Hello Fir Class

We hope you are well. It has been lovely receiving your pictures this week. We are so pleased you joined in with the P.E challenges. Please see below for examples of activities you took part in. We have also received pictures of a Tudor house that one of you made. It is always great to see pictures of what you are making and doing at home. It certainly seems like some of you are really enjoying yourselves and making the most of this time with your families.  

Just two weeks to go now...

All the very best.

Mrs Causer and Miss Miller

English

We have reached the end of our English topics. This week, we are going to read and listen to James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. Each day this week, you should listen to approximately thirty minutes of the story and then complete the activity for that day. I have made a note of the chapters for you, so you will know when to stop the video. By the end of the week, you will have read the whole book. You are able to read and listen along using the link attached. We hope you enjoy it. 

Challenge 1

Watch Chapters 1 - 10. 

Please write three sentences to describe Aunt Sponge and three sentences to describe Aunt Spiker. Look at the pictures below and the words to help you.

Please start each sentence with a capital letter and end each sentence with a full stop. Challenge - Try to include a comma.

Please then read each sentence back to yourself to check it makes sense.  

Challenge 2

Watch Chapters 11 - 17. 

The Glow-worm emits 'a brilliant greenish light as bright as the brightest electric bulb' and lights up the whole room (Chapter 13).

Design an machine, making use of the Glow-worm's light that might be of use in the adventure ahead of James.

Your machine or creation must use light in some way that might help James later on. 

Challenge 3

Watch Chapters 18 - 24. 

At the beginning of Chapter 23, James and the creatures 'all have a marvellous feeling' because they are so proud and happy that they worked together to save the peach. The Glow-work is 'glowing with pleasure'. Can you think of  time when you have felt like this? Describe an achievement you are really proud of and how it made you feel when you manged to succeed. This might be something where you worked with others, or something you did on your own. 

Challenge 4

Watch Chapters 25 - 29. 

Chapter 26 is full of powerful verbs. Do you remember what a verb is? It is a doing word. For example, I play, I run, she listens, he walks, etc. It is the action that someone is doing.  Read the extract below from Chapter 26. Pick out all the verbs you can see. Use five of these verbs in sentences of your own. 

Challenge 5
Watch Chapters 30 - 39. 

You have now heard and read the whole story. Create your own blurb and picture for the back cover of the book. Think about how you will encourage someone to read it with your description. 

Science

For your final task this term, I would like you to create your own sheet of multiple choice questions and answers based on the work we have looked at in class. You practised these last week in the PowerPoint. Now, you are going to create your own. You can use the attached worksheet to help, or you can simply copy the format onto a sheet of paper. It is up to you. I have also included some key vocabulary to help you with your questions. Please try to create at least four questions of your own with four multiple choice answers for each. 

Here is some vocabulary to help you when you design your own questions. Use the words you know to create your questions and answers. 

Humans - Life Cycles and Changes

Puberty

Gestation

Fetus

Toddler

Child

Adolescent 

Teenager

Elderly

Life expectancy

Animals - Life Cycles

Metamorphosis 

Egg

Larva

Pupa

Chrysalis

Caterpillar

Butterfly

Frogspawn 

Froglet

Egg

Hatching

Hatchling

Fledgling

Nestling

Migration 

Bird

Plant - Life Cycles

Germination

Roots

Leaves

Flowers

Seeds

Pollen

Dispersal 

Habitats

Jane Goodall

Mammal

Amphibian

Insect

Bird

Plant

Rainforest

Environment

Religious Studies

We have now reached the end of this topic. For your final task I would like you to read through the two attached PowerPoint presentations on Christianity and Judaism. You don't need to write any answers down as you read through - you can just think about them or discuss the questions with someone. 

I would like you to discuss this question with someone: 

Is religion what you say or do? 

For example, if I said I was a Christian, but didn't ever visit a church, would I still be considered a Christian?

What about if I went to church every week, but in my heart I didn't believe? I would be calling myself a Christian as I was going to church, but would I really be one? 

Please have a think about this and a brief chat with someone. 

PSHE

L.O.To learn about and discuss strategies to deal with change and transition.

This week we are going to look at 'Managing Change'. Every person will experience changes in their lives. Sometimes changes can feel like a positive thing (for example, decorating your bedroom or starting a club you really enjoy at the weekend) and other times change can feel scary, sad or uncomfortable. At times change can cause a mixture of positive and negative emotions. 

Have a think for a minute or two about changes that happen or have happened throughout your life and whether or not they seem like positive or negative changes. Did some changes feel scary at first, but then end up being positive changes?

It is nearing the end of the school year. Think of some changes which would be expected changes taking place as you move up to Year 6. Now have a think about some changes which may not be typical or expected. List the concerns that you might be feeling about next year. These could include:

- Continuing friendships with people you haven't seen for a long time

- Getting back into the routine of the school day after being out of school for so long

- Having a new class teacher, TAs and classroom

- Finding work more difficult than you may have done before

- Getting used to new safety rules and routines that will be put in place

- Missing being at home with your family

Go through each of the factors on the list, as well as the changes you have listed. What emotions do you personally feel towards each change or potential concern? Some you might not feel concerned about at all. You might be excited about seeing all your friends again, for example. 

Now we would like you to read and discuss the list of strategies which could help you deal with the change of transitioning to Year 6.

- Talk to someone you trust. This could be an adult at home, who can go through your worries with you and think of ways to help you work through them. It might also be a good idea to get in touch with the school, let us know if you are anxious about next year or if you have a particular concern. We may be able to reassure you about some things and inform your next class teacher of your worries. 

- Make time for relaxing activities. In our bubbles at school, we have been making time for a 15 minute 'wellbeing' activity every day. This could be yoga, singing to favourite songs, meditating, going for a walk, colouring... It is important that you give yourself that chance in the day to do an activity that helps you feel calm and happy. If it is possible, doing this before the school day could help start the day off positively.

- Have realistic expectations. Of course, as with any most transitions in life, there will be some challenges. Moving up to Year 6 would have brought about changes and challenges regardless of the pandemic. But assure yourself that most of your classmates will also be in the same position and your teacher will be doing all they can to help you settle in.

- Eat and drink healthily. Your diet can have a suprising effect on your mood and energy levels. Make sure you have a healthy breakfast and it will make a big difference to how you feel going into school. Try to bring in a healthy snack for breaktime too and drink plenty throughout the day.

- Create a daily routine. In school, we have visual timetables, so you can see the activities you will be doing over the course of the school day. You might want to do this with your whole day, so that you feel more prepared for what is coming up and can build things into your day that you look forward to.

- Set achievable goals. These could be to do with your learning, for example learning your 7x tables. It could be a goal to get yourself up and dressed by a certain time. Or it could be to do with building your relationships back up with your class mates. You could challenge yourself to speak to all of the children in your bubble at break times within the first two weeks, even if it is just to say, 'How have you been?'

- Think positively and use self-encouragement. Acknowledge all the things that you do in your day to day, at school and at home, and make sure that you recognise what you have done well. At the end of each day you might like to think of one good thing that happened that day. You could write these things down in a notebook to remember the good in each day. You may also want to think of something positive that you look forward to doing the following day.

Topic/DT

L.O. To experiment with materials and techniques to create a crown.

Have a look through the slides attached and think of ideas of how to make a crown. There are lots of helpful hints, along with tips such as measuring your head for the circumference. There are some worksheets attached, which are useful to go through, but are optional to complete. It would be lovely to receive some pictures of you all wearing your crowns!

Spelling 

This week I would like you to have a look at the spelling list attached. 100 words is a lot to learn in one week and some of these are quite tricky spellings. Pick 10 spellings to learn this week and spend 10 minutes or so each day copying them out and using them in sentences. Test yourself at the end of the week.