Cedar Class

Below are some ideas for what you could do over the break if you’re stuck for ideas:

• Keep a journal/diary of what you get up to; this would be great to look back on in the future.
• Baking; you could try and adapt a recipe for your favourite cake or baked treat and create a new dish!
• Write letters to family/friends you haven’t seen in a while.
• Make a plan of all the things you would like to do once life becomes a bit more normal.
• Spend some time outdoors and relax, listen to what you can hear around you, think really carefully about everything you can detect with all of your senses.
• Learn a new skill.
• Write a story.
• Make another manga comic.
• Build a den or fort using materials around the home.

Enjoy your week off!

Spelling: Can you remember the spelling rule you have been learning this week? Get someone at home to test your memory of it, and then get them to pick out 10 words from your word list and see if you can spell them correctly!

Arithmetic: This week we looked at quick addition skills. Get someone at home to ask you 10 quick-fire addition questions and see how fast you can tell them the correct answer!

English: LO: to present your presentation.

Now we finally have our completed slides and cue cards, and are all set to finally present our presentation! Today I would like you to share your presentation with someone at home. Use your cue cards and make sure you show off all the hard work your put into your slides. This is a great chance to show off your speaking skills, and I really want you to think about how you present what you are saying. Speak clearly, make sure you sound knowledgeable (like you know what you’re talking about) and be prepared for any questions you may be asked!

Maths: LO: to manipulate shape to make a code.

Today I would like you to look at the positions of various shapes, and how we can manipulate these.

Get a piece of paper, and write the letters of your name out by creating a set of bubble writing type shapes.  This works best with line-drawn letters instead of more cursive bubble-writing styles. Then, I would like you to cut out these shape-letters and, keeping them in the same order, manipulate them all in the same way: you could turn them all 90 degrees clockwise, or a half-turn. If you look at the shapes now, they won’t easily read as your name. Can you find a way to turn the shapes to make a secret code which people won’t easily be able to read? Write down how to crack your code and then create a message for someone at home and see if they can work it out.

If you want to make your code even more tricky, you could do something different with vowels and consonants. For example: vowels could be twisted a half turn, and consonants could be twisted a quarter turn anti-clockwise.

English: LO: to create cue cards.

By now, you should have your slides all set up and ready! If not, spend some time today finishing them off. When you have completed them, today’s task is to begin to prepare to present our presentation.

Your slides should only hold key information on them to aid your audience. In a presentation, the bulk of what is being presented is what you actually say, not what is written on the slides. The difficulty arises when remembering exactly what to say to the audience! Today, I would like you consider very carefully what it is you are going to say. Once you know, write down a mini script for yourself on a small piece of paper which you can hold in your hand. You can either write down exactly what you will say and read from the paper, or just make a few bullet points if you are very confident in what you will be talking about!

This way, the audience will see your slide to give them a visual aid, but will spend their time listening to you and not just reading the slide – there is no point in you presenting it otherwise!

Maths: LO: to use references.

One of the things you may have identified when you defined position and direction on Monday could have been the use of maps and grid references. Today I would like you to use grid references when playing a game of battleships, so you will need a partner for this.

If you have the actual game, then you can use that. If not, the below picture can be printed or copied out onto paper and used. Don’t forget, when reading a grid we state the reference on the horizontal axis, and then the reference on the vertical axis (along the corridor and up the stairs).

English: LO: to make slides more interesting!

So far, you should have your slides with titles on as well as the key information you will be presenting to your audience. However, chances are these slides are looking a bit dull at the moment! Today, your task is to add elements to your slides which will make them more interesting for the audience to look at. For example: On my slide about brownies I could add some pictures of brownies, or use some pictures of some of the ingredients, or even put a small graphic of a brownie recipe in one of the corners. I might also change the background of the slide so that it is not just a stark white colour. Add some engaging elements to your slides today. Make sure that anything you add is relevant and has a purpose; adding a picture of the moon to a slide on brownies might make it look nice, but it adds nothing to the presentation and will most likely confuse the audience!

Maths: LO: to use reflection.

Today you will need to find a mirror which you can position on a table or hold in your hand.

I would like you to take a piece of paper and draw a line straight down the middle of the page. Then, draw a shape on the left hand side of the line: this task will be easier if you draw a regular shape using a ruler (square, triangle). Take a mirror and do your best to line it up on the line you drew; you should now be able to see the shape you just drew in the reflection; use this to visualise the next part of the task. Try to draw the shape on the right hand side of the page, as if it were an exact reflection of the shape on the left. What do you notice about the reflected shape?

If you want to use your art skills, you could try drawing half of something naturally symmetrical (like a butterfly) and then drawing the other half afterwards.

Tips: The easiest way to do this is to have the shape on the left actually touching the centre line; it makes reflecting it that much easier.

Try measuring the distance from the line to each corner of the shape you drew on the left, and then measuring the same distance out on the right. You can then plot each corner and join them up.

Draw the shape further from the centre line for a trickier challenge.

Draw a more complex shape (pentagon, hexagon, etc.) for a trickier challenge.

English: LO: to create informative slides.

Yesterday you created titles for your slides. Today, you will be putting the information onto your slides. A slideshow shouldn’t have lots and lots of writing on each slide, otherwise the audience just end up reading what you are presenting and not listening to you! So, work out exactly what you are going to be presenting on each slide and then write down the key points.

For example, on my slide about what I like about Brownies, the information written on the slide might look like this:

– Can be made with milk, dark or white chocolate.

– Cheap to make.

– Fun to make.

– Can have different toppings and special ingredients mixed in.

– Delicious!

– Best brownie: Chocolate orange.

To make your slides more interesting you could choose a fun font (style of writing) or write in a different colour. Tomorrow we will be making our slides a bit more interesting to look at.

Maths: LO: to use position and direction.

Yesterday you looked at what position and direction mean in maths. Today, I want you to try and use your mathematical vocabulary to instruct someone how to move around your house.  Find a partner, and then try and get them from one part of your house to another. Use vocabulary like: turn 90 degrees left, step forward once, step right once, etc. Try and give your partner all of the steps at once to see if you manage to instruct them correctly; try not to get them to walk into any walls!

If you want a real challenge, and it is safe to do this, you could ask your partner to put on a blindfold and trust you to move them from once place to another; just stay clear of any stairs and trip hazards!

English: LO: to create slide headlines.

By the end of the week we will have created a presentation on something of your choosing to do with Japan. If you have PowerPoint on your computer then you can complete this using this. If you don’t have PowerPoint, then you can use blank pieces of paper for each slide instead.

Today we will consider the headline, or title, of each slide you will create. Firstly, you will need to work out what you would like to make your presentation about. Then, you will need to break that topic down into several areas which will make up our slides.

For example, if I was making a presentation on my favourite baked treats my areas could be:

Brownies, Sponges, Cupcakes, Cookies, Muffins.

In my presentation, I would have 6 slides in total: One for the main title of ‘Mr Keeble’s favourite baked treats’, and then one slide for each of the treats I like.

Now, putting BROWNIES at the top of the slide does tell my viewer that the slide is about Brownies, but it’s a bit boring! So, I need to think of a way of creating a title which still mentions brownies, but in a way which won’t cause my viewer to fall asleep. For example, I could use some alliteration for this title: Beautiful baked brownies!

For my other titles I could have:

Sweet sponges,

Crazy cupcakes,

Crisp, chewy cookies,

Marvellous muffins.

Come up with the titles for your presentation, and write them in your neatest handwriting (or using a computer) at the top of each of your slides.

Maths: LO: to consider position and direction.

This week in maths we will be looking at position and direction. What do these words mean to you? Write a definition for both position and direction in the context of maths. What other things are related to position and direction in maths? Make a list of the things you think this topic will involve, and write down two examples of how we can use position and direction in everyday life.

Please can you see the Facebook post regarding the author chat, and email any questions you would like to ask a successful author. This is a great opportunity to get some writing tips which we are very lucky to have.

Spelling: Can you remember the spelling rule you have been learning this week? Get someone at home to test your memory of it, and then get them to pick out 10 words from your word list and see if you can spell them correctly!

Arithmetic: This week we looked at all of the times tables we know so far, including the division facts for these. Get someone at home to give you 10 questions and see how quickly you can get the correct answer.

English: LO: to create a script.

Hopefully by now you have created some form of manga comic or illustrated story; if not, you can use any other story you have created for today’s activity. I would like you to use your manga comic/story to create a script for the dialogue in this. You don’t have to write a script for the whole thing if you have created a long story; just choose a very important or action filled part. Make sure to include stage directions to show any actors how they should be reading the script, or what they should be doing as they read their lines.

Once completed, get some people in your home to read the script with you and see if the way they read it is how you had planned it to be!

Maths: LO: to multiply and divide 3 & 4 digit numbers.

This week we have looked at multiplication and division. We have looked at questions we can solve quickly using mental methods in our arithmetic sessions, and written methods in our maths sessions. Which operation did you find hardest: multiplication or division? Which type of method did you find the hardest: mental maths or the written array methods? I would like you to use today’s maths session to revisit what you found the most difficult this week. Try and solve 10 questions to make sure you understand it.

Please can you see the Facebook post regarding the author chat, and email any questions you would like to ask a successful author. This is a great opportunity to get some writing tips which we are very lucky to have.

English: LO: to consider how characters can be represented in a script.

At the start of the week I asked you to attempt to complete weekly activity 5 (creating your own manga comic). Today we are going to consider how this comic could be presented as a script if it were to be turned into a cartoon or movie. Think about the characters you have created so far: how could you show off their personalities in a script? Imagine that you are going to give a copy of your script to an actor to voice your character. You need to show them exactly how the character would say things, otherwise they wouldn’t know.

For example:

In my manga one of my characters is afraid of everything – he is the sidekick to the hero of my manga comic. To show the actor just how this character speaks, I will use stage directions in square brackets so that the actor definitely knows that the character is not brave at all.

Mike: [Shaking in fear so that his voice is shaky as well] I don’t think we can do this!

From this, the actor would know to read the voice in a scared way. If I didn’t have the stage direction in there, it would just say:

Mike: I don’t think we can do this!

This could be read in a lot of different ways; I could shout it at the top of my voice and actually sound super brave.

Tomorrow we will create the full script, but today I want you to think of some stage directions for each of your characters only. Give it some thought and take your time; your goal is to create good enough stage directions that an actor would know your characters personality just from the script.

Maths: LO: to divide 3 & 4 digit numbers.

Yesterday you worked on dividing lengths using an array method. Today I would like you to focus on dividing 3 and 4 digit numbers using this same method.

If you are a Year 3, start with 3 digit numbers. If you are a Year 4, I would like you to try and divide 4 digit numbers. Feel free to move between the challenge levels if you are finding it too easy or too difficult. Pick any 3 or 4 digit number and try dividing it by 3 or 4 to begin with, then if you want a harder challenge try dividing by 6. Don’t forget that you may end up with remainders. Look at yesterday’s post for a reminder on how to use the array method if you need it.

English: LO: to create a simple script.

Yesterday you made a script based on some dialogue which someone else had created. Today, I want you to pretend that you are in charge of a TV show about your life at home and create some brand new dialogue to go into a script. One of the characters will be played by you, and someone else in your home will be another character.

Write a few lines of dialogue as a script for both of you, and then get the other person to act out their lines with you. Don’t forget you can use stage directions, a feature in scripts you should have identified on Monday, to tell characters what to do. Put your stage directions in square brackets like this:

Mark: [stands up and looks angry] What do you mean I can’t eat the whole cake?

You can write whatever you want as your dialogue, this could be an opportunity to make someone in your home say some silly things!

Maths: LO: to divide lengths.

Yesterday you calculated multiples of lengths. Today I would like you to try the opposite: dividing lengths. Find a ruler or tape measure and go and measure an object in your house. Then, calculate the length you chopped that object in half (dividing by 2), or quarters (dividing by 4), or a more tricky number.

For example: One packet of Oreos is 30cm in length. If I were to chop the pack in half (or eat half of the pack), I would divide 30cm by 2. You can solve this mentally or, if you struggle with this, use counters to work out how to divide 30 into 2 groups.  Some of your measurements may not divide into equal groups and you may be left with a remainder.

For a challenge, you could measure longer objects such as the length of your garden, car, room, or even people!

Don’t forget, we used an array to help with division – see the picture below for an example of this.

English: LO: to create a simple script.

Yesterday you should have researched and found the main features of a script. Today, I would like you to have a go at creating a simple script using dialogue from either a book, tv show, film, or conversation you hear in your home. It doesn’t have to be very long, I just want you to try and use the features you identified yesterday in your script research. Here is an example:

Mark: Oh no, there are no bagels left in the cupboard! [Closes cupboard door] I’m mega hungry. I wonder who ate them all?

Martha: I have no idea! [Walking away and looking guilty] It definitely wasn’t me!

Mark: [Realising that it was only him and Martha in the house and so she must have eaten the last bagel] Well I guess it must have been the bagel-monster [said sarcastically].

Maths: LO: to multiply lengths.

Yesterday you worked on multiplying three or four digit numbers. Today I would like you to practise calculating multiples of lengths. Find a ruler or tape measure and go and measure an object in your house. Then, calculate the length you would have if you stacked another of those objects next to it.

For example: One box of cheerios is 35cm in length. If I were to stack another box next to it and then measure the length of the two boxes, I would have 35cm X 2. I don’t need to measure this twice, I can simply multiply 35 by 2 using either mental or written maths (the grid method). To make this more challenging you can change the number you multiply by, or find longer objects. How long would 2 of your cars be if they were parked one in front of the other? How long would your garden be if you tripled it in length?

English: LO: to research scripts.

This week we will be researching, reading and creating scripts. Scripts are a written record of things that are or will be said. Scripts are used by actors in movies to tell them what to say, but also in things like cartoons where a voice actor provides a voice for a character. At school, we use scripts when we carry out events like school plays.

Today, I would like you to think back to when you have seen a script and write down all of the features of a script you can think of. I would like you to try weekly task 6 (creating your own manga comic) so that by the end of the week you can create a script to go with your comic.

Maths: LO: to multiply 3 & 4 digit numbers.

At the very start of this academic year we looked at multiplying 3 and 4 digit numbers using an array (the grid method). Today I would like you to practise this and see if you can remember how to do it. There is a picture below which shows a worked example. If you are a Year 3, multiply 3 digit numbers. If you are a Year 4, or a Year 3 who wants a tricky challenge, multiply 4-digit numbers.

Don’t forget: Start off by partitioning your number. Place the numbers into the grid. Multiply each number. Then finally, add all of the numbers you have just worked out in order to get the answer.

If you are struggling, start off by using the grid method to solve 2-digit multiplication questions until you become more confident.

Spelling: Can you remember the spelling rule you have been learning this week? Get someone at home to test your memory of it, and then get them to pick out 10 words from your word list and see if you can spell them correctly!

Arithmetic: This week we looked at adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator. Get someone to test you with 3 questions on each to see how well you can now do this.

English: LO: to use clear instructions.

Today I would like you to test just how clear you instructions you created yesterday were. I would like you to read your written instructions to someone in your home and see if they can create an origami swan from you words. You can show them any pictures you left included in your instructions, but can’t add any extra words. Could they follow what you said and make a swan? If not, why not? Make your instructions more clear if you need to and try again.

Maths: LO: to solve problems and puzzles.

How do you play?
You’ll need a partner to play with.
You’ll also need a 1 to 6 dice and a grid like the attached picture.



Take turns with your partner to throw the dice and draw that number of dots in one of the boxes on the grid – you can draw in one of the boxes your partner has already put some dots in. Put all of your dots in one of the boxes. You can’t split them up and you can’t have more than six dots in a box. When a box is full (it has 6 in), you could put a tick in the corner like in the second picture.



Keep going until there are three ticks in a row or column or diagonal. The winner is the person who puts the last tick.

Now, can you change the game to make your own version?