test B (calculator paper)

The Year 5's will also be following this timetable as far as possible, to allow for staff to supervise tests for both year groups.

Because of all of the tests this week, there will be NO HOMEWORK for either Year 5 or Year 6 (is that a cheer I can hear??!!)

Final thought...

I came across this piece of writing, called Perspective, which does kind of make sense of what we have all been working towards over the past few months. It does have a 'hidden message', so you may need to read it a few times for it to make sense. Try showing it to your parents too!

Perspective by Katherine Kehler

“Jesus replied, ‘The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him’’” (Luke 4:8)

I had spent much of the week cleaning. It was very hot. We were having a group of people over for a barbecue. Because of the heat, it seemed better to serve the food in the garage rather than on the hot sundeck. So I washed the walls, washed the floor and painted it.

It did look a lot better – clean and pleasant and cool. But it took a lot more time than I expected. Just to take everything out of the garage, sort it all and put it back was a mammoth job.

On Saturday, as I was sweeping the sundeck and pavements, I began to wonder if all the work was worth the few hours they would be here. These thoughts came to me:

“Whatever you do, do it as unto me” and “Whatever you have done unto the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me.”

So I decided to focus on the fact that Christ was my guest that night. For some reason, I was suddenly motivated to set the tables more carefully and make sure the table centerpieces looked prettier. When the guests arrived, I greeted them with much more enthusiasm.

Perspective! Christ was at the barbecue that night – in the lives of each one of the people who came.

Lord Jesus, You came to serve and not to be served. And we are to have the exact same attitude. Sometimes I forget. I get tired of serving and I become self-centered. Forgive me, Lord. Burn into my heart and mind the realisation that I am serving You, no matter what the job is or who the people are. Amen.

Wishing you all the very best of luck for this week - you will be fantastic!!

5/6 team.

7th May 2007

2007-05-03T16:54:00.000Z

This week, we thought that it may be an idea to go through each of the SATs subjects in a kind of ‘list’ of possible areas that could come up on the tests. Of course, you still have your revision books and the SAT Attack books for reference.

Before you start wading through the books though, remember that there is only one week left and it is important that you get enough rest, exercise, nourishment and sleep, in order for you to be alert enough to show off how much you know.

If you are planning to get the things that you need for the tests together over the weekend, here’s a list of what you need to bring each day:

3 pens and 3 pencils
A rubber
Pencil sharpener (the ones that have their own container built-in are really good!)

(All of these need to be in a see through plastic bag, as you aren’t allowed to take pencil cases into the hall on the day)

We do have all of this in school, but we know lots of you prefer using your own favourite pencil or pen! This is also the case with the maths equipment, such as calculators, protractors etc.

You can also bring a water bottle each day, but make sure it has a sports cap so that you don’t spill it all over your paper! Also, if you do have a lucky mascot (aka a SMALL teddy) you are allowed to have that on your desk too – just make sure you still have enough space to put your test paper on!

Of course all of this applies to the Year 5 children as well, as you too will be doing your tests the same week.

Literacy

http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jeather/writingfun/writingfun.html If you click on this link, it will give you the key features of all the genres listed below AND examples of what they should look like when they are written.

Here is a list of possible genres that you may either have to read or write about. Do you know the key features? What should each of them look like? Should you write them in the first or the third person? How should you end it?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/reading/typesoftext/index.shtml this site helps you to identify what each genre, or text type should include .

Click on each of the links to give you further information and some possible questions or examples.

Information Report
http://www.schooltrain.info/powerpoint/elephant_report.ppt you will need to have PowerPoint on your computer for this example. If you were editing this piece, what would you do to improve it?

Instructions
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/grammar/texttypes/instructions/
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/Phase2delivery/Wales/Literacy/Keystage2/Writing/Instructions/Introduction/default.htm
Recount
http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/html/non_fiction/war/index.htm
http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/english/activities/statements_opinions/state_opin_home.htm
Explanation

Persuasion
http://www.little-g.com/shockwave/hotel.html
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/writing/index.asp?topic=Persuasive
http://www.kidsonthenet.org.uk/dragonsville/poster.htm making a persuasive poster – remember all those verbs you could use!
http://www.dragonsville.com/ a fun site to navigate around for lots of ideas to boost your writing

Discussion

Narrative
http://www.coxhoe.durham.sch.uk/Curriculum/Literacy.htm scroll down to Key Stage 2 Fiction and there are some fantastic links there for you to use.

Diary
http://www.athena.bham.org.uk/diary.htm

Autobiography
http://www.athena.bham.org.uk/autob.htm

Description

Poetry
http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/html/fiction/narrative/index.htm
http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/html/fiction/my_monster/index.htm

E-Mail
Letter

http://www.athena.bham.org.uk/formalletter1.htm

Invitation
Newspaper Report

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/big_news/eng/Introduct/default.htm
http://www.headlinehistory.co.uk/swf/main_launcher.htm we looked at this one last week, and you wrote some fantastic reports about the Pelican Tooth Puller!!
http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/english/activities/playscript/play_home.asp click on this link to write your own play. You have to choose your own setting, scenario and characters, but it gives you some fantastic ideas of how to really get to grips with a play.

Numeracy

http://del.icio.us/mathslinks This link is your ‘one stop shop’ for all of the following maths. Just look down the menu on the right hand side of the screen, and click on the are you wish to follow.

Calculating – using all four rules

Counting and Understanding number – multiples, decimals, fractions, estimating, greater than and less than, percentages, place value, partitioning, ordering fractions and numbers, ratio, positive and negative, functions, rounding

Handling Data – classifying and sorting, line graphs, bar graphs, discrete data graphs, mode, median, mean and range, probability

Knowing and using number facts – times tables, number bonds, division, doubling and halving,

Shape – 2D and 3D shape, angles, co-ordinates, symmetry, position, movement, tangrams

Using and Applying – decimals problems, money, fractions, puzzles,

Measuring – area, perimeter, length, mass, time, temperature, volume, capacity

Science

http://www.coxhoe.durham.sch.uk/Curriculum/Science.htm

Living Things – habitats, plants and animals, sorting and keys, life processes, life cycles, micro-organisms, food chains

http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/science/activities/habitats/habitats_home.htm choose a habitat and see which animals live there in the wild
http://www.planetarkive.org/games/designAHabitat.html build your own habitat for your chosen animal
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/10_11/interdependence.shtml BBC science clips - we love this one!
http://www.planetarkive.org/habitats.html this is a lovely site! Just click the habitat you want and then remember to click again on the picture of the chosen habitat. There are some really good photographs on this site!
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/minbeasts/eng/Introduction/default.htm drag and drop the minibeasts into the correct jar, by selecting main part of the lesson 1.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=lcycles5b label the life cycle diagram of a flowering plant
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=lcycles5b label the part of a flower
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2science.html lots of great interactive activities which are particularly good at labelling diagrams in science.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/ the great plant escape!!!
http://www.buginvestigators.co.uk/ everybody loved this one in class!
http://www.acocksgreen.bham.sch.uk/sciencezone/science/lifecycles/LifeCyclesQuiz.html make your own food chain by clicking on the downward arrows

Humans – moving and growing, health, teeth, smoking, drugs

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/moving_growing.shtml
http://www.acocksgreen.bham.sch.uk/sciencezone/science/ourbodies/KeepingHealthyInfo.html some revision questions to help with the keeping healthy topic
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=teeth label the teeth, but can you say what the function of each of the teeth are?
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/need_my_teeth/eng/Introduction/ why do you need your teeth? This is quite simple to follow.
Materials – sorting and properties, rocks, solids liquids and gases, changing materials
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/science/material_matters/index.htm find out about properties of materials by clicking on the dartboard.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/rocks/eng/Introduction/default.htm exploring rocks
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/phase4_20030801/Wales/Science/Keystage2/Lifeprocessesan/Anonlinesoilexp/Introduction/default.htm investigating properties of soil
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/9_10/gases.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/solid_liquids.shtml
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/Phase2delivery/Wales/Science/Keystage2/Materialsandthe/Floatingandsink/Introduction/default.htm testing the thickness of a liquid and finding out if this affects the ability of an object to float in it
http://www.acocksgreen.bham.sch.uk/sciencezone/science/changingstate/MaterialsInfo.html changing state revision

Physical Processes – electricity, earth and space, light and shadows, sound, forces

http://www.andythelwell.com/blobz/ this is by far this best and most interesting site we have come across this year. The characters really make the ideas and facts stick in your head.
http://www.acocksgreen.bham.sch.uk/sciencezone/science/earthmoonsun/EarthMoonSunInfo.html earth and space revision
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/earth_and_space/eng/Introduction/default.htm you might be starting to realise that there are some great resources on this website!!
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/Phase2delivery/Wales/WalesSynd_20030219/Science/Keystage2/Physicalprocess/Shadows/Introduction/default.htm this site will take you through some of those important comparative questions – the ‘ER’ questions!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/10_11/see_things.shtml can you remember which materials are transparent, translucent, or opaque? Remember when drawing arrows on diagrams, the arrow has to point FROM the light source TO the object!!
http://www.seekscience.org/interact/ click on any of the light, sound or forces adventures for your revision. We have used these since Year 3 in class, so you should be really familiar with them!

Phew! By no means do we expect you to go on all of these sites, but we thought that it may help to have some of the links we have used in class this year in one, easy to find place.
You have all worked extremely hard over the last year (well, since Foundation Stage really!) and now is your chance to shine! If you do have moments of panic and ‘I can’t remember anything’, come and speak to any of the teachers and we will do our best to help. The important thing to remember is, that we want you to do your best...after all, that’s all anyone can ask.

And finally...

There were lots of people without PE kit last week, in particular correct footwear. Unfortunately, due to Health and Safety reasons, we are not able to let you take part in PE lessons in your school shoes. Pumps or trainers have the correct soles for outdoor use, so please ensure that you have the correct kit and footwear in school every day. Because of the fine weather, we may be able to use the field and outdoor area on more than just our designated PE days, so please remember to have your kit in school every day.

Correct kit for the summer term is:

White T-shirt
Royal Blue shorts
Black Pumps or trainers
Also, remember that there should be NO JEWELLRY worn during PE sessions.

Just to let you know also, that Mrs Worrall is back with her class full time from this week, as we said goodbye to Miss Hamill on Friday.

That’s all for this week, in what feels like the longest blog ever!

Year 5/6 team

30th April 2007

2007-04-26T18:32:00.000Z

Well, we only have two weeks before the SATs and we are on our final revision push. We are SO pleased with all the time, dedication and effort that you have out into your revision, and it will show when you get the fantastic results you deserve! Remember, they may be called 'tests', but they are really a chance to show off how much you know!

This week's blog, is a guide to how you can make the most of those last few pages in the SAT Attack books and how to tackle the planning and questions in the tests. Remember, you can come and have a chat with any member of staff in school, who believe it or not, have felt exactly the same way as you do right now ( and yes we DO remember that long ago!!)

Literacy

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/online/2005/read/level3/level3reading.htm level 3 reading comprehension
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/online/2005/read/level4/level4reading.htm level 4
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/online/2005/read/level5/level5reading.htm level 5

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/reading/index.htm simple comprehension exercises that could be used for speed practice in completing questions in a set time
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/engindex.html scroll down for lots of reading exercises
http://home.freeuk.net/elloughton13/setting.htm choose a picture of a setting as a writing stimulus
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/activities/planning.shtml planning a story. This is also a fabulous site for all Bitesize revision topic areas.

We are also focussing on different types of reports in Literacy this week, as part of our revision programme. As our History topic is the Tudors, I came across a great website which links the two areas together:
http://www.headlinehistory.co.uk/#

Just click on 'Start' and then select the Tudors. We will be looking at Tudor Exploration, so the New Land Found paper is a great one to start with. You can even interview witnesses such as Sir Walter Raleigh!

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/big_news/eng/Introduct/default.htm This is really good site at explaining about the key features of a newspaper.

Science

http://www.coxhoe.durham.sch.uk/Curriculum/Science.htm The one-stop shop for lots of science links, Just scroll down past all the 'blurb' and select an area that you want to revise.

http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/systems.html when you stop giggling at the voice on this site, can you put all of his organs in the right place?

http://www.secondary-zone.com/demosz/sample1/ks3_trial_schoolzone_menu.html go on! Have a challenge!! This is really for Key Stage 3, but some of you could make a really good go at this!

http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/closet/movies/how_the_body_works_interim.html turn the sound down if the voice over annoys you too much!

http://www.topicbox.org.uk/browse.php?subject=Science click on the links for whatever section you feel you need more practice in.

The links from previous weeks and from http://del.icio.us/amworrall still stand and are really useful. Remember to scroll back to the very first page for the 'big' list of numeracy sites which show you which area of numeracy to revise.

Newsletter

Dates for your diary - 14th-18th May is SATs week for Year 6. Year 5 will also be doing their optional tests this week too.

Cake Sale - The Friends of St Vincent's are holding a cake sale on 3rd May at 3.00pm in the school hall.

International School Award - Our school has been awarded an International Schools Award by the British Council and the Department for Education and Skills. This has been awarded to us because of all the work we have been doing in languages and across the curriculum. They were really pleased with how we have linked with our partner school in Malaga and are looking forward to when we can work with all the teachers and pupils.

Think that's all for now!

5/6 team x

Happy St.George's Day!

2007-04-19T17:11:00.000Z

The start of our week begins with St.George's Day, patron saint of England. It's a chance for us to get out the flags, showing the St.George's cross, and find out some information about our own culture. This site has some really good information, which is easy to read and understand.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/stgeorge.html

The homework challenge for the Year 5's this week, will be to write an information sheet about our Patron Saint. You can handwrite it, type it on the computer, draw pictures, cut them out from magazines, find them from other websites and any other ideas you can think of. It MUST be written IN YOUR OWN WORDS and not just copied from a website or book. The sky's the limit!!

Science

Well, has your child been washing their hands a bit more frequently recently? Well they should be! We started investigating how micro-organisms can be spread and we looked at what they look like under a microscope – ‘disgusting’ – ‘urgh’ –‘yuk’ were just a few of the reactions we had!

The sites from last week are really useful, especially http://www.buginvestigators.co.uk/ . If you click on the on-line games, there are some fantastic experiments that you can try with the guide ‘Andy Biotic’ (I know, I thought it was terrible too!)

http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/science/microorganisms/
Click on the ‘What are micro-organisms?’ section on the left hand side of the screen for interactive animations of where you might find micro-organisms in and around your house. You’ll even start to help out with the cleaning when you read this one!
http://enjoy.underwired.com/portfolio/sites/thebugstopshere/index.shtml this site explains how to rid your house of those germs. It is sponsored by a well-known bleach manufacturer, but once you get over that bias, it is a really good site to use!

Do you know the best conditions for growing mould are? Why not have a go at growing some of your own at home? I suggest putting whatever you are testing into a plastic bag, so that you don’t cause too many smells and germs to spread!

Numeracy

This week in numeracy, Year 6’s will continue to work on their revision, using the SAT Attack books which you will have seen at home in the last few weeks. The links on delicious and over the last few weeks will still work really well, and provide a fun way of revising.

The year 5’s will be covering two areas in particular – measuring of capacity and angles. There are many sites which can help to support this, but probably the best way of learning about capacity, is to ‘play’ about with cups and a variety of containers in the bath! (Even though they are 9 and 10, they still secretly love playing with the water!!)

Measuring Angles

http://www.sums.co.uk/playground/ss6/playground.htm this helps you to practice using a protractor to measure angles. Remember to put the ‘cross’ in the centre of the protractor, exactly on the point of the angle. This will help to make your measurement as accurate as possible.
http://www.hittingthetarget.com/hittingthetarget.php I love this! Learning angles through sports is a great interactive site which helps you to see the real life problems which you need to know angles for. It might even help to coach some budding Beckhams out there!
http://www.subtangent.com/maths/measures1.php click on measuring angles
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/angle.swf guess the random angle
http://www.echalk.co.uk/Maths/angleEstimator/EstimatingAngles.swf this works best if you work in pairs. Make sure you click on HIDE the angle first, then reveal it to find out how accurate your measurement was.
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/protractor.html one that we have used before on the interactive whiteboard in class.

Solving Problems using angles

http://www.echalk.co.uk/Maths/PrimaryNationalStrategy_Yr6/DfES-MathsActivitiesforyear6/sailing.html once you figure out the setting options, this is actually quite a good game to practice using your angles
http://www.bbc.co.uk/keyskills/flash/kfa/kfa.shtml This made me laugh, even though it was ‘a bit hard!! Make sure you have the volume turned up for this one!!
http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/maths/activities/year6/angles/game.asp Brilliant!
http://www.hqprimary.co.uk/gorilla/ if you can do this, you are fantastic! See what the lowest number of attempts that you can make is.
http://www.sums.co.uk/playground/ss4/playground.htm a little bit easier, measuring the angles of turns up to 90 degrees.
http://www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/haringey/web/teachers%20section/KS2/ICT/Links%20&%20Resources/documents/clowns.swf burst the balloons by selecting the correct angle to turn.
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/bananahunt/bhunt.html how many bananas can you find?
All of these maths games can be found by clicking either on the actual links, or by going to http://www.mathszone.co.uk/ where you can find lots of other examples for number work.

Year 5 Key Objectives for Numeracy
We will be assessing how many of the ‘Key Objectives’ the children have achieved in numeracy so far, and I came across some sites which may help to practice some of them.

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/x10x100/x10x100.swf to be able to multiply and divide a number by 10 and 100
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/negnumorder.swf to order a set of positive and negative integers (numbers)
http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/decimals/tenths-hundredths.swf to use decimal notation for tenths and hundredths
http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/rounding/nearest1.swf to round a decimal number to the nearest whole integer
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/fracto.html to relate fractions to division and the nearest equivalent fractions
http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/add_sub/sub%20large%20nos.swf to calculate the difference between two large numbers
http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/short_multiplication/3x1contents.swf to carry out short multiplication
http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/division/3x1%20division.swf to carry out short division
http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/shape/area/area.swf to understand that area is measured in square centimetres. (cm2)

Revision

With just 3 weeks before the SATS to go, we are having the last push on those basics. One area that we have noticed in particular, is how many children are struggling to finish with the time given. We will be looking at ‘technique’ this week, and how we can maybe speed up what we are actually writing down. On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the Year 6 children will be having a practice run in the hall, under test conditions, just so they are used to the format for May. This may seem very formal, but all schools across the country, have to follow these strict guidelines, to ensure that everyone has the same chance.

Maybe, you could help out at home, by having at look at some past papers and seeing just how much the children actually have to get through in the time given. You can download the papers from http://www.st-josephs-pickering.n-yorks.sch.uk/past_test_papers.htm

I have also updated the Bookmark site, and it you click on http://del.icio.us/amworrall/sats there are a few more sites which can help with your revision at home.

Here I Am

This week, we move on to the RELATE section of our Energy topic. We will learn about the wonder
and power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; the friends of Jesus being enabled to use their energy for their own good, and for the good of others.

The Pentecost story continues in the Church. The changing and transforming power of the Spirit is at work. Each year, Christians remember and celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first
Pentecost day. They ask for the gifts of the Spirit and pray that they will be changed and transformed by the energy and power that the Holy Spirit gives so that they may bring peace, joy, love and forgiveness to the world.

Maybe you could have a look to see what information you can find out about Confirmation.

Reminders

Could we remind all parents that as the weather is now much better, that all children must have correct PE kit (white t-shirt, blue shorts and black pumps) for all lessons. We still have a large number of winter outdoor kits in school, so any encouragement to take those home would be appreciated!
There may be lots of pieces of information that we need to pass to you over the next couple of week, so it is important that you check and sign your child’s diaries each week. Many thanks to the parents who already do this every week!

That’s all for this week!
5/6 team.

Welcome to the Summer !!!

2007-04-11T16:45:00.000Z

Welcome back to the final term of this year. As always, we have lots to pack into a busy term, including the SATS. It is important that you are in school for all lessons as much as possible this term, so ask your parents try to make any doctors or dental appointments after school if at all possible. Also, we know that the lure of the light nights and football are a very tempting distraction, but do try to have some early nights over the next couple of weeks, just so you are tip-top shape when you come to show off everything that you know in the SATS!!

I also love this term, as we get to show off our acting, singing and dancing skills in our end of year production. We are mulling over lots of ideas at the moment for our production, but rest assured, it will rival any West End production. (We know that Andrew Lloyd Webber got the idea for the Joseph Saturday night show after hearing about our production last year!!)

This week’s blog, is to let you know what topics we will be covering over the term, so that if you want to get a head start on your research you can! Remember, you can put comments on this blog as well as the main school website.

History – Tudors

One of my favourite History topics...I can feel a Tudor dressing up day coming on, complete with Tudor banquet!!

In this topic, we will learn about the reasons for, and results of, exploration of the world by people in the sixteenth century and its impact on sailors, settlers and indigenous peoples. We will investigate in depth one of the explorers and the problems associated with settlement. The framework can also be used to investigate other explorers and their attempts at settlement and trade.

By the end of the topic, you:

MUST recognise some of the reasons for exploration and be aware of the achievements of named individuals; extract information from a small number of sources; recognise some of the similarities between exploration in Tudor times and today

SHOULD know and understand the reasons for, and events of, exploration in the Tudor period; use a range of sources to reconstruct aspects of the life of sailors and settlers; compare and contrast aspects of exploration in the Tudor period with today

COULD describe reasons for, and outcomes of, particular voyages of exploration and attempts at settlement; use their knowledge and understanding of Tudor exploration and settlement to make connections with other societies and periods; select and combine information from a range of sources to undertake enquiries and reach supported conclusions about the motivations and results of Tudor exploration.

There are so many web-based resources out there, I have only listed a few of them. Why not have a go at creating your very own webquest to give to other children? We could even post some of them on the website.

http://www.brims.co.uk/tudors/index.html

http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/tudorhackney/virtualreality/tudh1.asp

http://www.tudorbritain.org/joust/

http://www.tudorbritain.org/

http://www.channel4.com/apps26/learning/microsites/E/essentials/history/units/tudorexpl_bi.shtml

http://www.channel4.com/apps26/learning/microsites/E/essentials/history/units/tudor_bi.shtml

http://www.channel4.com/apps26/learning/microsites/E/essentials/history/units/henry_bi.shtml

http://www.historyforkids.org/

http://www.historyonthenet.com/

http://www.pastexplorers.org.uk./fun

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/primarylinks/Tudortimes.html

http://www.snaithprimary.eril.net/tudors.htm

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/storyboards/olivercromwell.shtml

http://www.tudorhistory.org/

http://www.btinternet.com/~tony.poulter/links/tudors.htm

http://www.btinternet.com/~tony.poulter/cyberhunts/tudorhunt.htm

MUSIC

This topic develops children’s ability to sing and play music in two (or more) parts. They explore the effect of two or more pitched notes sounding together – harmony. They experiment with clusters of pitched notes and discover which combinations are ‘comfortable’ (concords), and which ‘clash’ (discords). They sing rounds and experiment with melodic ostinati to provide accompaniments. They play drones (think bagpipes!) and single note accompaniments.
This will be fantastic to use these skills when we are learning the songs for our production. (Can you tell what I am looking forward to?!)

MUST hold their part in a two-part round with support; sustain a simple drone to accompany the singing

SHOULD hold their part in a two-part round with confidence, and appreciate the effect of the harmonies produced; sustain a drone or melodic ostinato to accompany the singing

COULD hold their part in a two-part round, singing solo and in a small group; appreciate the harmonies produced and work out drones and melodic ostinati and use them to accompany the singing

http://www.artsalive.ca/en/mus/index.asp

http://www.creatingmusic.com/

http://www.freeplaymusic.com/

http://www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/grooveblender.jsp

http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/4_11/music/mm/index.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/communities/onionstreet/music/index.shtml

Science

Through this unit you will learn that there are many very small organisms called micro-organisms which feed, grow and reproduce and which may be harmful or beneficial.
Experimental and investigative work focuses on:
· making observations
· drawing conclusions
· suggesting explanations for conclusions, using scientific knowledge and understanding.
Work in this unit also offers you the opportunity to use scientific ideas to explain some causes of illness and decay, to relate micro-organisms to food production and to relate science to their personal health.

MUST recognise that very small living things can cause illness

SHOULD recognise that there are many very small organisms which can cause illness or decay or which can be used in food production and that these micro-organisms feed, grow and reproduce like other organisms

COULD describe evidence that yeast is living; explain how micro-organisms can move from one food source to another and how this can cause food poisoning

http://www.60secondscience.org/

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/

http://www.exploratorium.edu/

http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/index.html

http://www.ehc.com/vbody.asp

http://www.nwnet.org.uk/pages/ict_curric/science/downloads/science_unit6b.ppt

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/10_11/micro_organisms.shtml

http://www.buginvestigators.co.uk/

http://archive.food.gov.uk/hea/711/english/part1.html

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/sustainable/slidesets/kidscompost/kid1.html

http://www.coxhoe.durham.sch.uk/Curriculum/Temp/Science.htm

Design and Technology

In this unit, you will learn about structures. You will learn that structures can fail when loaded, and the use of techniques for reinforcing and strengthening structures. They are shown the strength of tubes as a construction material and textiles as a suitable cover for a framework. The main outcome of this unit will be the design and construction of a framework-type shelter for an identified purpose. This can be a model or full-size structure. Maybe, we could even get involved in some of the playground remodelling with the current builders!

MUST have investigated at least one example of a shelter; have made a simple model shelter incorporating framework and a textiles cover

SHOULD have investigated several shelters; have made, used and recognised the use of tubes as a material from which to make a framework; have reinforced and strengthened frameworks using triangulation and carried out a fair test; have included in their designs drawings showing several alternative shelter ideas; have chosen to make an appropriate scale or full-size shelter for a specific purpose; have incorporated a framework and a textiles cover

COULD have investigated several framework structures including shelters and others showing a thorough understanding of materials used and methods of construction; have set out a step-by-step approach to how their shelter will be made and listed tools and materials to be used; have made their shelter using a wider range of materials and techniques; have been able to identify what is and what is not working well with their chosen shelter designs and modified their shelter as they went along

PE

Now that we have some fine weather, (I am looking out of the window at a lawn in desperate need of some TLC as I type this!) we are able to make more use of the field for our PE sessions.
We will be focussing on Striking and Fielding games. In this unit children learn how to hit or strike the ball into spaces, so that they can score runs in different ways. When fielding, they learn how to work together to keep the batters’ scores down.
In all games activities, children have to think about how they use skills, strategies and tactics to outwit the opposition. In striking and fielding games, players achieve this by striking a ball and trying to deceive or avoid fielders, so that they can run between wickets or around bases to score runs. When fielding, they try to prevent runs or points being scored.

MUST use a few skills with control and reasonable accuracy; hit a stationary ball and retrieve and throw it when fielding; use a small range of skills and tactics in games; come up with sensible solutions, given time to think about their actions; follow warm ups; recognise what happens to their bodies as they work; carry out practices to improve their work and understand why they are useful

SHOULD use a range of skills, eg throwing, striking, intercepting and stopping a ball, with some control and accuracy; choose and vary skills and tactics to suit the situation in a game; carry out tactics successfully; set up small games; know rules and use them fairly to keep games going; explain what they need to do to get ready to play games; carry out warm ups with care and an awareness of what is happening to their bodies; describe what they and others do that is successful; suggest what needs practising

COULD play games with speed and precision; hit a bowled ball with intent and force; collect, stop and intercept a ball with increasing efficiency; throw a ball well from a distance; play games well using a variety of skills and equipment; choose and vary a range of tactics; make good tactical decisions quickly, while remaining aware of what is going on around them; explain what happens to their bodies as they work, and how this varies from game to game; identify and describe successful play; identify parts of play that could be improved.

Favourites

Whilst these topics are really exciting, you still need to make sure to keep focussing on the essentials. I have included a few of our favourite websites, but do remember to keep scrolling down and looking in the archives for all of the links that have been provided over the year to help you.

http://del.icio.us/amworrall/numeracy You will have seen these links lots of times before in our class numeracy sessions. Remember to click on the links on the right hand side of the page, depending on which area of numeracy you want to investigate.
I am trying to use a site called ‘Delicious’ to sort out all the links we use in class, so they will be easier for you to navigate your way around. It works a bit like a huge bookmark and I can add sites to them as I come across them when I am planning your work. Hopefully, it should get pretty full by the time we get to the end of the year.

The links for this is http://del.icio.us/amworrall . Please let me have any websites you have come across which you think it may be good to share.

There will be lots of things going on this term, but please remember to ask your parents to keep checking and signing your diaries every week. This is particularly important for those of you who are in Year 6, as it will be good practice for you using the Journals from St,.Gregory’s next year.

Have a good week.

5/6 team.

2nd April 2007

2007-03-29T19:41:00.000Z

I can't believe that we have reached the end of the second term already! It has been a busy term and I am sure you are all looking forward to a well earned break!

Remember, to look back over the last term's blogs for lots of ideas to keep your revision ticking over. Just half an hour everyday will really help you to remember those key facts. Why not try using some of the writing titles for some ideas for times writing over the holidays? Also, do you know what all of the vocabulary in science means? Evaporation? Filtration? What happens when you mix bicarbonate of soda and vinegar together? What is it called when an ice cube turns to water? Your CGP books have some great ways of helping you to remember.

These sites will also be useful over the break:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/index.html this is a great site from Woodlands School in Kent.

If you want to have a go at some of the Past SATS papers, go to http://www.st-josephs-pickering.n-yorks.sch.uk/past_test_papers.htm to download them and print them off. Remember it is important to stick to the time allocated. You will probably be really quick at these though, as we have had a go at most of them in school.

Worried about the SATS? Well don't be - and don't just take my word for it!! Lots of Year 6's up and down the country feel exactly the same as you! I came across another school's blog, and they have had lots of comments from Year 6 children, all about their feelings about the tests. Click on the link and read some of the comments and replies! Remember, it is better to get your questions and concerns out in the open and talk to your parents and the teachers, who have all been through tests and will know exactly how you are feeling AND how to help!!
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/blog/2006/04/worried-about-sats.html

This week:

This week is our Assessment and Review week. There will also be lots of glue, glitter and sequins around as we make our Easter cards - something special this year!!

Our Easter service will be held in the hall on Thursday at 9.00am in the hall, led by our Year 3/4 children. You are most welcome to join us, but do be aware that there will be limited space.

We finish at 3.00pm on Thursday for our Easter Break.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday - the beginning of Holy Week.

Holy Week is the week before Easter, commemorating events in the last days of Jesus' life. It begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Monday.

Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday), the day Jesus arrived in Jerusalem.
Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday), Last Supper and the betrayal by Judas.
Good Friday (Holy Friday), the arrest, trial, crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus Christ.
Holy Saturday, the Sabbath on which Jesus rested in the grave.

Palm Sunday is a time of celebration as well as sadness because Jesus died on a cross less than a week after he had entered Jerusalem.

What is Palm Sunday?

The Sunday before Easter is known as Palm Sunday. It celebrates Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem for the Jewish festival of Passover. Great crowds of people lined the streets waving palm branches to welcome him. The people were very excited. They spread branches on the road – and even laid down their clothes. They shouted 'Hosanna!' which means 'Save us Now!'
Why is it called Palm Sunday?
The Sunday before Easter is called Palm Sunday because the crowds waved palm branches as they followed Jesus' procession into Jerusalem.
Why did Jesus go to Jerusalem?
It was the time of the Jewish feast of Passover. Many Jews travelled to Jerusalem to celebrate this feast together.
What happens on Palm Sunday

On Palm Sunday, children are given crosses made from single palm leaves. Traditionally, many churches will have a procession in or around the church while people sing songs of praise and wave palm leaves. This is to help them imagine what Jesus' entry into Jerusalem might have been like.

Pax Cakes
In some English churches small buns called pax cakes (symbolic of peace and goodwill) are given to the congregation as they leave after a Palm Sunday service.
Palm Sunday also has the nick name 'Fig Sunday' because Christ had wanted to eat some when travelling to Jerusalem (Mark 11: 12-14). Figs were once traditionally eaten on this day.
What happens to any Palm crosses left over?
Any left over Palm Crosses are kept and burned to make ashes for next years Ash Wednesday services.
Palm Sunday Customs and Traditions in England
In some areas of the country Palm Sunday was a traditional day for visiting wells and leaving an offering for the spirit of the well. In some places pins were dropped in the wells whilst in other places rags were hung around the wells. It was thought by doing this the spirit of the well would keep the water fresh and clean.
Sallow, or pussy willow, was used in many places as a palm subsitute, and was commonly known as English Palm amongst country folk. Box, yew, hazel, common willow and daffodils (Lent Lilies) were other alternatives in the days before palm was easily available as an import from Spain.

Just for fun...

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=cb43975065399b0d1e48 This is a fantastic video! YouTube have created a site just for teachers! This is a video of how one American teacher has tried to teach a variety of mathematical concepts to her children. We shall be getting our baseball caps over the Easter holidays..you have been warned!!!!!

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9e471f4d180b08d62b00&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;page=&viewtype=&category= (measurement rap)

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=4d8d0cbedc973445af2d&page=&viewtype=&category= simplification of fractions

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=734fe93831e3fb400ce8&page=&viewtype=&category= perimeter rap

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=cbba1eea208541a643e7 This made me laugh out loud! Although it has an American slant (particularly when referring to money) but the short, snappy way in which it is presented, really helps to make this explanation of fractions memorable!!

You can can have hours of fun looking through this site, but please make sure you are with your parents when 'surfing'. Although most of the uploads are checked, we cannot be responsible for content added after this blog has been written.

That's all for now! Have a good holiday!

Year 5/6

26th March 2007

2007-03-21T17:13:00.000Z

We had a fantastic week in school during our whole school Spanish Week. The children were brilliant at their Salsa dancing - we hope to follow this up with some flamenco this week! We would also like to say a HUGE thank you to Mrs Richardson, without whom, we would not have been able to taste the splendid Paella a la Penketh! (we left out the prawns and muscles for the squeamish ones amongst us!) You will notice that a lot more children are coming home speaking a few words in Spanish. The staff are currently learning Spanish after school and so we aim to try out our new found linguistic skills!!

Parents Evenings

This week sees our two parents evenings in school. You should have received your appointment slip on Friday. Because of the high demand for slots, particularly the 3.30 slot, we ask you to be as flexible as possible in the time that you have been allocated. As always, and particularly because of this high demand, we would ask you to remember that slot are for 5 minutes only. Should you require longer, we would invite you to arrange an additional appointment. Many thanks for your understanding and co-operation with this.

Fundraising

Following in the footsteps of the Year 3/4's, we are holding a fundraising afternoon this Friday afternoon for Lenten charity. So now is a great time to have a really good spring clean of those cupboards, and send in books, toys for the children to sell. Easter Egg raffles and stall like Guess the Teddy's names are real money spinners!

Curriculum

This week, the children will be continuing to follow 'The Dare' in literacy, and we will be covering all genres in literacy, with a particular focus on writing, using this text. The links on previous posts will support this.

In numeracy, the Year 5's will be focussing on division. Obviously, this links directly with the work on multiplication that we have been covering for the last few weeks. If your child is comfortable with their tables, then division follows on quite easily. Try getting them to see the patterns:

7 x 3 = 21 so 21 divided by 3 = 7. Can they see how the numbers are just moved around in the number sentence? Have a go with some other tables and see if they are able to spot the pattern. This also help greatly, when they children are asked to calculate the missing number questions.

In our oral and mental starters this week, the children will be following-up work which has gone on in the last couple of weeks as a review:

derive division facts up the times tables up to 12 x 12

add several multiples of 10

round whole numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000

count on or back in 9's to 10

order positive and negative numbers

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/resources/gordon/Hit%20the%20button%20v9.swf click on the division facts for this. Just remember that your computer at home is NOT the interactive whiteboard and you will break it if you hit your monitor at home!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/division/division%20on%20number%20line%20-%20contents.html click on easy to build your confidence and then medium. It explain how to group numbers on a number line.

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/division/3x1%20division.swf this is a great site, as it shows you step by step how to work out division. This is a great one to sit with your parents and work out.

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/850/Chunking2a.swf

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/850/chunking.swf

Science revision – Year 6
Week eight objectives

Monday

To know that some solids and liquids can be mixed together and then be separated
To know that those mixtures which can be separated are examples of reversible changes
To know that main methods of separation and which method applies to which type of mixture

Tuesday

To describe and group rocks according to their characteristics
To understand the terms texture, hardness and permeability

Wednesday

To know that some materials are good thermal conductors and some materials are good thermal insulators
To know that some materials are good electrical conductors and some materials are good electrical insulators
To understand that heat travels from a warmer area to a colder one

Thursday

To investigate a sample of soil taken from where you live

Friday

SCIENCE QUIZ – QUIZ QUIZ TRADE / FAN AND PICK

Literacy revision – Year 6
Week eight objectives

Monday

To learn the strategies to tackle multiple choice questions

Tuesday

To learn strategies to help answer ordering and matching questions

Wednesday

To learn strategies for answering ‘find a word or phrase’ type questions

Thursday

To learn strategies to help you answer ‘3 mark’ opinion type questions

Friday

To be able to compare and contrast two or more texts

Numeracy revision – Year 6
Week eight objectives

Monday

To choose the correct operations to solve one step or multi step real life problems
To explain methods of reasoning about numbers and shapes
To recognise patterns and relationships between numbers or shapes
To make and investigate a general statement by finding examples that match it

Tuesday

To choose the correct operations to solve one step or multi step real life problems
To explain methods of reasoning about numbers and shapes
To recognise patterns and relationships between numbers or shapes
To make and investigate a general statement by finding examples that match it

Wednesday

To choose the correct operations to solve one step or multi step real life problems
To explain methods of reasoning about numbers and shapes
To recognise patterns and relationships between numbers or shapes
To make and investigate a general statement by finding examples that match it

Thursday

To choose the correct operations to solve one step or multi step real life problems
To explain methods of reasoning about numbers and shapes
To recognise patterns and relationships between numbers or shapes
To make and investigate a general statement by finding examples that match it

Friday

To choose the correct operations to solve one step or multi step real life problems
To explain methods of reasoning about numbers and shapes
To recognise patterns and relationships between numbers or shapes
To make and investigate a general statement by finding examples that match it

That's all for this week!

Year 5/6 team

19th March 2007

2007-03-14T19:51:00.000Z

We have been really impressed with all the fund-raising activities which the children have been organising our Lenten charity. In order for the children to understand how their money is used, we have asked for a representative from the Nugent Care Society to come and talk to the children about their work in the community. They are amazed at how much the children have raised so far and by the creative ways in which they have raised the money. (The Year 3/4 children were fantastic at getting the rest of us to part with our pennies..and pounds!!)

Reconciliation

On Tuesday, the Year 5's will be going to Church to receive the Sacrament of Reconcilation for the first time. The children are allowed to wear their own clothes for the day, although they will need sensible shoes for the walk up to St.Joseph's. We will be leaving school just after 9am and starting the activities around 9.30am. The children will need to bring something for their lunch, which can be put onto a shared lunch table. We will conclude the day with a Service of Reconciliation, to which parents are warmly invited. This will take place at approx. 2.30pm in Church. You may collect your child from the parish centre after the service, or from school at approx. 3.20pm. It promises to be a really enjoyable day for both staff and children.

Bridgewater Hall Visit

On Wednesday, all of Key Stage 2 are getting on 'the bus' and going to the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, where they will be treated to a fantastic performance by the Halle Orchestra. The theme this year is 'Heroes and Villains'. How many pieces of music will they know? (Don't worry - we have the answers just in case!!) The children will be returning after lunchtime on Wednesday, so it may be best to have sandwiches that day, just in case!

http://www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk/ Have a look at the fantastic Bridgewater Hall building, home of the Halle Orchestra.

Spanish

After last week's successful visit from our Spanish colleague, we are holding a Spanish Themed week across the whole school. There are lots of exciting activities planned, and there is even a rumour that there may even be some Salsa Dancing going on!! On Friday, we shall be doning our chef's hats (and shaking the dust off them!) and having a go at creating our very own Paella!! Can't wait for that...

With all of this going on, you may be wondering what other curriculum we could possibly fit into this week?! Well...

Numeracy

The children worked really well on ordering negative numbers and changing fractions to decimals. For those children who still need some extra practice on this area, I have included a few websites below to help.

http://nwlg.org/pages/resources/ma_num/swf/para002c.html click on the parachute which has the same value as the pencentage or the fraction which the 'suitcase' gives you

http://www.freewebs.com/weddell/FDP%20contents.html click on the fractions to decimals picture

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/fracto.html This is a great one! It will change any fraction to a given decimal

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/decimals/tenths-hundredths.swf Think you've got it? Well this site will check just how much you really do know!

This week, we move on to using our knowledge of multiplication, to multiply decimals. We will also be looking at the following in our oral and mental starters:

know addition pairs that total 100
recall doubles of numbers up to 100 and their corresponding halves
know multiplication facts up to 10x10
read time to 1 minute on the 24 hour clock
name and recognise 2D shapes and their properties

By the end of the week, the children :

Must be able to multiply multiples of ten by single digit numbers

Should be able to use times table knowledge to multiply and divide multiples of ten by single digit numbers, e.g. 60x3, 180÷6

Could apply knowledge of multiplication and division facts to calculate multiples of decimals by single digits, e.g. knowing 6x3 and using this to derive 0.6x3 or 2.7÷3

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/long_multiplication/long%20multiplication.swf Remember how to do the grid methos? This website show you how to partition two digit numbers to help multiply them.

http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/SpeedGrid/Multiplication/urikamultires.html I love this!! Remember doing the speed grid challenge for addition? Well there is now a multiplication speed grid!! This is really difficult and I won't tell you how many I scored the first time I played it!

Science

We continue with our topic of Interdependence and Adaptation. This sounds like a very grand title, but it is all about habitats, food chains, food webs and eco-systems. The children had great time last week putting themselves as part of a food chain. Needless to say, everyone wanted to be a predator!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/living_things.shtml

Writing

If you feel like having a go at some independent writing at home, here's a couple of titles that you could have a go at this week.

Writing an argument
You read a quote in the newspaper which says: ‘All children are mindless hooligans who watch too much television and have no idea of the way they should behave. If I had my way, they would all be put in the army, as it didn’t do me any harm.’ (Mr D. Green) Write a reply to the editor, arguing against the views in the letter.

Recounting events
Something happened on your way home from school last night. Recount the event to your friend.

Newletters
Your school is organising a sponsored 12 hour dance-athon for charity. Write a newsletter to encourage people to take part in the event.

Science fiction stories
The year is 2134 and the Intergalactic Space Police are on the trail of a master criminal, who has stolen the Life Diamond (the diamond at the centre of the earth, that controls the planet’s temperature.) Write a science fiction story based on this idea.

Stories with a dilemma
Jenny and her friends face a problem. The Lard Street Gang have called them soft because they won’t smoke cigarettes. Jenny doesn’t want to lose face with her friends but she doesn’t want to start smoking either. Write a story about what Jenny decides to do.

Stories with a twist
Ben could hear a noise. It was coming from his cellar. He decides to investigate. What does Ben find in the cellar? Tell the story to the end of his investigation, but try to include a twist at the end.

Fantasy adventures
Blakely has been captured by the evil high lords and put to work as a slave in the salt mine. He escapes and starts a journey back home to Little Hamlet. On his way home, Blakely meets a friendly creature and is nearly captured. Write a fantasy adventure based on this idea.

Here I Am

This week, the children are working on the second week of the RELATE section of the topic. They will learn about Lent as a time of ‘dying in order to live’; how the suffering and death and resurrection of Jesus led to new life for Jesus and his friends.

We will be looking at the events leading upto Easter and how they fit into their understanding of the Easter Story.

Read Matthew: 26:47-53. It is the story of what happened to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemene. Could you try to answer some of these questions about the passage you have read?

How did Jesus feel?
What did he do?
What happened in the Garden?
How do you think Jesus felt then?
What did he say to the friend who used his sword?
Why do you think the friend used it?
What does Matthew tell us about Jesus?

Parent's Evening

You should have received a parent's evening slip last week. There are lots parents who have requested the 3.30pm slot and the 7.30pm slot. We would be grateful if there could be some flexibility with this as we are sure you can appreciate that even we cannot fit 90 children into these two slots! Thank you for your understanding with this.

Revision

There are lots of sites which will help you with your revision, but one which is particularly useful is http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/ This looks exactly like Science Clips, and it finishes each section with a quiz to test your knowledge.

Literacy revision – Year 6
Week seven objectives

Monday

To understand the main features of a newspaper report
To distinguish between biased and objective newspaper reports

Tuesday

To write in the style of a newspaper report

Wednesday

To identify and understand the main features of report writing
To understand the need for a factual report or argument to be balance rather than biased

Thursday

To plan and write a report
To plan and write a balance argument

Friday

To learn the spelling of commonly used prefixes and suffixes and understand their meanings

Numeracy revision – Year 6
Week seven objectives

Monday

To read and plot points using coordinates in all four quadrants
To know the eight points of the compass

Tuesday

To reflect a shape in a mirror line
To rotate a shape through a given angle and direction
To translate a shape both vertically and horizontally
To recognise when a shape has been reflected, rotated or translated

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 know and use the different units of time
To read times to the nearest minute on an analogue and digital 12 and 24 hour clocks
To use 12 hour and 24 hour clock timetables
To read dates on calendars

Friday

To choose the correct operation to solve problems of time
To record solutions to problems using numbers, units and signsTo explain in words the method used to solve a problem

Science revision – Year 6
Week seven objectives

Monday

To know that some materials occur naturally and some are manufactured
To understand that materials have particular properties that make them special and useful for different jobs

Tuesday

To know that materials can exist in three different forms: solids, liquids and gases
To know the characteristics of state of matter
To be able to identify and categorise a substance as being a solid, liquid or a gas
To understand that heating and cooling may change substances from one state of matter to another

Wednesday

To know that heating, cooling and mixing can cause physical changes
To know that some physical changes to materials can be reversed
To know that the water cycle is an example of a reversible change
To know that evaporation and condensation are in the water cycle

Thursday

To know that heating, cooling and mixing some materials can cause physical changes
To know that some physical changes to materials cannot be reversed; these are called non-reversible changes
To recognise some everyday non-reversible changes

Friday

To investigate how long it takes water to evaporate at different temperatures

That's all for now!

Have a good week!! Year 5/6 team

12th March 2007

2007-03-07T20:28:00.000Z

Last week was an extremely busy week in school (aren't they all?!) We had a very successful RE Inspection on Wednesday. The inspectors commented on how articulate the children were, and at how evident it was that they children genuinely cared for one another.

Our Year 6 children behaved with reverence and maturity when we went up to St.Joseph's to receive the Sacrament of Reonciliation for the second time. It will be the turn of the Year 5's when they will receive the sacrament during their Away Day on the 20th March. We would be grateful if the permissionm slips could be returned this week.

We will be joined for the next 7 weeks by Miss Hamill, who will be working in Mrs Worrall's class. Mrs Worrall will be taking some of the Year 6 children for small intensive group work in preparation for the SATs.

This week's blog, mainly consists of the revision for Year 6's, along with a few select websites which will help in their preparations.

Literacy revision – Year 6
Week six objectives

Monday

To understand what is meant by persuasive writing
To know the main features of persuasive writing

Tuesday

To plan and write pieces of persuasive writing

Wednesday

To understand the main features of leaflets and brochures
To gain examples of the kind of language used in leaflets and brochures

Thursday

To plan and write in the style of a leaflet of a brochure

Friday

To learn and use words containing vowel diagraphs

Numeracy revision – Year 6
Week six objectives

Monday

To understand that a percentage is the number of parts in every 100
To recognise and use the % sign correctly
To find the percentage of a shape
To find the percentage of a quantity with and without using a calculator

Tuesday

To understand the link between fractions, decimals and percentages
To convert one from another, with and without a calculator
To recognise and recall equivalent fractions, decimals and percentages

Wednesday

To understand the difference between ratio and proportion
To write the relationship between two quantities as a ratio and as a proportion of a whole

Thursday

To measure the perimeter of shapes to the nearest millimetre
To calculate the perimeters of shapes including compound shapes
To measure the area of shapes by counting squares
To work out formulae for the perimeters and areas of shapes
To use the correct units for perimeter and area

Friday

To choose the correct operation to solve problems using money
To record solutions to problems using numbers, money and signs
To explain in words the method used to solve a problem

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/maths/caerphilly/percentages/eng/percentages.htm

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/percentages/index.htm

http://nwlg.org/pages/resources/ma_num/swf/atlas.html exchange money for a foreign holiday

http://www.funbrain.com/poly/index.html area and perimeter questions

http://www.active-maths.co.uk/algebra/investigations/borders.html calculate how many flags are needed in this real life problem

Science revision – Year 6

Week Six objectives

Monday

To know how teeth develop as we grow older
To name and recognise the three types of teeth and what they do
To know the causes of tooth decay and how to prevent it

Tuesday

To understand the main functions of the skelton
To know how bones are joined
To begin to understand how some muscles work

Wednesday

To understand the human life cycle and the changes which occur
To know that reproduction is an essential part of this cycle

Thursday

To know that a micro-organism is a very small living thing
To know that micro-organisms can be helpful or harmful
To know how to reduce the spread of harmful micro-organisms

Friday

To investigate whether you, your friends and family are eating enough fruit and vegetables.

http://insideout.rigb.org/ri/anatomy/skeleton_territory/index.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/moving_growing_fs.shtml

http://www.3dmouth.org/

http://www.bonesandharry.co.uk/ I love this one!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/10_11/micro_organisms_fs.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/teeth_eating_fs.shtml

http://www.lgfl.net/dbmaterial/web/learning%20objects/ls/Year%205%20Science%20Healthy%20Living/home/?verb=view

http://www.echalk.co.uk/Science/science.htm You will have to scroll down to find the activities for health on this site, but they are all fantastic!

Thank you to all the parents who are still signing and commenting in their children's diaries. Individual targets are put into their which are appropriate to your child.

Please remember to return permission slips for the Year 6's, who will be going to Lowe House in St.Helens on Tuesday, with the staff from St.Gregory's.

Have a good week.

Year 5/6 team.

5th March 2007

2007-02-28T17:49:00.000Z

Week Beginning 5th March 2007

We have a packed diary this week, but always up for a challenge, we are diving straight in!

Literacy

We are having a real push on writing this week and we will writing lots of ‘narratives’ by the end of the week. Just to prove that we really do have a go ourselves, we will be attempted a SATs writing task! Not only will this show the children how to tackle a SATs style question, it will hopefully trigger some of those key phrases and pieces of grammar which will help them achieve those higher levels.

Have a go at some of these writing tasks – remember to use the story mountain to plan it out.

Stories with a familiar setting

Jake awoke to the sound of the school alarm clock as usual and began to get dressed for school. ‘ Another boring day of SATs revision ahead’, he thought, but as he opened the new packet of Crazy Pops and poured them into his bowl, he realised that today wasn’t going to be such as boring day after all… Continue the story and make sure it is set in a familiar place.

Mystery stories

As Jimmy turned the corner and began walking towards his house, the sight that greeted him stopped him in his tracks. He could see broken glass and lots of blood…Finish this mystery story. You do not need to re-write the first two sentences.

Stories that raise issues

Hannah is upset. Bullies at her primary school are making her life a misery and doesn’t know why they are doing it. Write a story about this from Hannah’s point of view.

Remember these would be a long writing task, so you would have 45 minutes to do this. Don’t forget to use the Punctuation Pyramid and to use the VCOP!

http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jeather/writingfun/writingfun.html This is lovely website, with all of the frameworks for a variety of genres, including narratives. Just click on the ‘narrative’ on the right hand side and then choose either 5 or 6 on the bottom toolbar. These are examples of the standard of work which we expect from 5/6.

http://www.buzzin.net/revision_tips/writing/wt-00.htm I like this one, as it gives you some brilliant tips and hints on how to succeed in writing. The site is mainly aimed at KS3, but it will give lots of really good advice and you may even pick up a few trade secrets, as it written by examiners!!

http://www.sutton.lincs.sch.uk/pages/playground/zone/story/adventure_story_create.html Think starting a story is the hard bit! Well, this site has a beginning already written for you. All you have to do, is to select the most appropriate word to complete the paragraph. You can then choose to write the rest of the story for your revision this week.

http://www.readingmission.org.uk/ Wow! I loved this site. Click on the author hide-outs and watch some videos of famous authors, giving you tips of where they get their inspiration. A real insight!

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/diary/index.htm more writing hints and tips.

http://myths.e2bn.net/mythsandlegends/ This is a great site! I can’t wait to read some of your stories from this!

Year 5’s

Must: I can move words and phrases around in a sentence to vary the effect on the reader
Should: I can add a clause to a sentence to add detail and interest
Could: I can create more complex sentences considering clauses, connectives and word order.

Year 6

Must: I can add a clause to a sentence to add detail and interest
Should: I can create more complex sentences considering clauses, connectives and word order
Could: I can move the clauses around in the sentence to have an effect on the reader

Numeracy

We will be looking at adding and subtracting numbers, but this time taking it a stage further, by looking at decimals.

By the end of the week, the children:

MUST Understand and use expanded addition and finding the difference (by counting up on a vertical numberline)
I can use expanded addition (up to HTU)
I can find the difference by counting up on a vertical numberline (up to HTU)
I can explain my methods using mathematical vocabulary
I remember to estimate the size of my answer first
I can solve real life problems where I have to first add then subtract or vice versa

SHOULD be able to use and explain compact addition and finding the difference on a vertical numberline
I can use compact addition (up to ThHTU)
I can find the difference by counting up on a vertical numberline (up to HTU)
I remember to estimate the size of my answer first
I can explain how I have used addition when counting on to find the difference
I can solve 2 stage real life problems using addition and subtraction

COULD Develop compact methods of addition and subtraction to solve real life and word problems
I can use the compact method of addition for any set of numbers including decimals
I can find the difference by counting up on a vertical numberline or using the written layout
I remember to estimate the size of my answer first and can use addition to check subtraction I can solve complex real life and word problems using compact addition and finding the difference methods

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/phase4_20030829/Mathematics/Keystage2/Numbers/Tenthsandhundre/Introduction/default.htm tenths and hundredths . This is an interactive lesson which goes over some of the main points we have covered last term.

http://www.crick.northants.sch.uk/assets/Flash%20Studio/cfsmaths/Washline6/washindex6.html hang out the shirts on the washing line – ordering decimals on a number line

http://www.interactivestuff.org/sums4fun/switch.html keep clicking to order the decimals from smallest to biggest.

http://www.interactivestuff.org/sums4fun/decchall.html guess the decimal on the number line.

http://www.active-maths.co.uk/fractions/whiteboard/dec_index.html decimal number lines

http://www.funbrain.com/cgi-bin/tens.cgi?A1=s&A2=2&INSTRUCTS=1 follow the on screen instructions and click on the correct value

On Wednesday, we will be visited by the Inspectors for our RE Inspection. They will be in school for one day, where they will be observing lessons, talking to staff and children and looking through some of the great work which has been going on in Here I Am.

We begin a new topic this week of Death and New Life. It can be a very sensitive topic, so your child may come home asking a few more questions than usual. We will be talking about loved ones who have left us and how we can remember them. We have some lovely activities planned which include balloons...all will be revealed this week!

Our focus for this week is:

RECOGNISE : loss and death bring about change for people.
REFLECT: on their experience of loss bringing about change in their lives.
RESPECT: Appreciate that even after people have gone they are ‘with us’ in a new way.

By the end of this topic, the children:

MUST be able to talk about experiences of loss and death. They will know that Lent is forty days when all Christians try to live in a new way; and will remember some of the details of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

SHOULD be able to identify experiences of loss and death that lead to a different quality of life. They will be able to describe what people do in Lent and explain how this helps them to ‘die’ in order to live differently. They will be able to use the Scripture stories explored to show how Holy Week and Easter celebrate the death and new life of Jesus.

COULD be able to use the Scripture stories explored to discuss how the death and resurrection of Jesus challenge people.

On Thursday morning, the Year 6 children will be walking up to St.Joseph’s to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the second time. The children will need to wear school uniform for this, and will also need either a hot dinner or a packed lunch that day, as we will be returning for lunch. Please remember that we need you to return the permission slips as soon as possible.

Spanish Visitors

Also on Thursday, we will have a visitor from Malaga with us. She is a headteacher from one of the schools we are linking with in Spain and she is really looking forward to how ‘we do things’ in sunny Penketh!

We will be presenting her with some keepsakes and souvenirs from ‘our school to theirs’ and these will be shared with her pupils when she returns home.
I feel the need to brush up on my Spanish this weekend!! If you would like to be able to say a few words to our visitor too, then have a look at these sites...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryspanish/

http://stepstar.esd101.net/k12/ps/activities.htm

http://www.prescot-school.knowsley.sch.uk/prescot-language/mfl-site/primarySchool/spanishPrimary.htm

http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/languages/Goldilocks/spanish.htm

http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/languages/Littlered/index.htm

Told you we had a lot to fit in! Have a good week.
Year 5/6 team

26th February 2007

2007-02-21T22:08:00.000Z

Week Beginning 26th February 2007

This week, we have a lot of information about our current topic of What's in the News. We are encouraging you read as much non-fiction as you can find - newspapers, magazines, flyers, leaflets etc. Also, you are allowed to watch TV for your homework!! (Just the news reports before you get too excited!!)

Here are some super sites to whet your appetite for this topic...

http://thenewspaper.org.uk/ Click on this link to explore the website based on a newspaper. This is also very similar to another site http://www.firstnews.co.uk/ which we have used before. Try comparing it with some of the tabloid and broad sheet newspaper which you might find in the local newsagents, Which type of paper gives you the best range of news? Any articles which you can bring into school for our ‘Newsstand’ will be gratefully appreciated!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/ Newsround’s site

http://www.channel4.com/apps26/learning/microsites/E/essentials/geography/units/news_bi.shtml Try printing off some of the worksheets to do at home from this Channel 4 website.
When you have found all of these items of news, a great challenge is to locate all the places on a map of the UK. You could even try to locate them on a map of the world! Could you give the co-ordinates to your friends and ask them to locate the place? Maybe they could then match the story up with the map references!

http://maps.google.co.uk/ Can you find our school using the Google Maps site? For some real aerial photos, why not try Google Earth! You will have to ask your parents if you can download the program onto your machine, but the results are fantastic! Warrington is still a bit hazy, but if you have a look around London, the detail is remarkable! Go on – I was on it for an hour without realising!

http://www.googleearthcoolplaces.com/ This mini-site, has gathered all of the ‘cool-places’ that can be seen using Google Earth. Some of the aerial photos are amazing. Do you know how they get all of the photographs up to date so quickly?

http://del.icio.us/primaryteacheruk lots of links for all areas of the curriculum

Times Tables Awards

You have been working really hard on learning your times tables over the last couple of months, so we have decided to reward you for all of your hard work, and to give you a real incentive to keep practicing them - you can have the opportunity to earn Gold, Silver and Bronze awards for your knowledge of times tables and the division facts for them.

The criteria for awarding them is displayed in your classrooms, but I have included the awards here for you to have a look at when you get home. Remember that you can use all of the website and games in this and previous blogs to help. Good Luck!

Bronze 3
Know by heart multiplication facts for 2x, 5x, 10x, by counting in steps
Silver 3
To be able to rapidly recall the multiplication facts for 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x and 10x tables
Gold 3
To be able to rapidly recall the multiplication facts and related division facts for 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x and 10x tables

Bronze 4
Know by heart multiplication facts and related division facts for 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x tables
Silver 4
Know by heart multiplication facts and related division facts for 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 7x, 8x, 9x, 10x tables
Gold 4
Know by heart multiplication facts and related division facts for all tables up to 10 x 10

Bronze 5
Know by heart multiplication facts and related division facts for 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 7x, 8x, 9x, 10x tables
Silver 5
Know by heart multiplication facts and related division facts for all tables up to 12 x 12
Gold 5
Use known multiplication facts to multiply a 2-digit number to a single digit number

Bronze 6
Know by heart multiplication facts and related division facts for all tables up to 12 x 12
Silver 6
Use known multiplication facts to multiply a 2 digit multiple of 10 with another 2-digit multiple of 10
Gold 6
Use known multiplication facts to multiply a 2-digit number with a single digit number
Use known multiplication facts to multiply a 2-digit number with a single digit number

Year 6's. This week's revision...

Science revision – Year 6

Week Four objectives

Monday

 To know that there are several life processes common to all living things
 To know that there are some specific life processes common to many living things and some which are specific to certain living things

Tuesday

 To know how familiar animals and plants can be identified using keys
 To know the different living things can have similar features or characteristics and that these may be grouped together

Wednesday

 To know the correct names for the parts of a flower
 To understand that reproduction involves pollination, producing seeds and dispersing them.
 To describe the life cycle of a flowering plant

Thursday

 To know that the plant needs certain conditions for it to grow healthily
 To know that a plant will die if these conditions are not met
 To know that plants make their own food

Friday

 To investigate some of the factors which affect plant growth

This week, I have included some websites to help you with your revision. Even the CGP books can get a bit repetitive after a while!

http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/

http://sciencelessons.digitalbrain.com/digitalbrain/web/subjects/1.%20primary/ks2sci/su2/mod3/?verb=view looking at green plants and the functions of their different parts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/10_11/interdependence.shtml

http://www.crick.northants.sch.uk/assets/Flash%20Studio/cfsscience/LifeCycle/lcycles5b.html Label the different parts of a plant and its flower.

http://www.crick.northants.sch.uk/assets/Flash%20Studio/cfsscience/food%20chains/foodchains.html food chains

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/science/science2c.htm scroll down and click on any of the links to find out information about flowering plants.

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/Phase2delivery/Wales/Science/Keystage2/Lifeprocessesan/Lifecycles/Introduction/default.htm
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/ A great site for revision all about plants. It is an American site, but the ideas still stand well.

Literacy revision – Year 6
Week four objectives

Monday

 To understand the terms simile and metaphor and know the difference between them
 To use similes and metaphors in writing
 To understand the term personification

Tuesday

 To understand the terms alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia
 To write examples of alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia

Wednesday

 To recognise that poetry comes in many forms
 To know that not all poetry has to rhyme
 To be aware that some poetry, eg HAIKU has to follow a strict form

Thursday

 To recognise that poetry comes in many forms
 To know that not all poetry has to rhyme
 To know what is meant by narrative poetry
 To know that some poetry is humourous

Friday

 To be able to spell words containing ‘soft’ c and g
 To know the rules for which vowels will soften the c and g

Numeracy revision – Year 6
Week four objectives

Monday

 To use multiplication facts to help recall division facts
 To use different mental methods to divide whole numbers and simple decimal numbers
 To use a suitable written method for dividing whole and decimal numbers by one and two digit numbers

Tuesday

 To multiply and divide whole and decimal numbers by 10, 100 or 1000
 To multiple multiples of 10, 100 or 1000 by a single digit number
 To multiply and divide multiples of 10, 100 or 1000 by other multiples of 10, 100 or 1000

Wednesday

 To know the relationship between metric units of length, mass and capacity
 To use the relationship between metric units to convert a measure from one unit to another
 To know the approximate metric equivalents of imperial units still in everyday use (miles – kilometres)

Thursday

 To suggest suitable units to estimate and measure quantities of length, mass or capacity
 To suggest suitable measuring equipment
 To read scales on measuring equipment to the nearest division

Friday

 To choose the correct operation to solve problems including length, mass and capacity
 To record solutions to problems using numbers, units and signs
 To explain in words the method used to solve a problem

http://www.sgfl.org.uk/games/games/maths/multiplicationstation

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/3_num_multiply/eng/Introduction/default.htm

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/long_multiplication/long%20multiplication.swf

http://www.sums.co.uk/playground/c6a/playground.htm

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/short_multiplication/3x1contents.swf

http://www.subtangent.com/maths/countdown.php Manipulate the numbers and you too could be Carol Vorderman in this Countdown numbers game.

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/multiples/intro.htm Shoot the multiples of the number you have chosen.

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/tables_backwards/Disappearing%20tables.swf

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/504/multiplicationpuzzle.swf Remember the Sudoku puzzle we played in class? This is the times tables version!

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/tables_backwards/tables%20speed.swf Speed test yourself on your times tables. Choose the FAST option – the slow is not quick enough for 5/6!s

Diary

Just a reminder that on Tuesday at 6.00pm, there is a meeting in the school hall for the parents of the children in Year 5 who are making their Reconciliation in the next few weeks. Mr Barker and myself will be there to lead the discussion and to answer any questions you may have. If you are unable to attend, please inform any member of the Year 5/6 team.

Have a good week!

Year 5/6 team

19th February 2007

2007-02-15T18:22:00.000Z

Week beginning 19th February 2007

Welcome back after the half term break! We hope you had a relaxing time and have come back rejuvenated and ready for some hard work!!

Well, we know that you are all in the swing of revision now in Year 6, but there is still plenty of time for new learning and remember that some of what we are still teaching MAY come up on the SATs, so work in school is still vitally important. If you are in Year 5, then don’t feel you are being left to you own devices, as we have some great things in store for you. Remember, you will be Year 6 before you know it, and so this is a real chance to see how far you can challenge yourself – go on..you can do it!!

This half term is jammed packed with activities for you, so you will hit the ground running on Monday when you come back, so be prepared to work hard.

Literacy

We will be starting a block of work on Narrative writing – basically fiction writing. How good are your story beginnings? Do they grab the reader by the lapels and shout ‘READ ME!!?’ Think about some of the work we have done using Alan Peat ideas...

· OI sentences
· 2a sentences
· Show not tell
· New speaker/ New Line 66\99
· Change of place or time? New line (paragraphing)

Before you come into school, think about some characters or settings that you could base your stories on and around. Try this...

Choose a character from Eastenders, say Phil Mitchell. What does he look like? What are some of his mannerisms? Does he have any catchphrases? What does he do? Where does he live? Where does he work? What type of personality does he have? What are his weaknesses?
Then, when you have written this character passport out, give him another name – say ‘Arthur’. Hey presto, you have just invented a new character! When you are writing about him in YOUR story, you will know that he is based on Phil Mitchell, but no one else will. (Just remember NOT to call him by the wrong name!) Have a go with some of the other characters...what about Dot?!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/ Click on the Story Maker icon and you could direct your very own scene from Eastenders! Which character will you put into the scenes? This is really good fun!

http://www.midlandit.co.uk/education/writingtips.htm This gives you some really good story writing tips.

http://www.midlandit.co.uk/education/pirate/index.htm Write an adventure story using these ideas.

If you want some ideas for some stories of your own, then have a look in the documents section on the school website. (Click on DOCUMENTS – RESOURCEs-PARENTS and then WRITING IDEAS. It is a Word document so you can download it and print it for your revision file.) You will lots of story titles there to get you started. They have all been taken from previous SATs papers, so you really get to know the types of questions that could be asked.
Here a couple of ideas to get you started:

SHORT WRITING – 25 minutes

Discussing issues
Some people agree with the ban on smoking in public places to stop non-smokers suffering from passive smoking, whilst others think it is a stupid idea. Write a discussion about whether it is a good idea to ban smoking in public places or not.

Writing about your point of view
Vegetarians don’t like eating meat. Some don’t eat it because they think it’s cruel whilst others just don’t like the taste. Many meat eaters enjoy the flavour of meat and say it is natural to eat it because we are carnivores. Write about your opinions on eating meat.

Writing an argument
You read a quote in the newspaper which says: ‘All children are mindless hooligans who watch too much television and have no idea of the way they should behave. If I had my way, they would all be put in the army, as it didn’t do me any harm.’ (Mr D. Green) Write a reply to the editor, arguing against the views in the letter.

LONG WRITING – 45 minutes

Adventure stories
It is the middle of winter in the snowy hills of Colarado and Mike Stone’s grandfather has fallen ill. The only place that he can get help is thirty miles away, through the snow filled valley. The telephone lines are down and a blizzard is blowing in, so everything relies on Mike. Write and adventure story based on this idea.

Stories with flashbacks
As Captain Hallas approached the oil rig under the cover of darkness, he knew what he had to do. He remembered the advice which his father has given him just before he died. Those wise words never left him, and he need them now more than ever. Write an adventure story that uses a flashback to help the reader understand the story better. Follow on from the sentences above.

Fables, myths and legends
Write a fable which explains how the leopard got its spots.

Numeracy

This week, we will be focussing on really developing those number skills and the ability to see patterns in numbers. There will be a real focus on Mental calculations this week, so the links from last week will really help out, particularly with the mental maths test that can be downloaded.

By the end of week, the children;

MUST be able to add any pair of two-digit numbers including crossing the tens boundary e.g. 38+85

SHOULD able to add a pair of decimal fractions e.g. 5·7 + 2·5.

COULD able to add a pair of decimal fractions each less than one and with up to two decimal places

In addition to this, we will be assessing whether or not the children can apply strategies they have already learned to other areas. For example, can they round these decimals to the nearest whole integer?

Round these costs to the nearest £:

£4.27 £12.60 £14.05 £6.50

Round these weights to the nearest kg:
13.67kg 12.49kg 38.72kg 42.12kg

http://www.crick.northants.sch.uk/assets/Flash%20Studio/cfsmaths/Toolkit/Toolkit.htm
Use the place value cards to help you when calculating the value of numbers in decimals

http://www.mathsonline.co.uk/nonmembers/gamesroom/bugs/bugrace3.html Make sure you type in large numbers, or you will make the bug race too easy!

http://www.sgfl.org.uk/games/games/maths/addlikemad
This is great! Beware though, as you move through the game, the speed does increase dramatically!

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/850/AddExpand.swf This shows you how to calculate additions using the expanded methods. You will need to remember how to do your partitioning for this though!

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/maths/cynnal/frogs/saesneg/frogs.htm investigating number patterns

ICT

This half term, we will seeing how good you are at apply all of the skills you have learned so far to new applications in school. Have a look down this list and see if you can tick all of these. If not, then set yourself a target of how many you intend to get by Easter!

Begins to use good technique when typing
Begins to increase typing speed
Can select and move a graphic
Can change the layout of a document using justification and centring
Can move or copy text between two or more word processing documents
Can use the tab key to format a list
Can carry out a single field wordsearch
Can create an electronic bookmark
Can connect a model to a control unit (interface)
Can build up and use procedures to control models
Can edit procedures
Can compose, address and send and e-mail
Can reply to an e-mail message
Can place text into a simple screen
Can import a graphic and place it into a screen
Can create a series of screens with text, graphics and buttons for simple navigation
Can prepare a physical database
Can create a data file and enter data from the physical database
Can edit data in a data file
Can change the order of information within a column by sorting
Can enter and use simple formula on a spreadsheet

You will expected to choose the best program to use independently, particularly when we ask you present your information in subjects such as History or Geography. Also, if you use alternative applications at home, bring in some examples from home to show us. We particularly love your powerpoints and any word processing you may have done.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/ A fun way to learn how to type and use the keyboard properly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/games/ all the BBC’s educational games on one place!

http://demo.iboard.co.uk/screens/thread_home.htm?thread_id=1 can you control the cheese sniffer and the pollen catcher!!??

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/explore_control_sims/eng/Introduction/default.htm
exploring and controlling situations

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/Phase2delivery/Wales/IT01/Keystage2/Usingadatabase/Representingand/Introduction/default.htm checking data and validating results

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/going_going/eng/Introduction/default.htm learn how to use a spreadsheet with this interactive activity.

TOPIC

We are looking at the topic ‘What’s in the news?’ This is a fantastic topic and really uses lots there is anything we can do about it. Is there a burning issue in this week’s Guardian? What is happening in our local environment? Does it come from what is happening nationally in the headlines?

We are going to link this topic with writing reports and make a TV documentary for TONIGHT WITH TREVOR MCDONALD about the pressing issues in Penketh and Sankey. Ever heard of PODCASTS? Well, this is your chance to actually make one. We will be learning how to use a piece of software called ‘Audacity’ which you can use to create your very own Podcast. I can’t wait for this topic!!

Here I Am

Before the half term, we started our new topic of Memories. We continue with this theme this week with our Relate section.

The children will learn about how the Eucharist, keeps the memory of Jesus alive and makes him present in a special way.

Do this in remembrance of me
The Christian family kept the memory of Jesus alive in a very special way. From the beginning, they celebrated the Eucharist as a living memory of him. This is how Paul explains the importance of this memory to the Christian family at Corinth.

Can you find 1 Corinthians 11:24-27 ?

The tradition that I received is one which goes right back to Jesus himself. It is this same tradition which I have handed on to you: that on the night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus, took some bread, gave thanks to God, broke the bread and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Then in the same way he took the cup of wine after supper, gave thanks to God and said, “This cup is the cup of my life blood. Whenever you drink it do this as a memorial of me.”
This means that whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup you are proclaiming the death of Jesus until he comes.

Key questions

What special memory of Jesus is Paul writing about to the Christian family in Corinth?
How do Paul and the Christian family in Corinth keep this memory of Jesus alive?
What does Paul say they are doing when they eat this bread and drink this cup?

By the end of this topic, the children;

Must be able to talk in some detail of the way memories are kept alive. They will
know that the Eucharist is how the Church remembers Jesus and be able to recall the story of the Last Supper.

Should be able to discuss how memories are kept alive. They will be able to explain how the Eucharist keeps the memory of Jesus alive and makes Jesus present.

Could be able to discuss the different memories of the Last Supper recorded in the New Testament.

Maybe you could look back through your workbook from your First Holy Communion. The video is sure to being back some fabulous memories!

Reconciliation

On Tuesday 27th February at 6.00pm, there will be a meeting in the hall for parents of children who are soon to make their First Reconciliation. Mr Barker and myself will be there to discuss the programme for the day, and to answer any questions you may have.

On March 8th, the Year 6 children will take part in an Away morning, where they will receive the sacrament of Reconciliation for the second time. More details will follow soon.

Revision

You should already have your paper revision packs at home, but just in case you have misplaced them, here at this week’s objectives.

Literacy revision – Year 6

Monday
To know that letters are written for a variety of purposes
To understand that a letter may be formal or informal
To plan a letter, organising information effectively

Tuesday
To use a letter frame to help organise your writing
To write a formal letter
To write an informal letter

Wednesday
To understand how to organise instructions
To answer questions about a set of instructions

Thursday
To organise a set of instructions
To write a set of instructions

Friday
To be aware of silent letters in words
To be able to spell the words with the most common silent letter patterns in them

Science revision – Year 6

Monday
To know that forces are pushes and pulls acting in a particular direction
To represent forces using arrows in diagrams
To understand the effects on an object of balanced and unbalanced forces

Tuesday
To know all objects exert a force due to gravity
To understand the difference between weight and mass
Wednesday

To know that water exerts a force called upthrust on an object in it
Understand the relationship between upthrust and gravity

Thursday

To understand what is meant by friction and air resistance and recognise situations where they happen
To know that friction produces heat

Friday
To investigate exerting different sized forces on an object

Numeracy revision – Year 6

Monday
To recall multiplication facts (times tables)
To use different methods to multiply whole numbers and simple decimal numbers
To use a suitable written method for multiplying whole and decimal numbers by one and two digit numbers

Tuesday
To recognise odd and even numbers
To recognise and find factors or multiples of a number, or numbers
To know that a prime number has only two factors and know the prime numbers to at least 30
To recognise and find square numbers and square roots in terms of ‘the number multiplied by itself’

Wednesday
To describe the rule linking numbers in a sequence
To create, complete or extend a number sequence using a given rule and predict further terms
To describe and extend sequences of patterns
To recognise sequences of odd numbers, even numbers, square numbers and multiples

Thursday
To know that angles are measured in degrees and that one whole turn is 360
To recognise acute, right, obtuse and reflex angles
To estimate, measure, draw and compare angles
To know and use simple angle facts

Friday
To work out probabilities of events with two or more equally likely outcomes
To place events on a probability scale
To start to understand that the results of an experiment can give different probabilities to those calculated

Diary

On Thursday, the Year 5’s will be visiting St Gregory’s to take part in a Theatre workshop. Please remember to send in the permission slips as soon as possible to help with administration.

As always, please keep an eye on the diaries for any further information and remember to sign them each week.

Have a good week!

Year 5/6 team.

5th February 2007

2007-02-02T17:03:00.000Z

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&amp;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.

29th January 2007

2007-01-27T16:24:00.000Z

Week Beginning 29th January 2007

Well, what a week we had last week! The year 6 children had superb experiences at the Peace Centre, St. Gregory’s and the Pyramid Centre. We have had some fantastic feedback from everyone about their performances and there are certainly some budding thespians in our school! One comment which was particularly encouraging, was how smart the children looked in their uniforms – thank you to you all. I am sure you were all as proud as we were!

The year 5 children were fantastic in school and we have made great headway on our Reconciliation preparations and the children have made some very thoughtful and mature suggestions and thoughts. Many thanks to all the parents who have responded to our invitation to be group facilitators for the Reconciliation meeting. If you need any further information about your role, please call in to see Mrs Worrall in school – you won’t need to answer any difficult questions – honest!!

After last week’s assessments, we are continuing with our curriculum, which has been tailored to take into account some of fantastic progress which many of the children have made since September.

Literacy

This week, we are beginning our work on Formal Writing, with a particular focus on Formal letters.

By the end of the week, the children:

Year 5

Must: use a developing range of adjectives, adverbs, powerful verbs and nouns in a range of texts to try and engage the reader

Should: use a range of adjectives, adverbs, powerful verbs and phrases selectively in a variety of texts in order to amuse, entertain, persuade, inform.

Could: use precise vocabulary and sentence variation to help me write effectively.

Year 6

Must: use a range of adjectives, adverbs, powerful verbs and phrases selectively in a variety of texts in order to amuse, entertain, persuade, inform

Should: use precise vocabulary and sentence variation to contribute to the effectiveness of the writing. I can use of figurative language effectively.

Could: use varied vocabulary to create effects, appropriate to form and purpose of the writing and to create specific effects, e.g. alliteration/patterning; maintain a formal style throughout the letter

When writing a formal letter, the children will be encouraged to check they have included the following criteria:

In my formal letter, addresses, date, greeting and sign-off are correctly placed
The first paragraph tells who the writer is and explains the reason for writing
The middle paragraphs deliver the necessary message
The letter states clearly what I would like the recipient to do
I used standard English
I used the appropriate greeting and sign-off
I have left a line to show that I want to begin a new paragraph
I used a formal tone throughout my letter

Maybe you have some formal letters that you can share with your child at home – bank and insurance correspondence is particularly good at showing the children how they use formal language.

http://www.athena.bham.org.uk/letterwriting1.htm This is an example of the layout and content of a formal letter. Just click on the ‘next’ button at the bottom right of the page to navigate through the site.

http://www.schooltrain.info/english/letters/letters_features.htm A really simple, yet effective site, showing examples of the differences between the different styles of formal writing.

http://www.athena.bham.org.uk/formalletter1.htm Can you re-write this letter to make sure it makes sense? Do you think that you would get a replacement toy? Try changing some of the vocabulary to make it more adventurous – go on – impress us with those BIG words!!! Try using a thesaurus to use different words to the ones that you use all the time!

Numeracy

This week, the children in Year 6 will be focussing on co-ordinates in all four quadrants and also investigating 2D and 3D shapes.

By the end of week, they:

MUST Describe and visualise 3-D shapes, including tetrahedron and polyhedron.

SHOULD Describe and visualise 3-D shapes, including octahedron. Classify according to properties such as shapes of faces; numbers of edges, faces, vertices; whether or not any face is right-angled etc.

COULD Describe and visualise 3-D shapes, including dodecahedron. Describe properties such as parallel or perpendicular faces or edges.

In Year 5, will be covering some of the issues which came up last week during the assessments. Some of these include calculating area, perimeter and time.

By the end of the week, they:

Must be able to find the area of a given shape by counting squares and know that area is measured in cm²

Should be able to calculate the area of a shape when given the length and breadth measurements and know that area is measured in cm²

Could be able to calculate either the length or the breadth of a regular shape when given the area and know that area is measured in cm²

The children must also know the difference between area and perimeter.

One way in which you could help out at home, is to check whether or not your child knows all the names for the regular 2D shapes.

http://www.echalk.co.uk/Maths/polygonTool/PolygonToolWeb.swf
This is an evaluation version, but see how many different polygons you can make.

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/maths/maerdy_2d/e_index.html
Quite a simple site, but maybe this will give you some ideas of the vocabulary that is needed when describing 2D shapes.

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/maths/coordinate_game/index.htm
This is a fantastic resources for co-ordinates – see which of the games you can work your way up to! This is actually a Key Stage 3 resource!!

http://www.tre.ngfl.gov.uk/server.php?request=cmVzb3VyY2UuZnVsbHZpZXc=&resourceId=11959
Just click on the ‘Materials’ box on the right hand side of the screen to download a Powerpoint on what ‘co-ordinates in all four quadrants’ means.

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/MazeGame/
Can you avoid the mines using your knowledge of the co-ordinates and quadrants?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/measuring/perimeterareaandvolume/arearectangle/

http://argyll.epsb.ca/jreed/math9/strand3/area_rectangles.htm

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/AreaExplorer/
Work out the shapes area by counting the squares. Can you make your own compound shapes? How would you calculate the area and perimeter of compound shapes?

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/perimeter_and_area/index.html
Just a review of what the vocabulary means!!

For those who would like some extra maths homework, why not visit http://www2.bgfl.org/bgfl2/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks1/maths/cup_maths/questions.cfm If you go back to the same site next week, they post the answers there for you.

Science

We are continuing with our topic on Light this week. The children will be asked to investigate the question – How can we change the size of the shadow? We will have lots of materials for the children to use and investigate with. It would be helpful, if they were able to bring some more torches in order to test some of their shadow makers!!

There are lots of links for this topic. Just scroll down through previous blogs to help you.

BOOK WEEK

This week is our school book week. It is a great opportunity to stock up on those home libraries. I had to buy some extra storage boxes last year to accommodate the books I bought! Not only can you treat yourselves, but we also receive 100% commission for this bookfair, so for every £1 spent at the fair, the school receives the same amount in books.

On Friday, the children will be able to dress up as a book character. Should the children not want to dress up, then they will have to wear school uniform.

We will hopefully have some great photos to share with you next week!

Take care and have a good week!!

Year 5/6 team.

22nd January 2007

2007-01-20T09:38:00.000Z

Week Beginning 22nd January 2007

What a busy week we have ahead of us! There is so much happening for our children in Year 6 this week, even we aren’t sure that we will get through everything, so here goes with the plan…

On Monday morning, the Year 6 children, will be going to the Peace Centre, to take part in the Young Citizen programme. The Year 5’s will remain in school with myself to continue work on some of the fantastic poetry which was started last week. You will have already read some of the great examples from each of the classes in last week’s newsletter, and this week, we shall be compiling our own poetry, using some of the key phrases learned last week. We have given details of a national poetry competition called ‘Young Laureate’ and these poems certainly stand a superb chance of being shortlisted for a prize.

We used a ‘formula’ last week to help the children write poetry – maybe you could have a go at using this to write your own poems at home.

Write a NOUN (with article)
Write a fact about the noun
Write three adjectives to describe the noun
Write a simile to describe the noun
Write another simile
Write how you feel about it
Write a simile about how you feel
Repeat the noun
Express an important idea that the noun makes you think of

In order for us to set further targets to develop your child’s writing, we shall be assessing their writing on Monday afternoon. Why not ask them to talk about some of the strategies which they tried before Christmas, when we did our ‘Peat week’ activities?

2A sentences
OI sentences – a chance to use brackets (level 5)
Show NOT tell
Similes – remember to add a WHERE and a WHEN statement; also a chance to use semi-colons (an example of Level 5 punctuation)

On Tuesday, the Year 5 children, will be assessed in Numeracy. General Targets from this will be communicated to you through this blog and homework for Year 5’s will be tailored according to these targets. Year 6’s will be going through the practice SATs paper which they did last week. This will help them to create an effective and appropriate revision programme for numeracy, with guidance from staff.

We have had some lovely comments this week about the usefulness of this blog and you have told us, that the websites we provide for numeracy have been particularly useful. Thank you!

On Wednesday morning, the Year 6’s will be visiting St. Gregory’s for their production of ‘Oliver’. This is always an enjoyable visit, as they get to see lots of their classmates from last year, who are now a very mature Year 7!!

Again, the Year 5’s will remain in school. Don’t worry – we have something fantastic planned as a real treat for them next week. I can’t wait!!

On Thursday, Mrs Millington has her AST outreach day, and so her class will, as always, be taken by Mr McGreal. The children will be assessed on their reading, by a practice SAT paper. Please encourage the children not to panic about levels at this stage, as we still have time to make improvements. Your support and encouragement at home, will make a world of difference to them, and they really do appreciate you asking them about their learning – even at this age, they are keen to talk about what is going on in school!

Friday, see the Year 6’s going to the Pyramid Centre to perform their drama for Holocaust Memorial Day. They quality of their work is remarkable. Mrs Robinson from St. Gregory’s has been extremely complimentary about the standard of the children’s work and the thought and respect with which they perform the drama. She is very eager to have them as Year 7’s at the high school! They will be leaving school at approx. 10.15 and returning at 3.30pm. Please ensure that the relevant permission slips have been returned to school; many thanks.

The Year 5’s will be beginning their Reconciliation preparation programme with gusto this week, as they will be together as a year group for the vast majority of this week. Details of Parent’s meetings will be published in the next couple of weeks. The actual Sacrament, will be received during an ‘Away Day’. This was incredibly successful last year and I am sure that the children will get a lot out of it again this year.

The websites from last week will still be useful for this week’s learning, particularly the ‘Delicious Maths site’ and the sites suggested for Revision.

Revision programme

A number of parents have asked about the Year 6 Revision programme for this year. The children should have already received the CGP revision text books before Christmas, and these are being used in school each morning, as something called ‘Morning Activities’. The children are given a key question, which they have to find the answer to, either through their own knowledge, or locating the answer in the text books.

We have also purchased revision text books in school, which are differentiated according to ability. The children complete these ‘exercises’ in school and are monitored and marked by staff in school on a daily basis.

As mentioned in the Induction meeting at the start of the year, we have produced a ‘guide revision programme’ for the children, which will be sent home at the end of January, as a paper booklet. It contains all the objectives which the children are expected to know by the end of the year. This is also available to download on the school website, in the documents section, should you feel that your child would like to begin the programme earlier.

The children will be shown how to do ‘effective’ revision next week and also will be shown how to use the booklet. Should you require any further information on this, please do not hesitate to contact any member of the 5/6 team.

Finally, we thought that we would share our poetry with you again on the blog, as they are an example of the outstanding work, of which your children are capable!!

I Have A Dream…
That one day, the cruel acts of racism will be no more separating all God’s people through hatred.
Disturbing! Destructive! Diabolical!
Like a huge volcano, erupting with poisonous lava.
It makes me feel useless; like a heart without love.
The cruel acts of racism.
It reminds me of a world without colour.

I have a Dream..
That one day we will be free from the pollution, contaminating our lives with suffocation.
Vile! Vicious! Venomous!
Like smoke strangling with Earth.
Like fire burning our souls.
It makes me feel breathless.
Like running; fighting for air.
We will be free from pollution.
Reminding us of a selfish world.

I have a dream…
To feed the countless children,
Living (no exisiting!) in third world countries.
Hungry! Desperate! Dying!
Like living skeletons, walking hot earth.
Lives like despairing, living nightmares.
It makes me feel so helpless,
Like a tiny, insignificant ant.
The countless starving children need feeding now!

I have a dream…
To travel every corner of the world.
The mighty Sphinx, the elusive Loch Ness Monster.
Colossal! Inspiring! Everlasting!
Like a box of chocolates, each unique in flavour.
Like an orbiting marble of green and blue swirls.
I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of anticipation;
Like a spectator sitting silently in awe.
Every corner of this wonderful world,
Needs exploring now!

The Bully

The Bully
The aggressor versus the targeted one.
Fierce; vicious; unrelenting.
Like a pit-bull clamped firmly to its prize;
Like a blinkered racehorse, ready to charge.
I make myself stand tall and proud (inside I am churning around!)
Bully!
Need to Tell!

The Bully
The pressure button-pusher.
Thoughtless; cruel; hurtful.
Like a tornado, twisting and turning its way through the unsuspecting town;
Like an impending vaccination.
The victim’s face – expressionless; (inside they feel like an expectant volcanic eruption.)
Bully.
Need to talk!

Have a good week!

15th January 2006

2007-01-11T16:59:00.000Z

Week beginning 15th January 2007

The children are certainly trying really hard to follow the Golden Rules in school and one thing we have noticed particularly, is how smart they are when they are in and around school. Thank you to all parents who are supporting us with our Uniform policy.

The builders have made a flying start to our new classroom and the children have all been superb at managing with their reduced playground area. Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 children have all had to move too, so a big thank you to all of them for coping!! The builders have also commented on how well the children are managing, particularly at avoiding the fence with the footballs!! We will keep you posted with all the building developments over the next few weeks.

A few queries have come into school about the recommended size for school bags. We are having some samples made for us, with the school logo on, so hopefully within a couple of weeks, we will be able to make these available for you. We do have limited space in school to store the over-sized bags and a large number of them together in one class, does cause health and safety issues. Thank you for your understanding with this.

Literacy

We had a really successful week last week, looking at balanced arguments. The children really enjoyed this (I wonder why!) and produced some great writing.

This week, we will be looking at poetry, beginning with reading the work of some famous poets.

By the end of the week, hopefully, we will be able to emulate some of their work. I am sure we have some budding Wordsworths out there!!

The children:

Must be able to begin to identify and explain how a poem communicates the writer's thoughts and feelings to the reader.

Should be able to write an interesting and engaging short poem that effectively communicates the writer's thoughts and feelings about an issue.

Could be able to express personal opinions about their own and others' poetry; work collaboratively to perform and share their own and others' poems.

Some websites to help support our work on this are as follows:

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/index.htm
The authors recommendations are particularly helpful when asking children to create their own poems

http://www.nwlg.org/pages/resources/caterpillar/caterpillar.html
Drag and drop some of the phrases on the left, onto the piece of yellow paper to make your own ‘Tired Caterpillar’ poem.

http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/html/fiction/narrative/index.htm
Some examples of Narrative poems, written by famous poets. These are ones which we use in class with years 5 and 6.

http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/html/fiction/nouns_001/index.htm
You can download this activity as a Word document to compete off-line.

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/year4/limerick.htm
This one is just for a bit of fun. Some of the limericks that can be produced from the drop-down menus will make you giggle!

Numeracy

By the end of the week, the children will be expected to:

Read and plot coordinates in the first quadrant
Recognise where a shape will be after a translation

Rehearse the names and properties of common 2D shapes

Rehearse regular and irregular polygons
Know the meaning of ‘diagonal’ of a polygon

For co-ordinates, the children:

MUST be able to make patterns by repeatedly translating a shape.

SHOULD be able to translate a simple shape on a co-ordinate grid either vertically OR horizontally

COULD be able to translate a simple shape on a co-ordinate grid horizontally THEN vertically or vice versa

For shape, the children:

MUST be able to name, classify & describe all common shapes and their properties plus equilateral, isosceles and right-angles triangles

SHOULD be able to name, classify and describe all common shapes and their properties plus scalene triangle, kite, trapezium

COULD be able to name, classify and describe all common shapes and their properties plus rhombus, parallelogram

The children should also be familiar with the following vocabulary:

Right angled, greater angle, smaller angle, vertex, vertices, layer, diagram, horizontal, vertical, Radius, diameter, net, open net, closed net, base, square-based, regular, irregular, concave, convex, Congruent, bisect, axis of symmetry, reflective symmetry, parallel, and perpendicular.

Knowing the vocabulary associated with any mathematical concept, is half the way to understanding how to solve the problem!!

http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/maths/information/shape_facts/shape_facts.htm
Information about the properties of 2D and 3D shapes.

http://www.lgfl.net/dbmaterial/web/learning%20objects/ls/Year%205%20Numeracy%20Co-ordinates%20QCA%201957/home/?verb=view

http://www.counton.org/games/virtualmathfest/dinosaur.html

http://www.athena.bham.org.uk/coordinates1.htm

http://www.mathsonline.co.uk/nonmembers/gamesroom/transform/rotation.html

http://www.mathsonline.co.uk/nonmembers/gamesroom/transform/golftrans.html

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/Transmographer/
This is a real challenge! Click on the LEARNER tag at the top of the page to read an explanation of the activity, and then select the ACTIVITY tab to practice the skills.

Science

We are continuing with our Light topic this week, and the children we be investigating how light from an object can be reflected by a mirror. They will also be finding out how the reflected light enters our eyes and we see the object that we are looking at. When drawing these diagrams, the children will need to know that the direction of a beam or ray of light travelling from a light source can be indicated by a straight line with an arrow.

The challenge for this week, is to investigate how the direction of the beam of light changes, when it hits another object before reaching our eyes. Will they be able to draw this as a diagram, with the arrows pointing in the right direction ?

http://www.seekscience.org/interact/
Click on the LIGHT section for an interactive activity for how light travels in straight lines.

http://www.mystery-productions.info/hyper/Hypermedia_2003/Roby/index.html
A simple, yet effective site, which take you through information about light in easy steps.

SEAL

The children will be asked to set themselves a goal this week – something for them to aim for. They should each think of someone famous who they admire. They should use the following questions to share what they know about the person they admire.

• What has the person achieved?
• Why do you respect the person for this?
• What obstacles were in his or her way?
• How did he or she overcome them?
• Who helped the person achieve their goal?
• What do you think the person said/did when they felt like giving up?
• Is there anything that the person has done in achieving their goals that you
think they should not have done?

All of the goals will be displayed in class, and we will ask the children at the end of this half term, whether or not they feel they have achieved them.

Here I Am

We begin the RELATE section of our Books topic this week. The children will be looking at different versions of the Bible and finding some stories and parables in it, using Bible references to help locate them.

You could help at home, by reinforcing how to read a bible reference. For example,

When people want you to read a special part of the Bible, they give you a reference, for example, 1 Kings 10:23-25. 1 Kings means that you will find it in the first book of Kings. 10 is the number of the chapter in that book. 23-25 refers to the verses of that chapter. These are the small numbers included in the text.

• Look up 1 Kings 10:23-25. Can the children tell you what it is about ?

We will be looking at how the Bible is written in two halves – the Old Testament and the New Testament. The children will also find out, how the Bible had to be translated in order that we may be able to read it today. (The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and the New Testament was written in Greek.) The children will need to decide if the stories were translated accurately, or whether some changes had to made because of the language.

http://world.altavista.com/
If you type a piece of text into the translator, you will get the text back in another language. However, when you translate it back to English again, it isn’t quite the same!!

REVISION WEBSITES

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/booster04/index.htm
This is a really fun site to help with the revision for numeracy. Click on the area that you wish to revise on the brown boxes at the bottom and then click on play when prompted. Although it is aimed at year 6, it could provide a real challenge for some Year 5 children. Go on…have a go!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revisewise/gigaflat/rw_chmaths/default.shtml?pool=all8
BBC Revisewise Maths Challenge

http://icteachers.co.uk/children/children_sats.htm
Questions from past SATS papers for Maths, Science and English

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revisewise/maths/
Choose whether to practice an aspect of numeracy, or to take the test.

http://www.saintambrosebarlow.wigan.sch.uk/upperjuniorspelling.htm
spelling quizzes, which are divided into term by term activities

http://www.saintambrosebarlow.wigan.sch.uk/upperjuniors.htm
choose from one of the stories for upper juniors and then select the correct spelling to complete the sentence.

http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/english/activities/statements_opinions/state_opin_home.htm
click on the sentence which is either a statement or an opinion. This will help with our work on balanced arguments.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/Science/puzzle.html
colour investigation for light

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/Science/light.html
light and shadows quiz

http://www.engineeringinteract.org/resources/alienattack/alienattacklink.htm
click on the link with the spinning logo

http://www.engineeringinteract.org/resources/alienattack/flash/concepts/sourcesandrays.htm
light sources and light rays

http://www.engineeringinteract.org/resources/alienattack/flash/concepts/reflectionseeingobjects.htm
reflection

http://www.engineeringinteract.org/resources/alienattack/flash/concepts/shadows.htm
shadows

http://www.engineeringinteract.org/resources/alienattack/flash/concepts/reflectionmirrors.htm
reflection – mirrors

http://www.supporting-ict.co.uk/documents/argument.ppt
You will need Powerpoint to view this document. It contains a framework to help with how to write an argument.

DIARY

PE is now on Wednesdays for Mrs Millington’s class, and on Thursdays for Miss Wilson’s and Mrs Worrall’s classes. Please ensure that your child has their OUTDOOR and INDOOR PE kit on these days. The children are also expected to wear pumps rather than trainers inside. Again, this is a health and safety issue as the soles on pumps are more appropriate when using apparatus in the hall.

On Friday afternoon, the Year 6’s will be having their last rehearsal for the Holocaust Memorial day commemorations. Next week, they will be performing their drama at the Pyramid Centre, with members of St Gregory’s and in front of the Mayor.

And finally…

Thank you to the parents who consistently make comments in their child’s diaries each week. The staff make comments about your child’s successes and achievements in them and use them to communicate with you on an individual basis. Please read and sign them each week, as it really does make a difference to your child.

Have a good week !!

Year 5/6 team

8th January 2007

2007-01-04T13:58:00.000Z

Week beginning 8th January 2007

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

Welcome Back !!

2007-01-01T18:29:00.000Z

Happy New Year 2007 !!

Welcome back to the start of the Spring Term. We have lots to get through this term, which takes us right up until Easter. There will be lots of information coming home in the next few weeks, so please do keep an eye out in your child's diary and on this blog. The targets which your child will receive, have been produced based on assessments of your child at the end of last term, and are designed to help your child move forward. By supporting your child at home with these, you are helping them to move forward quickly and attain success.

Curriculum

We have a packed curriculum for the children this term and we will be covering all of the National Curriculum subjects. Please bear in mind though, that the following list is the topics that we will be covering for the WHOLE of this half term and NOT just this week - even we can't fit it all into 2 days!! Details of literacy and Numeracy to be covered will appear in the weekly blogs.

Design & Technology

Controllable vehicles - the children will have to design and make a vehicle out of materials of their choice, and make it move...Meccano anyone?

http://www.inventivekids.com/indexFlash.html

http://www.edheads.org/activities/simple-machines/index.htm
click on start, then on the house section and then click on the car

http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/dt/workshop/projects/project3/P3vehicle-intro.htm

http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/dt/workshop/projects/project3/assets3/veh-pdf.pdf downloadable pdf file with instructions to build a steerable vehicle

Music
Journey into space – exploring sound sources

http://www.artsalive.ca/en/mus/greatcomposers/ information about lots of classical composers
http://www.creatingmusic.com/ sketch your own music and listen to it played back on the computer, using the instruments you have chosen

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/makingtracks/makeatune.shtml click on any of the activities to compose your own tune. Remember not send the e-mail as a file to your friends, as it can be quite large.

Science

How we see things

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/10_11/see_things.shtml

http://www.bootslearningstore.com/ks2/eyesight.htm

http://www.seekscience.org/interact/ select the ‘Light’ topic. This is a really good site for science revision in general, but it does take at least 30 minutes for each activity, although it doesn’t feel like it – I spent an hour on this site before I realised the time!

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/Phase2delivery/Wales/WalesSynd_20030219/Science/Keystage2/Physicalprocess/Shadows/Introduction/default.htm an introduction to shadows

Changing circuits

http://www.cleo.net.uk/resources/displayframe.php?src=207/consultants_resources%2Fscience%2FcircuitWorld%2Findex.html+ Design your own circuit online

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/10_11/changing_circuits.shtml BBC science clips website – online experiments including how to hypothesise.

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/Phase3delivery/Wales/Science/Keystage1/Physicalprocess/Electricalcircu/Introduction/default.htm Review of how to construct a simple circuit

http://www.edfenergy.com/powerup/keystage2/index.html A brilliant site, following the adventures of Celldric the Wizard around his home (notice the pun on his name??) Solve the puzzles using your knowledge of electrical circuits.

http://www.learningcircuits.co.uk/ This keeps track of your score throughout the activities. You can play on your own or against a friend. A really great site, which we will using in class.

http://www.teachingandlearningresources.co.uk/battlestarcircuits.html A superb way to revise – A space mission! Answer as many questions about circuits as you can in order to save the hostages! Remember to click on ‘Load a question’ on the left hand side and then select one of the spaceships for your answer.

http://www.andythelwell.com/blobz/ exploring electrical circuits

http://www.powerdiscoveryzone.com/home.html

http://www.powerdiscoveryzone.com/experiments.html online experiments to make electrical objects. You will need to collect a variety of junk materials for this one, but some of the finished products are fantastic.

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/science/electricity_book1/index.htm

Here I Am

In our Religious Education lessons this term the key question is “Who Am I?” The focus of the term’s work is to begin to understand the answer to this question. Jesus, the Son of God, who became fully human shows each of us how to be fully human too. The topics to be studied are: Books, Memories and Death and New Life.
We also investigate the topics through the theme of Community and the Local Church.

BOOKS
(8th January – 2nd February )

In this topic, the children explore their experience of the books which are special to different communities and when and why they are used. They hear about the Bible, the book which is special for the Christian family, and when and why it is used.

Suggestions for home activities

Share some of the readings from the bible with your child. Parables are a really good place to start, particularly with younger children.

MEMORIES
(5th February – 2nd March)

The middle topic is Memories. In this topic, the children explore their outstanding memories and those of their families and investigate why they are so special. They learn about the Eucharist remembering and celebrating Jesus - his life, death and resurrection.
Ash Wednesday (21st February) marks the beginning of the Lenten Season, the time in which we prepare to celebrate Easter.

Suggestions for home activities

Make a scrap book with photographs from your family. Maybe the children could help by writing captions underneath them and putting them in chronological order.
You could contribute towards Family Fast Day during Lent and donate some money to CAFOD for the poor and hungry of the world.
Maybe you could all do something extra during Lent as well as giving something up.

DEATH AND NEW LIFE

(5th March to end of term)
In this topic, the children explore their experience of loss and sadness.
They learn about the death of Jesus leading to new life at Easter.

Lent is a time for us to reflect on how we need to change from our selfish ways and become more like Jesus.

Suggestions for home activities

· This can be a very sensitive topic, particularly for those children who have lost close family members. They will ask lots of questions and as adults, we should allow them to express their thoughts and feelings freely.
· For younger children, a good starting point is to talk about how the flowers in the garden wither and die and are then ‘re-born’ in the Spring.
· Have a special family prayer when everyone can say sorry to each other and to God for the times when hurt and upset has been caused in the family.

Please also remember in your prayers, the Year 5 children who will be receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time this term. Our Year 6 children will also be taking part in a retreat day at St. Joseph's Parish Centre in March, for a day of prayer and reflection.

A busy term all round, but one which is sure to be very successful...let's reach for the stars!!

Best Wishes,

Year 5/6 team

18th December 2006

2006-12-16T14:25:00.000Z

We wish you a Merry Christmas...

Well we have reached the end of the first term, and we have been thrilled with how much effort the children seemed to have put into their work. I'm sure that they will continue to put in the same amount of effort when they return in January.

Although we have a shortened week this week, we still have lots to pack into just three days...

On Monday, the children will be rehearsing for the Carol Service. We urge to to bring your tissues on Wednesday, as the children really do sing beautifully! We will be joined by the children from Key Stage 1 and Foundation, singing some traditional carols and songs from their production. Years 3 and 4 will also be joining us, to sing some songs from their production too. It promises to be a lovely service, with the emphasis on participation - we will provide song sheets for everyone!
We will also be making our Christmas Cards on Monday. The children have chosen the design already, and I'm sure that many of them have made larger versions at home!

On Tuesday, the hairspray, glitter and sparkles come out, as it is our Party Day! The children are able to come to school in their finery, including the best bib and tucker!! The children in years 5/6 have been allowed to get together with friendship groups from other classes, to organise their own party food, crackers, party poppers etc. A letter should have reached you last week, but please do call in to see any member of the 5/6 team if you are unsure of what to bring.

On Wednesday morning, we will be holding the Carol Service in the hall at 9am. Since this is for the whole school, space will be at a premium and we would ask to be both patient and considerate to the children, who will need access in and around the hall.

They will be allowed to bring in something from home, for extra Golden time after break on Wednesday, before the afternoon finale... the Parent's Panto!! We have heard lots of stories about it not being ready in time, but it is always superb, and everyone throughly enjoys it. We will be looking for 118-118!!!!

Curriculum

It can be difficult to keep the momentum going for 'work', particularly over the Christmas school holidays, but it will really benefit the children, if they maintain just 10 - 15 minutes bursts of activity over the break.

We have been thrilled with how many of the children have been learning their times tables. From assessments this week, we have noticed that although many of them now know the more difficult 6, 7 and 8's, they have forgotten the 3 and 4's! Also, when learning the tables, do try to encourage them to tell you the division facts too...7 x 7 = 49 so ask them 'What is 49 divided by 7?

The websites from 27th November are particularly useful for helping with multiplication tables and other areas of the curriculum

And if you have a spare moment or two over the festive period (I know...I am smiling as I type that!!), here are a few Christmas sites to keep all the family occupied:-

http://ww2.unime.it/dipart/i_fismed/wbt/mirror/ExplrSci/dswmedia/snwflak6-adv.htm
snowflake designer

http://www.merry-christmas.com/games/games.htm

http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/christmas/ Christmas resources from Northumberland Grid for Learning.

http://www.btinternet.com/~tony.poulter/xmas/xmastlinks.htm

http://members.tripod.com/~newyearseve/

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/teacher/christmas.html

http://www.star28.net/snow.html hilarious!! the penguin will write your message in the snow!!

http://dingo.care2.com/cards/new/0422/Do-a-rain-deer.swf play the reindeer noses!!

http://www.icq.com/friendship/pages/browse_page_7944.html reindeer band

Thank you to all the parents who continue to support us throughout the year and we would like to wish you all a happy and holy Christmas. I have included a poem, taken from the Carol Service, which I thought really summed everything up nicely...

When the song of the angels is stilled
When the star in the sky is gone
When the kings and the princes are home
When the shepherds are back with their flocks
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost
To heal the broken
To feed the hungry
To release the prisoner
To rebuild the nations
To bring peace among people
To make music in the heart.

and a Happy New Year...

5/6 team

11th December 2006

2006-12-09T16:56:00.000Z

8 more get-ups...!

We are approaching the end of term and 2006 very quickly and it will soon be time to break up for Christmas. The Year 5/6 teachers are really proud of how the children have kept working right through all the other productions, without too many complaints!

Now it is our turn to start rehearsals for the Carol Service on the last day of term. The intention is that it will be a reflection on the true meaning of Christmas, and enable us all to take an hour or so out of all the preparation time, to share readings, prayers, poems and carols together as a whole school community. You are very welcome to join us in the school hall at 9am on the last day. Please do remember however, that space will very limited and we need to adhere to Fire Regulations for everyone's safety. Many thanks in advance.

Revision books

The revision books that many of the parents of children in Year 6 ordered, have now arrived in school. We shall be distributing them this week, although we don't intend for you to read them over your Christmas Lunch...New Year's Eve will be fine!!!!!!!!

He's behind you.......!!!

The whole school will be visiting Chester Gateway Theatre this Monday to see The Wizard of Oz. The children need to be in school for 8.15am as we will be leaving school PROMPTLY at 8.30am. Since the children will be out for breaktime, it would be helpful if you were able to send their snack and drink in a plastic bag to take with them. The children will be back in school to have lunch and will return home at normal time. Many thanks to Mrs Narraway, who has arranged this visit for everyone...oh yes she has!!!!! (can you tell I am getting into the festive mood this week??!!)

Festive Fun

Although we will be rehearsing for the carol service this week, our curriculum will still be continuing, although it will have a festive slant - (and lots of glitter and snowflakes!!)

There are lots of Christmas resources available on the internet, but I have included just a few to keep everyone busy. There are some lovely family ideas for games, discussions and crafts. Let us know if you found any of them useful or made any of the art ideas. I know lots of the children went home and made snowflakes last week!!

http://www.prospereducational.com/xmasresource.html A lovely Christmas book to download, full of festive ideas, such as origami Christmas Trees and Santas!

http://www.santasjournal.com/journal/ Online podcasts from Santa

http://www.santasjournal.com/journal/?cat=3 Click on this link for a beautiful song called ‘Christmas in Bethlehem’. Have the tissues handy as it really bring a tear to the eye!

http://www.north-pole.co.uk/advent_calendar/index.htm on line Advent Calendar, containing a task or a thought for the day.

http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Christmas_Story/xmas_hmpg.html The Nativity Story through works of art.

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/xmas/index.html lots of Christmas activities, including puzzles, colouring etc.

We really enjoyed the Year 3/4 dress rehearsal on Friday and it shows how hard the staff and children have worked to bring the production together in such a short space of time. Good luck to you all for your performances this week - you will be fantastic!

The Year 1/2 and Foundation Teams amazed us yet again with their performance of 'The Christmas Rose'. You were all brilliant and the children were a real credit to their parents and teachers.

Have a good week!

Year 5/6 team

4th December 2006

2006-12-02T06:52:00.000Z

We are on the Countdown to Christmas!

The children worked really hard last week, but we can sense that Christmas is coming! We will be starting to prepare our Carol Service this week, but will continue will full curriculum up until the end of next week.

Slippers!

Many thanks to the parents who have already sent materials in to make slippers, but there is still time to send more! The children have created some great designs (some are VERY adventurous!) and are really eager to actually make them. Your child should be able to tell you the materials they need, including foam, rubber, padding and material. We are using a hot glue gun in school, but some children have chosen to bring in upholstery bonding spray, which has been really successful. It would be helpful if this can be in school for Tuesday, as we will be making them during the latter half of the week.

Numeracy

Well, you are learning your tables aren't you!!?? We have been amazed at the speed with which some of you are able to use your tables. Not only can you do this, some children can even do the corresponding division facts!! This is fantastic and has really had an impact on their ability to handle other mathematical problems.

One site which has had a real impact is http://www.wmnet.org.uk/resources/gordon/Hit%20the%20button%20v9.swf

This has had everyone getting very competitive indeed and they have even had me taking part in the competition! The current of 58 in one minute is the current score to beat! Use the times tables section and then use the same division facts ie if you choose x7 for the tables, choose divide by 7 and see which you are better at.

http://www.figurethis.org/challenges/challenge_index.htm

I also came across this site, which really got my brain working (and did create some frustration and discussion in my house!) It is a site for families based on maths challenges. There are about 80 challenges, which are designed to create mathematical discussion at home. There are suggestions for how to work it out and the answers. Try not to go to the answers too soon though, as it does provoke lots of discussion! If you fancy an extra challenge, you can even view the site in Spanish!!

Science

We will be concluding our topic on Forces this week, so there are lots of sites which could help with teh revision of this.

http://www.doscience.com/act_archive/index.html

http://www.madsci.org/labs/MAD_labs.html extension science work

http://www.ase.org.uk/sen/investigations/s-passport.htm science passport for year 6/7

http://www.primaryschoolscience.com/samples.php downloadable activities

http://www.channel4.com/apps26/learning/microsites/E/essentials/science/index.shtml

http://www.channel4.com/apps26/learning/microsites/E/essentials/science/physical/forcesaction_bi.jsp forces in action. Can you answer the quiz questions?

http://users.pipeline.com.au/~jpearce/gyro_complete.swf making a paper helicopter

Writing

The children produced some brilliant non-chronological reports last week, and have got lots of enthusiasm for writing, so I have found some websites, which could act as 'firelighters' for producing some independent work.

http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/B/bookbox/writerstoolkit/home.htm writer’s toolkit - how to write the beginnings, middles and endings of stories

http://www.childwriters.co.uk/ write stories and see them published on the web!

http://www.creativewriting4kids.com/

http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/ help with spelling, including worksheets which you can download

http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk/YouthTheatre/The_Scottish_Play.htm This week we are looking at 'The Scottish Play!' This is a great site, which shows a script for children, explaining Shakepeare's play in child-friendly language.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/storycircle/fairystories/dream/ I know this is on Cbeebies (far too cool for Year 6!) but it is a really good animated version of A Midsummer night's dream.

Phase Team Mass

Father Richard will be joining us in school this Thursday, to celebrate Mass with the 5/6 children and staff. It is a time for preparation and reflection as we prepare for Christmas.

Advent Challenge

Last week, I set the children the challenge of finding what the different coloured candles on the Advent wreath meant. A few children managed to get the right answer, but I thought that I would let everyone know this week:

An advent wreath traditionally contains four candles-three purple and one rose. Purple dyes were one so rare and costly that they were associated with royalty; the Church has long used this colour around Christmas and Easter to honour Jesus. The three purple candles in the Advent wreath symbolise hope, peace, and love. These candles are lit on the first, second, and fourth Sundays of Advent. The rose candle, which symbolizes joy, is usually lit on the third Sunday.
Sometimes a fifth candle is placed inside the Advent wreath. This candle is lit on Christmas Day. It is white, the color associated with angels and the birth of Jesus.

NOTICES

You should still be receiving the weekly newsletter every Friday, but here are just a few snippets, just in case that letter hasn't actually made it to you yet...

please send any outstanding photograph monies into school this week as the photographer will be back in school to collect monies or unwanted photographs
pantomine - we will be having early registration that day at 8.15 am. We will be leaving school at 8.30 and walked up by the local police to the Methodist Church car park. The children will be returning to school for a late lunch that day.

Keep an eye out in your child's diary for any further information during the week! Good luck to Key Stage 1 and Foundation, who are performing their play 'The Christmas Rose'. You will be fantastic!

Year 5/6 team

27th November 2006

2006-11-26T08:59:00.000Z

Firstly...

A big thank you to everyone who is putting a comment in their child's diaries. We are getting really close to our 100% target for comments, so let's have a real push to help us reach our Goal! The reading booklets which have come home, seem to have given you all some great ideas for sharing your child's reading. If you have any success stories, please do let us know so that we can share your ideas with others!

Diary

Yes, we really will let you your child wear their own clothes this Friday, in exchange for something for our Christmas Fayre. The school council are also organising a Bring and Buy sale, of old toys and games. All we ask, is that they are in relatively good condition and intact. Imagine finishing a jigsaw and there is just one piece missing... It's also a good opportunity to have that clear out before Christmas!

Mrs Worrall's class will be joined by Miss Hamill on Wednesdays between now and April. She joined us for her first visit last Wednesday and commented on how welcoming all the children and staff were and that she felt as if she had been here for ever! What a lovely comment to make!

Curriculum

The last few weeks blog contain all the themes for what we are covering this half term. So, in response to a number of requests, this week's blog, contains lots of links to help support the children's learning at home.

Please remember that whilst these links are VERY useful, there really is no substitute for visiting the local library and using good old pencil and paper methods!

Numeracy

http://www.emaths.co.uk/KS2SAT.htm Year 6 SATS maths papers online
http://www.st-josephs-pickering.n-yorks.sch.uk/past_test_papers.htm all past sats papers for English, Maths and Science
http://del.icio.us/mathslinks lots of links, primarily for maths, but lots of others ideas too
http://schoolcentral.com/Willoughby5/default.htm use multiplication facts to find the gold
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/resources/gordon/Hit%20the%20button%20v9.swf We use this on the interactive whiteboard for number bonds etc.
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/resources/gordon/Hit%20the%20button%20v9.swf more times tables practice. This time, you can choose to hit the answer, or the question
http://www.sgfl.org.uk/games/games/maths/multiplicationstation multiplication practice - choose two numbers that when multiplied together make the answer
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/3_num_multiply/eng/Introduction/default.htm multiplication practice for 7 and 8 times tables – online lessons. This is also brilliant for showing you how we teach ‘long multiplication’ in school. Just click on the main activity to help with this.
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/504/multiplicationpuzzle.swf multiplication puzzle. This is a bit like Sudoku for tables! Do perseverve with it, as it does require a lot of concentration, but the ‘Well done@ song at the end, is well worth a giggle!

Music

http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/music/orchestra/default.htm virtual orchestra
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/rooms/games.html online music games
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/rooms/musicroom.asp you can explore all the instruments of the orchestra using this site from Dallas Symphony Orchestra
http://www.angliacampus.co.uk/learn/pri/music/explomoo/page01.htm this is a brilliant site for helping to set the scene with music, Try using it when you are writing the opening for a story. Listen to how the music changes the mood of the scene.

Art

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks1/art/perspective/index.htm exploring how artists use perspective in drawing, to really bring a picture to life
http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/play/leonardo/index.html adventure based on the work of Leonardo Da Vinci

RE

http://www.coxhoe.durham.sch.uk/Curriculum/RE.htm lots of links for you to explore to add to our current Here I Am topic of ‘Gifts.’
This week, we are looking at the ‘Relate’ section of the topic, where we will be reading bible passages from both the Old and the New testaments.

PSHE

http://www2.bgfl.org/bgfl2/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/pshe/moral_mazes_lower/index.htm This is a really good way of approaching a number of ‘choice issues’which your child may come across. The cartoon characters are particularly helpful in bringing the situation to life,

ICT

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/design/virtualgarden_index.shtml We will be asking the children to use ICT to design our very own ‘Peace Garden’. We really want the children to get involved in this, as the winning design, will actually be built! We would like to thank Mr. Nencini and Mrs Pickavant for all their help with this project so far.

Drama Production

Our Year 6 children are currently working on a very moving play about the Holocaust. This is being led by Mrs Robinson from St. Gregory's, and she has commented on how much the children really respect each other's work and thoughts. The play will form part of the Holocaust Memorial Day reflections at the Pyramid Centre in January. We will let you know more details when we get them.

Christmas Preparations

The other phase team's preparations for their productions are well underway and some of our children seem to be itching to get their 'Equity' cards out too! Because of the demands placed on the hall at this time of year, it would be really difficult to do three Christmas Productions, and so Year 5/6 lead the Carol Service on the last day of term. They will also be doing a fabulous production at the end of the year, which will be worthy of any West End production! Remember Joseph last year?? A big thanks to all the children who are being so patient!

As you can see, there will be lots going on this week, and we appreciate all the support you give to your child and us, from home.

Have a great week,

Year 5/6 team.

20th November 2006

2006-11-17T21:19:00.000Z

First of all, a big thank you to all the children who behaved superby last week when our Ofsted visitors were in school. They commented on how well the children looked after each other and cared about our school. We are very proud of our school and the children made some lovely comments to them. Also, many thanks to you as parents for the questionnaires that you returned so promptly to school. It is encouraging to know that we are supported by yourselves as co-educators of your children.

This week...

Literacy

We will be starting a new topic this week of Report Writing. You could help at home by reading lots of different types of newspapers. A particularly good paper, is called 'First News'. It is written with children particularly in mind, and is based on current affairs, written in child-frienly language. There is also a website to accompany this:

http://www.firstnews.co.uk/

Other sites which are useful are:

http://www.headlinehistory.co.uk/swf/main_launcher.htm This is a brillant site, as it links report writing with a history topic. The spoken instructions are particularly easy to follow for this site.
http://www.schooltrain.info/powerpoint/elephant_report.ppt

Spelling Websites

http://www.saintambrosebarlow.wigan.sch.uk/upperjuniorspelling.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/spellits/home_y6flash.shtml

http://www.lgfl.net/dbmaterial/web/learning%20objects/ls/Year%206%20Literacy%20Mnemonics/home/?verb=view

The children wrote some amazing stories on Friday and we have seen the 'PEAT WEEK' ideas really have an impact, particularly on how the children are opening their stories. Keep up the good work!

Numeracy

The three numeracy groups will be continuing the topics from last week, so the links from last week's blog still stand.

We are seeing a real improvement in children's knowledge of the times tables, so thank you for persevering with it! We just need to get a bit quicker on the recall of them now and we will have cracked it! Even the children have to admit, it is making their overall numeracy understanding better. Just think of how good it will be when they get even quicker!!

Have a look back over the last couple of week's blogs for some great websites to use. You can also help by testing them when they least expect it...in the car on the way to school; walking around Tesco...just say six sevens? Hopefully, over time, they should be able to respond even quicker!

Science

For the rest of this term, we will continue with our topic on Forces all around us. A particular feature, is the children's ability to differentiate between air resistance and upthrust. Ask your child when they are out and about, if they can tell you the difference between the forces which they observe. Again, previous websites will help support this.

Christmas Preparations

Due to our visitors last week, the preparations for the Christmas productions have been shortened considerably for Foundation, Key Stage One and Years 3/4. So, our PE sessions will be held outside this week. PLEASE ensure that your child has warm, outdoor kit to wear.

Year 5/6 prepare the Carol Service on the last day of term and our 'big' production takes place at the end of the year. We are currently mulling over a couple of ideas, but it will be fantastic - we have some real actors and performers on Year 6 this year!

and finally...

The children have put in a request that I put the recipe on this blog, for the Barfi sweets which they made on Wednesday. Most children loved them! They are a traditional Indian sweet, made for the Hindu festival of Divali, but if you covered them in chocolate, and then put them in the fridge, they taste just like home-made Snickers bars! If you can't find the rose water, just use a herbal tea - we found it works just as well. Enjoy!

Barfi is a popular Indian sweet, which is always made for Hindu Festivals. It is usually made by boiling sugar and milk together. This recipe is much easier to make and it is just as delicious!

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Makes: 20 pieces

Ingredients: 120g honey
120g peanut butter
80g dates, finely chopped
85g milk powder
130g dessicated coconut
70ml rose water

Equipment: large mixing bowl
Small mixing bowl
Greaseproof paper
Cutting knife
Sweet tin

Mix the honey, peanut butter, dates and milk powder in a bowl using your hands. Make the sticky mixture into a non-sticky dough by kneading it.
Roll the dough into a log about 50cm long. Now wash you hands and dry them as well.
Into the small mixing bowl, mix the coconut and the rose water.
Spread out the coconut and the rose water mixture onto the greaseproof paper.
Cur the log in half and roll each half in the coconut so that it covers the log.
Cut each log into 10 pieces and store in the sweet tin. It will keep for a week in the fridge. It tastes best if you take it out of the fridge about an hour before eating it.

Have a good week!

Year 5/6 team.

13th November 2006

2006-11-11T11:04:00.000Z

Phew! What a busy week we had last week, but an enjoyable one. The children worked really hard and are ready for some fantastic activities this week. So, here's what's on the menu...

Literacy

After the fabulous writing the children came up with last week, we are beginning our new theme of Narrative with the children. Put simply, this week will be about writing stories. The children learned how to write some great openers last week and we are looking forward to seeing some of those being applied to alonger piece of writing.

The children will be looking at writing a fairy story, but with a difference. We have a great text to share with the children on MOnday, just to give them a few pointers. You could help at home, by discussing some of the stories that you read with your child when they were younger.

Do they know the 'ingredients' of a fairy story? Where are they usually set? Who are the characters you would expect to meet?

We will be using the story mountain planning frame, so when you hear you child read at home this week, see if they are able to plot that story onto the right section of the mountain.

A couple of websites that may help you support you child at home with this are :

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mff/fractured_fairy.htm fractured fairy tales

http://www.mythfolklore.net/3043mythfolklore/reading/jacobsenglish/pages/01.htm a number of fairy tales that cane be read in 5 minutes each, with comprehension questions included.

http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/english/activities/literature_comp/lit_comp_home.htm literacy comprehension based on excerpts from children’s novels

Numeracy

This week in numeracy, each group is working on some very practical aspects of maths. In Mrs Millington's group, they will focussing on angles; Miss Wilson's group will be looking at shape and area/perimeter and Mrs Worrall's group will be continuing their theme of measurement, but with a focus on time, particularly the 24 hour clock.

Some practical ways of helping at home this week -

Ask your child to find the area of your living room. Tell them that you would like a new carpet fitted for Christmas and that you need them to calculate the area and then work out how much it is likely to cost.

For time, you could use the newspaper, teletext, Freeview/Sky listing, and ask your child to work out what time 'Corrie' starts using the 24 hour clock.

As usual, please keep plugging away at the time tables. We are certainly starting to see a difference in the children, as their confidence seems to be increasing as they can recall the facts much quicker.Keep Going...it IS working!!

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/measures.htm#Time time games

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/PerimeterExplorer/?version=1.5.0_06&browser=MSIE&vendor=Sun_Microsystems_Inc. perimeter explorer

http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/games/perimeterarea/perimeterarea.html build your own spaceship – shows the links between area and perimeter – whilst the area changes, the perimeter stays the same

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/shape.htm#Angles angles games

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/shape.htm#Shapes

http://www.sums.co.uk/playground/hd6a/playground.htm graphs including line graphs

This is a great one - we will be using this at the beginning of our maths lessons this week, and it even has the Coutndown music!

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/countdown/index.htm countdown for maths

Science

In practical science this week, we will be giving the children a question to answer about dissolving. They will also have to predict how they can make the substances dissolve faster, or slow the process down.

In our science topic of Forces, the children will also have some investiagtion work to do, but we don't want to give too much away! All we can say, is that it involves lots of paper and a bucket of paper clips!! All we be revealed next week!

Remember on Monday, that we will be having our parachute competetion, to see which one falls to the ground the slowest and the quickest. We can't wait to see some of the designs.

I have out quite a few links on the blog over the last few weeks, but here are a couple more:

http://www.e4s.org.uk/director/dissolve.htm dissolving salt water

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revisewise/science/physical/

Here I Am

As a Catholic School, we follow an RE scheme called Here I Am. Each term, we devote one week to another world faith. This week, we are looking at Hinduism. There are some lovely stories to read for this topic, and they tie in really well with our work on Fairy Tales/Legends.

On Friday, the Year 3/4 children will be showing us a dance that they did during their week on India. We will also have the opportunity to taste some Indian food on Friday, so please inform us if your child has any food allergies.

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/re/b-dag/ngfl-container/re-unit3-en.html diwali information

http://pof.reonline.org.uk/hindu.php Hinduism information

http://www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/hackney/accounts/staff/religionslt/web/places/hindu/index/ explanation about what a mandir is

ICT

We will be looking at the advantages and disadvantages of using ICT this week. The children will be looking at manipulating graphics in an objects based package and comparing it with pencil and paper methods.

Have a look at these sites, which explain things in a bit more detail.

http://www.train.stockton.gov.uk/pages/viewpage.asp?uniqid=1848

http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/qca/ks2/unit5A/graphicalmodelling/index.html

Geography

We love this week! The children blend their art, RE, Geography, music and we even do some cooking! The children will use a map of the world to locate where different foods come from. They have to use their knowledge from last week about where the different mountain ranges are, to be able to locate the countries and continents. Whilst doing all this, the children will be listening a variety of Indian music, to link in with their topic on Hinduism. The children will also be making some coconut barfi. These are Indian sweets, which the children will be eating at our Indian party on Friday.

We will be using some brilliant on-line resources too, but please do be patient. They do take quite a long time to download, but they are worth the wait...particularly the talking alien!

http://www.channel4.com/apps26/learning/microsites/E/essentials/geography/units/mount_bi.shtml

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/mappingourworld/mapping_our_world/l/lesson1/index.htm

http://mapzone.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/pagesHomeworkHelp/resources/ download the maps and plot where the mountains should go on the world maps

http://mapzone.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/pagesHomeworkHelp/maptivity/ map games – look likes a playstation game where you have to load dvds

Primary Spanish

Last year, as you are aware, the children in 5/6 began to learn some French as a modern foreign language. We still use the Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes brain break! This year, the children will have the opportunity of learning Spanish. We have forged some really strong links with schools in Spain and we hope to begin video-conferncing with them in the near future.

We will be starting some of the language basics this week, so I have included a few websites for you to brush up on that holiday vocabulary! Don't worry, there are videos there to help with pronunciation!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/lj/itinerary.shtml

http://www.espanol-extra.co.uk/

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/ontheline/explore/journey/spain/spindex.htm cultural information about Spain

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryspanish/

http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/languages/Goldilocks/Spanish/Rubiales2.html
Can you spot the words that mean the same as mum, dad, porridge, big and small?

Just a final note. Thank you to all the parents who have made sure that their child has thier PE kit in school. We still have a few children who haven't brought in the outdoor kit, so let's aim for 100% next week!

Have a good week.

5/6 team

6th November 2006

2006-11-04T11:33:00.000Z

Literacy

This week, we have lots of activities to get through, and the children should really get into the swing of writing, through a variety of exciting lessons. We had some fantastic INSET training from an inspirational trainer called Alan Peat last week. The teachers are all really keen to use some of these ideas with the children and so all three classes will be using some of the ideas this week during our literacy lessons.

Just to give you a couple of pointers as to how you can help improve your child's writing, here are a few ideas for you to try...

2A sentences - Have they added 2 adjectives BEFORE the noun and 2 adjectives AFTER the noun? It was a house with a garden - becomes - It was an old, creaky house, with an overgrown weedy garden.

Similes - Her eyes shone like diamonds. These can be improved, by adding a WHERE and WHEN phrase after the simile.
Her eyes shone like diamonds, sparkling in the jeweller's shop window on a cold, crisp December evening.

Try to see if your child can find any of these in their reading books, which they could use in their own writing. Please ask them to record any that they find, in their reading diaries. It will help to provide them with a bank of ideas, that they can use for any writing that they are asked to do at home.

Science

We are continuing our topic of Forces this week. The children will be asked to name the different forces acting on a object, both in and out of water. They should be able to explain that the force pushing upwards on an object in water is called 'upthrust'. The force pushing upwards on an object in air, is called 'air resistance'.
The children will be expected to choose their own method of presenting their results, but also be able to tell a friend about what they have learned.

We will also be investigating whether or not all metals are magnetic. The children will be given the resources and the investigation question, but they will have to work out the best way of finding out the answer for themselves!

Geography

The children will be finding out about different mountain ranges across the world. By the end of the week, they will be expected to be able to name them, locate them on a map of the world and be able to name the country and continent that they are found in.

It would be a big help, if you were able to look at an atlas with your child. Some of the picture atlases can be quite basic at this level, but they are a good starting point for the initial location of the mountain ranges. It is also a good idea, to compare the more simple atlases with the more complicated ones, that show the variety of types of maps for each country.

Linked to this work, we will be asking the children to listen to music from around the world and suggest where it may have come from. They will also have the opportunity to have a go at recreating some of the music themselves, using percussion instruments and the keyboard! We can't wait to hear some of the finished compositions!

Just a few items for the diary for you this week:
Mrs Worrall will be on a course on Tuesday afternoon.
Miss Wilson will be following a Spanish course on Wednesday.
Mrs Millington has her AST outreach day on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Year 5 children will have week 5 of their dance course. In the afternoon, Year 6 will be taking part in the drama workshops by Mrs Robinson from St Gregory's.

Since the weather seems to have changed this week, it would be great if you were able to send in the children's outdoor PE kits. This can be any jogging pants and a sweatshirt. At this time of year, there are lots of demands on the hall, due to Christmas production rehearsals etc., and so it is important that the children are given as many possibilities to have their PE sessions. We will be going outside UNLESS it is raining. Thank you for your support with this.

Finally, we have a plea! For a number of weeks, we have had a dwindling number of children bringing their homework into school. As a reminder, Literacy and Numeracy homework is given on a Monday and Science is given on a Wednesday. In Year 5/6, we encourage the children to be as independent as possible, and so if they don't receive a homework sheet on Mondays, they MUST come and ask one of the staff for a copy the following day. This is an important part of their preparation for High School. If there any difficulties in completing the homework, or handing it in on time, then please do write a note in your child's diary, so we know that you are aware of it. Thank you to the parents who take the time to write notes to us about the homework in the diaries. It really does encourage us to know that the work we are going in school, is supported at home.

Have a good week!

Year 5/6 team

30th October

2006-10-27T16:49:00.000Z

Welcome back! I hope you all had a relaxing half term break and managed to recharge those batteries. Hopefully the extra hour on Sunday will have helped too!

We have a really busy half term ahead of us, and every day will be full of exciting, but challenging activities for us to do. In Year 5/6, we don't perform a Christmas production, but we do prepare the Christmas Carol Service on the last day of term before Christmas. You will be more than welcome to attend this and we will send details out nearer the time. Years 5/6 will be performing something fantastic and memorable at the end of the year...we are still humming the tunes from 'Joseph' from last summer!

Literacy

This half term, begins with an introduction to Classical poetry. We will be looking at the work of some established authors and attempting to emulate their styles in our own poetry.
They will also be investigating some writing effects such as personification and the correct use of similes.

The children will be encouraged to work in their teams to discuss the literature and suggest some possible improvements. Some of the vocabulary which they will come across, will be very challenging, so please don't worry if they tell you that their work is 'hard' at the moment - that is the case for everyone and this unit will run for a couple of weeks. By the end of it, as is our experience, the children will be looking for their own examples of classical poetry to 'translate' !

http://www.poemhunter.com/classics/
This site will be really useful when the children discover some of the favourite authors. It is also great as a resource to help practice their handwriting at speed.

http://www.manythings.org/proverbs/
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/reference/house.htm
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/index.htm This is an American site, but the activities are still well worth a look.
http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/html/fiction/my_monster/index.htm This is just for fun poetry!
http://www.nwlg.org/pages/resources/caterpillar/caterpillar.html Can you put this poem back in the right order? Just drap and drop the sentences onto the notepaper
http://www.rhymezone.com/ this is really useful when trying to think of a word that rhymes with...? It also is a really useful tool when looking for similes, homophones and phrases to use in a poem. We will be using this is school this week!

Numeracy

There's no getting away from it...we all need to know our times tables, inside out, back to front. upside down and standing on our heads!! Virtually everything that we do in years 5 and 6 needs the knowledge of times tables. If the children have these facts to hand, then lots of other things in numeracy will suddenly become so much clearer.
So, we are having a really big push on learning them once again. Even if your child USED TO KNOW them, if they are not used on a regular basis, they will very quickly lose that knowledge. Some of the children in my maths group actually test ME, so I have to practice too!!

I have put lots of links on this blog over the last few months, but here are just a few more to keep those skills sharp...(and just in case your children start to test you too!!)

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/testtest.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/multiplication/mental/flash2.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/multiplication/mental/flash4.shtml
http://www.deltamicro.co.uk/primary_online/tablechant.html Remember to add in the tables that you want to practice. The changes are really quick, so if you can keep up, then you are well on your way to knowing them reliably!
http://www.crick.northants.sch.uk/assets/Flash%20Studio/cfsmaths/Toolkit/Toolkit.htm
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/timestable/index.html There are lots of ideas for times tables on this site. Start with the tables that your child already knows in order to help them build their confidence. Then move on to just one table per week. That way, in 12 weeks, they will know them all!
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/timestable/interactive.htm These are the games that we play on the interactive whiteboard as warm-ups to our numeracy lessons. Expect some giggles, especially with 'Moon Maths'!

Science

We will be investigating forces this half term. The children will be expected to know about the gravitational pull of the Earth on objects and be able to tell which forces are balanced and unbalanced. They will be using a piece of equipment called a 'forcemeter' or it is sometimes known as a 'newtonmeter'. They should also be able to tell you that a force is measured in Newtons.

http://www.engineeringinteract.org/resources/parkworldplot/flash/concepts/balancedandun.htm This is a brilliant game for children, which test all aspects of this unit. Beware though - it does take around 30 minutes to complete the whole game!
http://www.engineeringinteract.org/resources/parkworldplot/flash/concepts/friction.htm Again, the same as the last link, but this is based on the topic of friction.
http://www.engineeringinteract.org/resources/parkworldplot/flash/concepts/allaboutforces.htm We will be using this in school on Monday, so if you think your child might benefit from a head start, then have fun!
http://www.edheads.org/activities/odd_machine/index.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/10_11/forces_action_fs.shtml

Geography

We are beginning our topic about Mountain environments. It would be great if you could collect some photographs or pictures showing different mountain ranges from across the world.

http://www.globaleye.org.uk/primary/focuson/index.html
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
http://www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/haringey/web/teachers%20section/KS2/Geography/Staffroom/Unit%2015%20The%20mountain%20environment/

Technology

This term, the children will have to design and make their own slippers. This is always a fun activity for the children and many choose to wear them in school! In order to help us with this, the children will need to 'take apart' an exisiting pair of slippers to see how they are manufactured. If you are able to provide an OLD pair of slippers, then that would be fantastic.

As you can see, we have a very busy week ahead of us. On top of all this, the children will be starting gymnastics for their PE lessons. The Year 5 children, will be continuing their dance sessions on Tuesdays and the Year 6 children will be carrying on with the drama sessions from St. Greg's next Tuesday.

There have been a number of children who haven't had a PE kit in school for a number of weeks and have had to 'borrow' kit from other children. Although PE sessions normally happen on Tuesdays, we also have sessions on Wednesday, so please ensure that your child is prepared with their kit EVERY day.

Have a great week!

5/6 team.

Half Term

2006-10-19T20:01:00.000Z

First of all, a big thank you to everyone who attended parent's evening last week. We hope that you found the target sheets and handouts useful. We always welcome any feedback from parents about anything which you feel would help you to support your child's learning, so if you have any suggestions about the things which you would like to see, please let us know and we will do our utmost to address them.

A few recurring queries came up during the parent/teacher interviews, so we have tried to address them in this week's blog. If the answer you are looking for isn't here, please do contact any of the 5/6 team, who will be able to help.

weekly reading targets are given in your child's diary. This is their focus for the reading for that week. Any questions which you ask them about the text, should be focussed mainly on this target
high frequency words are checked by the teacher on a regular basis. If you see 'TW's' in the diary, this mean 'target words' or the words which your child is working on that week. Your child's teacher will tick off the words on the sheets at the front of the diary, when the have spelt the world correctly on three separate occasions.
we love to read YOUR comments in your child's diary and we will always reply to them on the day they are received. If there is something particularly urgent, then please encourage your child to actually hand it to the teacher, or telephone school if you are unable to call in.
the diary can be used for ANY communication, not just reading. If your child would benefit from some extra work in numeracy for example, this will be recorded in there.
we hope to organise a number of workshops over the coming months for numeracy. You will need to bring your pencil cases, as they will be very interactive and you will all have the opportunity to 'have a go'!!

There are lots of websites on previous blogs for you to refer to, in order to support your child's learning, so please do have a look back to see which ones you can use over the holidays. Just to give you a little advance notice, the children will be doing lots of practical work next half term, so they will need an old shirt for any 'creative' work we may be doing.

The children will also need an old pair of slippers in school for the next half term. They will have to cut them up at some point, so the older the better! There will also be a pyjama day, where we test out the best materials for comfort and practicality - we are looking forward to that day!!!

Look out for the details for the first week of the new half term next weekend. Have a happy and safe holiday. We return to school on Monday 30th October at 8.45am.

16th October

2006-10-14T06:47:00.000Z

Well, can you believe it? We have reached the end of the first half term and we have managed to get through so much! We are very proud of all the children for the effort and dedication they have put in over the last 7 weeks, and know that they will continue for the rest of the year.

Parent's evening

You should have received a letter this week informing you of your time slot for parent's evenings on either Wednesday or Thursday evening this week. If not, please see your child's classteacher on Monday. Each slot is 5 minutes, since there are 30 children in each class. Should you require a longer appointment, then we will be happy to arrange another appointment at a later date, Many thanks for your co-operation with this.
As a point to note, the 5/6 team will be arranging a workshop for parents about what you can do to support your child during the SATs preparation in the near future. This will include lots of information about the actual tests and will be very interactive! Be prepared to have a go at some questions yourself!

Literacy

This week, we will be finishing our autobiography and biography genre. The children have been 'hotseating' a book character, where they are in role as that character, and have to answer questions AS that character. They have thoroughly enjoyed this and have produced some fantastic interviews. This week, the children will be using their ICT skills to produced their own autobiography. They will be asked to take a photograph of each other and use the image to make a front cover of their autobiography. They will also use their word-processing skills to type the first chapter of the book.

Numeracy

The week before every half term, will be an assessment week for numeracy. We will be checking how much the children are able to recall from the work over the last half term. Please let us know whether you have found the numeracy newsletter from Mrs Worrall's maths group useful to support your child's learning. We hope to role this out over all the groups in year 5/6 after the half term.
We are having a real push on the children knowing their times tables, with the focus being on one table per week. Children who already know their tables, have a distinct advantage, as many areas of numeracy rely on this knowledge to move them forward.
By the end of this week, you will also receive a 'bubble' sheet for numeracy. These contain all the mental maths objectives that your child will need to knoow by the end of the year.

Science

We will be finishing our topic on reversible and irreversible change this week. The children will be expected to complete some SATs style questions on the subject. Ask them if they can explain the following words to you at home:

evaporation; condensation; filtering; solution; sieving; dissolving

Problem solving

The children will be given a problem to solve about the Aztecs this week and they will have to come up with their own solution. It will be based on something which actually happened, but we want to see how the children would solve the problem themselves, if they had actually been in that situation. At the end of the week, we will let the children see what actually happened, and they will be able to compare their own solution with reality. Of course, we know that their's will be much better!!

Diaries

A big thank you to all parents who are checking and signing the diaries on a regular basis. There is lots of information in there, which is specific to your child, including their individual reading target, high-frequency word checks and help with numeracy etc. It is checked regularly and any comments which you make are always followed up by your child's teacher. Although we appreciate it is difficult to get your child to read out loud in years 5/6, you can ask them to predict what may happen next, or to recount to you what happened in the last chapter. Try reading the last few pages of their reading book when they have gone to bed, and asking them a few questions about it in the morning over cornflakes!
We love to read ANY comments from you and would love to read more!

Have a good week and a great half term! We return to school on Monday 30th October at 8.45am.

9th October 2006

2006-10-07T15:12:00.000Z

What a fabulous week we had last week. We had some visitors in school, who made some really complimentary comments about our children. On Thursday, Mrs Millington's class had some 'experts' in, to work with the children about developing the 'Mantle of the Expert'. You may have heard your child talking about 'Dr. Barker' and him working for the British Museum! This was all part of the drama and a way in which your child was learning some very sophisticated styles of learning. We were amazed at how ALL of the children got involved and produced some amazing discussions. We will keep you up to date with how the 'drama' continues over the next couple of weeks!
Our second visitor, who came into school on Friday, was the Mayor of Warrington, Cllr. Direr and her consort. As you may know, the children are taking part in a lengthly project, to improve our local environment. They had come up with some questions which they wanted to put to her, about the council's perspective on certain environmental issues. She commented on how articulate the children were and how we definitely had some budding Jeremy Paxman's in our midst!

Diary

This week, we have a number of things happening in school, which you should already have received a letter about.
On Thursday, all of the juniors will be visiting Penketh South for the Kinetic Theatre company's production about Science. We saw a similar show a few years ago, and it prompted some brilliant science work, so we look forward to the same happening this time round.
On Friday, we shall be having our Harvest Festival Mass in the school hall at 9.00am. Parents and Friends of St. Vincent's are most welcome to attend. Thank you so much for all the donations which have been made towards our harvest display. A representative from St. Joseph's Family Centre will be coming into school next week, to explain to the children where all their donations go.
On Tuesday, and for the next 6 weeks our Year 5 children will have the opportunity of working with a visiting dance specialist. They will learning lots of different techniques and hopefully will be able to show a finished product by the end of the course.
Also on Tuesday, we say a sad farewell to two of our pupils in Year 4 and Year 6, who are off to start their new life in Australia. We wish them all the luck and best wishes in the world and wish them a safe journey. Please look in your child's diary for more information !!!!

With all of this going on, it is going to be a packed week fitting in all the curriculum!!

Literacy

We continue our theme of Autobiography anhd Biography. The children really seem to have taken this on board and have brought some fantastic examples into school for us all to share. If you would like to investigate further at home, you could visit...

http://www.roalddahl.com/ the sounds on this site are really loud, but great for helping children to navigate around
http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/dickkingsmith/
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=421 We will be asking the children to write their own autobiographies over the holidays, so this site (which is primary aimed at teachers) will give some ideas of how you could make a start collecting the information your child might need

We are also having a real push on learning and spelling the High Frequency words, both during a test AND in their independent writing. The lists of words that your child is currently working on, is stuck in the front cover of their diaries, but do keep going back to words which have previously been ticked off. You will be amazed at how quickly children do forget them, particularly if they haven't used them for a while.

http://www.primarygames.co.uk/pg2/wwout/workout1res.html This is an evaluation copy, but it's still a great game to use
http://www.primarygames.co.uk/pg2/scrambled/scrambled.html Again, an evaluation copy, but it is quite difficult - even I had to think about some of them!
http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/lit_sites/plurals/pl_4/plurals4.htm
This will help the children this week, as we are looking at how words that end in an 'f' change when they are put into their plural form.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/spelling/plurals/pluralrules/index.shtml this site will help your child to brush up on all the skills they have learned so far about plurals. How quickly can they identify the strategy they have to use?

Numeracy

We have been working really hard on our numeracy sessions with the children and they are beginning to get to grips with some of the more difficult concepts. They could be boosted even further, by constant revision of the basic skills. This includes knowledge of the time tables, number bonds to 10, 100 and 100; working out change from £1 and £10 and place value.
In order to help with this, there are a number of websites to improve those basics. It is best, if you talk through the answers with your child and find out HOW they arrived at their answer. Quite often, although they get the wrong answer, they have used the correct strategy, and so it may be a simple addition which had tripped them up, not they can't do any of the problems.

http://www.ictgames.com/technowithflock.html This is a real giggler! It shows how to use a number line for addition and subtraction
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/maths/big%20sums/big%20sums%20add.html Move the numbers up to 99 on each card to help find the missing number
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/addsubtract/mental/flash7.shtml mental calculations - practicalities!!
http://www.ictgames.com/spitfireufo.html shoot the correct answer for the times tables
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/multiplication/written/flash2.shtml multiplying my partitioning
http://www.kidsolr.com/math/fractions.html

These are just a few of the resources which we use in school, so your child should be familiar with them all. We intent to send more 'hints and tips' out at parents evening, as well as written activities for you to try.

As you can see, we have an incredibly busy week ahead of us in school. Homework has been handed out every Monday for Literacy and Numeracy and Wednesdays for Science. It is helpful for us, if you could ensure that your child returns their homework on the appropriate day, so that it can be amrked and returned on time. It is also a vital part of their preparation for high school.
Please could you also ensure that the following letters and slips are returned as soon as possible:

pantomine slips and monies
parent's evening slips
science show slip and contribution

Looking forward to a great week!

5/6 team.

2nd October 2006

2006-10-01T06:39:00.000Z

Conway

The Year 6 children returned from the Conway Centre on Thursday night and by all accounts, a good time was had by all! We can't wait to see some of the photographs and I'm sure the children will have lots of stories about the activities (and the dormitories) to tell us this week! The children will be preparing a presentation about their time to show you in the near future. We will let you know a date as soon as possible.

Junior Area

Whilst the Year 6 children were in Conway last week, the Year 5's worked really hard to transform the area outside the 5/6 classrooms. We were very impressed at how many ideas the children came up with - we nearly had to stay in school until 8pm every day, just to get through them! They are now very protective over their new displays and even guard them during breaktimes! It's great to see the children taking such a pride in their work!

Fire Service Visit

On Tuesday afternoon this week, the Year 5 children will be taking part in an interactive visit from the Fire Service. They will watch a video about causes of fire and possible preventions and following this, they will take part in a smoke tent activity. This 'smoke' is entirely safe as it is synthetic, but will give the children a real sense of what to do if they were ever in such a situation. You should have received a permission letter last week for this and we would br grateful if you could send it in as soon as possible.

Literacy

This week, we are looking at biographical and autobiographical writing. We are looking at biographies of authors such as Roald Dahl, Dick King-Smith and even Charles Dickens! This is a really interesting genre to investigate because of the diversity in each subject.
The children are really trying to get to grips with writing and we are encouraging them to really think about the small pieces of information that an author gives, that really brings a story to life. Try to get your child to think about 'time connectives and phrases' to help the reader get a picture of what is happening in their heads.

...as the last glimmer of sunshine disappeared from the sky...
...as the final drop of dew evaporated from the caterpillar-gnawed leaf...

http://www.athena.bham.org.uk/autob.htm
This website helps to identify some of the key featurres of an autobiographical text. These are the things we will be looking for when we mark the children's writing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/grammar/interestsentences/compoundsentences/
This site from the BBC, allows the children to have a go at making longer sentences, using some of the time phrases and connectives from the literacy lesson.

Science

This week, we are investigating the difference using different water temperatures has on the time it takes a solid to dissolve. We will be reading the temperature from a thermometer in centigrade and then converting it to fahrenheit. The children will also have to use a stop watch to ensure that they are conducting a fair test, along with reading a scale on measuring cylinders to make sure they are using the same volume of water for each test.
As well as all this, they will need to plot all their results on a graph to show what happened over time.

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/grapher.html
http://www.coppschool.lancsngfl.ac.uk/blackbar.htm?/Classwork/Classwork/Class3/maths/data.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/mathsfile/shockwave/games/datapick.html

These sites help support the work we are doing in graphs, particularly line graphs. You could help by asking your child to show you which axis the numbers should be on. We have done lots of work on Tally charts, so they should be able to tell you how to transfer this information onto a bar chart.

http://www.e4s.org.uk/director/dissolve.htm An online experiment which shows the effect of heat on water.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/measuring/temperature/index.shtml reading thermometers
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/keeping_warm_fs.shtml

Foundation Subjects

We really do have some talented artists this year, so we are really looking forward to some of the work which will be produced. This week, the children will be using a variety of media to produce an image of a landscape. We will also be investigating how to give an image depth, by using perspective in a drawing.

http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/play/landscape1/index.html This is really good website for showing the children completed pictures.

In ICT, we are looking at using databases to record information about ourselves. The children will need to know what a field, file and a record is and be able to input this information into a database. This work also links with all the work on reading scales and graph work this week.

For the rest of this term, we are investigating the ancient civilisation of the Aztecs. This week, the children will be archaeologists, who discover a suitcase, filled with artefacts from a dig. They have to find out where they came from, and show the rest of the class what they think happened for them to get into the suitcase!

http://home.freeuk.net/elloughton13/aztecs.htm A Great site from Snaith Primary, which gives lots of information about the Aztecs for research.

It will be a busy week, but one which the children are sure to enjoy!!

5/6 Team.