N'hamptonshire

A typical week in Northamptonshire

This week in Northamptonshire 5

Week beginning Monday 2nd December

The balanced arguments went very well, and the children enjoyed giving their opinions at the end of their writing.  We have planned and written letters from Liam to Dr Drax this week, explaining that he's not a man but only a boy.  We had to try to use formal language, including not using contractions!  We are starting to plan a newspaper report: 'Lost in Space.  We are nearing the end of the story and the children are concerned as to whether Liam and his friends will ever return to earth.

In Maths, we have begun to subtract fractions.  The children are very good at remembering the process of changing the denominator first before subtracting.  They are using the model - - - = -  Ask them what this is and see if they can tell you!

In science this week, we looked at different webcams around the world to see what the weather and conditions are like at different points in a day.  In our classroom it was 13:30.  In Honolulu it was 3:30 and pitch black.  In Aukland, New Zealand it was 1:30 and dark - we worked out it was already Tuesday, even though it was Monday here.  In Cape Town, South Africa it was 15:30, sunny with a gentle breeze and we could see Table Mountain.  The children were fascinated that we could peep into other countries to see what was happening there.  

We've had two rehearsals for our play this week - one with Year 6 to see what happens in the second half of the play.  We can now navigate our way through the play, remembering lines and when to come onto stage, now we need to speak up and start acting and performing!  Dress Rehearsal to other children is tomorrow afternoon!

We are learning about fractions- here is a useful video you can watch at home to help. Fractions 

PE is on Mondays in term 2 and Forest School is on Wednesdays

Spellings will be issued on a Wednesday and tested on the following Wednesday.

Times Tables will also be tested on Wednesdays - next week we are testing the 11 x table.

Home Learning

Home learning and spellings will be set each week on a Thursday and will be due in the following Tuesday. 

Times Tables Rockstars! 

To keep practising the multiplication skills taught in class, and challenging yourself to keep the ones you already know fresh, don’t forget to log into your Times Tables Rockstars account.

You should be practising for at least 30 minutes a week.

We have a TT Rock Star of the week. Look out to see who the first one is!

https://play.ttrockstars.com/

Rapid recall of multiplication is essential for success in maths and Times Tables Rockstars gives you self-confidence, recognition and motivation to improve.

We will have a times tables check each Wednesday. 

Challenge yourself to beat your score, build your knowledge and watch your confidence sore, as you become a Rockstar!

Please ask your class teacher if you need replacement log in details.

Spelling

The link below will take you to the spelling scheme we are working from in school.

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-spelling/

This document contains spelling strategies that are used in class, and can be used at home to aid learning new words:

Southborough's Spelling Strategies

Spellings will be tested (including using them in a sentence) on Wednesdays. 

Reading

We recommend children in Year 5 children read for at least 15 minutes a day. 

Please ensure you hear your child read regularly and record on Boom Reader using the parent app on your tablet/mobile no more than once a week:

boomreader.co.uk/parents

Some helpful questions to ask the children and check their understanding as they read have been pasted below. 

Children should bring their Accelerated Reading book to and from school each day. When they have finished reading their current book, children are asked to complete a quiz before choosing the next one:

https://global-zone61.renaissance-go.com/welcomeportal/6704864

Please note: pupil login details have changed slightly due to an upgrade that has taken place on the Accelerated Reader platform. Pupil login details (user name and password) should now be enter in all lower case (no capital letters at all). These login details are used each time your child quizzes a school reading book which carries an accelerated reading quiz code.

Music Knowledge Organiser

Below is the music knowledge organiser for this term's music topic. To help with their in-class learning, please can the children read over this each week.