Dear Parents and Children,
The children have been given a Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling workbook today from which they will do their English homework. Children will be set this work on a Thursday and their book must be in school by the next Tuesday. The work is based on work we have been doing in class. The answers are in the back of the book and we ask that you mark them with the child. Circle any that they are uncertain of and we will go though these in class. We ask that the children write neatly using a pencil, or black or blue pen.
Although our year 5 children did ‘the times table check’ last summer, some of their knowledge of tables have become ‘a bit rusty’ and they don’t have immediate recall. Fluent recall of these number facts is essential for children to be able to cope with the year 5/6 curriculum in maths. This week we will be focussing on x 3 and x 6 times tables. Times Table Rock stars and Hit the Button are a great way of practising tables. We will test their tables knowledge on a Friday.
Maths homework will be set using Classroom secrets after half term.
Children also have spellings each week which are tested on a Monday- some of these follow a certain pattern or spelling rule, and others are high frequency words – some with tricky spellings – that the children will need in their writing.
Continuing to read at home is also important in year 5/6. Whilst we appreciate many of our children at this age wish to read alone, it is helpful to discuss the books with the children so you can assess their understanding of the text or dip in and read with them ‘once in a while’. We know some of parents share a bedside story with their children – taking it in turn to read a few pages each. Children who are still on the ‘coloured reading bands’ need to read at home regularly.
Thank you for all your support which is much appreciated.
Jill Benson and Rachael Bernasconi
