Happy Friday, everybody; how time flies! We are already 4 weeks into the Spring Term and all enjoying our project of "The Quest." Castle construction is beginning in earnest this week - there are some photos of the early stages of construction in Amethyst Class at the end of this blog!
Phonics & Comprehension Homework
Thank you again to those who have been keeping up with the new homework books. Year 1's, please continue to complete the tasks inside your purple phonics homework book. Year 2's, please complete the next excerpt with questions from your comprehension books.
In terms of the comprehension books, we wanted to explain some of the strategies and tips we employ in school to help your children develop this important reading skill. Firstly, it is meant to be challenging! Year 2 reading is focused upon understanding, not whether the children can just read the text. When answering questions, here are some things to consider:
- Skimming & scanning - this is a skill which we encourage the children to use in comprehension. For example, if the question is "What does the dog do with stars?" then we need to scan the text for the word "stars" and this will help us get to the answer quicker.
- Avoid it/they - in giving an answer, avoid using vague terms such as it or they. Be exact - we don't know what is inside your mind unless you tell us!
- Does it answer the question? - always check your answers fully answer the question. If the question is "Where did the children meet for a drink?" The answer "They had a milkshake" does not match the question!
- Explore word meanings - the simplest words to read can have more complex meanings. The question "What crops grow on the farm?" relies on an understanding of the idea that a crop is something (usually food) being grown to be collected and sold or used. Always take time to explore the meanings of new words encountered and link this new word with a word already known.
We hope this helps and remember to ask your child to hand homework books in by Wednesday/Thursday for us to mark ready to hand out again on Friday.
This week we would like you to look at pages 36-37.
For Year 1's this looking at halves. Finding half of shapes and numbers are both covered and it is useful if children can link the idea of half with last week's homework of dividing by 2.
For Year 2's, this is looking at double and half. dividing. Again, link this idea to multiplication and division - doubling numbers is the same as multiplying by 2 and halving is the same as dividing by 2.
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/multiplication-and-division
Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home. We are still updating the Big Cat online library for all our children as they move up reading levels, so don't forget to use this resource if it is useful to you.
As always, we are available on our Key Stage 1 email. However, we are also available if you have any quick questions at the end of the day on the playground. Just give us a wave and we will pop over!
