First Class – If you would like to supplement your child’s homework.

Lost in Thought Patrick Henry via Compfight

1. If you haven’t already, join the local library and visit it weekly.

2. Try an activity from the webmix for 1st class (see below).

In particular there are lots of Maths games on it. (There is some science too).

3. Try games such as scrabble, draughts, chess,

Monopoly and card games

4. Perhaps start an ‘extra work’ copybook.

In it you could …

5. Write a book review or a film review.

What was it? What happened in it?

Was it enjoyable?

What mark would you give it out of 10? Why?

6. Make a bookmark for your favourite book

or the most recent book that you have read.

7. Make a card or write a letter

to a family member or friend.

8. Beginning with the letter ‘A” list in alphabetical order

as many names you can think of.

(Other lists can include: places, animals, foods, sports,

hobbies, jobs people have, things you would find in school,

in the kitchen etc.)

9. Write a story or poem.

10. Compose tune. Write the words to this song.

11. Write down all the things you are good at.

12. Describe how to play your favourite sport.

13. Write down 5 facts about something that interests you.

14. Listen to some music and draw what you see.

15. List as many adjectives or describing words that

you can think of to describe yourself

16. Describe yourself for an alien. Can you write a story about meeting an alien.

17. Who is the person you would most like to meet?

What would you like to ask this person?

18. Design a useful invention.

19. List all the verbs (doing/action activities) you will do today.

20. Paint how you are feeling using colours.

21. What would you do with 3 wishes?

22. Invent your own super hero. Describe and illustrate. Can you put him in a story. What happens? Who needs rescuing? What happens in the end?

Supplementary Homework in Maths

Here are a dozen links to Maths Activities

that you might like to try:

 

Many of these games were sourced from 

Maths Primary National Strategy – Maths Activities

This is easy; practising ‘counting on’ with 

Online ‘Snakes and Ladders’

Snakes and Ladders
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: John Johnston via Compfight

As an alternative to the

Balloon Popping Game to practice tables,

you can practice addition tables on Circus Climber

 

This activity teaches about Data

 

These are more challenging:

Practising computation with

Swimming Lengths

Long Jump

 

Measurement;

Reading measure with Javelin Throwing

 

Measuring angles;

estimating or using an online protractor with Sailing

 

Practicing Addition using ‘Who Wants To Be A Mathionaire?’

 

This is a more challenging game;

 ‘Who Wants to Be A Mathonaire?’

Mastermind
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Steve Berry via Compfight

Like the game Mastermind this is an online game

called Code Breaker

Here is another version from Creativity Games.net

My child is not getting enough homework. What should I do?

Those of you with older children know

how the amount of homework

will build up over their years at school,

but if you feel your child

needs more of a challenge, 

here are some suggestions:

1. If you haven’t already, join the local library

and visit it weekly.

2. On this blog click on the link for ‘Educational Websites’

at the top of the page.

3. Try games such as scrabble, draughts, chess,

Monopoly and card games

4. Perhaps start an ‘extra work’ copybook.

I would be very interested any extra work done

and if your child brings these in will correct them.  

In this copy you could try some of the following:

5. Write a book review or a film review.

What was it? What happened in it?

Was it enjoyable?

What mark would you give it out of 10? Why?

6. Make a bookmark for your favourite book

or the most recent book that you have read.

7. Make a card or write a letter

to a family member or friend.

8. Beginning with the letter ‘A”

list in alphabetical order

as many names you can think of.

(Other lists can include: places, animals, foods, sports,

past times, jobs people have, things you would find in school,

in the kitchen etc.)

9. Write a story or poem.

10. Compose tune. Write the words to this song.

11. Write down all the things you are good at.

12. Describe how to play your favourite sport.

13. Write down 5 facts about something that interests you.

14. Listen to some music and draw what you see.

15. List as many adjectives or describing words that

you can think of to describe yourself

16. Describe yourself for an alien.

17. Who is the person you would most like to meet?

What would you like to ask this person?

18. Design a useful invention.

19. Draw yourself as a cartoon character.

20. Make up to quiz questions you know the answer to

and write them down.

Bring them into school and we will have a quiz.

21. List all the verbs (doing/action activities) you will do today.

22. Paint how you are feeling using colours.

23. What would you do with 3 wishes?

24. Invent your own super hero. Describe and illustrate.

If none of these appeal to you,

read or

read or ….

then again

…. read  🙂

 

Future bookworm
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: talkingplant via Compfight

Finally; some food for thought:

The following link tells the story of a school

that abolished homework and had the children read instead!

The School That Abolished Homework … and asked children TO READ instead.

It would seem to have had a positive effect.

Writing Good Quality Sentences in 2nd Class Room 6

Dear Parent

In a previous post I advised that when the children are writing sentences using the words from the Dolch List, that the sentences should

– make sense

– begin with a capital letter and end in a full stop.

– not be as  simple as  ‘Where am I?’ ‘Here I am’ and ‘I am funny’.

The simplest way to write good quality sentences is to develop the child’s initial attempt at writing a sentence by finding the answers to questions like:

Who are we writing about?

Where are they?

What are they?

When?

Why? or How?

 

But there are other ways of working on a sentence to make it a better one.For example take the simple sentence: ‘I see a cat‘,
and supposing that ‘cat’ is the word to be learned from the Dolch List:
Step 1 Can you think of a more interesting action word to use instead of ‘see’?
I spy a cat.
Step 2 Can you think of an action word to describe what the cat is doing.
I spy a cat creeping.

Step 3 And a word to describe how he is creeping.

I spy a cat creeping carefully.

I tell the children in class, that two or more words beginning with the same letter in a sentence sounds good.

Step 4 Can you think of a describing word to describe the cat

I spy a clever cat creeping carefully.

Step 5 Tell me a little more about the cat. Why is he creeping carefully?

I spy a clever cat creeping carefully after a mouse.

Step 6 What can you tell me about the mouse?

I spy a clever cat creeping carefully after a sleepy mouse.

This may seem very contrived, but with practice the children will do this naturally and this will result in more natural sentences.

Reading, of course and, being read to will enrich a children language and writing style.

To begin with I use terms like action and describing words but the words ‘verbs’ and ‘adjectives’ may be introduced as the children apppear ready for them.

Finally

“Three Rules for Literary Success:


1. Read a lot.


2. Write a lot.


3. Read a lot more, write a lot more.”


Robert Silverberg

Reading ‘The Snow Spider’ by Jenny Nimmo

As part of their homework, the children are asked to read four pages a night of their new class novel; ‘The Snow Spider’.

If possible an adult should do this with them, reading every second page.

In this way children ‘model’ their reading on that of the adult, attending to expression and punctuation.

‘The Snow Spider’ is a challenging novel. It may help the children to see extracts from the 1988 ITV dramatisation.

Link to view Snow Spider Part 1

Please don’t leave your child to watch You Tube unattended 🙂

The internet is a portal to the world outside. Children should be supervised.

Great Homework!

This week for homework the children were asked to write number problems featuring repeated addition.

This is some of the excellent work Patrick did.

How many legs have three dragons got?
4 + 4 + 4 = 12


How many legs have four ladybirds got?
6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24

How many legs have four spiders got?
8 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 32

Well done Patrick 🙂 Teacher is impressed!

Changing Number Facts into Problems to be Solved.

PROBLEM SOLVING
These problems were written by 2nd as a whole class activity over a few days. We turned the number facts they were learning in tables into problems to be solved.
Over the next few weeks the children will be doing this for homework. I will collect the best ones and then get the children to turn the problems back into number sentences.
Writing these short problems integrates with literacy also.

2-2=0
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after. How many children were left up the hill?
10-2=8
Emily had a party. She invited 7 girls from Room 6 and John and Edward Grimes.
Jedward had to leave early because they had to spike their hair!
How many people were left at the party?
12-3=9
The Three Billy Goats Gruff,
the Three Blind Mice,
the Three Bears
and the Three Little Pigs
all went ice skating in Storybook Land. The Three Blind Mice found it so tricky, they went home. How many animals were left?
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12 animals were ice skating
-3 went home
12 – 3 = 9
How many legs have these 12 animals altogether?
How many ice skates?
How many ears? How many tails?
8-4=4
Eight children went to the playcentre in Zoom. Half of them bumped their heads and went home. How many children were left?
10-4=6
When Teacher was little she had a packet of ten crayons. She ate four of them. How many crayons were left?

Luke’s “Self Portrait”. Well done Luke!