Exciting News - FSG joins Books Go Global!

Over the next twelve months the Falcons is going to become involved in a series of global collaborative projects with schools on the other side of the world!

The first we've joined is Books Go Global. This is a book review site that will allow you to share your favourite books with Year 4-6 pupils in China, Australia, Canada and the USA! The sites aims are:

...the main purpose of this online space is to provide a place for students and teachers to share multimedia reviews of great books, to broaden reading for all students, and to connect and converse about books. Because reviews of a wide variety of books will be published here, students will be able to expand their reading horizons and meet other like-minded readers around the world.

We'll be creating the reviews using Voicethread.

Click here to visit the site and start enjoying some brilliant book reviews, and start thinking about which books you'd like to share with children your age on the other side of the world!

Year 5 Half-term Holiday Homework

There are three parts to your holiday homework:

1. Revision Next term we are going to be focussing on characterisation - the skill of making your fictional characters seem like 'real people'.

I've set up a revision page on the pupil wiki. Please read and revise the key characterisation skills.

2. Write the French Dog story redraft. Write 1 1/2 sides. Click here to download another copy of the task from box.net.

3. Attempt the language comprehension - I'm not too fussed about the score (although I'm sure it will be high!) - what I'm looking for is your use of our annotation techniques.

Don't forget that there are tons of useful tips at the comprehension advice blog, and loads of tasks to attempt at http://www.baldworm.co.uk; feel free to email baldworm@baldworm.co.uk if you would like some more!

Bring all work in on the Monday after we come back from our French trip. Click here to add your thoughts and ideas to the French Residential Trip Wiki.

French Trip Quiz

The first Falcons girls who can tell me which character from French literature is depicted in the picture above will win a (small!) prize!

Year 5 - Persuasive Techniques revision

Revise the key persuasive techniques for our assessment on Thursday by visiting http://fsg.wikispaces.com/Year+5+Persuasive+Techniques. It includes useful links, a video and a fun revision game!

Year Five Homework: Descriptive Writing

Tomorrow you are going to write a description as part of our assessment week. Please ensure you look over the descriptive techniques at our revision wiki, http://fsg.wikispaces.com/Descriptive+Techniques, and ensure you remember the key descriptive skills described at http://www.baldworm.co.uk/skills/location.html

Year Six Wodehouse Assembly and 'The Booklovers' Podcasts!

Year Six have not one but two brilliant podcasts for you to enjoy!

Click here to listen to the Year Six P.G. Wodehouse assembly!

Click here to listen to a song we've created to promote reading. How many authors in 'The Booklovers' have you read? How many of the jokes and reference do you 'get'? Can you explain the references to a friend?

Year 5 Descriptive Writing

L.O. (I) To revise key descriptive techniques; (ii) To revise planning a longer description

Please visit the descriptive tools section of our pupil wiki and revise the key descriptive skills by clicking here.



Homework: (i) Visit a site or two recommended at the pupil wiki descriptive writing revision page (ii) Plan and write a longer description: Imagine you are the first girl on the Moon. Describe the moon using all of the senses. Write 1 side of A4. You must include personfication in one of your five paragraphs!

Click here to remind yourself how to plan a longer description!

Feeling clever? Make sure you include at least three impact sentences (3-4 word sentences). Highlight the impact sentences with a gel pen. Learn why this is so important by clicking here.

Watch this video for inspiration!



Due: Monday

Year 5 Prose Style - Using the 'Messi Wiggle'

Isn't Lionel Messi, Barcelona FC's Argentine genius, brilliant? He is the best dribbler in the world. A wiggle of his hips - and he's away!

The subordinate clause is like the Messi wiggle - it is the little 'wiggle' that sends the sentence in a different direction, if only for a moment.

Task: Write about a family party. Include a 'Messi wiggle' (an embedded clause) in every sentence, e.g.

Dad, aged fifty, decided to throw a surprise birthday party for my Uncle William. My Uncle, known to his friends as Bill, looked shocked when he walked into the room! The party, which must have cost thousands of pounds, was a complete success! My Mum, aged fifty-two, said it was the best party she had ever attended!

Write ten-twelve lines

Year Six Wodehouse Assembly

Get a Voki now!

Year 3 Persuasive Writing

L.O. To write a persuasive letter including rhetorical questions

Please finish your 'dream home' letter. Make sure you include some rhetorical questions! Make sure you write in paragraphs!

Feeling clever? Include lots of detail to make your ideas sound attractive!

Due: Wednesday

Year 5 Assessment Preparation

Complete the SATs paper in 45 minutes (time yourself using the online stopclock! Click here). Aim to be your previous score! Can you win an 'A' - or even an 'A+'?


Get a Voki now!




Due: Wednesday

Year 6 Assembly - What ho!

Visit the fsg wiki and work on your Wodehouse playscript for Thursday's assembly. You can use the space to discuss props and costumes, too!

Personification explained!

Watch this fun video to learn all about personification and hyperbole! Why not sing along!

Year 5 Comprehension - SATs Paper

As part of Assessment Week we are going to sit a SATs Comprehension paper. In class we looked at how this is different to the 11+ papers we are working towards.

Don't forget that you are also going to be asked to write a description in Assessment week. Click here to enter our descriptive skills revision area.

Homework: Complete the SATs paper.

Year 5 Prose Style - The 'Messi Wiggle'

Isn't Lionel Messi, Barcelona FC's Argentine genius, brilliant? He is the best dribbler in the world. A wiggle of his hips - and he's away!

The subordinate clause is like the Messi wiggle - it is the little 'wiggle' that sends the sentence in a different direction, if only for a moment.

Year 4 Creative Writing - Story With A Dilemma

We have been studying stories based around a dilemma. Your homework is to write a story based on a dilemma, using our descriptive techniques and direct speech to power the story forwards.

Please remember to 'set the scene' at the beginning of the story, using all the descriptive techniques we studied last term!

Feeling clever? Try to include some shown feelings. Click here to learn more.

Don't forget to read the story through before you hand it in! Click here to learn the best way to 'check' a short story!

Year 5 Fiction - Planning for Conflict

L.O. To understand the different forms of conflict.

We've been studying the 'fab four golden rules of conflict. Click here to revise the fab four.

Today we focussed on planning stories with conflict.Click here to revise conflict.

Homework: The weekend homework comes in two parts:

1. Using the picture prompt, write five different plans - one for each of the five forms of conflict we studied in class. Remember to revisit baldworm.co.uk if you're not sure about any of the five forms of conflict!

You may plan in your preferred format, but make sure your writing is legible!

Visit the 'Planning a Short Story under Examination Conditions' area on the pupil wiki to download another copy of the worksheet.

Feeling clever? Make sure your stories build to a climax!

2. Next week we are going to begin our preparation for Assessment Week by revising Descriptive Skills. Start your revision by clicking here. On Monday I'm going to give you a little test: I'm simply going to ask you to list as many descriptive techniques as you can remember, e.g. Similes, Light, Movement, Smell, etc.

Due: Monday.

Year 6 Homework - Play Review

Write up your review of our school play on the 'Peter Pan' page on our pupil wiki.
I strongly suggest you write your review in Word, and then 'cut and paste' it onto the wiki page - that way there is less danger of losing work. It also means you can spellcheck your review!

No access to the internet? Write up using word, and bring the finished review into school on a usb key, or attach it to an email and send it to baldworm@baldworm.co.uk.

No access to the computer? Type up neatly on A4.

Feeling clever? Include a colon and a semi-colon in your review.

Year 6 - Book Recommendation

L.O. To promote reading to younger peers, and justify a selection of a favourite book.

We are going to create a display of our favourite books to accompany our 'The Booklovers' podcast.

Ever been into Waterstones? They often display on the shelves handwritten recommendations of the staff's favourite books. We're going to do the same!

1. Select a fave book
2. Write 10-15 lines summarising the book
3. Write 10 lines saying why you love it! (Consider the characters, plot and style of the book)

Year 5 - Fiction - Story Structure (Japanese Sci-Fi)

L.O. To include (a) a location description and (b) a description of a character in a short story

The homework comes in two parts:

1. 'Assessment Week' is 19th-22nd May, and as part of the English test you are going to need to write a description. I've included loads of revision notes and games here.

Homework: Plan and write a story based on this fantastic picture (it comes from a book of Japanese Science-Fiction from the 1930s.)

Make sure that you open your story with exciting direct speech and then set the scene. Revise story structure by clicking here; you can revise all our work on planning this half-term by clicking here.

Feeling clever? Use a gel pen every time you include a bracketing comma.

See more fantastic images from Japan by clicking here.