Week Beginning 5th November 2007

Remember, remember the 5th of November, because it's going to be the start of another exciting week in year 5/6!!!!
Seriously though, the children brought home a letter about firework safety on Friday so please make sure they read it and stick to the rules for a happy and safe Guy Fawkes night.

We hit the groud running last week and got straight back into our learning. We finished our topic on Roald Dahl by writing a story in the style of Roald Dahl, we had a lot fun thinking about the types of characters to include and making up our own nonsense words, we ended up with some really interesting stories.

LITERACY:
We are really excited this week as we move onto a new topic in Literacy. We all love writing poetry and this is what we will be concentrating on.
This topic relates well to RE, in that it gives the children the opportunity to find out about another religion. The topic gives children the opportunity to reflect and provides steps towards writing poems in different styles. The children read four types of poems – acrostic, free verse, repeated pattern and poem with personification. In each case they read, analyse, build up a writer’s toolkit and write a poem in the same style. In between the poems, sound and visuals related to Hindu pilgrimage provide a rich stimulus.
This sequence requires children to reflect deeply at times and teachers may find it useful to use some basic ‘stilling exercises’ involving visualisation or meditation to help children achieve the right mood for discussion.
This is a 2 week poetry unit and children will be expected to learn the following…..
Phase 1
Should demonstrate understanding of the differences between literal and figurative language (teacher observation).
Could demonstrate understanding of the differences between literal and figurative language and use the text to explain the effects of imagery in a poem (teacher observation).
Phase 2
Must reflect on how working in role helps to explore some of the complex issues within a poem; (teacher observation, self-assessment).
Should reflect on how working in role helps to explore some of the complex issues within a poem; and begin to demonstrate understanding of characters, language and plot to write in the first person (teacher observation, self-assessment).
Could reflect on how working in role helps to explore some of the complex issues within a poem; demonstrate understanding of characters, language and plot to write in the first person (teacher observation, self-assessment).
Phase 3
Must demonstrate the ability to work as a member of a group to plan, perform and evaluate a choral performance of a poem; (teacher assessment, feedback against agreed success criteria).
Should demonstrate the ability to work as a member of a group to plan, perform and evaluate a choral performance of a poem; and begin to demonstrate the ability to evaluate and improve performances in the light of comments from others (teacher assessment, feedback against agreed success criteria).
Could demonstrate the ability to work as a member of a group to plan, perform and evaluate a choral performance of a poem; demonstrate the ability to evaluate and improve performances in the light of comments from others (teacher assessment, feedback against agreed success criteria).

MATHS

Mrs Millington’s group will be Using a protractor to measure and draw acute and obtuse angles and learning to Calculate angles in a triangle.
By the end of the week they should be able to….
Use a protractor to measure and draw acute and obtuse angles to the nearest degree

Consolidate the estimation of an angle in degrees

Measure and calculate angles at a point
Make and investigate a general statement about familiar numbers or shapes by finding examples that satisfy it

Recognise that the sum of the angles of a triangle is 180 degrees

Calculate angles in a triangle

Recognise and explain patterns and relationships, generalise and predict

Miss Wright's and Mrs Morgan's group will be looking at reflective symmetry and the properties of 3d shapes.

By the end of this week they should be able to understand the terms 'reflective symmetry' and 'axis of symmetry'.

Recognise reflective symmetry in regular shapes.

Reconise where a shape will be after reflection in a mirror line parallel to one side.

Complete symmetrical patterns with two lines of symmetry at right angles.

Rehearse the names and properties of common 3D shapes.

Rehearse the terms 'polyhedron', 'tetrahedron' and begin to use 'octahedron'.

Visualise 3D shapes from 2D drawings and identify different nets for an open cube.

This seems a lot to get through and we will aim to get through it in one week but we may need to carry it onto next week depending on the children's learning.

You may have seen some children in the newsletter this week for gaining a gold certificate in their timestables award. These children are from Mr Barker's and Mrs Millington's groups and have got a 100% on a timed, times tables test for a number of weeks on the run.
Mrs Morgan's and Miss Wright's group have started their tests this week so get learning your tables children and you too could be famous!!

Here are some websites to help:-
Times tables
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/timestable/index.html
http://www.crick.northants.sch.uk/assets/Flash%20Studio/cfsmaths/Toolkit/Toolkit.htm
http://www.woodlands-junior.http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/timestable/interactive.htmkent.sch.uk/maths/timestable/index.html

Science

We had planned to start our new topic of the Earth and beyond last week but after reviewing the last topic we decided that the children needed more rewiew time in order to remember the facts.
The children have worked in groups and organised a 10 minute lesson that they are going to teach to the year 1/2 children on Friday. They really love to do this and get really excited and all 4 year groups get a lot out of it. So make sure you have prepared all your resources children as come Friday the roles are reveresed and you get to see what an enjoyable job we have!!

Topic

Last weeks blog is still relevent for our topic work so take a look at that for a better idea.

Here I am

We are starting our new topic of visitors, this will be in the run up to Christmas and will lead up to taking about a very special visitor that was born on Christmas day!!

Mrs Millington’s Class may approach their topic learning slightly differently this term than the other 2 classes. Mrs Millington has been involved in training for developing realistic learning contexts through Drama, particularly a system known as Mantle of the Expert, developed by the inspirational, gifted and internationally renowned Educator
Dorothy Heathcote.
In a Mantle of the Expert, a fictional world is created in which the children all have roles as an expert in a particular field. Their presumed expertise develops into a genuine expertise in certain areas of learning (some of them pre-planned by the teacher) and their understanding of certain concepts (again, planned by the teacher) is greatly enhanced. Almost any area of the curriculum could be taught through a Mantle of the Expert.
Her Class this year, will be running their own Missing Person ‘Private Investigator’ Company through which they will eventually try to solve the mystery of what happened to the illustrator ‘Harris Burdick’. This is a brilliant story…
Apparently Chris Van Allsburg (the author of the mysteries) came across the pictures of Harris Burdick through a friend, Peter Wenders. Apparently, Burdick presented the pictures with their titles and captions to Wenders in hopes that Wenders would be interested in purchasing the stories that accompanied the illustrations. Wenders was intrigued by the pictures and asked Burdick to submit the corresponding stories the next day. However, Wenders never heard from Harris Burdick again, so the "true" stories behind the pictures were never revealed.
The illustrations are fantastic and very thought provoking. Type ‘Harris Burdick’ into any search engine and a wealth of information about the story should come up.
For further information about the mantle of the expert, please go to www.mantleoftheexpert.com.
Watch this space to see how they get on!relevent for our topic work this week so take a look at that for a better idea.

Finally can we make a plea for all outstanding money and slips to be sent in for the MEN Area, we really need to know numbers as we have to order the t-shirts and book the coaches by Monday.

Have a great week and enjoy the fireworks safely.

Year 5/6 team.