Don't forget to listen to our class story, The Explorer, here. You could choose a chapter and write a diary as one of the characters from the story.

Save Our Rainforests

Our Literacy home learning is going to be based on the Greenpeace advert 'Rang-tan' and the issues surrounding deforestation - the cutting down and removal of big areas of the rainforest. I will be posting a range of activities on here for you to work through at your own pace. There will be a range of different activities to give you chance to practise your drama, writing, reading, grammar, handwriting, editing and publishing. I can't wait to see your fantastic work!

Task 1:

Watch the advert below and discuss what you think it is about with your grown ups. What do you already know about palm oil? Have you seen the advert before?

Task 2:

Create a story map and actions for the poem which narrates the advert. You could choose your favourite verse or challenge yourself to story map the whole poem. Remember to create an action and a picture for as many words as you can to help you learn it off by heart. There is a copy of the text below to help you with this. Practise using your story map to perform the poem. You could get your whole family involved and teach them your actions too! I would love to see photos of your fantastic story maps - click here to upload a photograph of your work.

Task 3:

Read the text about Orangutans and have a go at answering the questions. Remember, we usually read non-fiction texts to retrieve information so most of the questions are practising this skill. Read each question carefully and decide what information you're looking for then skim and scan to find the answer and retrieve it from the text. Click on the link below to see the text and questions. There are also answers for you to check your work.

On a Friday, we would normally do our SPaG raffle so it seems only right that we recap a little bit of grammar. This is something you have learnt in Y2 and we have been continuing to use in Y3 to add detail to our writing.

Have a go at the activities below to earn yourselves a virtual SPaG Raffle Ticket!

Task 4:

1. Click here to learn how to draw your own orangutan.

2. Write as many expanded noun phrases you can think of to describe the orangutan or the rainforest around him.

Top tip! Pick a part of the orangutan eg. eyes then think of adjectives which describe the eyes eg. dark and beady.

3. Use your expanded noun phrases to write a description of an orangutan using full sentences.

Remember to read your sentences back to check your spelling and punctuation. 

4. Say cheese! Click here to upload a photograph of your work.

Task 5:

Research Time! Use the internet to find the answers to these questions:

Where in the world are orangutans found?

How would you describe their appearance? (what they look like)

What food do orangutans eat?

Where do they sleep?

Remember to group similar facts together. This will make the information easier to use in our writing (Task 6!)

Click on the link below to download and print your very own orangutan explorer's notebook to make notes about the information you find. (You can of course make your notes anywhere!)

Task 6: 

This one might take you a couple of days!

Using the information from your research, create an orangutan fact file.

Remember to:

- start with an introduction explaining what you're writing about -> orangutans!

- use sub-headings to organise your information into groups eg. 'Diet' or 'What do orangutans eat?'

- use questions to interest your reader eg. Did you know....?

- write captions explaining what your photos or drawings show

Draft your writing first to give you chance to edit any mistakes and add in those extra fantastic ideas that come to you later on. Once you're happy with your super writing, get creative with your publishing. You could create your fact file by hand or on the computer. There are some examples below to give you some ideas.

I can't wait to see you brilliant work! CLICK HERE to share your fact file.

If you have any problems with uploading your file or photo, please sent these through to enquiries@walkley.sheffield.sch.uk

Task 7: 

For this next activity, you will need to cast your minds back to when we wrote our Christopher Columbus sound sailor poems based on the poem 'The Sound Collector'. We are going to use this poem again, but this time to help us write a poem based on the sounds of the rainforest. Your task is to listen to the soundtrack and brainstorm ideas for the sounds you might hear ready for writing your poem. If you think of any rhyming words, jot these down too! Remember to write your ideas down like the examples below as this will really help us when it comes to getting the rhythm we want for our poem which we will have a go at writing together in the next task!

the sound of the something

eg. the tweeting of the birds, the rustling of the leaves, the creaking of the branches.

Task 8: 

Watch the video then have a go at writing your own rainforest poem based on 'The Sound Collector'.

You could write from the baby orangutan's point of view linked to the advert.

Wow Betty - what a powerful poem!                                                    Fantastic work Brooke! I love the vocabulary you've used and 
I love how you have illustrated your work too.                                   the super rhyming too. 

An amazing acrostic poem - well done Raiyaan!                              Another beautifully written and illustrated poem! Super work!

Another powerful poem filled with great vocabulary and rhythm.

Well done Jimmy!

Task 9:

This next activity will give you the chance to practise your inference skills or as TL puts it 'looking at what's going on on the outside to work out what's going on on the inside'.

Your task is to re-watch the Rangtan advert at the top of this page, paying particular attention to the middle section which is set in the rainforest. After you have watched the video, I would like you to draw an outline of the baby orangutan. On the outside, write what is going on around the baby orangutan in the rainforest on that night. Then, on the inside, write down any questions she might be thinking and emotions she might be feeling. I have done an example to show you what your work might look like. We call this a 'Role on the Wall' (you might remember doing this for the angry matador back at the beginning of Y3!). We will be using our ideas in the next task!

Challenge:

You can then expand on your ideas to explain why you think the baby orangutan might have been feeling that way. 

I think the baby orangutan would feel _______________________ because _____________________________________________________ .

I think the baby orangutan would be thinking/wondering ___________________________________________________________________.

Task 10:

For this activity, you will need to imagine you are the little orangutan from the advert. Using your work from yesterday, I would like you to retell what happened on the night when the diggers arrived at your home. There is an example of the fantastic work written and performed by last year's Y3 Aslans. Watch the video and magpie some of their fantastic vocabulary for your own writing!

Task 11

You've already written a first draft of your recount, now it's time to edit and improve your writing! Watch the video below to remind yourselves how we do this and see if you can spot any mistakes in my first draft. Then, have a go at editing and improving your own writing. 

Task 12

For this activity, I would like you to play words within words. Watch the short video below to remind yourself how this game works. You can challenge yourself or play against someone else and see who can make the most words. Remember to write down the words you make so that you don't repeat the same word twice!

orangutan - red-haired apes that live in the tropical rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo in southeast Asia

deforestation - the clearing or cutting down of forests

palm oil - an oil made from the fruit which grows on palm trees

endangered - an endangered species is any type of plant or animal that is in danger of disappearing forever

sustainable - using resources carefully so that they can continue to be used and won't run out

Task 13

Read the text 'All About Palm Oil' and have a go at answering the questions. Remember, we usually read non-fiction texts to retrieve information so most of the questions are practising this skill. Read each question carefully and decide what information you're looking for then skim and scan to find the answer and retrieve it from the text. Click on the link below to see the text and questions. There are also answers for you to check your work.

Task 14:

Using the information from the text, create a poster to inform people about palm oil including what it is and some of the issues that are happening because not being produced sustainably.

#StopDirtyPalmOil campaign

According to Greenpeace, these companies made a promise to be clean of dirty palm oil by 2020 - that's now! Last year, the Y3 Aslans wrote and performed a persuasive letter to these companies to provide a polite reminder of their promise.

Here is their fantastic work which received many replies from the companies including Nestle, P&G, Pepsi and Mondelez outlining how they're making sure the palm oil they use in their products is sustainable and not destroying the rainforest. 

Palm oil is a very efficient product but it needs to be produced sustainably - without damaging the beautiful rainforest! Despite many campaigns, large areas of the rainforest are still being cut down in order to use the land to plant palm trees for palm oil.  We are going to write to these companies to remind them why it is so important they use sustainable palm oil in their products and not 'dirty palm oil' which has been produced from the destruction of the rainforest.

To find out more, visit https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/8-things-know-about-palm-oil

Task 15

Brainstorm ideas for your letter to these companies. Use the questions to help you think about what information you are going to include to persuade these companies to use sustainable palm oil. You can print the brainstorm plan below like we use in school or draw your own on paper or in a notebook. 

Task 15

Using your plan, draft a letter to these companies to persuade them to use sustainable palm oil in their products and not 'dirty palm oil' which has been made by destroying parts of the rainforest. 

Task 16

Listen to the story of the Great Kapok Tree....

It's time for some drama! Practise saying 'Don't chop down our Kapok tree!' using different animal voices.

Can you hiss like a snake?

Can you squawk like a toucan?

Can you growl like a tiger?

Task 17:

Complete the storyboard for the Great Kapok Tree. Draw a picture of each animal in the order that they appeared in the story. Underneath each picture, write a sentence summarising each part. You can create your own story board or print one by clicking the link below. 

Task 18:

Choose one of the animals from the story and put yourself in their shoes....or should I say paws! Re-write the story from your animal's perspective.

Remember to:

- write in first person (I, my, me, we) 

- retell the events in the order that they happened (this is where you storyboard is really useful!)

- magpie vocabulary from the original story

- punctuate speech using inverted commas (speech marks) 

- read your writing back to check it makes sense

Here is the start of my writing as an example. Can you guess which animal I am?

Early this morning, two men arrived at my home. One was carrying a sharp, metallic object in his hand. I watched them carefully from the branch I was wrapped around. The larger man pointed at our beautiful Kapok tree and ordered the smaller man to chop it down. Then he left. 

The tree shook as the man began to hit it with the metallic object but he soon became tired because it was extremely hot. When he lay down to rest, I slithered down the trunk. "Sehnor, do not cut down out precious home. My family have lived here for many years," I hissed in his ear.

- Journey to the Jungle -

"Do you know The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – the story of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy who discover the world of Narnia through the back of a wardrobe?" 

- Of course we do, we're Aslan class!

"Would you believe me if I told you that I have a wardrobe that takes me to magical places? I have been a jungle explorer for many years. I have explored the Cloud Jungle in Peru, the wild jungles of Borneo and even the Ancient Waipoua Forest in New Zealand. However, six years ago, I bought a beautiful wardrobe at a market and when I got it home, I discovered that it was not just beautiful, but magical too! Every week, on a Sunday evening, if I step into the wardrobe, I’m transported to a magical jungle that is out of this world. Come and discover these new lands with me!"

Visiting a jungle:

Exploring jungles is very exciting. Every time I go through my wardrobe and discover a new one, I write in my ‘Jungle Log’. It is a bit like a diary and it is where I write down what has happened on my visits. Here is my entry from my visit to the Atlanti Jungle in Oreno, an amazing place where the sky is yellow and the soil pink.

Task 1:

Read the explorer's jungle log entry below. You can also listen to a recording of this text by clicking the play button below.

Task 2: Vocabulary

Let's take a look at the meaning of some of the words in the explorer's diary. 

discovery - something that is found or learned for the first time
trek - a long, challenging journey on foot
sturdy - strong and solid
trudge - to walk slowly
circumference - the distance around something circular
dense - packed together with not much space around
mesmerising - something that holds your complete attention
turquoise - a greenish-blue colour

Using the definitions above, have a go at drawing a picture which represents the words below:

Task 3:

Using your pictures above, have a go at creating a story map and actions to help you learn parts of the text. Practise retelling the jungle log as if you were the explorer!

Task 4:

SPaG - Which synonym?

Synonyms are words with the same or similar meanings. Can you match the synonyms at the bottom of the table to the target words? Challenge - can you find any more synonyms to add to the table?

Task 5 

Read and answer the questions below:

1. Does mesmerising mean ‘something that is boring’ or ‘something that is really exciting’?
2. Is turquoise close to the colour blue or close to the colour red?
3. Does trek mean ‘to run quickly’ or ‘to go on a difficult journey’?
4. Does discovery mean ‘something you do all the time’ or ‘finding something for the first time’?

Challenge: Have a go at using these new words in a sentence. I have done one for you:
The sky looked turquoise this morning.

Task 6:

Jungle Comprehension.

Re-read the explorer's jungle log then have a go at answering the questions below.

1. Which jungle is going to be explored?
2. List two things the explorer did before he left camp.
3. Give two reasons why the explorer left early at 6am?
4. Which word in the text means the same as prickly?
5. What did the tiny, yellow flowers smell of?
6. The fish in the plunge pool were hiding. True or false?
7. What useful things might the explorer have in his rucksack for exploring?
8. Why did the explorer measure the trees?
9. The explorer says: It reminded me of the beanstalk in a famous children’s story. What story do you think he is talking about?

Task 7:

Have a go at writing your own list poem. What magical things would you like to find in your rucksack when you go exploring?

Remember to:

- make your items sound exciting by using alliteration - where words start with the same sound eg. sizzling sun, towering trees

- use precise, powerful verbs that show things in a more exciting way eg. scorching, splashing, glittering

- choose unusual things to add to your bag. Be as inventive as you can! eg. a hat made of stars

- exaggerate things! Make them: the biggest, the tallest, the sweetest, the fastest

- invent new things eg. the smell of clouds

You could include:

• Things you might see exploring e.g.sizzling sun, a rhino’s footprint
• The sound of something
• Unusual clothing
• A large number of something e.g.10000 leaf skeletons
• Something amazing growing in the jungle
• Something never-ending
• The smell of something
• Something that a creature left behind, e.g. the feather from a Soupee
• Something to show how you might feel 

Click here if you would like to upload a photo of your poem to share on the blog.

Task 8:

Task 9:

Now let's imagine we have explored our new jungle and you are going to write your own explorer's log. Use the table below to help you brainstorm your ideas using the same pattern as the explorer's own entry. 

Task 10:

Task 11:

Read through your brainstorm plan (task 9) then have a go at drafting a Jungle Log for exploring your own jungle.

Remember to:

- use your brainstorm plan to help structure your writing into paragraphs.

- add detail to your sentence by using and or but

- add explanation to your sentences using because

- use fronted adverbials to start some sentences eg. After that,  

- read your writing to check it makes sense

- check your capital letters at the start of sentences, full stops at the end and commas after a fronted adverbial.
 

Task 12:

How about publishing your jungle log? 

Follow the instructions below to make a fold-out log. Draw your jungle on the front and write your log inside.

I would love to see your published jungle logs! Click here if you would like to upload a photo of your work to share on the blog.

Task 13:

Read the explorer's instructions for how to uncover a Soupee bird.

Task 14:

Create a story map with actions for the instructions and practise reading them aloud. Make sure you're using your bossiest voice!

Task 15:

Design Challenge! 

Draw and label a trap to tempt your creature out from its hiding place.

Task 16:

Now it's time to plan your instructions. Let's imitate the language and structure of mine to help you write yours.

You can use the table below to help you structure your writing.

Task 17:

Click here if you would like to upload a photo of your imaginative instructions to share on the blog.

Click here if you would like to upload a photo of your whizzy writing to share on the blog!

Monday 22nd June

Good morning Aslans!

From today, your maths and literacy home learning will be posted on the new LKS2 blog which will be updated by Miss Travis, Miss Kendall and Mr Rist over the coming weeks while Mr Earl and I are in school teaching. You can still access this page if there are activities you want to have a go at.

We still want to see all your super work (and your smiley faces!) so please do keep sending this in.

We miss you lots,

Miss Morecroft and Miss Wieczorek x