Monday – here it is again! Just in case you are missing my old, impromptu songs, here is one that came to mind for today! Enjoy the music and the history lesson  from 1960s.

This week it is Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme for this year is kindness. Here are some ideas to get you going.

https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-involved/teaching-resources/kindness-calendar

I have also got a grid for you to use to cross off any acts of kindness that you perform and hopefully you will complete all the activities very quickly. I am hoping that you are already doing lots of these things while we have to stay at home so much!

Monday gives us the start of the week’s routine and sets us off in a familiar way, so here we go with this week’s spelling words.

Literacy

This week our focus is et endings. The problem with these words is the way that we say them! We say jackit rather than jacket – so these are words where we need to recognise the correct spelling. You will also notice that the words all end in cket, so spelling is pretty easy this week!

You could write your spelling words out in a picture, like the one on the page, but make it more interesting by including all the words!

Write the date and I can spell and use words ending in et. Follow the instructions and examples carefully. You will see that the Extension section revises syllables. Here’s a fun site to remind you of how we can split words into syllables.

Numeracy

It’s time to exercise your brain with a daily stretch, so here goes!

Today we are going to focus on using place value to order numbers on a number line. This link is quite long, but it takes you through how to apply the skill starting with three digits and then working up to 4 digits. You can stop it at any time to revise and develop your understanding.

Please write the date and I can order and work out where to put numbers on a number line. Order the numbers carefully by applying your knowledge of place value. Once you have done that, look at the intervals between the numbers on the number line and work out what they represent – 100, 50 or 10. Use this information to match the correct number to each letter. The first one has been done for you.

To practise, here is a good site which you can adjust depending on your skill level.

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/37/placing_numbers_on_a_number_line

So… until tomorrow!

Bonjour, I think you will recognise the start of this tune!

So here we are at Friday again – I can’t believe it!!

I can see that PM, NM, Co B, Ca B and LF have been developing skills on Sumdog this week- keep up the good work!

There’s a North Lanarkshire contest taking place from today until next Thursday. We need at least 10 from the class for our scores to count, so come everyone, let’s show them what we can do!!

I hope that you are managing to keep active and stay fit during this time, even though it can be difficult.  Here are some ideas of moves that you can do at home.

You know what the end of the week means!! How are you doing with your spelling – are you making progress and finding ways to help?

Have you been onto Sumdog and finished your spelling diagnostic test? Some of the scores so far are excellent, so please complete all of the questions so that we can see your final score. Many thanks!

Our focus for writing will be to create an interesting character. This skill links to Wednesday’s description of the Oompa-Loompas, only this time, you are thinking about, visualising and describing a character of your own.  If you look at the drawing challenge at the bottom of this post; and watch this link , they will help you to think about some ideas.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zkgcwmn/articles/zd72scw

If you think about a setting, then it might help you to think about a character e.g. space, underwater, spy hideout, fairground, shopping mall. What type of character might you find in these settings? Characters can be people, animals, imaginary creatures, etc.

The character should be well described so that it can be easily visualised by the reader.

Here are two examples from  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling (Scholastic, 1998)
•   He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbours. (p. 1)

•   A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair. (p. 46)

Over to you! Write the date and I can create an interesting character neatly in your jotter. After you have  thought and drawn out your character, make  notes and organise these into paragraphs so that the character description is written sensibly and clearly.

• draw out your character – think about the build and physical features/facial expressions
•  add the clothes/accessories – anything that stands out?
•  how does it move?
•  how does it speak/ what noises does it make?
•  what is the personality of the character like?

You could type out and illustrate your description if you’d like to!

As usual, please traffic light and comment on your writing. Please show your work to someone, so that they can read and comment on your writing, too!

Numeracy

Something a little different today! We’re going to revise the properties of 3d shapes, so take a look at the video link.

In your jotter, please write the date and I can identify the properties of 3d shapes. For each shape write its name ( these are in the box at the bottom of the sheet, so no excuses for incorrect spelling!), the number of faces, edges and vertices that it has. To help, you could look for similar shapes at home to help you count the properties e.g. tissue box or a tin. Please traffic light and comment when you have finished.

There are several 3d games for you to try on this site.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=3D+shapes

Here’s a quiz to find out how your understanding of 3d shape properties is progressing.

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/maths/ma343dsh/quiz/ma343dsh-e3-quiz.pdf

For all of our artists, here’s a challenge if you’re interested.

Last….but not least.., I hope that you have a safe and relaxing weekend and we’ll catch up again on Monday.

 

 

 

Here we are, we’ve arrived safely and we’re bright eyed ready to engage in our learning!

Did you look at the Rights Respecting Assembly yesterday – all about Article 7? I really enjoyed listening to the story- The Name Jar and the importance of being proud of who we are and our heritage.

Well done to Ca B who has a fantastic avatar on Epic because he read after 7pm. If you click on each avatar with a lock on it, it will tell you what you have to do to open it! PM has also been reading- I liked your fiction choice!

Also well done to LF who has opened up several games on Activelearn. Remember that there are lots of different ways to practise your skills!

Literacy

For your spelling practise you could make up a wordsearch of silent w words and play the game online. https://thewordsearch.com/maker

Today, we are focusing on commas. We know that commas are used in:

lists  e.g.  At the zoo we saw tigers, zebras, hippos and penguins. We know that between the last two items in the list we do not put a comma, we just write “and”.

pauses e.g. After school, she needs to walk home. There is a pause and the comma also helps with expression when reading the sentence.

They are also used to enclose extra information (Parenthesis.)

The class won the Cool Class Cup. is a complete sentence, but we can add more interesting information using two commas.

 The class, which was the most well-behaved in the school, won the Cool Class Cup. This link gives you some examples and there is also a quiz at the end to check your understanding.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zvwwxnb/articles/zc773k7

https://www.educationquizzes.com/ks2/english/commas-02/

If we look at the page below, Unit 7, Using Commas, in the first example, the commas are used for pauses ( a little like a list of adjectives, but with extra information at the end) and the commas help us to read the information with a suitable sinister expression.

The second example tells us that – The shark has a terrible bite. This is a sentence which makes sense on its own. However, we can add extra interesting information by using the commas. The shark, with its black back and white stomach, has a terrible bite.

Write the date and I can add commas for pauses and to include extra information. Decide whether you need to add the comma as a pause or use two commas to enclose additional information.

In this section you need to read each sentence, decide what type of sentence it is, think about rules for capital letters and then apply today’s learning about the use of commas. Phew 😅  there’s a lot to think about!

There are a number of games here to help you practise your skills in using commas.

https://wartgames.com/themes/languagearts/comma.html

Numeracy

Like an elastic band, your brain will expand while it is being stretched!

Multiply using partition grids. These links will remind you how to multiply 2 and 3 digit numbers using partition grids.

Now it’s time for you to apply the skill that you’ve been learning. Write the date and I can multiply using partition grids. Neatly draw out the grids in you jotter, giving yourself enough room to write in all of the numbers clearly.

I came across a link to the Viking exhibits at the British Museum which I thought you might like to explore.

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/?s=vikings

I like the idea of us being strong and fearless like the Vikings, not worried about anything, but remember that if you are feeling worried, anxious, frustrated or upset – then Mrs McMillan’s “Take a Moment” breathing techniques are a great way to  relax. Here’s the latest – 4, 7, 8 breathing.

 

Morning, busy bees, how are you doing?

Did you have a look at the Epic site? I could see that AD and SR had been browsing and reading. Well done.

I hope that you have been listening and reading along with the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We will need information from the end of chapter 15 and chapter 16 to complete today’s task.

 

Spelling- as you are reading, make a note of any silent w words that you come across.

Today  we are focusing on  finding and selecting information about character from the text. Please write the date and  I can write a character description of the Oompa-Loompas in your jotter.

Here are these pages you need to find information about the Oompa- Loompas from the text. If you can print them off, then you could mark the text on the paper, if not, then take notes as you read through.

I want you to think of as many different aspects of the character as you can e.g. appearance, likes/dislikes, personality, background (where the character came from, its history). Organise your notes so that information that is similar is in the same paragraph- all appearance is in the same paragraph, etc.

Here is a link to describing characters, to help you organise your ideas:

Make sure that you read through the description to check that the information flows and makes sense. Traffic light and comment on your learning, then please ask someone else read your character description and ask them to write a comment saying whether you achieved all the success criteria.

Numeracy

Eyes down for your mental maths daily stretch!

Our focus for addition today is the use of partitioning to help us calculate. Date and write in your jotter, I can add using partitioning grids. Follow the instructions and set your work out in well drawn out boxes, where the place values are correct and make sense. 

Please traffic light your work and comment on your learning.

Today, please spend at least 10 minutes on Sumdog, and try to complete the skill that you have been practising.

Just a reminder that we still have access to the Oxford Owl website.

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/

Click on the “My class login” and enter these details

username: primary 4/5 – there is a space between  y and 4

password: Password – P is a capital letter

Okay, so this is me carrying you through to tomorrow!

 

Let’s hear it for all those that we know and love working  in medical, nursing and care jobs.  Thank you !

Hi everyone, I hope that enjoyed a bit of down time over the long weekend. I miss all of you so much and wonder how you are doing. Remember that you can get in touch by leaving a comment in the box at the bottom of the post – I’d love to hear from you, and of course I’d like to hear your suggestions for aspects of literacy and numeracy that you’d like to practise, too!

First of all some exciting news! This is a fantastic opportunity to get access to reading materials for free up to the end of June from a site called Epic. https://www.getepic.com/students

Once you are on the site, I have set up our class, so you just need to click on the class and it will let you in. Click on the blue button rer5028  – this is our class code.

Then you select your own name and are good to go! It has assigned pictures to each name, but you can change your avatar if you go into your profile above your name on the top right hand side. You can select your own materials, to start off with, there are lots of different subjects and titles and enjoy exploring the site.

This link takes you to a calendar of different fun activities for May.

https://cdn.getepic.com/website/assets/activity-calendar/calendar-pdfs/BTS_Calendar_May20.pdf

Literacy

Spelling – our words this week all have a silent w. Choose a way to practise your words and make sure that you have spelt them correctly. For sections A and B, please date and write I can identify words with a silent w and complete the tasks neatly in your jotter.

The next task involves you identifying silent letters ( when you say the word, which letter sound in the word don’t you hear e.g. in crumb, the silent letter is b) and putting the words under the correct heading. It asks you to use a dictionary to look up the meaning of any words you don’t know. Here is a link to an online dictionary.

https://schools.collinsdictionary.com/browse/primary/

Numeracy

I hope that you are enjoying your mental maths workouts. When you look at the time question remember that we count around the clock in 5s.

Our place value focus today is negative numbers. Some of you looked at this in class, but I think we were all interested, so let’s all have a look at these links which show us how they work.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/znwj6sg/articles/zxthnbk

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/znwj6sg/resources/1

Put the date and I can calculate differences using negative numbers, neatly into your jotter. As you can see the first answer is shown in the top right hand corner, demonstrating that a negative number has a – minus sign in front of it. Choose the page that is most suitable for your level of learning., but you can do both only if you want to.

This page is an extension page and uses temperatures to practise. Please use this number line to help.

If the temperature is 5 degrees (°) and drops by 10 ° then we start at 5° and take away 5° so that we end up at 0, then have to take away another 5°, so we end up at -5°C . The answer is given at the top right hand side of the page.

Use these links to practise using negative numbers:

http://www.snappymaths.com/counting/negative/interactive/thermometers1/thermometers1.htm

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/450/ITP-Number-Line

WWF are linking learning to the Frozen Worlds this week. If you have missed any of their previous clips on forests, coastal seas and freshwater, then you can always take a look.

https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/love-nature

Here is the link to last week’s “Take a Moment”. Mrs McMillan is giving us all some great techniques to use at home, so take a look …… and take a moment to relax and refocus.

See you tomorrow, for another exciting day of home learning.

 

 

Congratulations to our friends in  Primary 4 who have again won the inter-class competition!

I would like to say a huge thanks to PM- 3rd, LI – 6th and LF – 10th who kept us in with a chance. 

In the grammar assessment – great work from AD, LF and LI.

In the spelling challenge – great skills from LI, AD and ML

   Well done, everyone, you are working really well. 

Welcome to Thursday, my great Primary 4/5 team !

Here’s a little rhyme for you to sing along with! It always makes me think about playtimes , home-time  and me asking you to zip up your coats before you go outside – it makes me smile!

Did you take part in the Assembly yesterday? You can still get involved through the school blog.

Our positions for the Sumdog competition are : LI – 6, PM- 7 and LF – 10. You’re doing well and your skills are improving so well done. Later today I will let you know how you’ve got on in spelling, grammar and maths on Sumdog this week.

There is no school tomorrow because of the long holiday weekend. We are having Friday as a holiday instead of last Monday because tomorrow it is 75 years since the war in Europe ended. It was not the end of World War 2, but it was hugely important.

This clip from a month before schools were shut, gives you some information about VE Day and some of the events that should have been taking place tomorrow. The day is still being remembered but now in different ways.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ve+day+for+kids+2020&&view=detail&mid=333B928E4CD7D03A84C5333B928E4CD7D03A84C5&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dve%2Bday%2Bfor%2Bkids%2B2020%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

There are PowerPoints on Twinkl which give information of Scotland’s experience of the day, but unfortunately I can’t link them. Please check out the Twinkl Home Learning Hub for information. https://www.twinkl.co.uk/event/ve-day-2020

Literacy

How is your spelling this week? The spelling patterns are very similar, so you should be doing well. Please ask someone to check them with you and congratulate yourself if you do well.

Today’s literacy focus is a comprehension about VE Day in 1945. Read the information through carefully and make sure that you have understood the facts. Notice the quote from Winston Churchill, highlighted in bold and between quotation marks.

In your jotter, please write the date, I can describe some of the events of VE Day and answer these questions carefully.

1.   Explain, in detail what the importance of VE Day was, what had ended?
2. What was the role of General Jodl in the events?
3. What does “the bell ringers were on standby” mean?
4. In your own words, explain what effects the war in Europe had on Britain.
5. What did Stalin do and how did this affect Churchill?
6. What date was VE Day?
7. Name two or more ways that people might have lost loved ones during the war in Europe.
8. Describe how people celebrated VE Day.
9.  Why did the princesses join the crowds in London?
10.  Was this the end of the war? Explain your answer.
11.   Why were 2 searchlights lit in the shape of a V?

As usual, please traffic light and comment on your skills.

Numeracy

Make up tunes to help you through, daily maths is here for you!

Today, you are going to do some problem solving using Morse Code which was an important method of communication during the war.

Here is an introduction to the invention and development of Morse Code

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=morse+code+for+kids&&view=detail&mid=8BE0972F60727965DA7C8BE0972F60727965DA7C&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dmorse%2Bcode%2Bfor%2Bkids%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

Here are the Morse Code signals that you will use to solve the puzzles.  Date, I can solve puzzles using Morse Code

 

You could try sending messages to your friends over the phone making the long and short sounds for each letter , or you could text a coded message. You could even send me a coded message in the comments section!

The Sumdog addition and subtraction competition closes at 3pm this afternoon, so good luck 😉 this week.

Just to leave you with a song that was very important to keep the spirits up during World War 2 and is just as important to us all now  as we wait to find out when we will be able to see each other again.

Have a lovely long weekend, stay safe and we’ll meet again ….through the power of the Blog,  on Tuesday!

 

Bonjour la classe, and welcome to Wednesday!

Update on Sumdog.  Maths competition PM -5th place, LI – 8th place and LF – 9th place. Well done and keep going!

Spelling challenge – Well done to LI, S Ma, ML and AD for taking part in the challenge. It is still open today for those still to take part.

 

Literacy

Keep practising your spelling words in whichever way suits you. Sometimes just writing them out carefully 3 times, can help you to visualise the words.

Your focus for today is adverbs. We have learnt about and used adverbs to let us know more about a verb e.g. she painted the picture carefully. How did she paint the picture? She painted it carefully.

This link explains some of the ways that adverbs are used in more detail and will help you with your follow up tasks.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=adverbs&&view=detail&mid=073E479EFD3FA2C09347073E479EFD3FA2C09347&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dadverbs%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

You will notice that these adverbs link to some of the spelling rules that you have been practising – remember that the skill of making links is so useful to your learning and understanding.

Please write  the date and I can identify different types of adverbs. Read the information given to you and look at the examples given.  Follow  the instructions and remember that a verb is an action word ( can you do it or can it be done by something? ).

Draw a chart neatly into your jotter and write the headings. Then identify which type of adverb the words are and write them under the correct heading.

Have you checked your punctuation? Do the sentences make sense? You will need to use capital letters, full stops, commas and an apostrophe, for the meaning to be clear.

There’s a grammar assessment on Sumdog which covers skills that you have been practising recently, so give it a go!

Number

Here’s your numeracy brain work – out to wake up those strategies!

Thinking about the double and near double strategy that we used for addition yesterday, this task helps you to think about the strategy but this time for subtraction.

Please write  the date, I can subtract using doubles, near doubles and adjusting.

Self assess by traffic lighting and commenting on your learning.

As a finishing task, these games will help you to practise using doubles and/or take part in the Sumdog addition and subtraction competition.

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/activities/neardoubles.swf

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Take a look at the Meaningful May Action Calendar that Mr Green posted on the school blog. Today it says ” Take a step towards one of your life goals, however small.”

I am so proud of you and I hope that you are proud of yourselves for all the steps you are taking to make progress and achieve success while you are learning at home.

Here are the links to Mrs McMillan’s “Take a Moment” relaxation techniques, if you haven’t already seen them. A new one will be on the school blog tomorrow.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=take+a+moment+Mrs+McMillan&&view=detail&mid=63DF12390461CA3602A863DF12390461CA3602A8&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dtake%2520a%2520moment%2520Mrs%2520McMillan%26qs%3Dn%26form%3DQBVR%26sp%3D-1%26pq%3Dtake%2520a%2520moment%2520mrs%2520mcmillan%26sc%3D0-26%26sk%3D%26cvid%3DCAC43BEE1A43462CA5D1B3A08333D1AF

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=take+a+moment+mrs+mcmillan&&view=detail&mid=8A007A77FFA817532EE88A007A77FFA817532EE8&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dtake%2520a%2520moment%2520mrs%2520mcmillan%26qs%3DHS%26form%3DQBVR%26sp%3D1%26pq%3Dtake%2520a%2520moment%2520mrs%2520mcmillan%26sc%3D1-26%26cvid%3DE87D49208D40498CA23463BCA17F0482

Welcome to Tuesday, everyone – let’s make it sparkle!!

Here’s the latest on the Sumdog competition, PM and LF are in the top 6 – well done 👍🏻

Literacy

For your spelling today, I have put up a challenge on Sumdog. The words are all common and familiar words, which we have been practising over the year, so good luck!

Your literacy focus is handwriting and today we will be practising how to join double consonants. It is so important that the formation and sizing of your letters is correct so that you can join accurately and this is a skill that I have been advising as a next step all year!!

Look at what the letters look like depending on which letter they are joined to – look at offer. Also check the break letters!

Please write the date and I can join consonants together correctly in your jotter. Take your time and copy all the punctuation where necessary.

Here, you need to look carefully at the break letters and whether you are using a baseline or horizontal join.

So, are you proud of your handwriting, has it improved? Traffic light 🚦 your work, and comment on your learning.

Numeracy

Let’s keep our maths minds alert and expand them with your daily stretch! It’s like Joe Wicks for the mind!

Remember last week, the poster for maths strategies – did you add in this strategy  Doubles and Near Doubles ? Well done if you did!

Today we will focus on using doubles and near doubles as a strategy for helping us to calculate. Please watch the following link:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=doubles+and+near+doubles+ks2&&view=detail&mid=C52D26FE07E9DE45E684C52D26FE07E9DE45E684&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Ddoubles%2Band%2Bnear%2Bdoubles%2Bks2%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

As you can see, you use what you know about doubles and near doubles, so that you can adjust to make the calculating easier!

Please write the date and I can use doubles, near doubles and adjusting to calculate mentally.

1.     12   +    13 =
2.     25   +    26 =
3.    38    +    42 =
4.    59    +    61 =
5.  102   +   99 =
6.  251  +  248 =
7.  299  +  301 =
8.  402  + 398  =
9.  503  + 499  =
10.  599 +  602 =

Please traffic light and comment on your learning.

As a finisher today, please develop these mental maths skills as you play at least 10 minutes of Sumdog – the addition/subtraction competition is hotting up!

Have you been keeping up with your exercise?  I try to do some stretches and walk about in the house if I can’t get outside.

  I know  – just look at me!! 

so I hope this visual made you smile too!!

 The WWF Learn to love Nature is focusing on forests this week and there are some really cool activities which are worth a look.

https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/love-nature/forests

Until tomorrow mes enfants,