Dear Parents and Children,
We hope that you have had a lovely Easter and are all keeping safe and well. Each week, we will now set you 5 English and Maths lessons and then give you a choice of 2 or 3 Foundation subject options to choose from. It’s important to try to keep your Maths and English skills ticking over so the work will always be aspects of learning that we have covered before – we don’t expect you to try to learn anything new while at home as this isn’t fair on you as children or parents. Please do not let any aspect of the work cause you stress or worry. We can each be contacted by email if there is something that you are struggling with but you can rest assured that everything will be covered again in Keystage 2 and 3. We are not at all worried about anyone falling behind but we do worry that children and parents may be struggling with home learning. Please do not let work cause arguments or stress. Choose tasks which you think you will enjoy; try your best and if something is tricky, remember that it will be covered again in school.
Remember you can use the online resources which have already been mentioned in previous weeks if you haven’t done so already. Don’t forget Fiction Express, My Maths and Times Tables Rockstars.
For English, here are 5 tasks to keep your skills ticking over:
1. Send an email to your teacher(Remember to copy your parents in too.) j.hall@wransom.herts.sch.uk l.mitchell@wransom.herts.sch.uk v.duncan@wransom.herts.sch.uk
We are missing you lots and would love to hear what you have been doing since we saw you last. Remember to use Standard English and keep the tone formal. Can you include a range of punctuation and some ambitious vocabulary? Consider answering some of the following questions:
What parts of home learning and lockdown have you enjoyed?
Have you done any work that you are particularly proud of or is there anything that you have found tricky?
Which websites have you used and how have you found them?
What are you missing about school?
Have you got any other interesting news to tell us?
2. Tackle the reading comprehension below. Choose your own level – easy or hard. You can then mark your own or ask a family member to grab a red pen.
3. Use the image below as an inspiration for some writing. Here are some ideas but feel free to use your imagination and choose your own. Big Write or story based at the funfair; Piece of descriptive writing uses the senses; Poster using persuasive techniques to get people to come to Hitchin fair; A Haiku or poem about funfairs (maybe even a performance poem which you could film – think about Michael Rosen and watch some of his poetry – I’m sure he would use his face very expressively to describe riding on a ghost train!)
4. SPAG Day – Use this website to revise some of the work we have done on verbs. Watch the tutorials and then try the activities. What is a verb? What is a passive verb? What is a modal verb?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zwwp8mn
5. SPELLINGS – Here are two powerpoints to practise spellings. Choose your own level. You know whether you find spelling easy or not. The harder ones are Year 5/6 but the Year 3/4 Powerpoint has words which many of you still spell incorrectly. You could even do both if you’re really bored!
Mrs Mitchell’s maths group – I have put up some homework tasks in MyMaths and have left feedback on the tasks you have done so far. Please take the time to go back over any tasks that need more work by looking at the relevant lessons linked to the topic in MyMaths and then doing the homework task again: that’s how the learning happens! Some of you have been very busy indeed – great work! All the work set this week is related to units of measurement and converting between them. There shouldn’t be anything new in this as it is all work we have covered this year, but if you are completely stuck please let me know.
Mrs Wheat’s maths group – I hope you have all had a lovely Easter and are feeling refreshed and ready for your next lot of home schooling. Well done to everyone that has completed the MyMaths tasks I set you previously but there are still a few of you that have some outstanding tasks that you have not completed yet. I can see some of you have struggled with the work that I set on algebra and equations – don’t worry. I will be sure to cover this again.
This week, you will be looking at angles. I would like you to complete the daily lessons that have been set on WhiteRose and these can be found here: https://whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/year-6/
Work your way through the daily lessons for the ‘Summer term, week 1, w/c 20th April unit. These all start with ‘Flashback in 4’ where you will be recapping topics we have covered already this year. Be sure to pause the tutorial at the necessary points and answer the questions in the book we provided you with. The first question for Monday’s lesson requires a protractor but if you don’t have one, don’t worry as you can estimate the angles instead. Tuesday’s worksheet also has one question where it asks you to measure some angles. Again, if you don’t have one, don’t worry as you can estimate these too. Friday’s maths lesson is different to the rest of the week and is in the form of a maths challenge so see how you get on with that task too.
In addition to the WhiteRose tutorials and worksheets, I will also set you a few tasks on MyMaths which I will release throughout the week. These will be based on the work you will have completed on WhiteRose and will give me some indication on how well you have understood the topic so please don’t forget to complete these. For each week that we stay off, I will continue to set you work in a similar way so please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have a problem with anything.
Remember just try your best and keep up the great work everyone!
Mrs Hall’s Maths Group – well done! Most of you have completed all of the Mymaths work set so far. I will continue to set tasks this week. I would also like you to use the White Rose resources on adding and subtracting decimal numbers for the ‘Summer term, week 1, w/c 20th April unit.
https://whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/year-5/
Design and technology – Your DT challenge for this week, which is completely optional, is building on our work on eating locally and seasonally. Can you make vegetable soup, using local ingredients if possible? If you need inspiration, head to bbcgoodfood.com and type in easy vegetable soup: there are hundreds of recipes to choose from. The great thing about soup is you can make it with just about any vegetable. Check with your parents what needs using up and base your recipe around that – then you’ll be eating sustainably too! Pick a time to cook when the kitchen isn’t going to be needed and ask for an adult to be nearby when you’re using sharp knives and thecooker – but try to do as much as possible yourself. Happy cooking! When you’ve finished, please write up the recipe in your home learning journal, then sample it and write a review. Please send us a picture of your creation and we’ll send you one back of our efforts!
Art and design – An optional art challenge for you this week. Have you ever made papier mache? You will need: old newspapers or magazines, flour, a mixing bowl to mix your paste in, a spoon to stir it with, a plastic bag, tape, and a second bowl to use as your mould. Some poster paints to decorate your finished product would be good too. If you don’t have paints, strips of wrapping paper would work. This is potentially a messy activity, so best done on a sunny day in the back garden if you can. If you’re working indoors, a table covering would be good, or use more newspaper. Once you’ve collected all your ingredients together, it’s time to make your paste. This link shows you how:
For those of you who don’t have flour or are allergic to it, PVA glue works well too. Once you have your paste ready, it’s time for the crafty bit. This link shows you how to make a papier mache bowl:
I’d recommend more than two layers if you want a sturdier bowl, building up the layers over more than one day. If you send a photo of your finished creation to Mrs Mitchell, she will send you a picture back of her attempt! Good luck!
Science -This week’s science task is part of the science topic, “Animals Including Humans”. You can find information to support this topic on the powerpoint which can be downloaded here https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/tp2-s-090-planit-science-year-6-animals-including-humans-unit-pack
or by going to twinkl.co.uk, go to the parent hub part of the website and search for Y6 Animals Including Humans Lesson 5. The unit pack will come up with no request for payment.
Read the PowerPoint information for this lesson. You should then be able to answer the following questions: What is the definition of exercise? What are the two main types of exercise? What is the easiest way to measure the amount of exercise undertaken? What does your pulse measure? Your task is then to devise and conduct your own science experiment and record your results. For example, you may decide to measure your pulse before and after doing different types of exercise. Which one do you predict would be the most strenuous? Or you could measure your pulse after 10, 20, then 30 minutes of exercise. What do you predict will happen? Were you right?