Home Learning Spring Term
14th February - 21st February (7th March for homework)
Spellings
Adding suffixes (-ing, -ed, -er, -est and -y) to words ending in -e with a consonant before it.
The rule is: before we add the suffix, we need to BOOT THE E.
(nice) nicer
(nice) nicest
(hike) hiking
(hike) hiked
(hike) hiker
(shine) shiny
(shine) shining
(scare) scary
(scare) scaring
(be) being
Can you spot the word that doesn't follow the rule?
Homework (you have over TWO WEEKS for this step)
I was blown away with the quality of some of the labelled diagrams that were handed in on Friday - great job to those of you who handed them in on time. You have thoroughly earned your School 360 points!
Unfortunately, some people still haven't handed in any of the steps yet. Please remember, if you don't do your homework you will have to catch up at playtime as we will be using your projects in class. It's important that you get into the habit of doing your homework each week!
Okay, so you've chosen the focus for your topic, written questions for the areas that you're going to research and created a labelled diagram of your animal. Over the next two weeks, you're going to answer your questions!
Step Four: Research and Writing
1. For each of your questions, find out as much as you can by carrying out some research. There are lots of ways to carry out research. Here are some examples:
- read a book about your chosen animal
- search for information on the Internet with a grown up
- use one of the encyclopaedias on School 360
- look for nature documentaries on BBC iPlayer
- visit the library to borrow a book
- ask grown ups if they know anything about your animal
2. Then, for each question, I would like you to write a short paragraph or section to share all of the things you have found out. There's an example below. Please write in full sentences and don't forget that you must use capital letters and the correct punctuation for every sentence!
Because there's more to do in this step, you have until Friday 7th March to complete it (that's the first Friday back after half term). Don't worry if you've forgotten your questions, I can give you a copy if you ask me.
Thanks,
Mr J
7th February - 14th February
Spellings
Adding -ed, -er and -est to a word ending in -y with a consonant before it (change the y to an i). The root word is in brackets.
(copy) -> copier
(copy) -> copied
(happy) -> happier
(happy) -> happiest
(cry) -> cried
(reply) -> replied
(try) -> tried
(dry) -> dried
(dry) -> driest
(funny) -> funnier
Homework
Thanks again to everyone who completed their homework from last week. I'm impressed with how imaginative some of you have been with your questions and content pages!
If you haven't done your title page or contents page yet, please do so!
So far, you've chosen the focus for your topic and the areas that you're going to research. This week, you're going to be a little artistic!
Step 3: Creating a labelled diagram
1. Either draw or cut out a picture or diagram of your chosen animal.
2. Add labels to show the different parts and features of the animal. Make sure you use the correct terminology (specialised words) if necessary.
3. You might want to include why animals have some of these features.
All I'm expecting to see next Friday is your labelled diagram. There are some examples below to give you some ideas.
Thanks,
Mr J
31st January - 7th February
Spellings
Adding -ing to a word ending in -y with a consonant before it (the root word is in brackets).
(cry) -> crying
(fly) -> flying
(try) -> trying
(dry) -> drying
(fry) -> frying
(spy) -> spying
(marry) -> marrying
(carry) -> carrying
(copy) -> copying
(reply) -> replying
Homework
Thanks to everyone who completed their title page homework from last week. There are some excellent examples!
If you haven't done your title page yet, you'll need to look back at last week's homework so you can catch up!
Now you've chosen the focus for your topic, you now need to decide the areas that you're going to research. These may be different to other people's, depending on the animal you've chosen.
Step 2: Planning and asking questions.
1. Think of at least 3 things you would like to find out about your animal. Say each of them as a question; for example, 'What do they eat?' Your questions shouldn't be ones that can be answered with a yes or no answer. You might want to think about where they live, how they hunt, what they look like, how they look after their young...try to find questions that you'll be able to find out lots about!
2. Create a contents page using your questions. This needs to be neat and well presented, as it will be included in your project. Don't forget, you will need a capital letter and a question mark for each question! You won't be able to put page numbers on your contents page, but list the questions in the order you're going to talk about them in your project.
All I'm expecting to see next Friday is your contents page. You don't need to answer the questions yet, although it's fine if you want to do a little bit of research to give you a head start in later weeks.
Thanks,
Mr J
24th January - 31st January 2025
Spellings
The sound /or/ spelt 'a' before l or ll.
all
ball
call
small
wall
fall
walk
talk
always
altogether
Homework
This term, we have decided to focus on a longer-term project for your homework tasks.
Each week, I will be giving you the next step to complete on your project.
As our area of study in science this term is 'animals and their habitats', your project is going to be about any animal of your choice. You could choose dogs, cats, elephants, sharks, orangutans, owls, frogs...the list goes on and on!
Step One: Choosing the focus of your project and making a title page.
This week, I would like you to:
1. Decide which animal your project will be about.
2. Make a title page (A4 paper, please) for your project with the name of your animal on (for example, you might call your project 'All About Elephants'). It would also be a great idea to include a picture! If you don't have any blank A4 paper at home, you can grab some from school.
All I am expecting to see next Friday is your title page; however, you might want to start doing a little bit of reading about your chosen animal - you could visit the library to find some books or ask an adult to help you find some information on the Internet. You don't need to write any of this research down (yet) but it will give you a great head start!
Any questions, please ask!
Thanks,
Mr J
17th January - 24th January
Spellings
Red words this week. Remember, red words are tricky words where letters don't always make the sound we expect them too. With these words, the letter 'o' makes an /oa/ or an /oo/ sound.
old
cold
gold
hold
told
most
only
both
move
prove
Homework - Do Something Different!
We've been celebrating differences in Beech Class this week. For your homework, I'd like you to DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT! Here are some ideas:
Make something different - make something you've never tried to make before, or use something you've never used before to make it!
Go somewhere different - you'll need to ask your grown ups, of course!
Try something different - you might record a story, learn to juggle, try a new sport, have a go at knitting...anything at all, as long as it's something new!
Do something different - use your imagination to think of new ideas. Maybe you could wear socks on your hands, put your clothes on backwards or sleep the wrong way round in your bed. The choice is yours, as long as you do something different to what you normally might do.
You don't need to bring anything in (although you can if you'd like to), but you do need to be ready to tell the class what it is that you did that was different and whether you enjoyed it or not!
Thanks!
Mr J
10th January - 17th January
Spellings
Adding -ies to nouns and verbs ending in -y.
(The word in brackets is the root word)
(cry) -> cries
(fly) -> flies
(dry) -> dries
(try) -> tries
(reply) -> replies
(copy) -> copies
(baby) -> babies
(carry) -> carries
(marry) -> marries
(family) -> families
Change the y to an i and add -es.
Thanks,
Mr J