Homework

16 May 2025

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 has a moral question.

Should all adults have the right to vote?

What is voting?

Voting is a process by which a group of people can decide things fairly when they don’t all agree. Voting is an important part of the type of government called democracy. In a democracy, people use voting to choose government leaders. These government leaders represent their local areas and work together to consider and propose new laws. You must be 18 or over to take part in an election.

Can you think of a time when you’ve voted for something? How did you feel when you cast your vote? Was the process fair? For example, each year in school we elect a new Junior Leadership Team. Each class has the opportunity to vote for a representative from their class to be nominated.

Have a conversation with your family and friends at home and think about whether you feel all adults should have the right to vote and why. After your conversation, take some time to reflect on your own and others’ responses. Is there anything that you would like to know more about?

Living and Learning

Each week’s Living and Learning statement features in the school calendar – check out the prompt to support you and your child in this area. Find the statements in the calendar – you’ll see it in the Find Out section of our website.

09 May 2025

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

In our science lessons, we explore the world around us by thinking and working like scientists. We use a range of practical methods, processes, and skills to investigate scientific ideas and answer important questions.

In science lessons, we use scientific enquiry to help us to answer questions. The five main types of scientific enquiry are:

• Observing over time
• Pattern seeking
• Identifying, classifying, and grouping
• Comparative and fair testing
• Research using secondary sources

In this homework, we’d like you to choose an enquiry question from the ones listed below (or a different one that you think up) and discuss how you would investigate and answer it. You could even set up and conduct the enquiry at home and let us know what you have found.

Do flowers grow best in sunny parts of a garden or park?

Do all flowers have the same number of petals?

Do taller plants always have bigger leaves?

Can you sort these household objects according to their physical characteristics? (eg smooth and rough, shiny and dull)

Can you sort these leaves according to their physical characteristics? (eg spiky and not spiky, leaflets or not, one colour or more than one colour)

How does my sunflower change each week?

How long do bubble bath bubbles last for?

How do flowers in a vase change over time?

Does a seed germinate quicker with or without water?

02 May 2025

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 has a social theme:

 I can describe situations where I’ve demonstrated our 8 Rs for learning.

 At school, we promote positive learning behaviours through our 8 Rs for Learning. These important qualities help children become confident, independent learners. They are:

• responsive
• responsible
• ready
• (safe) risks
• resourceful
• resilient
• reflect
• remember

Each ‘R’ is represented by a different animal, which can help your child remember them more easily. Can they match each animal to its learning behaviour?

Spend some time chatting with your child about moments when they’ve shown these learning behaviours – either at school, at home or at other times. It’s a great way to help them recognise and value their growth as learners!

Also, here are some ways that you can help your child to be ready and able to demonstrate these qualities:

Parent Eight Rs StJ v2022

25 April 2025

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 has a Reading and Oracy theme.

 I can read an extract.

Year 1 and 2

Read the following extract using clear pronunciation and expression. You could take turns to read a line or a verse with someone else at home.

An extract from, Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

Grace was a girl who loved stories. She didn’t mind if they were read to her or told to her or made up in her own head. She didn’t care if they were from books or on TV or in films or on the video or out of Nana’s long memory. Grace just loved stories. And after she had heard them, or sometimes while they were still going on, Grace would act them out. And she always gave herself the most exciting part.

Year 3 and 4

Read the following extract using clear pronunciation. As you read the extract aloud, think about the use of your facial expressions and eye contact too. Consider how and why they change throughout the text.

An extract from Loidis, Ledes, Leeds by Tom Palmer

 They had been at the Leeds City Museum for over an hour when Nishaa reached the Egyptian mummy in its glass case. She took one look, then turned away.

It was horrible.

Immediately Nishaa felt disappointed in herself. Disappointed because she loved the idea of being able stand next to things that were thousands of years old. Real things from ancient history. How cool was that? She’d read enough books about them to know how amazing these artefacts were.

But there was something about this mummy. Something dry and brown and rotten that made her feel sick at the same time as being fascinated. Too much like a dead body from centuries ago. Which is exactly what it was.

‘Shall we go and stand outside?’ Mo suggested, noticing Nishaa’s reaction.

‘Get some fresh air.’

‘Yeah,’ Nishaa agreed. Mo led the way. Nishaa and Jack followed. Jack was ready to go too.

They’d done the ancient history section – and the history of Leeds section. Both had been okay, but he’d had enough now. Mo took his two friends down a corridor and through some glass doors. Then another corridor, which was different to the others. It had bare walls. No colourful displays. Even so, Mo felt confident that this was the way out.

Until he saw that the way was blocked by a woman wearing an old-fashioned dress, long dark hair tucked neatly beneath a wide-brimmed hat. She was also wearing a purple ribbon across her coat. The corridor felt suddenly cold.

Mo shivered.

‘Hello,’ the woman said, addressing all three of them.

‘Er… hi,’ Mo said.

‘How are you enjoying the museum, children?’

‘Good thanks,’ Nishaa said.

‘Well, it’s not that good,’ Jack contradicted. He felt tired and grumpy now. He just wanted to be on the bus home.

‘Did you enjoy the gallery about Leeds and its history?’ the woman asked.

‘It was okay,’ Mo replied. ‘But we didn’t really stop for too long.’

‘That’s a shame,’ the woman said. ‘Don’t you want to know about the history of your city?’

‘Not really,’ Jack answered.

The woman said nothing. She just looked at the three children, one after the other.

None of them quite understood who she was, until Nishaa had a thought. Something she remembered from a London museum her dad had taken her to in the summer holidays.

Year 5 and 6

Read the following extract using clear pronunciation. As you read the extract aloud, think about the use of your facial expressions and eye contact too. Consider how and why they change throughout the text.

An extract from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats – the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill – The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it – and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining-rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left-hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep-set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river.

This hobbit was a very well-to-do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours’ respect, but he gained – well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.

28 March 2025

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 homework. This half-term our topic has been Computing. We’ve been using and applying the key vocabulary below in our learning.

Years 1 and 2 Computing vocabulary:

• algorithm: a sequence of instructions or a set of rules to get something done
• command: an instruction that can be used in a program
• program: an algorithm or algorithms which can be run by a computer
• to debug: to find and fix errors in algorithms
• computer: a type of machine that can follow instructions and do useful things

Years 3 and 4 Computing vocabulary:

• computer: a machine that can input, process and output data
• program: an algorithm or algorithms which can be run by a computer
• code: the commands that a program can run (eg the blocks in Scratch)
• repetition: to repeat the execution of certain instructions
• sequence: to arrange instructions in a particular order
• logical reasoning: helps us explain why something happens
• sprite: a 2d character in a computer game
• decomposition: the process of breaking down a task into smaller, more-manageable parts
• input: data sent to a computer system from a device (eg keyboard, mouse, microphone)
• output: data sent out of a computer system via a device (eg monitor, printer, speaker)

Years 5 and 6 Computing vocabulary:

• decomposition: the process of breaking down a task into smaller, more-manageable parts
• repetition: to repeat the execution of certain instructions
• selection: choosing to execute one set of instructions over another
• variable: a value that can be set and changed throughout the running of a program (eg a timer, a score, a number of lives left)
• simulation: modelling a real-world or imaginary situation
• computer network: a collection of interconnected computer systems which ‘talk’ to each other by exchanging data
• world wide web: ‘www’ or ‘web’ for short is a collection of web pages of digital content found on the internet
• internet: a huge global computer network

All of these words have been introduced over the half term. How confident do you feel explaining what they mean? Can you traffic light them into green (very confident), yellow/orange (mostly confident) or red (

21 March 2025

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 links to Science.

What’s growing?

As the season changes from Winter to Spring, you’ll begin to notice changes in gardens, parks, fields and any other green spaces! You may see flowers starting to bloom or new leaves starting to grow on trees. It’s a wonderfully magical time of year. This week, we’d like you to observe the different changes that you spot in your locality.

You could work scientifically by:

• recording your observations by taking photographs or sketching flowers
• using books or internet research to identify flowers
• spotting patterns relating to where particular flowers are growing eg sunny or shady spots
• identifying if all deciduous trees are sprouting new leaves at the same time

14 March 2025

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 poses a moral dilemma and links to internet safety.

Is using the internet bad for your health?

You could start by listing reasons why you would use the internet (playing games, social media, watching videos). Are your reasons the same as other members of your family?

We suggest approaching this Talk Time with an open mind. You may already have strong views on this but it’s important to consider both sides of an argument before reaching your conclusions.

Check out these R2s to help you with your discussions at home:

• What are the health benefits of using the internet?
  • Remember that mental health is crucial to being a healthy person.
• How could using the internet negatively impact on your health?
  • How could this impact on your physical health?
  • Is using the internet always an enjoyable experience?
• Decide which argument is the
  • This might be the side with the most points to back it up.
  • You might consider some points to be more important than others.
  • You may not agree with people you speak to – that’s okay!

After the discussion with friends and family, what conclusion do you reach? Do others around you agree?

Living and Learning

Each week’s Living and Learning statement features in the school calendar – check out the prompt to support you and your child in this area. Find the statements in the calendar – you’ll see it in the Find Out section of our website.

07 March 2025

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 has a moral and social theme:

I can lead a Philosophy Friday session at home.

What is Philosophy?

We’ve thought deeply about this and have written these simple definitions about what philosophy is:

Your task:

Choose one of the questions below or come up with your own thought-provoking idea. Gather your family and/or friends and ask them your chosen question. Explore each other’s different thoughts or views through discussion.

Year 1

·      If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

·      If animals could talk, what do you think they’d say?

·      What does it mean to be a good friend?

Year 2

·      Can animals be cruel?

·      Would you rather change into a bird and fly or change into a fish and swim?

·      If you were a biscuit, what type of biscuit would you be and why? What about other members of your family?

Year 3

·      Is it okay to take something that isn’t yours?

·      If you’d been given a different name, would you be a different person?

·      If it were possible to live forever, would you want to?

Year 4

·      Do computers have feelings?

·      What can you do that an animal can’t?

·      Would you rather meet a tarantula who was kind, or a puppy who wasn’t?

Year 5

·      Why are some memories more important than others?

·      Why can people own animals but not own people?

·      Is it important to stand out from the crowd?

Year 6

·      Would you rather be able to invent something incredible or destroy something terrible?

·      Can I think myself happy?

·      Who owns the sky?

As a facilitator try to:

• remain neutral
• allow each person to communicate their thoughts and opinions
• question, repeat or re-phrase and summarise
• it’s okay to disagree but everyone needs to be respectful

Below are some example sentence starters to help you express your thoughts.

28 February 2025

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 has a reading and oracy theme. This is because on Thursday 06 March 2025 it is World Book Day. To celebrate reading, we’d like you to have some conversations about your favourite books and or/authors.

I can talk about my favourite book and/or author.

You can come up with your own ideas for how to show this. Ideas might include:

• giving a verbal book review of your favourite book
• describing a character from your favourite book
• giving a one minute speech on your favourite book, persuading others to read it – consider what the most exciting parts are, which characters you love or you love to hate, who might enjoy reading it next and why

When you’re happy with what you want to say, turn your attention to speaking aloud with confidence and clarity. This week’s Remember 2s (R2s) will help with that:

• Speak clearly in a loud voice without shouting.
• Pause for breath at the right places to make sure your speaking at an appropriate pace.
• Face your audience.

This homework will be celebrated on World Book Day itself, Thursday 06 March 2025.

07 February 2025

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, our Talk Time is in preparation for Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 11 February. We’ll have a full day of learning based around internet safety. With that in mind, start to think about ways you already keep yourself safe when online.

I can talk about ways to keep myself safe online

Things you might like to consider are:

• Age restrictions – where might you see these and why are these used?
• Digital content – do you know what a digital footprint is?
• Mis information, disinformation and hoaxes – are all things we read true?
• Fake websites and scam emails – are all websites trusted?
• Password safety
• Personal data and keeping it safe online
• Online vs offline behaviour
• Impact on quality of life and having a balance of online and offline activities

Have a conversation with your family and friends about how you already keep yourself safe online. After your conversation, take some time to reflect on yours and others responses. Is there anything that you could change or do differently to help keep yourself even safer online? Is there anything you’d like to know more about?

Living and Learning

Each week’s Living and Learning statement features in the school calendar – check out the prompt to support you and your child in this area. Find the statements in the calendar – you’ll see it in the Find Out section of our website.