Tuesday 9 October 2007

Year 6 (and 5) Optional Holiday Homework



As you know, we've set four compulsory homework tasks:
 Read at least two books (or one five-hundred page book). See baldworm.co.uk for a full list of recommended titles.

 Paper 4 in the Bond Assessment Verbal Reasoning book.Don't forget to check your answers!

 Plan and write a discursive essay – with an introduction, both sides of the argument, and a conclusion which states the writer’s opinion (1½ side of A4) – on the following title: “‘Size Zero’ Models Set a Terrible Example to Young Girls”. Discuss.

 Plan and write a long description (1 side of A4) for the following title: Imagine you are sitting in a train passing through the countryside. Describe what you can see, using all of the other senses, and any other descriptive skills to enliven your writing. Revise how to plan longer descriptions by clicking here.

There are also six optional tasks. Complete them in any order!

Optional task number 1: Dialogue.
Read about dialogue by clicking here, and revise using distinctive voices by clicking here.

Write a conversation between a Doctor and an anxious patient. The challenge? The doctor must have a French accent...and the patient speak in American slang.

Optional task number 2: Using thoughts and Questions about the Character
Click here to read about thoughts and questions about a character.

Task. Write a conversation between a Martian alien and a human. The problem is the Martian doesn't speak English (He speaks like this: "Gibble blab zip"), so you'll need to use thoughts and questions about the character to show the reader what they are trying to say to each other.

Optional task number 3: Prose Style Games
There are some brilliant interactive games at BBC Skillswise that will improve your punctuation and grammar. You can find them by clicking here. Try three or four of the games, and a quiz or two, too!

Optional task number 3: Action
Revise your action skills by clicking here.

Then watch this:


Your task is to describe the sword fight that takes place 24 seconds into this video. Aim to write 10-12 lines, using all of our action skills.

Optional task 5: Character description
Use google to find images of Victorian ladies and gentlmen. Then click here to revise writing character descriptions.

Write descriptions of a Victorian lord and his family, including servants. Write 3-4 lines per character description.

This video will also give you some ideas:



Optional Task 6: Multiple perspectives
Click here to learn more about writing from two different points-of-view. Your task is to write the story of an accident - first from the point-of-view of the victim, and then from the point-of-view of the person causing the accident.

Want More?
More? I like your enthusiasm! Next half-term we will be focussing on the following:
- Writing in the style of Charles Dickens
- Action
- Suspense
- Persuasive essays
- Formal writing
- Including brackets, semi-colons, colons and dashes in all our writing
- The bracketing comma
- Revision of annotation techniques in comprehension

Go to baldworm.co.uk to revise some of these subjects, and keep your eyes on the blog during the holiday - you'll be seeing some new videos that will eventually form part of the next step in the Falcons IT revolution - Bald Worm's How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Comprehension.

I will also be adding further optional activities, some more advanced writing tips, and videos of my cat murdering small rodents and then being sick on the carpet because he's swallowed them whole!

Have a relaxing break, and we look forward to seeing you for our run-in to 11+ on Monday, 29th October!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Clever-clogs should look out for additional tasks later in the holidays!

Masked Darkness said...

ok

Anonymous said...

You have given the clever clogs some fun but educational stuff!