Quick reading revision

Ahead of tomorrow's reading paper, we have spoken today, going over what is required to get full marks in 2 and 3 mark questions.
Generally speaking this questions require you to make a point(s) and support with evidence.

 

For a 2mark answer:
Point + evidence
If a point has already been given, e.g. Toby was excited, then 2 pieces of supporting evidence are required, e.g. He skipped along giddily + He could barely contain himself with squeaks and squeals escaping his lips!

 

For 3 mark answers there are a few possibilities:

• P + E + E
• P + P + E
• E + E + E (if a point is already given)

Below are a couple of texts and related questions for you to try in preparation for tomorrow. But remember: don't overdo it- make sure you get some rest.

 

Reading revision: Topical vocabulary

Hi all,

As previously mentioned, SATs are not a 'Year 6' test; the tests are intended to draw on knowledge gained from across your primary education. That includes: history, geography, science, religious education etc.
It is for that reason you will benefit from recapping key learning in each subject as, with this, you will be exposed to a range of key words. By ensuring you understand what certain words mean, it will enable you to better access texts you might come across.

I have produced some short comprehension questions that will require you to draw on this prior knowledge/ understanding below.
Identify key words/ words you are uncertain of and use their structure and/or context to help you determine their meaning before attempting the questions that accompany each text.

Miss Barrell x

Reading Skills: Inference 2- Raider's Peril

Hi all,

One of the most frequent question types you will encounter in reading comprehension tests will be INFERENCE. As you know (hopefully!), this requires you to play the role of detective and figure things out for yourself. You need to 'read between the lines' and get information that isn't directly given to you.
Often, these questions will be about characters or settings. Remember to consider things that characters DO or SAY that give us clues about how they're feeling etc.
Thinking about word choices made by the author and what they mean can also help you.
For example, if when speaking about someone's singing voice the author describes them as having 'the voice of an angel', we would understand that they sound nice, or heavenly even! If, however, they described them as sounding like 'a bag of spanners', we would get a very different impression!

Open this post to read more. 
Take a look at the text and have a go at the questions. Answers will be provided in a separate post for someone to mark your answers. Don't forget to post with what your score was!

Good luck,

Miss Barrell x

Reading skills: Inference 1- The Magic City

Hi all,

One of the most frequent question types you will encounter in reading comprehension tests will be INFERENCE. As you know (hopefully!), this requires you to play the role of detective and figure things out for yourself. You need to 'read between the lines' and get information that isn't directly given to you.
Often, these questions will be about characters or settings. Remember to consider things that characters DO or SAY that give us clues about how they're feeling etc.
Thinking about word choices made by the author and what they mean can also help you.
For example, if when speaking about someone's singing voice the author describes them as having 'the voice of an angel', we would understand that they sound nice, or heavenly even! If, however, they described them as sounding like 'a bag of spanners', we would get a very different impression!

Open this post to read more. 
Take a look at the text and have a go at the questions. Answers will be provided in a separate post for someone to mark your answers. Don't forget to post with what your score was!

Good luck,

Miss Barrell x

This week's homework...

Hi all,

I mentioned yesterday that your focus for the next week, with only 4 school days until SATs, should be on revising. Focus, not on the things you are good at, but on the things you know you don't feel as secure with so that, by the time testing week arrives, you will be full of confidence knowing you have given it your best shot. That is all we ask.

I have delayed putting this up as I didn't want to distract you from the lovely sunny weather we have been enjoying this bank holiday Saturday. Balance is important; make sure you build in rest to recharge your batteries.

So, in between your rest intervals:

• Practise any arithmetic skills you make errors in.
• Apply your arithmetic skills to reasoning questions.
• READ!! Read on a wide range of topics- science, history, geography etc. as well as narrative and poetry- exposing yourself to new and varied vocabulary and practise figuring out what unfamiliar words mean.
• Revise any grammar terms you are less confident about- can you tell a phrase from a clause?!
• Learn your spellings! On Friday I gave you all the spellings you didn't get right from across this term- keep working on them.
• Make use of the blog posts from across the year as well as revision guides and online resources.

Open this post to read more as I have attached a practise SPaG test below for you to try- give it a go and if there's anything on there you struggle with then revise it! 

Similarly with maths, I have put up some questions for you to try.

LASTLY, comment on this post if you want me to put anything in particular up to help you or to timetable in for next week's lessons.

Enjoy the rest of the bank holiday and I'll see you Tuesday,

Miss Barrell x

Reading homework 27.4.18

Take a look at this...

Have a listen to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjxugyZCfuw 

Last week's reading homework caused some confusion for some of us unfortunately. No need to worry though- as long as we learn from our experiences they shouldn't continue to repeat themselves. It's really important we read the questions carefully, so bear that in mind with this week's RIC.

BONUS QUESTION:

How does the artist help you to understand the subject is in control?

Remember to:

• Consider what you need to understand in the question to be able to answer it- what do words mean?
• Look for the cues from the question to help you find the right part of the text to answer.
• Think about the marks available for each question and what you need to put in your answer to make sure you get them.
• Only use what you need to- don't waste time waffling!
• Check- does your response actually answers the question? Does any evidence you use match the point you're making?

If you need any help, come and talk to me and we can work through it together.

Enjoy,

Miss Barrell x

Reading homework 20.4.18

Hi all,

Here is your reading homework for this week- this time we are going to look at a poem!

'Leisure' by W.H. Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance. 

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare. 

You might find it helpful to watch the following clip too...

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4Lt30YbleE 

Based on this poem, answer the questions below:

1. R- W.H. Davies speaks of being able to 'stand and stare'. Name three things he talks about standing and staring at.
2. I- What is the authors opinion of life? Explain with reference to the text.
3. C- Why did Davies describe 'Streams full of stars'? What was he trying to convey through this?

Reading RIC homework 13.4.18

Hi all,

Apologies for the delay in posting this- technical issues, unfortunately!
Anyway, here's the text- page 40 from our class text:

And 3 questions- Retrieval(and word meaning), Inference, (language) Choice to answer based on your reading.

Use the skills we have been focussing on to help you answer the questions quickly and accurately.

• Skim and scan for key words/ synonyms to help you focus in on target information;
• Analyse words and actions to figure things out about them (inference);
• Consider meanings of words to help you understand what the author is trying to convey, e.g. if something is described as 'thunderous' we can understand that it is loud and perhaps scary.
• Make sure any evidence you select clearly supports the point being made.

Remember- these are the most common question types you will come across so it pays to be comfortable with them. If you're having difficulty, come to us and we will be able to help you but you've got to work at it.

Please complete answers in your homework books as normal, neatly,  by Wednesday.

Miss Barrell x

Focus on: Reading

This week we have really put our reading skills to the test with a variety of texts and question types.
It has exposed us to some new authors and writing styles which will improve our writing.
You can see how enthralled we have been in these pictures below:

Remember to keep practising. Over the coming days/ weeks, I will be uploading some extra reading comprehensions for you to try at home so keep a look out for them!


Miss Barrell x

Reading homework 16.3.18

Hi all,


A little something extra this week... Reading!

First of all, a HUGE well done to all of our keen readers from this week, bringing their home reading books in every single day- very impressive! One more week until Easter break now so keep it up and fingers crossed- it could be your name being drawn out of our reading raffle next week- you've got to be in it to win it!

Secondly, this week we have been focussing on how to write a strong '3 mark answer' to maximise the points we achieve in comprehension tests. Sooooo...

As part of your homework, based on an extract from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone- Chapter 2: The Vanishing Glass. I have set 3 questions for you to answer for which I have devised a mark scheme of plausible responses (just as they would in a test) which we will use next week to see how many marks we achieve.

You each have a booklet- these can be stuck in to your homework books; there's no need to write anything extra out; just work straight on to the sheet.


Use the skills we have practised as a checklist:


* Clarify the question in your mind: What is it asking me? e.g. What impression are you given of character A?


* Think of synonyms or generalisations for the point(s) you want to make, e.g. He is unkind


* Text mark to find your evidence but remember to only take what you need.


* Don't waffle and repeat yourself- be concise!


* Check that your evidence supports the point(s) you're making, e.g. He is unkind because he deliberately kicked the ball at her.


* Ask yourself: Have I answered the question?




As always, let me know if you need any help, but otherwise- happy reading!


Miss Barrell x

Half term homework...

Hi all,

Your homework for the week consists of the following:

• Maths- You have a reasoning paper to have a go at as well as this week's completed arithmetic paper to help you focus your revision and brush up on the areas of maths where you are missing out on marks.

• SPaG- The SPaG mat (below).

• Reading challenge- Read and summarise (in no more than 50 words) ANYTHING relating to our new topic focussing on the country of Greece... These will be going in your topic books.

Enjoy the break and I'll see you all soon!

Miss Barrell x

Reading practise...

Take a look at the following extract of text before answering the questions provided.

Tomorrow is the word. Tomorrow was always the word, for Faustino. 
They know they've stopped being kids. He just can't work out when that happened.
Faustino shrugs.
-I guess tomorrow finally came.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. It was Faustino's word before he and Arturo even met. It was his father's word even before Faustino was born. Back home, in Guatemala, his father used to say it to his mother: tomorrow I will get a job. Tomorrow I will mend the roof. Tomorrow everything will be okay. And Faustino's mother would roll her eyes and moan and love her husband anyway. They survived in La Limonada, picking scraps from the garbage dump, reselling what they could, along with sixty thousand other people crammed into the teetering ravine that cuts almost to the heart of Guate.

One day, Faustino was born, and then his father taught him the word too: tomorrow we'll go to the park and play football, tomorrow I'll find you a bike, tomorrow I'll show you how to ride it.
       As Faustino grew, however, something changed in his father, and the word changed too. It actually began to mean something, and finally, one day, Faustino's father said to Faustino's mother- We cannot stay here anymore.

1. Find and copy one word that means 'full to the point of overflowing'.
2. What impression do you get of Faustino's father?
3. What evidence is there that Faustino's home life was unstable?

Reading stems

Hello again!

As mentioned at last week's SATs information sessions, reading practise at home can go way beyond just listening to your child read. You know they can read; now you need to know that they understand!

Below are some question stems (taken from previous tests) that you can use to think up questions for your child based on whatever text your child is reading at home. You can apply them to all manner of texts from their home reading book to the TV guide, a recipe or even a leaflet for a day out. Perhaps you could think of questions to help them explore TV shows etc.

The more practise they get of these skills they get, the more confident in them they will become.

As always, if you would like any support with this or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch- we're always happy to help.

Thanks again for your continued support,

Miss Barrell

Essential reading skills

Hi all,

Following on from last week's SATs information sessions, here is a resource to help you in supporting your child's reading development.

This is a breakdown of some essential reading skills:

Hopefully this will give you a good starting point, but over the coming days/ weeks I will be putting more resources- question stems/ activities etc. up to help you further.

In the meantime, if you would like any more help please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Many thanks for your continued support,

Miss Barrell

The Ice Bear art work

Following the launch of our Winter Wonderland topic, we started looking at our new book:

The Ice Bear

We have only read a snippet so far, and there's plenty more to come, but already we have been inspired by the words in the book to create some beautiful works of art- take a look at some of the examples below!


"Into this world they were born, in the dark months, when the cold and the wind turned water to stone. So small. She held them close to keep them warm in the blue ice cave that was their world".

Tom's Midnight Garden

This week we started reading our new class text: Tom's Midnight Garden.

We're really enjoying the story so far and it has already inspired some fantastic writing from us as we have taken on the role of Tom Long, the main character, to write a letter back to our brother Peter who has measles to tell him all about life with Aunt Gwen and Uncle Alan...

Reading: Skill pre-load

We have already discussed the art of retrieval questions, but they aren't always as straightforward as they seem...
Sometimes, often even, the questions set will try to get you thinking. Instead of matching the wording of the question to the text they will use a synonym- a different word with the same meaning... Sneaky!


So let's look at a little snippet of text to help us with this:


Fuelled by rage and revenge, Anders Arnfield stood in front of the giant gates of Pengreg Hall and raised his sword to face the snarling creature ahead. In front of him and for miles beyond lay the ruins of the ancient Gunders Wood, smouldering in ashes as the once tall trees lay forlorn on the forest floor. Behind the great house, over his shoulder, he could sense the path to freedom but he was determined not to take the easy way out.


It would be much easier to answer a question like, What lay in front of Anders? because the exact words 'In front of' are in the text and the question which makes finding the answer a doddle!


If I asked you, 'What was to the rear of Pengreg Hall?' you would have to think much more carefully. To be successful at answering this question, you would need to understand that 'to the rear of' means 'behind' and then it becomes much simpler because we can find the word 'behind' in the text. Of course, the answer is: 'the path to freedom'.


Have a go at the following questions (based on 'The Dual World of Anders Arnfield') to practise this skill ahead of next week! 
TIP- If you're struggling, you may wish to enlist the help of a thesaurus to begin with! 

1. What was Anders Arnfield’s incentive for killing the creature?
2. What was he determined not to do?
3. Whose duty was it to overcome the beast?
4. What was he trying to figure out?
5. What did Anders not have time to consider?

Answers on a postcard (or any piece of paper) for pennies!

 

The Dual World of Anders Arnfield... RETRIEVAL

Recently we have been looking at 'retrieval' answers in our guided reading. We want to be able to locate answers quickly and efficiently so we are not constantly reading and re-reading the same passages of text. 
To help us do this, we have practiced picking out key words in the question and skimming and scanning the text for those words before reading around them to try and find the answer.


Example:


Where was Anders stood? The question is about the main character, Anders, and where he is standing so the key words I would look for are 'Anders' and 'stood' or words that are very closely linked.
My answer would be: in front of the giant gates of Pengreg Hall.

With these questions you can literally copy the answers from the text- easy!

Read the text below before having a go at the questions at the end. Bring your answers in next week and if you get them right you get a penny!

Fuelled by rage and revenge, Anders Arnfield stood in front of the giant gates of Pengreg Hall and raised his sword to face the snarling creature ahead. In front of him and for miles beyond lay the ruins of the ancient Gunders Wood, smouldering in ashes as the once tall trees lay forlorn on the forest floor. Behind the great house, over his shoulder, he could sense the path to freedom but he was determined not to take the easy way out.

There was no doubt in Anders’ mind that the creature bearing down on him was the same Klingenot he had encountered in his previous dreams; a creature he had so often doubted could be real. It sure looked real right now as he found himself not only the prey to this huge four-legged beast, but with the sole responsibility to defeat it. Over many months, he had become used to the dual worlds that he had gradually found himself living in: by night, the strange and mysterious happenings of Gunders Wood, overlooked by the marvellous Pengreg Hall; by day trying to fathom how those happenings linked and influenced his ordinary schoolboy life.

Casting his mind back two years, the young boy thought of the precious box given to him by his late grandmother before she returned to Norway. How he wished she had still been alive to answer his millions of questions. Was there a vital clue in the box that he was missing right now? Every part of the contents had turned out to be a clue to something or other. Some days he cursed the gift that his grandmother had given him: not the gift of the box though; the gift she had passed down in some other way. As often as he may curse it however, he couldn’t imagine life any different to the way it had become.

Unfortunately, he had little time to ponder the many burning questions. All that imminently mattered was how to hold off the baying beast ahead. With its arched stegosaurus-like spine and flaring dragon-like nostrils, the Klingenot was close enough for Anders to smell its stale breath.


1) What lay in front of Anders?
2) Where was the path to freedom?
3) What was the creature bearing down on Anders?
4) What was Anders responsible for?
5) Where did Anders find himself living?
6) Where was Anders' grandmother from?
7) What did the baying beast look like?

Good luck!