Year 5 Homework Special - Friday, 29th Feb.- Wednesday, 5th March

Unfortunately, I will be out of school from Monday-Wednesday next week. Whilst I am away, you need to complete the following homework tasks:

L.O. To redraft a story focussing on developing use of description.

You are going to write a second draft of your ‘gadget’ story, improving it based on the comments I’ve made either on your wiki page or in your book.

I want you to focus on improving the ‘setting the scene’ passages at the beginning of your story. Revise these key skills by clicking here. (Note: there is lots of information in the 'story structure' section at baldworm.co.uk)

- Please don't adapt the first draft. Copy it, paste further down the page, and improve it as much as possible.
- Girls who have no typed up their first draft should add it to the wiki.

Need to revise suspense and action? Click here and here.

Feeling clever? Prose style makes a huge difference to your readers. Try to include all three of the following commas, and annotate the different uses using a gel pen before you hand in your book:

1. The listing comma
2. The joining comma
3. The bracketing comma

Monday: Complete the Wycombe comprehension paper. Don't forget to visit my comprehension site, here, if you don't understand what the questions are asking you to do.

L.O. To ensure you make 4 seperate points for 4 mark questions

Tuesday: Please complete the punctuation worksheets.

Wednesday: (Science homework night)

We'll come back to our comprehension podcast and the 'spy gadget story' redrafts at the end of next week.

If you have any problems send an email to baldworm@baldworm.co.uk, and I'll do my best to get back to you. Have fun!

Year 5 Latymer comp. & Comprehension Strategy Podcast

Tonight's homework is in two parts:

1. Complete the Latymer exemplar paper. Remember, if you're not sure about a question there is tons of advice on my comprehension site. Click here. You'll find that all the questions on this Latymer paper are covered in the advice.

2. The best way to learn is by teaching other people. Visit the wiki by clicking here to begin work on your collaborative script for our comprehension podcast. Don't forget to leave notes for your partner!

Year 4 - Describing a Location using Simple Metaphor

Having mastered the five senses, we are going to move on to look at the use of simple metaphor in descriptions.

To do so, we need something cool to describe - and we are going to use our design skills to build a fantastic model! This is a fab example of using kinaesthetic learning (learning by doing) to insprie our writing.

Click here to learn more about the project.

Year 6 & 5 Examination Podcast

Miss Spurling’s Year Five class interviewed the Year Six girls about the process of sitting the 11+ examinations. Click here to listen to the podcast - and don't forget to tell the girls how much you enjoyed the show in our comments.

Year Six Have Done Brilliantly in the 11+ Exams!

Wow! Well done, Year Six! You've done brilliantly in the 11+ exams - and you deserve nothing less for all your hard work and creativity! Have a fantastic weekend!



Bald Worm says: You have all done so well! Everyone at the Falcons is extremely proud of you!

Year Six Weekend Homework

1. Don't forget you must know your poem by heart for Monday morning. No books allowed!

2. Please complete all unfinished slippers, and bring them in for our display.

Kerpoof!

OO8 has used the fantastic free site Kerpoof! to create a brilliant short animated movie! Click here to enjoy it!

We'll be using Kerpoof next term to plan stories. Why not have a go yourself by clicking here?

Year Five Spy Project - Including Suspense and Action in a Short Story

L.O. To write a short story including suspense and action

There is a famous James Bond story entitled 'The Man With the Golden Gun'. You are going to write 'The Man with the ----' - and '----' means the spy gadget you designed over half-term, e.g. 'The Man with the Phone Hidden Inside a Copy of an Enid Blyton Book'

Your challenge is to use the suspense and action skills we've been studying within your story. Click here to revise these key skills.

For homework, finish the first draft (write 1 1/2 sides of A4), and type it up on your wiki page - and don't forget to know your poem 'by heart' for Monday!

Feeling clever? Use the bracketing comma when you include names in your dialogue, e.g. "What is the problem, Bond?"

World Mathematics Day - a 'flatclasroom' project

Visit the fantastic World Mathematics Day website by clicking here.

The Mathematics website is a brilliant example of Web 2.0 and 'flatclassrooms' - you are working on your mental maths with pupils on the other side of the world! The fantastic thing about the web is that it makes the world 'flat'; we can work just as easily with girls in Japan as we can with our friends in school!

Residential Week

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The Powerpoint above was presented to parents at our 'Residential Week Presentation' - and now you can enjoy it too!

Don't forget to visit the French Residential Week wiki and contribute to the 'pupil area'.

Year Six Austen Project: Sock Puppets

Year Six have been studying Pride and Prejudice - and they're in the process of writing playscripts that we'll turn into YouTube sock puppet videos! Confused? Visit the Year Six area on the pupil wiki to learn more!

Year 5 Prose Style - Bracketing Comma

L.O. To understand that 'bracketing' commas mark off a weak interruption in a sentence

The bracketing comma always comes as a pair and is used to mark off a weak interruption of a sentence - that is, an interruption which does not disturb the smooth flow of the sentence and could be removed and still leave the sentence complete and making good sense.

Homework: You are going to use the bracketing comma in playscripts. Write a brief playscript (1 side of A4) where a group of girls discuss mobile phones.

The challenge is to use a bracketing comma for every speech in your playscript, like this:

HIBA: (Frowning) It isn't fair, Sally! I want a mobile phone!

SALLY: Mine is so cool! My phone, a Nokia, was a Xmas present!

Click here to revise setting out playscripts.


How To Use Commas

Year 5 Comprehension Extra Lord Benderesk's Castle

L.O. To revise the importance of quoting from a passage.

Today we are pushing on with our comprehension work. Success at 11+ is all about scoring top marks in the comprehension test - and the key to doing this is to give evidence from the passage to 'prove' your answers. You've got to P-E-E all over the page!

Point
Evidence
Explanation

Please complete the 'Lord Benderesk' comprehension. Don't forget to provide quote and give a line reference! Learn more about quoting from a passage by clicking here.

I'm using a new programme called box.net to allow you to access my worksheets and resources at home. No more worrying about lost worksheets! Click here to download or print out a copy of the answers to the 'Arthur' comprehensions.

Cool Web 2.0 Tool - Kerpoof

Want to try something cool? Kerpoof is a cool movie making tool that I'm going to be using with Year 3 in the Summer term - but it is lots of fun for all ages. Click here to have a go!

Please send me a link if you create anything cool!

Year 4 Fiction - Story with Description

L.O. To use all of our descriptive techniques to set the scene at the beginning of a short story

It is so important to 'set the scene' for your readers at the beginning of a short story. Click here and here to learn more!

Here was your prompt...

Whilst sailing across 'The Blazing World', your submarine chances upon a desert island. You climb out of your boat - only for your crew to sail off, leaving you stranded!

Plan and write the story of your first night alone, remembering to include a paragraph describing the desert island. You've already written the first 10 lines or so - now continue to describe your first night. Think about:

- How do you build a shelter?
- What do you eat?
- How do you protect yourself?

We'll redraft next week!

Want to see the original worksheet? Need to print it out again? Or not a pupil at FSg, and want to have a go at this fun task? Click here to download a copy of the original worksheet that you can print out at home - all thanks to box.net!

Due: Wednesday

Year 5 Comprehension - Arthur and the Wood

L.O. To make notes on the characters whilst reading a passage

1. Please complete the 'Arthur' comprehension.

2. Bring in the blueprint for your fantastic spy gadgets!

Cliche!

Poetry Competition

We love poetry at FSG! We are all going to learn a poem by heart, and perform it for the class as part of our Book Week!

The four best performers will be invited to recite their poem at a special competition in the hall - and we'll record their performances and podcast them on this blog!

Try to pick poems written by non-English poets: look for poems from Australia, India, America, Jamaica, China...

Learning poetry by heart
Depending on your prefered learning style, there are several different ways to start learning your poem

- Read the poem again and again.
- Try recording it onto tape, and listen to it again and again
- If you're a kinaesthetic learner, make up some movements for each line of the poem
- Musical learner might want to learn the poem as a song, or try setting it to music!
- Visual learners might want to write it up as a beautiful piece of calligraphy

Sri Lanka Appeal

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(Well done, S! What a brilliant Powerpoint!)

Well done, girls! Together, you raised over £950 for our friends in Sri Lanka. Mrs Stoker is flying out today to deliver our gifts! We're hoping to get an email address, and we'll start writing to the girls next term - and who knows, it may even be possible to have a 'live' web chat!

Pupil Podcast: The Year of the Rat

If you enjoyed the Year Six assembly, or just wish you were there, why not listen to the assembly podcast? Click here to listen! Oh, and turn it up loud!

Exciting News: French trip Wiki!

Mrs Grant-Sturgis has created a wiki featuring information about our school trip to France. Visit http://wi-kid.wikispaces.com or click here.

Your challenge is to research and add information about Paris - click here to go to your pupil area - and click on the links so you can learn more about where we are staying!

Year Five Word Work - 'ssion'

Complete the 'ssion' worksheets, and then go onto our wiki and add your word to our A-Z.

Be careful that you type it in correctly! Write only one word down, please, so that every girl gets to add a word to the list.

Year 6 - D.T. day

Friday is DT day at FSG - so don't forget to bring in your materials, Year Six! We'll be blogging photos of the slippers, too, so don't forget to log on Saturday to enjoy our finished work!

Click here for a preview of our work tomorrow - you can see how another school went about constructing slippers.

Fun Stuff

This man is Groucho Marx, one of the funniest men of the 20th century. Enjoy

Year 5 Fiction - Action Techniques: Spy v.s. Shark!

L.O. To combine action techniques in a scene of action, including the use of powerful verbs

In class, we studied our action techniques, and we wrote some action scenes.

For homework, I want you to imagine you have been captured by your nemesis - and thrown into a pool infested with...sharks!

Write an action scene, describing your fear, and how you escape from the sharks. Try not to make it too gory! Your objective is to use all of our action techniques. Write a first draft in your book, and then type it up on your wiki page (you've got until Friday to do this).

Feeling clever? Think about how one-sentence paragraphs can add to the excitement

Don't forget to show how much it hurts, like this:



P.S. Make sure you read my comments on your suspense scenes - just click on the 'discussion' tab.

200 today!

This is the 200th post on this blog - and just look at the clustrmap, Falcons girls! The fantastic work you're doing online and on our pupil wiki - http://fsg.wikispaces.com - is being viewed across the planet!

This is only the beginning - we're in the process of making digital videos and new podcasts, and you'll soon be working on 'flatclassroom' projects.

Oh, and Miss Spurling has some pretty exciting news for you... (clue: I'm using 'it' to create this post...)

Year 5 Homework: Fiction prep.

1. To prepare for our lesson tomorrow, please read this and the Alex Rider passage I've given you. Pay special attention to page 30 and 31. If you're feeling clever, try annotating pages 30 and 31 for the following action techniques:

Powerful Verbs
Impact Sentences
Dashes
Showing how much it hurts!
Having your characters cry out!

2. Visit your wiki page, and complete the checking work we began in class.

Year Five Fiction - Suspense

L.O. To revise suspense techniques

Log onto your wiki page and write the following scene of suspense:

You are a spy. You are at home in bed, asleep, dreaming about catching the sadistic bad guy you designed last week. Suddenly, you begin to feel you are not alone... Has your bad guy come himself? Or has he sent some of his goons?

Aim to write 10-12 lines - and make sure that you include all our suspense skills. Revise our suspense techniques by clicking here.

(Note: please write under a new heading on your wiki page, i.e. Suspense Scene)


Next week we'll be studying action scenes. Prepare for this work by clicking here.

And just for fun (keep watching until the end!):