Oak Class

20-21

Welcome!

Accelerated Reader link:

https://ukhosted10.renlearn.co.uk/2233571/ 

Hello and welcome! It's your Taskmaster here.

We are of course in another lockdown, and so I will be providing daily work for you on the appropriate links above.

The expectation is that you are working 4 hours a day, and that covers your Maths, English, Reading and Topic, along with any other added extras. Get the work sent to me when you've done it over at oakclass@manea.cambs.sch.uk and I look forward to seeing all of your fabulousness! The expectation is that you send the work over at least once a week.

Each day will begin with a daily video, in which I lay out what I'm looking for. Sometimes this will include a bit of a demonstration or explanation to help you (and maybe even your adults) out. Keep an eye for the special tasks released each Monday to add a bit of fun to your week of work. 

Take care, keep on track, and I look forward to seeing you again at some point soon.

Taskmaster Tull

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9.3.20

Another week ticked off the list! In our writing we were able to return to dear old Alma and work on our suspense techniques. The children have quickly grasped the ideas behind it, and now just need to make sure they are still including their high quality language.

In maths we have returned to algebra. Always a tricky topic, we recapped the basics and learnt some new techniques also! Everyone persevered excellently, which was great to see. 

And finally. If the children are a bit tired Friday evening, you have Sport Relief to thank! The children look amazing and worked really hard during the various activities. 

2.3.20

This week in Maths we explored the world of shape in more detail. The children learnt about volume, and picked it up all very quickly! We also refocused on nets and were able to solve some very tricky problems. 

In English we had a Mrs Wordsmith assessment week based around an image from the Mysteries of Harris Burdick. The children got the chance to show off all their skills as writers and did an excellent job of using all the techniques they know.

Our Mayan topic has carried on, and the children learnt all about their writing and maths skills. we designed our own logograms (hieroglyphs), and were able to work out their number system, which is centred around base 20, rather than base 10!

24.2.20

Well that's the first week back done and dusted! There's no rest for the wicked, and we have cracked straight on with everything. In maths we have been looking at angles and problems. The children tackled some very challenging questions really well, and I am thoroughly impressed with how they are all handling these styles of questions.

In topic we have begun looking at the Mayans. The children are starting from a place of not knowing very much, and so are keen to learn more! We looked at who they are and where they were from.

English has perhaps caused the most excitement this week. We got introduced to some interesting clues, and eventually the scary short film story 'Alma.' The children have absolutely loved it, and I am confident we are going to get some fantastic suspense writing from them. We've warmed up with some drama, which the children have embraced to their fullest, as you would expect. 

3.2.20

The first week of the February, and the penultimate week of the half term, has now been and gone! In maths we have looked at fractions once again, as this seems to be something that the children are struggling with. Hopefully in time it will eventually sink in! We also looked at our practise papers, and realised how many silly mistakes we made!

In English we have written up our non-chronological reports in a creative way. Furthermore, we then turned the world of film, and are in the process of creating our own mini documentary about our planets using lego! Lots of fun, and I am sure they can deliver on the final result.

27.1.20

It's now week 37 of January, but it is at least the final one! The children have had the opportunity to write their non-chronological planets about their own planets, and what an incredible job they have done! Their language has been excellent, as have their sentence openers and punctuation choices- they should be very proud of their efforts!

In maths we have been looking at 3d shapes. We used it as an opportunity to do some forest school, and the children created cuboids out of sticks.

20.1.20

This week we have been working on our skills for the Great British Bake Off. Having designed their breads for the Na'vi, banana bread was chosen as the winner. The children worked in groups of 4 to bake theirs, and it was went... surprisingly well! They worked well together (for the most part), and should be very proud of their results. There was also no food poisoning... always a bonus! 

In maths we have begun looking at shapes. 2d shapes were the first on the  list, and we learnt how to find finding angles and solve problems. English saw us knuckle down and focus on some  of the sentence styles we will want to use in our non-chronological reports. We then used them in our group writes of the non-chronological reports based around Pandora.

We've also started an early look at SATs papers. The children have now done a GPS paper and a reading paper, and know their results. Considering where we are in the year, they make a great attempt of the SPaG paper. Some were disappointed with their reading scores, however this was the first time they had done the test and they will have learnt a lot from the experience.

13.1.20

This week we were ramping up the work all round, with some fantastic results! Having built our creatures and habitats, we have begun thinking about the world of Pandora, and created some wonderful descriptive work. Furthermore, we considered the lifestyle of the Na'avi, and designed our own bread for them... after food testing of course! 

We imagined what it would be like to arrive on such a strange and wonderful world, which led to some... interesting drama performances!

Maths saw the children be introduced to scale factor, ratio and proportion. Brand new skills, but the children handled it magnificently- I was really proud of how much everyone progressed over the course of the week!

6.1.19

Wow, what a first week back!

Tuesday saw a bit of an incident in our fields and forest.... some strange things were discovered, and so the whole school had to investigate! The children investigated the poo, nest, footprints and forest area to try to work out what the creature was.... there were certainly some interesting ideas bandied around!

We then followed on from this bizarre occurrence by designing and making the creatures that we thought had appeared on the school ground, using model magic.Furthermore, we then went on to build their habitats... there were some really creative ideas, and rather a lot of mess... but it looked great in the end!

9.12.19

You would think that with it being nearing Christmas we would be slowing down... but oh no! This time of year of year is always pretty busy, but we've managed to squeeze in some learning.

Maths saw us learning about averages and reading graphs, and this culminated in some forest school action! The children chose a topic to investigate, and then produced the data for it. 

In English, the children have been teachers this  week. It's been absolutely fascinating to see them apply the techniques they have had used on them, and see what their natural teaching styles are... some of them are certainly rather strict! Despite the odd crowd control issue, the quality of work that has been produced is actually pretty impressive! 

Finally, topic this week has seen the children get an extra special treat- Miss Froggatt has been teaching them art! They've been doing lino cutting, and have really enjoyed it... even if there have been a few minor injuries!

2.12.19

Well here we are, the final month of the year!  We celebrated in style by introducing algebra, something that can still induce sweating in grown ups. Fortunately, the children held no fear, and did an incredible job of tackling it. I was genuinely surprised at how quickly they picked it up, and over time we will be able to consolidate their knowledge.

For English, the children are having an opportunity to see what it's like to be one of the enemy- they are going to be having a go at teaching! In groups they have prepped and resourced a lesson, and next week we will see if they can handle it! There have been some fantastic ideas so far, and the staff are keen to see them put these ideas into action!

Topic saw us look at friends and families, and how we build relationships. They also did some problem solving in line with this, and it was a good opportunity for them to reflect on themselves and how they interact with others.

25.11.19

The countdown to December is nearly over, but in Year 6 we are in full swing! English has seen has embrace our inner Shakespeare, and in groups the children had to create play scripts based around the arrival. There was a twist, however, as other groups would be performing their pieces! Due to this, the children had to pay very close attention to their stage directions otherwise, as one group found out, they will be read out loud and it would all be rather embarrassing!

Maths was all about circles, and the children learnt the core basics, as well as how to answer some tricky questions! They also practised trying not to stab themselves in the hand with a compass, and did well at this. 

Topic saw us turn to E-Safety, which provoked a lot of very interesting discussion! We also completed some online surveys and tests, which produced some interesting results... not least that the children are currently performing really well in Maths for this time of year! We of course can only thanks Mrs Stone for that.

11.11.19

Another fun filled week has passed by! Maths has been a true test of perseverance for the children, as we have been taking on percentages! Despite this being a tough topic, by the end of the week most of the children were confident with finding percentages of amounts.

The children had a great opportunity to show off their writing skills this week. We learnt various techniques and ways to start sentences, which the children adapted to well- who doesn't love a semi-colon! They produced some fab work at the end of teh week which they were able to put into their independent books. 

Thursday saw the the whole school take part in Stack Up, a world record attempt for most stackers on given day. We practised our doubles skills, and even held a mini championship!

1.11.19

As always, half term was over in the blink of an eye and we have been back at school a whole week already! No rest for the wicked though, and we have cracked straight on with it.

We debated the topic of whether war was ever justifiable, and the children had some fascinating ideas!

In maths we have begun the path to madness by taking on fractions! The children have grappled with the ideas well, and now have a good platform to push on from. 

In English we have started preparing for our new book. The children created imaginary landscapes and creatures they may find... they sure are an imaginative bunch!

And finally, we had a non-traditional sports day on Thursday. The children got to do orienteering and archery, as well as learn about healthy living and see what actual fat looks and feels like!

18.10.19

Well somehow we've now finished the first half term of the year- doesn't time fly when you're having fun! It was only a 4 day week, but we crammed a lot in.

In our writing we looked at simile poems, and were inspired by 'Fluffy' from Harry Potter to create and describe our very own trap door guardians... there are certainly some creative children in the class! On Wednesday we got to visit Cromwell, where we went to a careers event and got to begin to think about our futures. More importantly it seems for the children, they got lots of free goodies.

We finished our week by spending time in the forest with Year 5. After a couple of warm up activities, in groups the children had to create something to do with what they had learnt about WW2 so far. There were some really excellent ideas and the groups worked well together.

11.10.19

Phew, what a week!

Obviously the main event of the week was the residential. The children were exceptional in every way; they challenged themselves with the challenges, worked well together and, most importantly, slept quite well! Pictures can be found via a link on the home page, and more will be added in time.

When we were actually doing lessons, the children unveiled their future thespian selves with some excellent play scripts and some rather impressive acting skills, including a never before seen Friends' episode... The one where they get eaten by a crocodile!

30.9.19

Another week has just flown by, and it has been a highly impressive one for the future authors of the world! The children had the opportunity to add their own stories into the world of 'Rose Blanche', and did so with some incredible writing. Not only was the vocabulary great, but it was clear that the children loved writing them, as they were very keen to  edit and improve... and keep on going! They were all also very proud of what they had achieved- always very important!

We've carried on looking at the fundamentals in maths , the focus being addition and subtraction. There were a few creases to iron out, but the children have a good grasp of the methods- they just need to make sure they are avoiding the silly mistakes, such as writing down the questions incorrectly!

We looked at the evacuation during WW2 and the children wrote evacuation letters for our topic lesson.  They were really able to empathise  with the children of the time, and clearly took a lot of the information in.

Next week is of course the residential, which is very exciting!

23.9.19

We have been full steam ahead this week with our learning! In maths the children have been furthering their understanding around x and divide by 10, 100 and 1000, as well as negative numbers. We've also started understanding BIDMAS, and how to find the 'mean'.

English saw us dig down into our sentence level work in Rose Blanche, and understand how we can start sentences in different ways. The children are loving using advanced language, and upon finishing setting descriptions proceeded to cover their page in blue editing with much enthusiasm!

We've also properly started digging into WW2, and why it was caused. An eventful week! We also now have a very pretty display board.

16.9.19

The children have carried on their fantastic start to Year 6 with some astounding work! More impressively, this has been seen across the board.

In English we have been looking at Rose Blanche, which the children have really enjoyed. They've made calligrams, produced beautiful haikus and re-enacted the stories.

Maths saw us focus on rounding, and we even managed to enjoy the sunshine in the process!

And finally, on Wednesday we had an exciting Sports Stack Day! The children had a great time practising their skills and working on personal challenges.

6.9.19

Welcome back everyone! The acorn has finally become the Oak tree, and the new year 6s have made a fantastic start this year. They have really taken like a moth to the flame to all of our new subjects, and tackled everything with much enthusiasm. We started looking at place value in maths, we watched and wrote about the beautiful short film 'Home Sweet Home' and thought about working together in PSHE.

The children had the opportunity to wind down Friday afternoon with some well spirited dodgeball, and I'm now very excited about what the year has to offer!