Living and learning – 8Rs for learning
We have been talking about the Eight Rs for learning.
Out current class novel, After The Fall (by Dan Santat), enabled us to talk about resilience and how it’s important to keep on trying and not give up, even when things are tough. Our Talk Time homework also enabled children to share when they had shown resilience.
I never give up when I’m skipping.
I showed resilience when I did the crossbar challenge. It’s hard to hit the crossbar with the football.
I showed resilience learning to ride my bike without stabilisers.
Science – habitat hunt
We have had some great science lessons and discussions this week, learning all about habitats. The children enjoyed exploring our school habitat and we found some amazing animals : birds, bees, flies, caterpillars, woodlice, centipedes, worms and butterflies.
Can you spot the robin in this photo?
Year 5 Reading
The reading Year 5 have been doing this week is linked to our Science learning about materials. We have been looking at a report about how plastic is harming our oceans and other environments. The children were working on their retrieval skills to answer questions. This involves the children skimming and scanning the text to find the answers to questions. They look for key words, phrases and sub-headings to help them.
Living and Learning
In Year 5 and 6 we have been discussing how we use the 8 Rs to help us learn. We talked about the strategies that we use the most. The children identified that a lot of them feel they show resilience in their learning and that they are always ready to learn. We then discussed which of the 8 Rs they need to use more. Some children explained that they needed to take more safe risks in school by putting their hand up more in class. Well done to those children who used personal experiences to talk about the 8 Rs.
Steph’s Packed Lunch
What a fantastic day! Today, some children from 5/6M had the opportunity to appear on live TV. They used the picture book, After The Fall, as inspiration for designing a set of flower planters.
Wings to make us fly!
Last week, we talked about having the ability to fly.
We asked…
“If you had wings, where would you go?”
We decided to design our own wings and look forward to making them out of cardboard this week.
Here are some of our fabulous wing designs…
Leeds Needs Trees
Leeds City Council have launched a scheme to increase the number of trees around the city. Collect tree seeds (conkers, acorns, beech nuts and sweet chestnuts) and take them to a collection point around the city. The Arium is the closest one to school and you will be helping create new habitats for birds and animals.
Homework
Thank you to everyone who sent pictures of homework. We are currently asking parents to email instead of sending homework books in. A paper copy of homework will be sent home but it is also posted on the homework and spelling section on the website.
Everyone is in a different place with their writing. Keep working on it whenever you have time but don’t put pressure on your children to do it all at once! Accurate letter formation will lead to pre-cursive (lead-in lines) which will lead to joined handwriting. Everyone is on their own journey and will go at their own pace and will get there in the end!
Email homework to :
1KN – kaylowry@spherefederation.org and natalielake@spherefederation.org
1,2V – vickylatham@spherefederation.org
2C – carlgathercole@spherefederation.org
Reading – for parents!
Reading is super important. In fact, we think it’s one of the most important things you can do to support your child at home.
Some studies have found that children who read regularly are more likely to be happy in adulthood, more likely to earn more money and more likely to do well in all school subjects.
Whilst we understand life is busy, we’d love it if you could read with your child every day (ideally for about 20 minutes but anything is better than not reading at all).
This article has a handy reading for parents guide if you’d like any more information or tips.
Our Reading Activities leaflet will provide lots of activities to make reading an even more enjoyable and active experience for all. Check out the ‘Help Your Child‘ section of our website for a range of guides and tips for helping your child across a range of subjects.
Some common questions about reading:
When should my child have their reading book and reading diary in school?
If your child is in 3,4O or 3,4N they should have their reading book and reading diary in school every Friday. If your child is in 3,4E they should have their reading book and reading diary in school every Monday.
Now my child is in Year 3 or 4, should I still sign their reading diary?
Yes. We’d love it if you could sign their reading diary and leave a comment at least once a week. We think it’s a really important link between school and home.
My child can read fluently. Should they still read aloud to me?
Ideally, yes. They can spend time reading on their own, too – we encourage this. However, it’s really important that children still practise the skill of reading aloud. It helps improve their confidence and improves their ability to read with expression. Being read to is really important, too – so don’t underestimate the power of a bedtime story!
The book my child has brought home is too easy / hard. What should I do?
This will rarely happen but if you do think your child’s book isn’t the right level please get in touch with their class teacher (our email addresses are at the bottom of this post).
If you have any other questions, comments or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your child’s class teacher. While we don’t encourage you to do this on the playground (to reduce numbers and enhance social distancing), we encourage you to email us instead.
3,4O – olliecatherall@spherefederation.org
3,4E – emmamccormick@spherefederation.org
3,4N – nicolawadsworth@spherefederation.org
Another week of fun in Rainbow Class!🌈
A week full of apple collecting, pretend “bonfire” building, Numberblocks creating, train-track building, painting, music and more!
Based on the children’s interests, we’re going conker crazy on the maths table in Rainbow room next week. We’ll be weighing, comparing and counting. The small world table has been changed to a space theme after seeing lots of great role-play with our rocket 🚀 .
I wonder if you will find any ‘ready’ conkers on a walk this weekend? Perhaps you will find something else interesting on your walk in nature instead?
Although you cannot bring special things into school at the moment, please don’t forget to email us with any new interests, achievements or news that your child would like to share with the class:
scholesf2@spherefederation.org
We are so proud of how well the children have settled so far and we look forward to welcoming more friends into Rainbow Class on Monday Morning! 🌈
