Parents and Carers

 

Sometimes we all need someone to turn to for advice and support. We're glad to help and are happy for you to talk to us. In addition to what we can offer, please click on the following link where you will find information about organisations that you might find useful. Thank you. 

To share completed work, or if you require any help or advice with the work that has been set,

please contact us at:

advice@mapledeneschool.com

Thank you. 

 

Happy Friday!

Well done everyone! Friday is here and you’ve made it through the first week back. We are very pleased with the work that has been sent in – please try to send through what you manage to complete. All the Year 6 teachers have been very generous with their Merits; we are just looking for a few more excellent pieces of work to give them for!

First up is a bit of a workout as it is Fit Friday! There will be a Fit Friday Assembly here, but if it isn’t here by the time you log in then have a go at this (slightly wacky) warm up video!

Reading

To follow on from yesterday’s big reading, there is a task today on the same text. Having learned so much about what life was like in Britain during the war especially for children during rationing and evacuation, we would like you to compare the lives of British and German children and families during World War 2.  What was similar between a British child’s life and a German child’s life during World War 2? What was different? Despite being in different countries, there are some striking similarities with how people lived and what they experienced during war time whether you were in Germany or in an Allied nation. Use the text to find the evidence.

English

Just a short English today to finish off your writing from yesterday about VE Day. If you have already finished then today is the day to get fresh eyes on it and do your checking and editing. Make sure you have CL & FS in all the right places and try to use some higher level punctuation like commas for clauses or brackets and dashes to add some extra information.

It also gives you a chance to decorate your work or add pictures that go with what you have written. Could you draw (or print) a picture of Prime Minister Churchill on the balcony or giving his speech? Add a few flags or people celebrating? Make sure you send through your completed reports.

 

 

Maths

You have all been working really hard on the fractions work we have set this week and it was great to hear so many of you say on Zoom that you had enjoyed it too. Whilst we will return to fractions, decimals and percentages (FDP) next week we have some arithmetic to practise today to keep up our number skills.

Give these questions a go and if you are in Mr C’s group then time yourself too. A top target would be to get a mark per minute or quicker – but make sure you are accurate and not just fast! There is also an FDP matching sheet to have a go at if you finish and mark your arithmetic in good time.

Miss Sanders' Maths Friday 26th February

Warm-up

Please use this time to make sure that you are in the Green Zone for Maths and Times Tables. 

Main Learning

How did you find rounding decimals yesterday? If you found it a little tricky then watch this video to remind you of the main rules when rounding.

 

In today's lesson we are going to be learning all about decimal number bonds or decimal numbers that add together to make a whole number. If you have been doing your daily number bonds warm-ups then this knowledge will really help you out today.

Watch the video lesson below and then answer the questions on the worksheet below. The answers are all included in the video.

Afternoon

PSHE

First up this afternoon is a PSHE lesson on making good choices. This half term we are going to be considering what it means to lead a healthy lifestyle.  Today we are going to be considering the choices that we make - are they always the healthiest?  Read through and discuss the PowerPoint below.

Reflect upon your habits – are they healthy?  Record on the habits sheet below. Eg do you have enough sleep? Remember to brush your teeth? Do you spend too much time in front of a screen?

You may also wish to create your own ‘superhero’! You can us take ideas from the document below to create your hero – identifying the habits that are healthy and those that are not.

PE

Last lesson for today and we are going to end the day as we started it: with a good dose of exercise. After getting in some aerobic exercise this morning, we will do something a bit less hard-core, but equally as beneficial for our bodies as we do another YOGA session. If you remember we did one during Mental Health week and Yoga is an excellent way to improve strength, balance and flexibility. It is also very good for relaxation and helping you to sleep better and manage stress.

All that's left to say is have a great weekend everyone. Thanks for all your hard work and great contributions all week. You are all a credit to yourselves and to Year 6. Stay positive and determined and come back here on Monday for the last week of home learning!  

If you are looking for the Doodle awards for this week, please go to the Year 6 Class Page and click on the ‘Celebrating your Work’ Star on the left hand side or use the link below. Congratulations to all of those in Green Zone, especially those in the Green for everything! 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday already!

I hope everyone is enjoying their first week back. Judging by the great work that is being sent in, it seems a lot of you are right back in the swing of things which is great news because, after today, there are only 10 days until we are finally all back in school again! We are really looking forward to it. And there is plenty to get stuck into between now and then to make the time go even quicker!

Let’s get started on today’s work.

Reading

Often when people learn about World War 2, they focus on the victories the Allies won, the turning points in the war that led to the Allied success, and the trials that people had to go through in Britain during the Blitz. However it is important to note that there was another group of people deeply affected by the war: the Germans. While you could argue that ‘They started it,’ it is important to remember that it was Hitler who pushed things too far and his ideas that were so damaging to other countries and their people. All the while the war was being fought, the women and children at home in Germany also suffered, especially as the war was nearing an end.

Today’s text focuses on one such child and her life in Germany during the war. It is long and has been translated, so it may not read as fluently as you are used to. Take the time today simply to read it and try to note down or highlight some of the similarities in the experiences she had to those a British child or family might have also experienced. Tomorrow we will be comparing the two based on this text and your knowledge of children during the war.

English

Hopefully, you will all have done some good research yesterday on VE day. Today is the day we can start writing about it! We would like you to write your own information report about VE day to show and explain what it is, when and why it is celebrated, and recount what happened on the very first VE Day at the end of the war. With the Guided Reading texts from this week and the many videos and links from this week (also linked again below) as well as your own wider reading from the websites yesterday, you have a lot of knowledge to help you with your report. Please take your time and write (or type) your own report and maybe add some pictures to show the celebrations or the people involved.

 

Also below is some British bordered paper if you would like to print it out to write on, but you do not have to as you could decorate your report yourself if you wish. Try to answer some of the questions from yesterday’s research or maybe use them as titles. We look forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

Don’t feel like you have to finish it today either as you will have more time tomorrow morning to finish it off, so take your time and make each sentence count.

Think about gathering information to go under headings like these:

 

•          When did the war end?

•          Why did the war end?

•          What happened during/at the end of the war?

•          How did people find out?

•          Why do we celebrate?

•          How did people celebrate in 1945?

•          Why should we continue to celebrate?

•          What can you do on VE day?

•          What symbols do you see on VE day?

Maths – Mr B & Mr C

In Maths today we are continuing to look at fractions of amounts. You all seemed to have grasped the arithmetic of the calculation and knowing you divide by the denominator and multiply by the numerator. We would like you to take that knowledge and apply it to these problems today to show you understand.

 

Remember to use a PART PART WHOLE diagram to help you if you get stuck.

 

For Mr C's group there is also a set of Extension problems (that Mr B's group can do too) that invert the fractions of amounts which means you have the fraction but need to find the whole. The PART WHOLE diagram also can help here, but I have put some hints on the page before the answers if you get a bit stuck. 

Miss Sanders' Maths Thursday 25th February

 

Warm-up

Please continue to learn your number bonds using the pages in your pack or Hit the Button.

 

Main Learning

Today we are going to look at rounding decimal numbers. First watch this video to remind yourself of the work we have done previously rounding to the nearest 10. 

 

 

Now click on the link to watch today's video lesson and complete the work in the video (answers are at the end). The worksheets can be found in your work packs or printed from the link below.

Afternoon

Art

Victory - noun:

1: the overcoming of an enemy or antagonist.

2 : achievement of mastery or success in a struggle or endeavour against odds or difficulties.

 

Victory can mean different things to different people. During our WW2 topic it is clear what the victory was that the Allies and the Germans were trying to achieve. They wanted to beat the enemy. However with war there are no real victors, with both sides sustaining terrible losses of life, land and humanity.

 

So what does VICTORY look like to you? If you look at definition 2 above, victory can come from achieving something or becoming good at something even when you find it hard or if something was trying to stop you. What can you think of that might fit that description? Riding a bike without stabilisers? Doing your first gambol? Climbing a really big hill? Getting full marks in a spelling test? Swimming a whole length underwater? Completing all your extras on Doodle with a dodgy internet connection?

Victories do not have to be large or impressive. They can be, but they can also be little wins of which you can be proud because it was difficult.

 

Today’s Art project is to draw or create something that symbolises victory for you. It can be something you’ve done or something to do with the war. It can be what you think of when you think of the word ‘victory’, or something to represent the last time you said the word. Look in the document below for some pictures that Mr Barber and I chose when we thought about what victory meant to us, and send in some pictures of what you come up with – we would love to see them.

Zoom

We hope to see lots of you on the Zoom today. It would be nice to hear from you what has gone well thsi week and alos if you have found anything difficult that we can try to help you with. Don't be shy - we don't bite (over Zoom, anyway).

 

Doodle time

Once the Zoom is over and you have started your art (you can finish it when you like), then get yourselves onto Doodle to try and get yourself in the Green Zone for tomorrow. There are lots of new extras to be having a go at across each app and plenty of stars to be earned. So get on there and try to make Year 6 the top year group in the school. Get us where we belong on the leaderboard. Mr Barber, Miss Sanders and I want to celebrate a VICTORY!

Happy Wednesday!

The days are flying by! We must be having fun. I certainly did on the Zoom call yesterday with all of you, so thank you. It was super to see the effort you guys went to with the cakes and bunting and also the written work. It was a lovely celebration and I have been marvelling at the great work that you have been sending in too. A super effort, Year 6. Keep it up.

On to today’s learning.

 

Reading

While we have celebrated VE day, today we are going to rewind time just a few days to April 1945 and to an event without which victory may have taken longer to achieve. Adolf Hitler shot himself on April 30^th and just over a week later the German commanders surrendered thereby ending the war. This wasn’t something they could have done beforehand because Hitler was their supreme leader who would not allow surrender. This text goes into some of the details about the kind of man he was, and how things changed for him when the Allies started winning the war.

Quick reminder before you begin: synonym means a word that means the same.

English/ICT

For English today we would like you all to do some research into VE day. Look up the details about the day itself (1945) and what it means to us today. On Friday, you will be writing a short Information report about the day and its significance so that future generations will be aware of its importance and what it means to the country and the British people.

 

Start by looking at these websites but please feel free to do your own research too.

Maths – Mr B & Mr C

Maths today is looking at fractions of amounts. This is something we have covered before but this is a great time to recap it before we look at finding percentages of amounts. It will really help because if you know that ½ is the same as 50% then you can work out what half of an amount is and what 50% of something is because they are the same!

 

Watch the video to help understand how to calculate a fraction of an amount. This will be a little reminder for some of you. Then please have a go at the two sheets for some practice. Remember to use a PART PART WHOLE diagram to help you if you get stuck.

Miss Sanders' Maths Wednesday 24th February

Warm-up: Please continue to practice your number bonds using the paper copies in your pack or Hit the Button (Link below)

Main learning: How did you get on with yesterday’s learning? If you found it a little tricky, then watch the video below to help before moving on to today’s learning.

 

Now watch the video lesson on the link below to learn how to compare decimals using the < = > symbols. Complete the work in the video (This is in your learning packs and linked below) and then watch to the end to mark your own work.

Afternoon - Spanish

Buenos tardes, Year 6! This week we are going to be learning how to say the words for different types of clothes. Clothes = 'ropa' en Español.

There is lots of new vocabulary this week, but don't worry if you don't get to learn them all. Some of the clothes you might not wear that often anyway.

Watch this video and remember to listen and repeat the word after you hear it. We do this when we have done Spanish in class before, so pause the video to get the practice in of repeating each word. Then you can look though the PowerPoint to see if you can remember the word for the item before looking at the answer on the next slide.

Finally, as we are studying WW2, I thought maybe you could draw a picture of a soldier and label the clothing they are wearing BUT IN SPANISH! I haven't included the words for helmet, rifle or radio in here because we don't really wear them that often these days!

Alternatively, you could draw a picture of yourself and label the clothes you are wearing in it - you might find there are a few more from the video you could use. If you are feeling super confident you may want to introduce what colour the item of clothing is too. In Spanish though, the colour comes AFTER the item:

English: the white shirt

Spanish: la camisa blanca

Blanca/blanco is the Spanish for 'white' but notice it comes after the noun. So it looks like they are saying 'the shirt white'.

This video is challenging but also helps explain it well. The girls in it are fluent in Spanish and speak fantastically well.

If you have done all that, have a go at the Spanish clothes word search too. This is quite tough, but if you send in as many as you can find, the winners can have 2 Spanish Merits. Solutions published soon. You have until next week to get your answers in.

 

Buen trabajo!

RE

Our last lesson for the day is RE and today we are beginning to look at the religion of Judaism. This is the religion of Jewish people and has been around since Biblical times. Today we are going to look at the Who and the Where of Judaism and understand how the religion came into being. Have a look at the PowerPoint to learn the story of the beginnings of Judaism and then complete the task underneath to demonstrate your understanding.

 

Next week we will look at the core beliefs of Judaism and its people.

And that’s Wednesday! I hope you will all agree that...

 

Good morning, Year 6! War is over!

Can you believe it? Hitler is dead and the Germans have surrendered! Hurrah! I think we had better celebrate with bunting and cake, don’t you?

Well done to those of you who have already managed to send in work and photos from our VE day preparation day. We have already received some lovely poems and tributes to returning soldiers which I hope some of you will read out on the Zoom call. We have also been sent fantastic photos of some delicious looking treats. If only you could send them in over Zoom!

In other news, Mr Barber and the children in school managed to NOT burn the school down making a couple of carrot cakes of their own. I hope to be offered some later, so if I don’t make the Zoom, you will know why!

 

Before we get to the Zoom though, we have some work to be getting on with.

 

Reading

First up is a short reading with some retrieval questions. Unfortunately, the scan just cut off the ends of some words towards the end, but you should be able to work out the missing words and letters without too much trouble. Do your best!

Maths – Mr B & Mr C

After a day off maths yesterday, it’s time to get our numbers heads switched back on. Today we are recapping equivalences between fractions, decimals and percentages. Have a look through the PowerPoint and then aim to complete the table below. See how you get on with the challenge questions at the bottom too. Should you whizz through these, try to find the decimal and percentage equivalence for all fractions from ½ to 1/20. (Some of the fractions where the denominator is a prime number will be very difficult).

Miss Sanders' Maths Tuesday 23rd February

 

Warm-up

This week we are going to focus on number bonds or quick addition facts. It will help you enormously in your maths work if you can add small numbers together without needing to use your fingers. To increase your speed, please complete 2 speed tests from your learning pack every day. If you would like further practice please use the link below for Hit the Button. You will be amazed how quickly your speed will increase with just 5 minutes practice a day!

 

Main Activity

This week we are going to look at decimals -starting with tenths. We have already learnt about tenths as a fraction and today we are going to learn a new way of writing this down. Please watch the lesson below and complete the worksheets mentioned in the video (they are included in your learning pack or can be printed from the links below). The answers are all included at the end of the video.

 

Zoom

Same details as always for the Zoom, only this time come armed with bunting, cake and heartfelt words to say to all the returning soldiers as we celebrate VE Day.

 

Remember to sign in with your own name and Zoom from somewhere you can be heard. Also, no one went to VE day celebrations in their pyjamas, so make sure you are dressed too – maybe even in something red, white and blue?

 

Afternoon

PSHE

 

This afternoon we would like you to think about the wide range of people who help us simply by doing their job. There are so many people whose roles help to ensure the smooth running of lots of people’s days. Some of these people will have been called Key Workers most recently, but we aren’t just talking about NHS employees.

 

First up, look through the PowerPoint to see the kinds of roles and jobs we are talking about. Then we would like you to choose a role. It doesn’t have to be one that you would want to do, it could be the one you respect the most, or feel is the most valuable to you or your community, and then put it at the centre of the worksheet.

 

Draw a picture of someone doing the job, or of what you feel the job entails. Then in each box around it think about the following four things:

• What questions would you ask someone who does this job?
• What skills do you think are needed to perform this job well?
• How do these people help others (beyond the obvious)?
• Would you be good at this job? Explain why (or why not)

Music

This week, we are going to learn all about a famous singer from the 2nd World War, Dame Vera Lynn.  Read through the PowerPoint to learn all about Dame Vera Lynn's amazing life and then watch the video to watch her sing her most famous song 'We'll Meet Again' to the Allied troops.

Finally watch this video to learn the song 'We'll Meet Again' to put the finishing touches to our VE Day celebrations. Sing loud and proud and remember what the nation suffered through during the devastating 6 year conflict. 

 

And what better way to finish than to hear some of the teachers having a go! If you remember, this was recorded last year during the first Lockdown to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Listen to those dulcet tones - it's enough to make you want to cry isn't it?

Maybe we do know where...and maybe we do know when...

I wonder if March the 8th will be sunny...? 

 

Welcome back, Year 6!

Hello and welcome back everyone! We hope you all enjoyed the half term holidays and feel rested, recharged, and ready to learn. While we may not have been able to venture too far, we hope you found a way to relax and have some time for yourselves.

 

As you may remember, we are going to be continuing our World War Two topic for only two more weeks as we are nearly at the end of the war! D-day was a success and Germany have been pushed back to their own borders by advancing Allied forces on both sides until, on the 8^th of May, Germany surrendered and the war was over.

This week, we are going to be focusing on this momentous day by learning all about it today, before then having our very own VE day celebration on Zoom tomorrow. (The invite will be sent out very soon). We will also look at the death of Adolf Hitler and consider the war and its consequences from the German point of view.

 

First up though is a short Guided Reading to help us understand the importance of VE day. This will also help with your English afterwards.

English

For English today we would like you to try to put yourselves in the shoes of the British children at war time. Remember how they all had to become evacuees from the cities to stay away from their families? The end of the war meant they could now go home. Better still, those who had seen their fathers, brothers and uncles go off to fight could now look forward to them returning home if they had managed to stay alive.

 

Today would like you to prepare a few words, sentences, a poem: something to say aloud to those returning heroes whom we could now thank, in person, for winning (and ending) the war.

• Imagine not having seen a loved one for months or YEARS!
• Imagine not being able to live at home for months or even up to 3 years!
• Imagine now that it was all over and things could go back to normal!

What would you want to say to the hundreds and thousands of troops who disembarked from the boats and trains with big beaming smiles and a spring in their step? Or maybe you would like to write something to honour those soldiers who had made the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives for our freedom. We want you to be as creative as you like and we are not looking for pages, but make it heartfelt and sincere.

 

Check out the videos below for extra inspiration. The first is the speech Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave to announce the war was over. The next two are of a poem written by Patricia Newman, written especially for the 75^th anniversary of VE Day last year. The first one is the poem performed by children from the Solihull TheatreTrain. The second is a little clearer, if a little less dramatic!

Please send in whatever you write so that it has a chance of being read out on the Zoom tomorrow.

WW2 Recipe time!

After Break, it’s time to get cooking! Please ask for help if you need it here.

 

The recipe itself is not complicated, but if you need help measuring out or portioning the ingredients, then do ask an adult. The carrot needs grating so be careful of the sharp edges. It also requires the use of an oven and therefore be EXTRA CAREFUL when putting things into or taking things out of a hot oven.

Good luck – we can’t wait to see your results (and see if you’ll eat them!)  Try not to gobble it all down for lunch, which is next. Save some for our VE day celebrations tomorrow!

Afternoon

No VE day party would be complete without some decorations and some Union Jack bunting. Get yourself set up by printing (if you can) the first page of the template below. Don’t print the second page as it is colour and you will be doing that yourself. If you are able to, then print off a few copies to colour in. Or print one and use it to make more copies yourself on some blank paper.  You can make them as triangles or squares if you prefer.

For those without a printer don’t worry - please have a go at drawing the British flag (widely known as the Union Jack). Remember – it doesn’t have to be perfect; the people of Britain would not have had many resources to make them back in 1945 so just do your best. As above, you can make them as triangles or squares if you prefer. The video below is really good and the flag looks like it’s fluttering in the breeze. Don’t forget to hang it somewhere we can see on the Zoom tomorrow when you are done!

PE

Hopefully now you are all prepared for tomorrow’s VE day party on Zoom with bunting hung and cake baked (and not gobbled up already).

Time to get active. This video is from a fellow Year 6 teacher and is designed with home learning in mind. Don't worry if you don't have all the equipment or someone to help - Elliott will help you through it. This session is designed to improve your speed and reaction times; something incredibly important for any soldier. Hop to it, Year 6! Ten-Hut!