Homework

14 October 2022

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 for the upcoming elections.

07 October 2022

This week’s Talk Time relates to the knowledge we’ve gained about History this half term.

I can show off my knowledge of history.

 Years 1 and 2 – The Great Fire of London:
I know and can use words and phrases relating to time and chronology (eg old, new, past, a very long time ago, present, ancient, modern).
I know what houses were like before the Great Fire of London and that fires were quite common.
I know that Samuel Pepys’ diary helps us to know what the Great Fire of London was like.
I know why the fire spread quickly and how it was eventually put out.
I know what changed as a consequence of the Great Fire of London.

Years 3 and 4 – Ancient Greece:
I know that ancient Greece was divided into many city states and I know that Athens and Sparta were the most powerful. I know some of the main characteristics of the Athenians and the Spartans.
I know about the influence the gods had on Ancient Greece.
I know about the influence Ancient Greece has had on the Western world (e.g. philosophy, arts, science, maths, literature and politics).
I know that democracy is a Greek word meaning ‘government by the people’ and that our government today is a legacy of the Athenian assembly and council.

Years 5 and 6 – Stone Age to Iron Age:
I know how Britain changed between the beginning of the Stone Age and the Iron Age.
I know the main differences between the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages.
I know what is meant by ‘hunter-gatherer’.
I know about and can name some of the advanced societies that were in the world around 3000 years ago.
I can compare life in Britain 3000 years ago to life in Ancient Egypt.
I know that the Ancient Egyptians had a writing system called hieroglyphics.
I know that the Ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for pharaohs and that the biggest was built around 2500BC.

 At school, we refer to 8Rs to promote good learning behavior. Check out the 8R’s for learning. See how many your child knows.

This week’s ‘Remember 2s’ (R2s) directly link to three of the 8Rs:

• Remember – Think back to history 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?

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.

Perseverance is needed when standing firm in the face of any difficulty. It is the special gift that we have when life is difficult or painful that helps us not to give up. Difficulties might include hardship, persecution or scorn, although we hope these difficulties do not arise in our school. We use it more in the context of ‘keeping going’ and ‘not giving up’.

This week’s Talk Time homework is all about persevering when the going gets tough.

Set yourself a really tough challenge. This could be learning to tie your shoe laces, walking to school backwards, learning to draw a difficult animal or any other ideas that you have.

 Talk to a grown up about the challenge you set yourself. Why did you choose this challenge? How did you show perseverance? Tell your teacher all about the challenge you set yourself and how you felt when you needed to persevere.

30 September 2022

There’s a social theme to this week’s Talk Time as we think about our speaking and listening skills.

Agree or disagree: speaking is more important than listening!

Spend a few minutes having a conversation about your day with a someone at home. After the chat, reflect on how much time you spent speaking and how much time you spent listening. Would the conversation be the same if you didn’t speak/listen as effectively?

Below are some statements about effective listening and speaking which may help you when deciding whether you agree or disagree on the above statement.

Effective listening entails simultaneously observing, understanding, and generating ideas.

Effective speaking means being able to say what you want to say in such a way that it is heard and acted upon.

In school this half-term, we’re focussing on some of the physical skills of speaking. In particular, we’re ensuring children project their voice. When discussing this at home, help by making sure your child speaks confidently, clearly and coherently (no mumbling!).

23 September 2022

This week’s Talk Time brings together the learning that has happened in our Reading sessions last week. The Acceptable Use Agreements have been used in all classes as the stimulus for the reading lessons, as well as a copy being sent home to be agreed and signed.

Check out the KS1 and KS2 agreements.

After reading and discussing these agreements, do you feel these rules could apply outside of school too (e.g. at home or using the internet on your mobile phone)?

 Do you think it’s a good idea to have agreed rules in place when using the internet?

16 September 2022

There’s a social theme to this week’s Talk Time.

In our school, we have 3 school rules:

1. We keep our hands, feet and objects to ourselves.
2. We follow instructions.
3. We respect everyone and everything.

Is it important to have rules to follow in and outside of school? Is there a rule that we’re missing?

This week’s R2s (‘remember tos’) will help you to provide a balanced argument before you reach a conclusion:

• What are the reasons for having rules to follow (the pros)?
• What are the reasons against having rules to follow (the cons)?
• Reach a decision. Is it valuable to have rules to follow?
  • One list may have more points than the other.
  • Some points have a greater importance than others.

One way to approach this Talk Time is to have a debate with people in your household. This will not only help you generate ideas but also practise a range of oracy skills. Last year, one of the oracy focuses was building on the views of others and reasoning. When someone raises a point that you’re in agreement with, use one of the following phrases to start your response:

• I agree with you because…
• That’s a good point. I also think that…
• Furthermore, I’ll add that…

On the other hand, you may disagree with a point made by a family member. When that’s the case, it can be hard not to interrupt them. Another oracy focus from last year was turn-taking. To be respectful of others’ opinions, wait until a person has finished speaking and then respond using one of these sentence starters or one of your own:

• I hear what you’re saying but…
• That’s a good point. However…
• I take your point but…

09 September 2022

Vocabulary is the focus of this week’s Talk Time.

We’ve just begun a new Science topic and with it comes new Science vocabulary.

This half-term, we’re all biologists, learning specifically about Living Things and their Habitats. Here’s a list of key words that are being learnt and applied as part of our learning. Over the half-term, practise using these words with your child.

Years 1 and 2 Biology vocabulary:

Years 3 and 4 Biology vocabulary:

Years 5 and 6 Biology vocabulary:

Some of these words have been introduced already this week but there may be others that are going to be covered in the coming weeks.

15 July 2022

This final Talk Time of the academic year 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.

08 July 2022

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 this 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 Friday 15 July 2022.

01 July 2022

This week’s Talk Time has a Living and Learning focus:

I can talk about how to be safe near drugs (over-the-counter medicines and prescription drugs, for example).

A good starting point for your discussions could be to identify the drugs you’re aware of that have the potential to be helpful. Then, you could discuss a range of scenarios, establishing what being safe around drugs does and does not look like.

The following R2s will help you to stay safe around drugs:

• Only take drugs as detailed by your doctor and/or in the instructions (if an over-the-counter medicine).
• Do not take drugs that are prescribed for someone else.
• If you’re not sure what the drug is or how much you can have, don’t take it.
• If you need any medicine or have any related questions, ask a trusted adult.

24 June 2022

During this week’s Talk Time, you’ll explore an important moral dilemma.

Shops should try to sell clothes as cheaply as possible.

When discussing the statement, there are a number of factors to take into consideration. Your conversations at home may begin by attempting to answer the following questions:

• Who would benefit from clothes being sold as cheaply as possible?
  • Bear in mind that not everyone shares the same level of wealth.
• How would this impact on the amount of clothes people own?
  • Would people buy more clothes than they actually need?
• How would lower prices impact on the shops themselves?
• If more clothes are needed in shops, how would that impact on the manufacturers?
  • in terms of issues such as workload and pay

The following R2s will help your child to reflect on the discussion points:

• What are the reasons for (the pros) selling clothes as cheaply as possible?
• What are the reasons against (the cons) doing so?
• Reach a conclusion – Do you take one particular side or is there a compromise that could satisfy everyone?