Cedar Class

English: LO: to create clear instructions.

Today we are going to combine some of our Japan project learning (origami) with our English focus of instructions. I would like you to look at the attached image on this post, which has picture instructions on how to make an origami swan. Can you understand what the instructions are telling you? Try and follow the instructions and make the swan. Are there any parts you don’t understand? If so, create some written instructions to either replace or go with the pictures. Do you think that the instructions would be effective as just words, or do we need some pictures to help us create origami? See the other picture for how my swan turned out!

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Maths: LO: to solve problems and puzzles.

Starter: In a far-away land, the lottery consists of four balls numbered 1 to 4, which are placed in a bag.
To enter, you choose one number.
To win, your number must match the number that is drawn from the bag.

What is the chance of winning this lottery? (Think fractions!)

Answer: The chance of winning this lottery is 1 in 4 (¼).
 
Task: The people running the lottery in this far-away land decide that it is too easy to win.  So, they want to change their lottery game. Can you design a new lottery game for them? It could be by bringing more numbered balls into the lottery, or by letting each person choose more than one number (they still have to match them all). How do you know your lottery is harder? You could try and make a draw system by numbering pieces of paper and giving people at home tickets. Did any of them win?

Cedar class learning for 05 MAY 2020

English: LO: to create clear instructions.

Yesterday you read and thought about the features of instructions. Today, I want you to try an activity which will show you how important it is to make instructions clear. I would like you to pretend that you have just received a new robot which can help you out around the house. The only problem is, the robot needs to be told exactly what to do, as it didn’t come with any knowledge of the tasks it can complete! Pick a simple activity, such as making a sandwich or making a cup of tea, and write some instructions telling your robot how to do this. Then, give the instructions to someone in your home (or do it yourself if no one is available) and follow them exactly. You can’t do anything which isn’t on your instruction page, and have to do things exactly how the instructions say to. Make sure you think carefully about your choice of words:

– ‘Throw the teabag in the bin’ might make the robot do an overarm throw with all it’s strength towards a bin outside!

– ‘Put jam on the bread’ might make the robot empty a whole jar of jam onto a whole loaf of bread using it’s hands instead of a kitchen utensil!

Maths: LO: to solve problems and puzzles.

Here’s a game to play with a partner! This is a basic form of the ancient game of Nim.

How do you play?
You’ll need a partner to play with.
You will also need seven objects, such as counters or blocks.

Place the 7 counters in a pile and starting with your partner, take turns to take away either one or two counters.
The person who takes the last counter wins.
Swap who goes first, and keep playing until you work out a winning strategy.

Does it matter who has the first turn?
What happens when there are three counters left?
How can you win at this game?
What happens when you start the game with more counters?

Cedar class learning for 04 MAY 2020

English: LO: to read instructions.

This week in English we will be looking at written instructions and the features of these. To get started, I would like you to find some written instructions somewhere in your house. Try looking in manuals for things you have around the home (TV, fridges, board games, etc.). Read some of the instructions. What can you notice about the instructions? What kind of words are used in them?

Maths: LO: to solve problems and puzzles.

Today we will be looking at skeleton shapes. Skeleton shapes are made with balls of modelling clay and straws.

Starter:

This shows a cube and a skeleton cube:

How many balls of modelling clay and how many straws does it take to make the cube?

The problem:

Here are some piles of modelling clay balls and straws:

Look at the shapes below and decide which piles are needed to make a skeleton of each shape.

You may find it easy to draw the shapes out yourself, or even use straws/sticks/toothpicks and clay/sweets of your own. If you want a challenge, present your findings in a table.

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 using the column method. Get someone to test you with 2 questions on each to see how well you can now do this. Don’t forget to use exchanging!

English: LO: to create a poem.

This week we have looked at haiku poems and created our own style of poem. Today, to round this off, I would like you to create a poem about something you have so far researched on Japan. For example: if you particularly liked the cherry blossom festival you could create a poem on this. Once you have finished your poem, write up a super neat version and draw a picture to illustrate it.

Maths: LO: to use money.

Today, to round off our weeks work on money, we are going to look at items which cost a lot. I would like you to work out how many bank notes you would need to buy an expensive item.

For example: if a new pair of trainers costs £120, how many £10 notes would you need to pay for this? How many £5 notes would you need? Can you pay for this item using just £20 notes?

Here are some example items for you, but feel free to make up your own!

1) A basic phone – £80

2) A weekly shop – £150

3) A new TV – £200

4) A dining room table – £320

5) A used car – £1220

English: LO: to create a new type of poem.

Yesterday we explored haiku poems and created our own poem following the syllable pattern of 5,7,5. How easy did you find this? It can be hard to create a meaningful poem with a limit on how many syllables you have on each line, and how many lines you can have. Today, I would like you to create your own style of poem, and write a poem using your style.

For example: I will create a poem using a syllable pattern of 8, 12, 3, 6. This means I can have 4 lines and they can all be a bit longer! I will call this type of poem a flerm poem.

Here are 2 flerm poems I created myself:

The weather is really horrid,

I want to be able to sit in my garden,

When it rains,

I cannot BBQ.

I really like Nandos chicken,

But I haven’t had any in such a long time.

When I can,

I will buy lots of it.

Perform your poem to someone at home!

Maths: LO: to calculate change.

Last term we looked into working out how change works. Today I would like you to revisit this. I would like you to work on how to calculate amounts of change as if you were buying something in a shop using a bank note. For example, if you had a £2 coin and went into a shop to purchase a 90p can of drink, how much change should the person on the till give you?

If you are in Y4 or fancy a challenge: create a list of items (you could see some of the prices on items around the house) and work out how much change you would get from a large note such as a £20 note. To do this you will need to use your addition and subtraction skills.

For example how much change will I get from a £10 note for the following?:

£1.10 newspaper,

90p Boost bar,

£2.50 coffee.

I need to add the items together first: £1.10 + 90p + £2.50 = £4.50

Then, £10 – £ 4.50 = £ 5.50 in change.

If you have some play money or change at home, you could create a shop and sell things to people in your home!

English: LO: to create a haiku poem.

Haiku poems follow a syllable pattern of 5,7,5. So the first line has 5 syllables, the second line has 7 syllables, and the third line has 5 syllables. They are very short!

As long as a poem follows this pattern, it is a haiku. However, some haiku poems make more sense than others!

For example:

Haikus are easy,

But sometimes they don’t make sense,

Refrigerator.

The above is a haiku! But, it doesn’t make much sense… Can you write a haiku poem on something you can see around the house?

Maths: LO: to calculate multiples of money.

Yesterday in maths you used your superpowers to multiply money! If you found this tricky, you could use today to keep practising this. If you managed it, then try the following:

Your superpower has backfired and is no longer working as it should! Now, instead of doubling money you can halve it! Think of an amount of money (or get some coins and count out an amount of money), then use your superpower to halve that amount and work out how much money you now have. Make sure you use an even number or it won’t halve correctly.

For example – if I counted out £1.20 and then used my superpower, I would start by halving the £1 to get 50p, then halve 20p to get 10p. I now have 60p!

Using real money or drawing out some coins works well for this and will help you if you are finding it tricky. You could always make some money of your own and practise with this. Some board games also have money (Monopoly); you could use this instead. If you find this too easy you could always further downgrade your superpower so that you can split money into thirds or even quarters! Some money may not split equally and you might have remainders! You could use your rounding skills to calculate the total to the nearest pence if you want to challenge yourself even more.

English: LO: to identify word classes within a Haiku.

Below are some examples of Haiku poems. Copy them out into your workbook, then use different colour pens/pencils to underline: any verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs. Can you see any metaphors or similes?

Which word class can you see the most often? Do you have any idea why this might be the case? Consider what you found out yesterday about how long haiku poems can be.

1) A fat bee stings me,
It hurts very badly but,

I do not cry though.

2) In the woods they roam,
The wildlife is creeping,
They are living life.

3)The bat flies slowly,
Its wings are like steel curtains,

I wish I could fly.

Maths: LO: to calculate multiples of money.

Today in maths you are going to be able to use a super power: the ability to double any amount of money! Think of an amount of money (or get some coins and count out an amount of money), then use your superpower to double that amount and work out how much money you now have.

For example – if I counted out £1.20 and then used my superpower, I would start by doubling the £1 to get £2, then double to 20p to get 40p. I now have £2.40!

Using real money or drawing out some coins works well for this and will help you if you are finding it tricky. You could always make some money of your own and practise with this. Some board games also have money (Monopoly); you could use this instead.

If you find this too easy you could always upgrade your superpower so that you can triple or even quadruple the amount of money!

English: LO: to investigate Haiku.

A haiku is a type of poem which originated in Japan. Today I would like you to research what a haiku is. What does a poem have to be to be a haiku? Can you find and read and famous haiku poems?

Maths: LO: to add in money.

Last term we did some work on money, and this week we will be revisiting this topic. For today’s work I would like you to look over some of the work you did last term on adding money. Can you remember how to do this? Find some items with price tags on around the house, gather up 3 or 4 items and see if you can add the price of them up to work out the total cost of all the items. If you can’t find any items with price tags/labels on, or the prices are too tricky for you to add, think up some prices for your favourite sweets and add those together. For example, a bar of dairy milk is 75p, a small bag of haribo starmix is 10p, a can of diet coke is 99p. If I wanted to buy all of these items I would need 75p + 10p + 99p = ?

On the class website for the 25^th of March there is a guide on how to use a number line to add money. This has a picture of an example I created which you might find helpful! Take a look if you need reminding:

Cedar Class Learning 25th March 2020

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 recapped on the 6 times table. Get someone at home to test you on the 6 times table. Can you say it backwards starting from 12 X 6?

English: LO: to use specific words.

This weeks Japan project focus has been on the climate and geography of Japan. One of your tasks was to consider what the weather was like in Japan, and how it was different to the weather in the United Kingdom. Whilst doing this, you should have used some specific words which are about weather. Make a list of all the words you have used about weather? If you haven’t done this task yet then you can use this session to prepare the words you will use! What similarities are there between the weather words you have used? Can you challenge yourself and think of any other weather related words which you could maybe use in your project? For example: you might have spoken about how much rain Japan has. We know that rain is associated with certain cloud types, can you find out the names of the clouds which normally mean that we will have rain? Can you use the scientific names (precipitation for example). You could combine all of your weather related knowledge into a knowledge organiser!

Maths: LO: to make and play a time game.

Today I would like you to create a game all about time. I recommend a game of pairs, because you can play it on your own, but if you have a better idea then I would love to see that!

To create a time-related pairs game:

1) Cut out an even number of squares or rectangles from paper or cardboard to make your playing cards (for this example I will use 10 cards).

2) Split the cards so that you have 2 equal piles (2 piles of 5 cards).

3) One of the piles will have 24 hour clock times written on them, the other will have 12 hour clock times. Write a time on one card from the 12 hour pile, and then write the same time using the 24 hour clock on a card from the other pile. (07:00 PM [Pile 1] , 19:00 [Pile 2]).

4) Label all of your cards with different times.

5) Shuffle your cards, then spread them out face down in front of you.

6) Turn over 1 card and read the time, then pick up another card and read the time on it. If they are the same time you can leave them face up. If they aren’t the same time, turn them back over and pick another 2 cards. You need to remember where the cards were that you have already turned over so that you can pair them off. How many moves can you win the game in?

If you are going to play with another person, you need an odd number of pairs – for example 13 pairs (26 cards in total), otherwise you could draw and there will be no winner!

Please see the weekly activities post/the corresponding section on the class website for the spelling and arithmetic focus for this week, along with additional tasks which can be completed. The weekly activity post also has a list of tasks for the afternoon work – a project on Japan.

English: LO: to consider how to write for different audiences.

When we write, we use different words and styles of writing depending on who we think the reader will be. For example, a story written for 3-4 year old children will look a lot different to a story for 10 year old children. A non-fiction piece of writing giving the reader information about something will look a lot different to a story.

Today, I would like you to think about the style of writing and types of words used in non-fiction texts. Find a non-fiction piece of writing (this could be a book, newspaper article or leaflet) and compare it to a fiction book. Write down the main differences you can see between the two.

When you are completing your project work on Japan, the list of features in the non-fiction text are probably going to be better suited for your writing. Try and use some of the things you have identified in other non-fiction texts.

Maths: LO: to use the 24 hour clock.

At the start of the week you looked at the 24 hour clock. Today, I would like you to see how well you can write and tell them time in the evenings and night. Pretend you are secretly a superhero. When you go to bed, you actually put on your superhero outfit and go out and save the world, fight crime, and do other superhero things. Write a timetable of what you will do tonight on your superhero duties. Don’t forget, you can only start once your family think you are asleep, and you have to be back in bed before they normally come and get you up!

For example:

20:00 – bed time.
20:10 – put on my superhero suit.
20:20 – activate the secret trapdoor in my wardrobe which takes me down to my superhero cave so that I can collect my gadgets and flying car.

Please see the weekly activities post/the corresponding section on the class website for the spelling and arithmetic focus for this week, along with additional tasks which can be completed. The weekly activity post also has a list of tasks for the afternoon work – a project on Japan.

English: LO: to practise note-taking.

When doing your research project, you will likely use the internet or a book to make your posters/present your findings on Japan. An important skill for getting the important information you need it note-taking; if you can’t make notes you end up copying out lots and lots of information and it takes a lot of time!

When taking notes, you write down the most important bits of the information and use your brain to fill in the blanks. For example, if the piece of information I was reading in a book on dogs said:

“There are lots of different types of dog around the world, but all of them have a few things in common. All dogs need to have regular exercise (either walking, running or playing catch with a ball), food and water. Most importantly, dogs need to be loved by their owners”.

My notes would look like this:

“Dogs –

Lots of different types,

Need exercise – walk, run, playing,

Need food,

Need water,

Need love from owners.”

Try practising your note taking skills by writing down the important information from a TV advert or something on the news. Then, make sure you use your note-taking skills when completing your Japan project later!

Maths: LO: to estimate time.

Today I would like you to use your estimating (guessing) skills around time. Think of something you need to do today (this could be one of your school tasks, or something fun like playing a game in the garden). Estimate (guess) how long it will take you to do this task and write it down in your workbook. Use hours, minutes and seconds to make your guess. For example if I needed to tidy my room I could look around my room and see that it wasn’t too messy. I might then estimate that it will take me 10 minutes and 15 seconds to tidy. Then, get a stopwatch (most phones and tablets have a stopwatch function) and time how long it takes you to complete your task or game. Write down the actual time taken – did it take longer or less time than you estimated? For an extra challenge, you could calculate the time difference between your estimate and the actual time.

Please see the weekly activities post/the corresponding section on the class website for the spelling and arithmetic focus for this week, along with additional tasks which can be completed. The weekly activity post also has a list of tasks for the afternoon work – a project on Japan.

English: LO: to consider how information can be presented. This term you will be completing some project work on Japan. Today I would like you to think about how you can present your research findings so that they are interesting. If you have any leaflets for any attractions around the house go and find them, if not think about some leaflets for places to visit you may have seen before or have a look on the internet for some.

When you look at the leaflets, what makes them stand out to you? The people who created them had the goal of making them look interesting so that people pick them up and read them. Can you write down a bullet point list of 6 things on the leaflet which make you want to read it?

When you are completing your project work this afternoon, use your list to give you ideas on how you could present your Japan project in a fun and interesting way. Try and use all of the points you noted!

Maths: LO: to use the 24 hour clock. Yesterday you looked at the 24 hour clock and how to tell the time using this. Today, I would like you to keep a diary of what you do throughout the day and record the time next to each event in your diary. You can use the 12 hour clock or the 24 hour clock but, if you are really want to challenge yourself, write the time using both clocks.

For example: 7:00 AM – Woke up; 7:30 AM – Had breakfast….