A guide to your child’s learning this half term.

 

‘Who ate all the cakes?!’

 

Autumn Term 1 – Year 5 and 6

The Elders

Mr Beahan and Miss Gregory

 

Topic

Our topic title is inspired by the great Anglo-Saxon leader who ‘apparently’ burnt cakes he was given the responsibility to watch, whilst on the run from the Vikings. Topic will be taught using a cross curricular approach meaning that a variety of subject areas can be covered in our topic, although the major bias will be historical.

 

English

We will be looking at:

• instructional texts
• texts involving the legends of King Arthur
• poetry

Grammar and punctuation work includes:

• cohesive devices
• aspects of formal and informal writing
• punctuation, including the correct use of the comma

 

Reading

Children will be given opportunities to develop their reading as part of their English lessons. Miss Gregory will lead guided reading sessions looking at a range of text types whilst Mr Beahan will be completing the book study which will be ‘The Sleeping Sword’ by Michael Morpurgo (linked to Saxon topic).

Please encourage your child to bring their reading record in every week, writing in their comments and the pages they have read. Your child should aim to read at least 5 times a week, writing in their reading record at least once each week.

 

Spelling

• homophones (words that are pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning, and may differ in spelling e.g. to, too and two. The words may be spelled the same e.g. rose).
• the suffixes cious/tious/tial
• adding the prefixes ‘un/dis’

 

You can help your child at home by:

• exploring books with the theme of Myths and Legends

• reading and following a range of instructions

 

 

In addition:

• Make sure your child reads for at least 20 minutes daily, recording this in their reading record and writing at least one detailed comment
• Ask your child to talk about the book they are reading and talk around the story (using skills of inference and deduction).

 

Help your child to practise and learn their spellings by asking them to:

Look at the word. Say the word. Cover the word. Write the word. Check the word.

 

 

Maths

We will be looking at:

• Number and Place Value: Place value of numbers to 1,000,000
• Addition and Subtraction: Mental and written methods
• Multiplication and Division: Factors, prime and composite numbers
• Statistics: Complete, read and interpret information in tables including timetables

 

You can help your child at home by-

• Practising times tables skills and basic number bonds
• Homework reflects the week’s learning objectives in maths; please help them with this and write a comment in their homework book if you feel they are still struggling

 

 

History: The importance of the Staffordshire Hoard in helping understand what life was like in the times of the Anglo-Saxons

 

French: ‘Our Café’ – Learning about French food and drink

 

Science: The theme of our science this half term is ‘Light – Crime Lab Investigation’

 

Computing: Programming – Purple Mash

 

RE: What can we learn from religions about deciding what is right and what is wrong?

 

PE: Weekly swimming and invasion games including football, rugby and hockey

 

Music: Composition based on stories with Mrs Sargen

 

Art: Shades of autumn – children will be using a range of media to represent autumn in our local environment

 

Home Learning

Children will be given one piece of English and Maths homework that will either develop, consolidate (or even extend!) our learning in class. They should spend at least 20-30 minutes on each piece, completing it to the best of their ability. Children will also receive spellings to learn.

 

Miss Gregory will hand out homework on Tuesday, to be completed by the following Monday. In a separate book, Mr Beahan will hand out English homework and spellings every Thursday, to be handed in by the following Wednesday. Spellings will be tested each Wednesday.

 

As well as weekly homework connected with the week’s objectives, children will also be asked to complete a termly project (see below). This needs to be completed by the 19^th October at the latest.

 

Homework Project:

We will be looking at the Saxon period of history. Can you research about any king in the Saxon period? Either write 2 or 3 paragraphs him in your own words or produce a presentation to show this.

 

Some Useful Websites

Topic – http://primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/saxons.htm

BBC – http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/zxsbcdm  http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/anglo_saxons/alfred_the_great/

National Geographic http://www.ngkids.co.uk/history/anglo-saxons

 

• Named PE kit needs to be in school every Wednesday. Please make sure your child has appropriate shoes for outdoor PE.
• Swimming kits are needed every Tuesday from 25^th September.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact staff at school if you have any questions regarding your child’s learning. Miss Gregory is in school each Monday and Tuesday and Mr Beahan each Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Thank you for your support.

 

 

For parents/carers of children in year 6. 

 

Dear Parents/Carers

 

Your child will be taking their end of key stage SATs in May 2019.  We hope the information below will help you understand your child’s SATs tests in a little more detail.

 

What are SAT’s?

 

SATs (Standard Attainment Tests) take place at the end of year 6 and are designed to test pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the key stage 2 programme of study. All year 6 children across the country are tested in English and Maths and this gives the government a clear picture of what standards look like. It also helps parents compare their child’s progress with children of the same age nationally. This is the third year that a year 6 cohort has been tested on the new curriculum that was introduced in September 2014. Consequently, the testing process has been changed to previous years to account for this.

 

What will my child have to do?

 

Monday 13 May: English grammar, punctuation and spelling test (SPAG)

Paper 1 – short answers (45 minutes)

Paper 2 – spelling (15 minutes)

 

Tuesday 14 May: Reading test (60 minutes)

 

 

Wednesday 15 May: Maths tests

Paper 1 – arithmetic (30 minutes)

Paper 2 – reasoning (40 minutes)

 

Thursday 16 May: Maths tests

Paper 3 – reasoning (40 minutes)

 

 

What happens to the tests?

 

Tests are sent for external marking. Schools usually receive the results in July. Parents will be given a copy of their child’s test results and teacher assessments. The results of the school are used to inform school ‘performance tables’.

 

What do the results mean?

 

It is important to understand that children cannot ‘fail’ SATs. The information is used as a snapshot of where children across the country are currently working. Since the removal of the ‘old’ levels, the government has had to think of a new way of measuring attainment. From 2016 onwards, the raw score from each test will be converted into a scaled score and each child will receive an overall result indicating whether or not they have achieved the required standard on the test.

 

What is meant by ‘scaled scores’?

 

It is planned that 100 will represent the ‘national standard’. Each pupil’s raw test score will therefore be converted into a score on the scale, either at, above or below 100. The scale will have a lower end point somewhere below 100 and an upper end point above 100. A child who achieves the ‘national standard’ will be judged to have demonstrated sufficient knowledge in the areas assessed by the tests.

In July 2018 for publication of test results, each pupil will receive:

• A raw score (number of raw marks awarded).
• A scaled score in each tested subject.
• Confirmation of whether or not they attained the national standard.  In year 6, it is only natural that your child might feel a little nervous or apprehensive about what the week will hold – so there are a few things that you can do to help them at home.

     

How can I help them at home?

• Support your child in helping prepare them for the tests – but don’t overdo it.
• Explain that SATs are a way of showing off what they can do – and they cannot fail.      
• Make any learning as fun as possible.
• Give your child the opportunity to talk about any concerns.
• Help them with any revision homework in the run up to SATs.
• Encourage them to be confident in their ability – they have been working hard in school.
• Do something fun the weekend before the SATs tests to take their mind off them. Don’t overdo the revision or practice this weekend – it is important your child feels fresh and ready to tackle the tests on Monday morning.
• Make sure your child has a good night’s sleep before each test.
• Make sure your child has a healthy breakfast each morning.
• Send your child to school with some healthy snacks to have in between or after the tests.
• In the evenings of SATs week, keep any work you do at home short.
• Make sure your child is in school every day of SATs week. If they are feeling unwell it is important that they still come to school and try to do the test. If you are concerned that your child is feeling unwell during this week, please contact school as early as possible.
• Make sure your child is in school on time every day – the tests start first thing in the morning.

 

In school, we feel that we will support the children for them to achieve the very best results that they can.   We have every confidence in them!

 

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Mr Beahan and Miss Gregory

 

Please find attached the presentation from the parents meeting from April 2018 and the information booklet that accompanied the meeting:

 

KS2 2018 presentation

 

KS2 Sats info for parents 2018