Oak Tree Class Blog
back
Week 3, ending 22 November
Posted: Nov 21, 2024 by: Mrs Amos (a.amos) on: Oak Tree Class Blog
No special awards this week, as we have a Training Day on Friday.
But all of the children in OAK have been Outstanding Workers in one way or another!
Rock-a-billy and Rock ‘n’ Roll music have greeted us in class each morning – Elvis was by far the most commented upon artist! Lots of children said that their parents/grandparents loved listening to Elvis Presley.
We have continued to draft non-chronological reports in English! I am looking forward to seeing each published piece next week.
Equivalent fractions have been the mainstay of maths this week – we shall be spending a little longer on this concept too, as it seems to be one that the children have found tricky. Any support you can give with this in homework would be welcomed. (Often, hearing it explained by someone else can work wonders!)
Our history skills have moved on tremendously thanks to our very own Living Museum. What an enjoyable and informative session we had – by seeing actual artefacts from the era of World War Two, it makes the whole topic come alive for the children. Many thanks to Noah’s mum, who came in and gave the exhibitors some helpful ‘Top Tips’ for presenting their precious exhibits. Mr Cooke gave us an extra assembly session this week, where he shared the story of his Grandad’s escape from a WW2 prisoner of war camp. The children were gripped by the story!
We spent Thursday morning doing some crafts with an RE theme – and then in the afternoon, we were invited to take part in a Question and Answer session, which included being able to ask people of faith about their religions. It was extremely eye-opening for us!
Finally, well done to those children who are remembering to read regularly at home! We have noticed a bit of a dip in this with some of our Y5 children and would just like to remind you of the importance of reading. In UKS2, the expectation is that children should still be reading at least 5 times a week (approx. 1 hour of reading combined!) and they can do this independently and fill in their own reading records or with an adult. We are always happy to provide your child with book recommendations and strongly encourage them to come and talk to us if they are not enjoying the books they have chosen.
The Reading Agency is a UK charity with a mission to empower people of all ages to read. Their research shows that:
- One in four children hasn't reached the expected level of reading by the age of 11. Many of these children will struggle to keep up at secondary school.
- Students are less able to learn other subjects if they do not develop sufficient reading skills by the middle of primary school.
- Only 35% of 10-year-olds in England report that they like reading 'very much'. This lags behind countries like Russia (46%), Ireland (46%), New Zealand (44%), and Australia (43%).
- Children who read books often at age 10 and more than once a week at age 16 gain higher results in maths, vocabulary and spelling tests at age 16 than those who read less regularly.
We greatly appreciate everything parents, carers and children do to support reading for pleasure already.
Have a great weekend – a long weekend!
Mrs Adrienne Amos