20 October 2023
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
Living and Learning is the focus of this week’s Talk Time:
I can describe different ways that people look after their mental health.
I can describe how I look after my own mental health.
Increasingly, we hear about the importance of mental health. Talk at home about different ways to look after your mental health. This might include restricting screen time, getting enough sleep, and taking time – even just five minutes – as a family to relax and recuperate after a busy day.
We all get worked up from time to time – how do different people calm down? At home, explore different strategies to calm down. These may be as simple as counting to ten, going for a walk, getting a glass of water – discuss what works for you and your child.
Finally, further information about mental health can be found on the Public Health England (PHE) website ‘Every Mind Matters’ website providing NHS-endorsed tips and advice to help children and young people’s mental wellbeing and equip parents and carers with knowledge to support them.
13 October 2023
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
There’s a democracy theme to this week’s Talk Time as we think about electing our new Junior Leadership Team (JLT). It’s important for everyone to feel their opinions are important and their thoughts and feelings are listened to and valued. Democracy is about knowing that sometimes we are given the power to choose and make decisions as individuals and as a group. This leads us to this week’s Talk Time:
I can talk about what characteristics a good leader should have.
Thinking about the term democracy, take some time to think about what characteristics make a good leader and the reasons why.
Also, think about situations at home when voting can help solve problems.
Additionally, if you would like to become a member of the JLT…
Use this time to think about your own characteristics and why you feel you would be a good representative for your peers. Use these ideas to prepare a speech to share in school on Wednesday 18 October for the upcoming elections on Thursday 19 October.
06 October 2023
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
This week’s Talk Time relates to a moral issue and also links with our current Geography learning.
Is it okay to build new houses on green space (fields and parks in towns and cities)?
Your child may already have some views on this. However, this statement is all about taking different viewpoints into account.
This week’s ‘Remember 2s’ (R2s) will support your child as they reflect on the pros and cons of building new houses on our green spaces:
- What are the reasons for (the pros) building new houses there?
- What are the reasons against (the cons) building new houses there?
- Reach a conclusion – Do you take one particular side or is there a compromise that could satisfy everyone?
There’s a range of ways to approach this moral question. We suggest exploring the 5Ws and H (who, what, where, when, why, how).
Check out the examples below to help get discussions flowing:
- Who needs new housing (young people, families, elderly etc)? Who would build the new houses?
- What would new housing look like? What will be the impact on the environment with fewer trees and plants?
- Where would the animals from the fields/parks go? Where else could people go for walks/exercise?
- When would things be able to run normally (traffic, pathways etc)? When would people want more houses?
- Why don’t people move into houses that are already built? Why do we need more housing?
- How long would it to take to build the houses? How much would the new housing cost? How many people could live in the new housing?
Fancy an extra challenge? Your child might like to plan the new housing or design the type of housing that should go on some green space.
29 September 2023
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
This week’s Talk Time is related to our Living and Learning statement:
I can talk about rights and responsibilities. I can describe how rights come with responsibilities.
A right is something you should have and a responsibility is something you should do morally. In school, we’ve explored what rights are linked with responsibilities. This might be in school, at home, in our communities or the wider world:
‘At home, we have the right to relax but the responsibility to manage our screen time.’
‘We have the right to be educated but the responsibility to try hard.’
‘In our community, we’ve the right to enjoy the local park, and the responsibility to look after it.’
‘We have the right to free healthcare and the responsibility to look after our own health, too.’
See whether your child can tell you some rights or and some responsibilities that goes with each one.
Rights
- to be educated
- to be healthy
- to be happy
Responsibilities
- to bring my homework
- to be a good role model
- to be kind to others
22 September 2023
Our whole-school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
Vocabulary is the focus of this week’s Talk Time.
Thinking about the new topic vocabulary, I can begin to use these words at home.
This half term, we’re all being geographers, learning specifically about British geography. Here’s a list of key words that are being learnt and applied as part of our learning:
Years 1 and 2 Geography vocabulary:
| atlas | a collection of maps, usually in a book |
| city | a large town |
| capital city | a city where the government of a country is located |
| compass | a tool for finding direction |
| locality | an area or neighbourhood |
| landmark | an object or feature of a locality that has importance and can be used to help find your way. |
| physical geography | physical geography looks at the natural things in our environment |
| human geography | human geography looks at changes in the environment by humans |
| fieldwork | observing and collecting data in a locality |
| map | a drawing of a place, usually from above |
| map key | a little box on a map which explains what the different lines and symbols on a map mean. |
Years 3 and 4 Geography vocabulary:
| grid reference | a location on a map which is found using numbered lines |
| easting | a vertical grid line which tells you how east or west you are on a map |
| northing | A horizontal grid line which tells you how north or south you are on a map |
| Ordnance Survey (OS) | Britain’s mapping agency |
| scale | the relationship between distance on a map and the matching distance on the ground |
| county | a region within a country |
| fieldwork | observing and collecting data in a locality |
| land-use | the specific purpose that an area of land is used for |
| compass points | the marks on a compass that show direction |
Years 5 and 6 Geography vocabulary:
| national park | an area set aside by the government for the preservation of the natural environment |
| city expansion | also called urban sprawl, this is the increase in built up area of a city. |
| urban green space | any vegetated land or water within an urban area |
| girth | the distance around the outside of something thick |
| carbon stores | places where carbon is stored in the environment |
| Justification | a good reason or explanation for something |
| interpolation | a process of finding unknown values that sit in between know values |
| sampling | a way of collecting fieldwork data without measuring anything |
Some of these words have already been discussed in lessons but there may be others that are going to be covered in the coming weeks.
Encourage your child to think back to their geography learning so far. The following questions might prompt your child to remember even more about the vocabulary:
- What does this word mean?
- Can you use the word in a sentence?
- Can you (where possible) give an example of this?
- Have you seen a picture or clip that links to that word?
- Can you link this word to one or more of the other words?
- Which of these words would you group together?
Each half term, we’re encouraging voice projection, fluency and pace. Referring to these ‘Remember 2s’ (R2s) will help your child to speak clearly and confidently:
- Think about what you are going to say before you speak.
- Talk in a clear, loud voice without shouting.
- Sit or stand with good posture (eg not slouching).
- Face the person, or people, that you are speaking to.
15 September 2023
Our whole school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number fact fluency: Use NumBots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.
Talk Time
This week’s Talk Time homework links to our current Geography topic, ‘Where in the world am I?’.
I can talk about my local area.
We encourage you and your child to go out and explore as part of this task. Be sure to find safe spaces to pause and reflect on the surrounding area.
Refer to these ‘Remember 2s’ (R2s) when discussions are taking place:
- physical features (natural things that would be around without people)
- human features (things that have been built by people)
- respect people whose views are different
You might wish to use these ideas as a starting point for your discussions:
- what facilities there are
- what I like
- what I don’t like
- how the area might be improved
- what I can do to help improve the area
This Talk Time is all about critical thinking. Your child might find it quite easy to talk positively about their local area. They may find it trickier to talk about aspects of the local area that they don’t like. Remind your child that it is okay to say that there are things they don’t like so long as they remain respectful and polite.
Skills developed in this Talk Time can help your child with other areas of learning, too. As part of your child’s daily reading, you could prompt your child to talk critically about a character or a part of the book that could be improved.
Additionally or alternatively, you might like your child to consider our current Christian value…
At St James’ CE Primary School, we learn about Christian values that help us to become well-rounded citizens in society. The values are woven into our everyday school life. Each half term, we have a new Christian value that will be embedded into our collective worship and our reflection areas.
This half term, our Christian Value is perseverance.
I can describe situations when I’ve shown perseverance.
Perseverance closely links to resilience which is one of our 8Rs for learning. For a great definition of resilience and to find out more about the 8Rs, follow the link below:
https://www.stjameswetherby.leeds.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Parent-Eight-Rs-StJ.pdf
Perseverance is a useful skill for people of all ages. Everyone will encounter things that they find difficult. Your child will probably be able to relate to having to keep going with at least one of the following:
- remembering a piece of knowledge (eg facts about a historical figure)
- improving at a skill (eg counting forwards and backwards in 10s)
- learning something new (eg times table, poem or song)
- reading (a particular word, passage or perhaps entire book)
- spelling a tricky or unfamiliar word
- playing a sport or musical instrument
- creating a piece of art or something crafty
08 September 2023
Our whole school homework this week is:
Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.
Number Fact Fluency: use Numbots or Times Tables Rock Stars in regular, short bursts.
Talk Time
Our first Talk Time homework of the year is related to Living and Learning:
I can greet someone politely.
We greet people every day. Our greetings have the power to really improve other people’s moods. Here’s an example of a friendly greeting that we encourage children to use…
‘Morning!’
‘Hi. How’re you?’
‘I’m fine, thanks. What about you?’
‘I’m ok, thanks.’
Encourage your child to greet people out of school in a similar way! Our ‘Remember 2s’ (R2s) for this are:
- greeting
- ask how someone is / answer and ask back
- thank them for asking
Talk about different ways to greet people in a polite and friendly way.
Talk about why greeting people politely helps. To help with your discussions, you might consider these questions at home…
- When and where might you greet someone? (During school time, before school, after school, at weekends…)
- How will you greet someone? (Facial expressions, body language, tone of voice…)
- What questions might you ask when greeting someone?
- Why is it important to ask questions? (What does it show? How will the other person feel?)
14 July 2023
I can share my views about health.
We’re proud to be a happy and healthy school.
Each year, we ask you to complete a short health questionnaire. Your views can help us to become even happier and healthier.
Parents/carers: please complete a survey with your child, to find out their views on some of our key health issues at school, and comment at the end.
You can find the link to the survey in the Homework page of our school website.
Please submit before Tuesday 18 July 2023.
07 July 2023
This Talk Time relates to your end-of-year report.
I can talk with adults at home about my report, recognising successes and strengths.
It’s important to remember that your achievements come in many forms. Your key strengths could relate to your learning behaviour, your attainment in a particular subject, or your speed of progress.
This is also a great opportunity to apply your understanding of the 8Rs for learning:
- responsive
- ready
- (safe) risks
- responsible
- resourceful
- resilient
- remember
- reflect
Being reflective will be the most prominent of the 8Rs in your conversations as you’ll identify successes recognised by your teacher in the report but also other strengths that you’re aware of. Consider which of the other 8Rs you currently excel at the most. Perhaps you’re a very responsible individual who always demonstrates good learning behaviour. Maybe you’re extremely resilient and have a never-give-up attitude. It could be that you’re very resourceful, using what’s around you to support your learning and not always seeking help right away.
30 June 2023
This week’s Talk Time relates to the knowledge we’ve gained about Science this half term.
I can show off my biological knowledge through my understanding of animals including humans.
Years 1 and 2 – Animals including humans:
- I know that animals, including humans, have offspring, which grow into adults.
- I can find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including humans, for survival (water, food and air).
- I can describe the importance for humans of exercise, eating the right amount of different types of food, and hygiene.
Years 3 and 4 – Animals including humans:
- I can describe the simple functions of the basic parts of the digestive system in humans.
- I can identify the different types of teeth in humans and their simple functions.
- I can construct and interpret a variety of food chains, identifying producers, predators and prey.
Years 5 and 6 – Animals including humans:
- I can identify and name the main parts of the human circulatory system, and describe the functions of the heart, blood vessels and blood.
- I am aware of the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way my body functions.
- I can describe the ways in which nutrients and water are transported within animals, including humans.
At school, we refer to 8Rs to promote good learning behaviour:
- responsive
- ready
- (safe) risks
- responsible
- resourceful
- resilient
- remember
- reflect
This week’s ‘Remember 2s’ (R2s) directly link to three of the 8Rs:
- Remember – Think back to Science lessons, learning, tasks, games etc.
- Reflect – Which facts are you most confident with? Which ones do you need to work on?
- Resourceful – For facts you’re unsure of, how can you improve your understanding? Who could you ask at home or at school?
Year 5/6 only – complete your My Health My School pupil diary from Saturday 01 July for the next seven days and return it to class once completed.