Oak Class 2019 - 2020
Teacher: Miss Webb
mwebb@whitegate.cheshire.sch.uk
Week Beginning Monday 13th July, 2020
It is hard to belive that this week is the last week of the school year; it is even harder to believe that it is now sixteen weeks since we said goodbye to some of our families. I am incredibly proud of the children in Oak class and the resilience and determination they have demonstrated during this strange time; I am sure that their endeavours will ease their transition into next year. I also wish to express my gratitude to the parents of Oak class - I know that it hasn't been easy for you to juggle home learning alongside your own work commitments. I have felt blessed by the kind words expressed by so many parents and very much apprecitate your continued support.
It looks like we shall be blessed with improved weather for our last few days together in school. Please ensure that children are prepared for every eventuality and continue to send in a coat each day. Presuming the weather is as hoped, we ask for children to wear full-sleeved t-shirts which do not reveal the stomach area and shorts of an appropriate length. We have purchased sun cream for school – the spray variety. Please inform me if we are not able to ‘spray’ your child at lunchtime. In addition to this, we have also purchased bug spray for when we go to the school field. Again, please inform me if you do not want your child to be sprayed.
I wish you all a restful break and every blessing.
MW.
Hello Year 6! Listed below are this week’s learning activities, set for Year 6. Y5 – remember that you need to follow the work set on Willow’s pages
Please remember the activities that have been set are there to support you in your child’s learning. These activities are suggestions, in line with what your child would be doing, had they returned to school. We appreciate that each family will have their own routines, which may differ widely. Therefore, please do not worry about completing all the activities set, just select the activities which you feel will be the most beneficial for your child.
To support your child further, the BBC have now expanded their education provision, providing daily lessons for all ages in many subjects. You can access resources here or watch the daily lessons online here.
Collective Worship - This is the worship format we shall follow at school. As the law remains in place regarding Collective Worship, and as we are a Church School, there is an expectation that the children will take part in this each day.
Monday
Follow the link below to watch Collective Worship lead by the Church of England: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTYPHw22eeo&list=PLcc_HT5TeqjpOhedIjVAqSNitqhbytx4e
Tuesday
1. Have a look at the Picture News. This week's focus is on the British Value of Mutual Respect and differing attitudes to holidays. I've uploaded and numbered the supporting materials in the order in which you'll need them.
2. As we are unable to attend the usual Leavers' Service at Chester Cathedral, a service will be broadcast at 10am today. All that you need is the link below,
https://chesterdbe.co.uk/leavers
Wednesday
Follow this link to watch a great song to sing along to and learn! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwfE-SWOoFU
Below are the links to the talk, craft activity and the song provided by Teresa, from St. John’s Church, Hartford. Don’t forget that you can send anything you do with these resources to me and I will forward them to Teresa; as you know, she loves to see that you are using and enjoying the resources.
Link to the talk:
Link to the craft:
Items for the craft:
toilet roll tube
a stick, dowel or pencil
scissors
sheet of paper
sticky tape
colouring pens or pencils
Link to the song:
Religious Education
As you may know, each year for the last few years, Teresa from St. John's (Hartford) has visited Y6 in the Summer term to talk to them about moving up to high school and how they are feeling about this. These sessions have always been enjoyable and feedback has shown that the pupils have found it fun and helpful. They have also enjoyed receiving the "It's Your Move" booklet produced by Scripture Union. As Teresa can't come in to shool this year, she has provided us with the video, put together by Scripture Union, that covers much of what we normally talk about. The video is just over 20 minutes long, but has plenty of opportunities for you to pause it whilst you chat with your child about the questions raised, so you might want to allow about 45-60 minutes for the session. It is free to download, and there is also a teacher's guide that you can download. One quick tip - you will need some ties to hand! Teresa has said that she will forward the booklets to us, so I will put those in the post, once they arrive. Please can parents let me know when children have undertaken the transition tasks so that I can let Teresa know.
https://content.scriptureunion.org.uk/resource/its-your-move-workshop-video
Maths
This week, the children will learn about: Drawing Nets of 3-D Shapes, Circles, How to Read and Interpret Pie charts and in Statistics, about the 'mean'. Daily lessons are provided here (Week 12) along with video tutorials to support your child. Further challenges relating to these areas can be found on the lesson page links to the BBC Bitesize site. Don’t forget, you can look back at the work of previous years if you find that your child is not yet ready for these challenges.
In addition to the above, please also see White Rose Maths for a daily ‘Problem of the Day!’ If you find that your child responds well to these, there is quite a back catalogue that they can work through and the answers are provided.
If you wish to use further paper-based resources, don’t forget that you still have lots of sheets that I provided when school initially closed. You may wish to make use of these.
If you prefer to work outside, you may wish to use the Outdoor Maths Activities that I have uploaded. P7 is the equivalent to Y6. The document includes various themed investigations including: counting, time, money, shape, symmetry and maths challenges. Feel free to use the resources from previous years, if you think they are a better match to your child's learning needs or interests.
Reading
Children should continue to read daily from a book of their choice. In addition to this, I have uploaded the latest edition of the children’s newspaper, First News. As last week's paper was the final editon of the newspaper that will be provided, I have left it as a resource as i appreciate there is quite a lot to read through. If your child has enjoyed reading this, you can subscribe and have it delivered. This is the link to the First News website, should you wish to continue to receive the paper: https://www.firstnews.co.uk As you will now no doubt be aware, the paper provides a starting point for lots of discussions about the world in which the children are growing up. Talking with an adult about what they read really helps with understanding and supports children in learning about their place in the world.
Children may wish to access The Book of Hopes. This fantastic, free resource has hundreds of short stories, poems and pictures written by some of the best-known authors. It is a book created to comfort, encourage and inspire during lockdown and I am sure children will find something they love in it!
Despite the closure of public libraries, I am pleased to tell you about a Summer Reading Challenge that can be accessed virtually. The challenge called 'The Silly Squad' will enable children, aged 4-11 years old, to have regular access to books. The Summer Reading Challenge website launches on Friday 5th June when children can be enrolled and commence their challenge!
In order to explore the skill of empathy, Oxford Reading have shared this free ebook (click the link below) - ‘Geeks Can’t Dance’ by Jo Cotterill. The story follows Keisha, an eleven-year-old girl with two very different interests: science and the latest boyband. This poses the question: what happens if you’re a young person who fits into two distinctly different ‘groups’? If you didn't get chance to look at this last week, you may enjoy it this week.
You could read the book and then write a reflection about what it might feel like to be the character. Maybe you could write a reflection on where you feel you fit in with different groups. Alternatively, you could write a book review, detailing why you recommend this book, for whom you think it would be suitable / appeal to and some key detail to encourage the reader to select the book.
https://en.calameo.com/read/000777721491c43af25b0?authid=kd2g9vDlrvUc
If children wish to access the Reading Plus resources that we used in school at the start of the year, they can login using this link: https://student.readingplus.com/seereader/api/sec/login
You will need to email me if you need the site code, username and password. You will recall that the site has a range of fiction and non-fiction texts from which the children can select what to read. I can monitor their reading remotely and spot where they may need further support.
Click on the following links for some ideas of books your children might be interested in reading:
https://tygertale.com/2019/10/09/the-100-best-childrens-books-of-the-21st-century/
https://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/
If your child enjoys 'facts', have a look at the GuinessWorld Records site: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/
Writing
This week, in school, we are going to think about our time at Whitegate coming to an end and are going to write some reflections and memories about this time. We shall also use the Learning From Home resources, that I have uploaded below, to help us to think about holidays and how they will be different this year, due to the ongoing difficulties posed by the pandemic. You may wish to use these to inspire stand-alone pieces of writing or you may wish to use these to make a 'time capsule' to record the children's Whitegate years. You could include certificates and awards earned during time at Whitegate, photographs, memories etc. In class, having used the transition resouces that I've indicated below, we shall use these to help us to construct guidance and advice to support the children in moving to their new class/school.
If you haven't checked the Y5/6 spellings for a while, it would be useful to check these again as the children's new school will presume that they are able to spell these, in addition to using them correctly in speech and writing.
Science and Engineering
You can find variety of resources to spark curiosity and develop thinking skills here, on the Explorify website. All of the activities are designed to encourage your children to think like scientists and it is completely free to sign up and enjoy!
The pharmaceutical company, Pfizer Ltd, have also developed some new educational materials to be used by parents and students at home. Superbugs: Join the Fight and Science in a Box teach children about the spread of infection and medicine – particularly pertinent at this time.
If science is a favourite subject, there are lots of resources on this website where there are 44 challenges for children to try at home.
Jodrell Bank have put together a great collection of activities linked to science and these can be accessed through this link: https://www.jodrellbank.net/learn/sciencelearningathome/?utm_source=The%20University%20of%20Manchester%20for%20Jodrell%20Bank%20Discovery%20Centre&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=11538395_Support%20Us&utm_content=Science%20Learning%20at%20Home&dm_i=1DU9,6VB2Z,U7IVX4,RKHBJ,1
The UK Space Agency has published a collection of space related educational resources that can be use when teaching their children at home. The resources are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/space-related-educational-resources-for-home-schooling
Keeping Fit and Healthy in Body and Mind
Will Joe Wicks ever tire himself out? We certainly hope not, although his morning workouts certainly leave you feeling like you’ve worked hard! Joe - in what is now a family affair - continues to provide us with online PE lessons to keep us healthy and active during lockdown. Special activities such as ‘Spot the Difference’, Spin the Wheel’ and ‘Fancy Dress Fridays’ have become a regular part of Mr Wicks’ sessions, ensuring there is fun and activity for all the family!
Keeping safe online is an important part of staying healthy mentally. ‘Think U Know’ have created some great resources for children to keep up-to-date with online safety. Currently, as we all spend an increased amount of time online as we work and communicate in remote ways, this is something we need to revisit regularly with children. Staying safe whilst online is incredibly important and something we spend a lot of time looking at when in school. You can find the resources for these activities here. Don’t forget to look at the school guidance on the main page of the school website.
At this time of year, the children are often out and about participating in a range of sporting events. As we are unable to do this currently, here are some additonal resouces for you to utilise at home.
https://www.youthsporttrust.org/national-school-sport-week-resources-2020
PSHE
As the term draws to an end and we begin to think about the children moving on, we shall spend time reflecting on the children's time at Whitegate, their memories of learning, friendships and the inevitable funny moments that so often punctuate our days. We will role-play various scenarios in which the children may find themselves and we will also look to the future and think about the children's hopes and dreams as they prepare to take their next steps on their learning journey. You may find the following resources useful as an aid to discussion:
Making new friends: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/znhf7nb
Will I lose my old friends? https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z7yrhbk
On CBBC, look at the series, ‘Our School’ that follows a group of students as they transition from primary school into high school.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b06vrs3y/our-school
Transition support for parents:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zbr7rj6
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z4k8bdm
Music
Weekly singing sessions / resources from 'Out of the Ark’ are available online. Children may also want to access the weekly 'Edsential at Home' resources. Every week they upload an easy to follow, educational and fun downloadable activity sheet, which uses a variety of websites, videos, books and songs to create an interactive and fun learning experience at home. Follow the link to take a look at this week and previous weeks’ activities.
David Walliams’ 'Marvellous Musical Podcast' may be of interest to you and your child. Join him for a marvellous musical journey and meet some familiar names along the way – from the 19th-century Franz Liszt, to the famously grumpy Ludwig van Beethoven. There is also a quiz for children to complete after listening – enjoy!
Art
I've uploaded a document with lots of starting points for outdoor art activities. There are so many things to choose from! Suggestions include: shadows, clouds and sky, using the school building (this could be adapted to use around the home), leaves, spirals and snails, sticks, bubbles, a windy day, patterns and (very appropriately for the last couple of weeks) rain! You can always tweet any creations so that they can be shared with the rest of the class.
As always, I trust you remain well. Keep in touch!
Stay safe,
Miss Webb.
Website Suggestions:
Online Learning Platforms to Supplement Work Set By School:
Secretary for State for Education – Gavin Williamson – named two learning platforms that have both gone 'live'. You may wish to make use of these to supplement the work that I set.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
https://www.thenational.academy/online-classroom/
Maths:
https://whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/year-6/
https://www.themathsfactor.com/
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/times-tables
English:
Grammar:
https://www.grammar-monster.com
Reading:
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/ If you login to the site via the My Class Login button, you can access lots of free online books which are searchable by age group, series or theme. There are lots to choose from so if you've read everying you own, including the cereal packet, this will provide hours of happy reading! There is also an audio option if you'd prefer to listen to the story. Please email me for the class login details.
First News: I'll upload the latest edition of this children's newpaper. You will find it on the document list below - it is called First News.
Life, the universe and everything!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/levels/zbr9wmn
https://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/learning-activities/
Fancy something entirely different? How about learning sign language?
- Level 1 Greetings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyicdRl3ULg
- Level 2 Alphabet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clPTV1wq8Jw
- Level 3 Useful Words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_2KJrqBBkI
- Level 4 Questions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yPzdspMlT4
Don't forget; if you have an IDL log-in, you can use this at home. https://appuk.idlsgroup.com/#/login
