Friday 19th June 2020

LO: to take pride in my achievements. 

I can remember to – 

• Use my edited version of my biography

• Use my best handwriting or type them

• Take my time

• Illustrate my work 

Well done! You have completed your biographies! Now is the time to publish and illustrate your work. The nice thing about a lot of Matisse’s later work is that it is quite easy to draw! If you are typing, you could also copy and paste some of his artworks onto your work. An example of how to illustrate might be:

At the beginning of the Second World War, Matisse found himself in a very challenging situation. He had recently separated from his wife of forty years and had been ill for over two years, leading him to use a wheel chair for the rest of his life. He was feeling depressed and hopeless, and thought that he would never paint again. However, it was at this point that he cut a man out of white paper, a drooping pinheaded figure, all sagging limbs and blazing red heart. This marked the beginning of a new chapter for Matisse, a chapter that he called ‘painting with scissors’.

I’m really looking forward to reading your biographies. Please use the Google form to send them in.

https://forms.gle/XPmYf7ZyMnPC8Yb79

Thursday 18th June 2020

LO: to edit and improve

I can remember to – 

• Check that my introduction summarises the main events of the person’s life, and my conclusion says what they will be remembered for

• Checked that I have included information about 

  • early life

  • early career

  • challenges and illnesses

  • later works

  • old age

• check that I have written in chronological order

• check that I have written in the past tense

• check that I have used fronted adverbials to start my sentences (Eventually, During, Later, After a while, Sometimes, Rarely)

• check that I have used third person pronouns (he, his, himself)

• check my spelling of technical vocabulary, and punctuation

• check that I have used punctuation for parentheses (brackets, commas or dashes for extra information)

Today it is time for you to edit your work to make sure that it is the best it can be. When you are editing, it is important to look for improvements one at a time, so edit like we do in class by spending five minutes on each remember to. For example, you should start by looking at the content of your work. Have you included enough information so that the reader will learn about Matisse? Spend ten minutes reading through and adding any extra facts that will interest the reader, including checking your introduction and conclusion. 

After you have checked the content, start looking at the SPAG. Underline using different colours or use different coloured highlighters. Remember to do this one at a time. 

Here is an example:

• past tense

• fronted adverbials 

• third person pronouns (he, his, himself)

• check my spelling of technical vocabulary,  and punctuation

• punctuation for parentheses (brackets, commas or dashes for extra information)

Henri Matisse (31 December 1869 - 3 November 1954), one of the undisputed masters of 20th century art, was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his varied styles. Not only was he a prominent member of Les Fauves (wild beasts in French), he also revolutionised the art of collage by using massive paper cut outs to create large scale masterpieces. Matisse’s life was not easy and he suffered from two major illnesses, one that started his career as an artist and a later surgery that nearly ended it! Matisse’s great skill and expressive use of shape and colour, in a career lasting over half a century, made him a leading figure in the world of modern art.

Now that I have highlighted, I can see that I have met most of the remember tos but I only have one fronted adverbial to start my sentence so that would be my area for improvement. You don’t need to highlight every example, just enough to show that you have met that criteria.

Wednesday 17th June 2020

LO: to give an account of someone’s life

I can remember to – 

• include information about Matisse’s challenges and later works

• write in chronological order

• write in the past tense

• use fronted adverbials to start my sentences (Eventually, During, Later, After a while, Sometimes, Rarely)

• use third person pronouns (he, his, himself)

• write conclusion  that summarises what they will most be remembered for

• EXTENSION: use punctuation for parentheses (brackets, commas or dashes for extra information)

• EXTENSION: include their feelings about different points and events in their life

Today we are going to finish our biographies by writing about the later part of Matisse’s life, starting with the illness that left him largely paralysed however started his experiments with cut outs, which would then lead to some of his most famous art works.

I have included an example of a conclusion so that you can see a WAGOLL of how to end a biography by summarising his most significant achievements and what he is most remembered for.

Henri Matisse was one of the great artists of our time. His use of colour influenced many later artists. Before he died, he opened a museum dedicated to his work in 1952, in his birthplace city, and this museum is now the third-largest collection of Matisse works in France. However, there are works by Matisse in art galleries all over the world and the work of Henri Matisse still continues to have an impact on the world of art, and past and present artists across the globe. 

I also want to give a short example of how you might achieve the extension, include their feelings about different points and events in their life. If you look at the writing that you did in role last Friday (interview with Matisse), this should help you to write from his perspective. An example of this might be:

At the beginning of the Second World War, Matisse found himself in a very challenging situation. He had recently separated from his wife of forty years and had been ill for over two years, leading him to use a wheel chair for the rest of his life. He was feeling depressed and hopeless, and thought that he would never paint again. However, it was at this point that he cut a man out of white paper, a drooping pinheaded figure, all sagging limbs and blazing red heart. This marked the beginning of a new chapter for Matisse, a chapter that he called ‘painting with scissors’.

I have tried to include how Matisse felt and have used his own phrase to add detail. See if you can add in some of his feelings and his own expressions or quotes.

I can’t wait to read your biographies! I am sure that they will be amazing!

Tuesday 16^th June 2020

LO: to give an account of someone’s life

I can remember to –

• write an introduction that summarises the main events of the person’s life
• include information about their early life and early career
• write in chronological order
• write in the past tense
• use fronted adverbials to start my sentences (Eventually, During, Later, After a while, Sometimes, Rarely)
• use third person pronouns (he, his, himself)
• EXTENSION: use punctuation for parentheses (brackets, commas or dashes for extra information)
• EXTENSION: include their feelings about different points and events in their life

Today I would like you to write the first half of your biography, focusing on Matisse’s early life and career. Use your brainstorm to help you with ideas. 

Let’s have a think about how to write an attention grabbing introduction that summarises Matisse’s life. I want my introduction to hook the reader and make them want to read the rest of my biography.

This is one that I wrote about Matisse.

Henri Matisse (31 December 1869 - 3 November 1954), one of the undisputed masters of 20th century art, was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his varied styles. Not only was he a prominent member of Les Fauves (wild beasts in French), he also revolutionised the art of collage by using massive paper cut outs to create large scale masterpieces. Matisse’s life was not easy and he suffered from two major illnesses, one that started his career as an artist and a later surgery that nearly ended it! Matisse’s great skill and expressive use of shape and colour, in a career lasting over half a century, made him a leading figure in the world of modern art.

In my introduction, I have tried to use some of the technical vocabulary that I have recorded on my vocabulary record and brainstorm. I have also tried to make the reader want to read on by listing some of Matisse’s great achievements and challenges but not providing any detail about them. This means that if the reader wants to learn more, they need to read the full biography and hopefully they are hooked!

For your activity today, I would like for you to write your own introduction plus two short paragraphs about Matisse’s early life and his early work with Les Fauves.

Make sure you use your brainstorm and the remember tos to guide you.

We will continue tomorrow with his later work, old age and a conclusion.

Monday 15th June 2020

I was amazed by the quality of work that I received last week, well done! This week we are going to brainstorm, write our first draft, edit and publish. I am not going to include a google form until Friday, as I would absolutely love to see your finished, published biographies. 

LO: to brainstorm ideas

I can remember to – 

• Include information about their early life

• Include information about the fauvist art movement in their early career

• Include information about when Matisse became ill and the challenges that he faced as a painter 

• Include information about Matisse’s collages and his old age

• Complete the VCOP

Today I would like you to continue your biography on Matisse by completing a brainstorm for you to use to structure your own biography, which we will begin writing tomorrow. 

I have structured the brainstorm to include similar information to your boxing up grid. You should be able to use the resources that you already have to complete your brainstorm. Let’s think back through what you have done already – 

• Text map

• Brainstorm

• Internet research 

Using the information that you have, try to write in notes under the correct headings. For example, 

Early life:

• born on December 31st 1869, in Le Cateau, Northern France

• the eldest son to a wealthy grain merchant

• went to Paris in 1887 to study law

• starting painting during recovery from appendicitis 

For my introduction, I have used a combination of facts from the different research I have done. Can you do the same for the other paragraphs as well?

Let’s have think about some of the key vocabulary about Matisse’s art:

Fauvism: the style of les Fauves (French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works used strong, intense colours

Cut-outs: In the late 1940s, Henri Matisse used cut paper and scissors to create large scale, bold art works

Matisse was part of Les Fauves in his early career and was famous for his cut outs in his late career. Your job as a biographer is to explain why his style changed and to think about the important events in his life that influenced his art. 

Your last ‘remember to’ is the VCOP section, a part of the brainstorm that you always fill in. 

The vocabulary that you want to include will be any technical words around art, such as fauvism and cut outs. 

The conjunctions that you would want to use would be words that help you to link sentences and paragraphs in a chronological (time) order, such as; then, after that, whenever, during etc.  

The openers would be examples of fronted adverbials that suggest different periods of time or important decisions/changes to Matisse’s life. Some examples could be: eventually, consequently, during, after a while… 

The punctuation should be varied. Try to use ambitious punctuation that you have learned about in class.

As you can see, there are lots of fronted adverbials to choose from but try to choose ones that you are familiar with and if you know what they mean.

Friday 12th June 2020

LO: to use drama to research information

I can remember to – 

Use the internet to find information about Matisse

Use the interview sheet to find the answers to questions

Write your findings in clear sentences 

Write in role as Henri Matisse (in the first person)

Today you are going to find out more information about Matisse. Pretend that you are a journalist interviewing Matisse. Read the interview question list and use the internet to find the answers. The questions are asked in the first person as you are pretending that Matisse is answering so you need to write in the first person. We can then think about changing to the third person when we brainstorm on Monday. Try to put a bit of character and humour into your answers, as if you were really Matisse. Get dramatic! I have written a short example underneath. 

Person’s Name: Henri Matisse

I was born in a small, industrial town in Northern France called Le Cateau-Cambrésis. Not very many people have heard of it! 

I was born on December 31st 1869. I was a New Year’s Eve baby and my parents always said that I was the perfect way to end the year! 

Here are some websites with lots of information about Matisse:

https://kids.kiddle.co/Henri_Matisse#:~:text=Henri%20Matisse%20(Le%20Cateau%2DCambr%C3%A9sis,a%20draughtsman%2C%20printmaker%20and%20sculptor.

https://www.ducksters.com/biography/artists/henri_matisse.php

LO: to summarise ideas

I can remember to –

• Use my text map to help me remember facts about Matisse
• Separate my ideas into categories
• Use the boxing up grid to write my ideas
• Write in notes

Today I would like you to use your text map to complete a boxing up grid about Henri Matisse. It is important that you use your text map and not the original text as this will help you to learn some key facts about Matisse. Please make sure that you write in notes. Today’s activity is slightly shorter and is aimed at helping you learn some key facts about Matisse. We will carry on our research tomorrow.

You can see from the example that I have written short notes using my text map to jog my memory about some important information about Matisse’s early life.

Wednesday 10^th June 2020

LO: create a text map using pictures, words and actions

I can remember to -

• use a dictionary to find unknown words
• record new words on my vocabulary sheet
• Summarise the text
• Choose appropriate illustrations
• Use words and phrases to jog my memory
• create actions to complement my illustrations

Today I would like you to use the artist factsheet to learn a little more about Matisse. Please read the factsheet carefully and then use it to produce a text map. Remember that a text map is a combination of illustrations and short words and phrases that help you to learn a text.

Have a look at the two examples:

You can see how they have used repeated illustrations, sentence starters and punctuation to tell the story of Tutankhamun and Queen Victoria’s life story.

Here is an example of the first sentence that I have done (please forgive the illustrations. It is very hard to draw with a trackpad).

I have used a drawing of glasses to show Matisse. I can then use this throughout every time I want to use his name. Try to use simple illustrations as they are easy to replicate. I have also taken a bit of poetic license (cheated) by drawing a sun to represent the eldest son. As long as you understand the pictures, you can draw whatever you like!

I have also looked up any unknown words using an online dictionary (please find a link below). I then recorded them on my vocabulary sheet so that I could maybe use them later in my own biography

https://kids.wordsmyth.net/we/
https://kids.britannica.com/kids/browse/dictionary

I’d love to see your text maps. I remember how good they always were in class. Please use the google form to send in a picture.

Tuesday 9^th June 2020

LO to compile facts into a biography

I can remember to –

• Interview someone in my family
• Write short answers to the questions (notes)
• Turn my notes into a short biography
• Use the word mat to help my vocabulary and sentence structure

Today I would like for you to have a go at writing a short biography of someone in your family. Use the questionnaire to find out information about someone by writing short answers or notes. Then change these short answers into more complex sentences and write two paragraphs about your chosen person. You could write one paragraph using the given questions and an additional paragraph, using your own questions.

I asked my daughter some of the early questions (she’s only three so I couldn’t ask that many) and wrote a short paragraph about her early life. I used the vocabulary mat to help me start my sentences (which I have highlighted for you) and tried to use ambitious vocabulary to make my biography sound more entertaining.

Where and when were you born?

In London in 2016

Where did you live as a child and has this changed?

In London but then I moved to Sheffield when I was 1

What did you typically eat in a day?

Fish fingers and beans

What games did you play with your friends?

Running round nursery

What was your favourite toy?

Dinosaur

What was your favourite book?

The story of Rosa Parks

Eva Odette was born in London in September 2016. As a baby, she lived in Tooting with her parents. When she turned one, she moved to Sheffield to be closer to her grandparents. As she was growing up, she was well known for being a very picky eater but by the age of three she had determined that fish fingers and beans were her favourite food. She enjoyed her childhood and particularly liked clowning about by running around nursery all day long. In early childhood she loved to play and her favourite toy was an orange dinosaur, which she cuddles to sleep every night. Eva was a voracious reader from an extremely early age and could always be seen with a book in her hand. At the age of three and a half she started to enjoy more complex stories and her favourite story became the biography of Rosa Parks from the Little People, Big Dreams series.

Monday 8^th June 2020

Your writing task for the next two weeks is to write a biography of Henri Matisse. To get us started, I would like you to look at an example of a biography to help familiarise yourself with the features of a biography.

LO: to identify the features of a biography

I can remember to –

• Read an example biography
• Draw a timeline of important events in the life of Usain Bolt
• Find examples of features on the text

A biography is a text that gives us information about the life of someone. There are certain things that a biography must include.

A biography is written about someone whereas an autobiography is written by the subject of the text. An easy way to remember is to look at the prefix –auto, which means self. An autobiography is written in the first person (I) but a biography is written in the third person (he, she, it)

Have a Look at the short activity underneath and see if you can match the biography to the famous person.

Read the biography of sprinting legend Usain Bolt and complete the activities to help you understand the features of a biography.

Guided Reading

For guided Reading this week, I found the beginning of a text, produced by the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York, about Matisse and his ground breaking collages. It is a beautiful text and I wish I could have downloaded the whole book! I hope that you enjoy reading it. 

I unfortunately can't attach the text here as is it too large a file to upload but please find the link underneath for the PDF download 

Guided Reading – Famous scientists

This week’s guided reading links to the science. This week you will learn all about 5 famous scientists who invented something using materials which changed life for people in some way. All the scientists came upon their discoveries in different ways. One of them was particularly important in shaping the history of Sheffield and really put our city on the map for others. The texts are really like 5 short texts. I wonder which scientist you believe has had the biggest impact on your life? Which scientist do you admire the most? Try reading the text the first time with an adult and use a dictionary to look up any words you are unsure of. Then read the text through to yourself. Once you are familiar with the texts, have a go at the three tasks I have set for you below. Please feel free to share any work you produce using the google form below.

Famous Scientists Google Form

w/c 18th May 2020

SPaG task

Your SPaG task this week is to come up with 26 words - one for each letter of the alphabet. Easy-peasy! However, it's not just a case of writing 26 random words from 'apple' to 'zoo'! You have been given criteria, or rules, to follow, based on SPaG vocabulary, so it could be a verb beginning with 'R' ('run', for example) or a proper noun beginning with 'S' ('Sheffield', for example). You also need to write each word into as sentence to show that you know what it means; e.g. Peter had to run for the bus (you could add a subordinate clause - because he'd overslept.)

Anyway, be bold and adventurous with your vocabulary choice and sentence structure - show off what you know! You could even try to link all 26 sentences in order, to create a short story (for a real challenge!)

As usual, there's a Google Form to share your work.

This week's guided reading text is a report about an average day for a rider on the Tour De France. You will learn lots about their diet, how they work as a team and the jerseys that they are competing for. 

The text has three different levels of difficulty. Please use your class guided reading group to know which text is suitable for you. 

Blue/Pasteur - 1 star

Red and Yellow/ Curie and Descartes - 2 stars

Green and Purple/ Verne and De Gaulle - 3 stars

When you have read the text a few times, use it to complete the tasks. Please then send me your work and feedback using the google form

https://forms.gle/VWqqC2DKoZDZJi4k6

This week, I would like you to use the link above to read three of the short stories and poems from ‘The book of Hopes’, which is an amazing collection of short stories, poems, essays and pictures written by  more than 110 children’s writers and illustrators, including Lauren Child, Anthony Horowitz, Michael Morpurgo, Axel Scheffler and Jacqueline Wilson.

I have only assigned three of the texts but I highly recommend that you read more. They are brilliant! I think you will particularly enjoy the ‘Excellently Revolting’ section.

The three texts that I would like you to read are:

A Song of Gladness by Michael Morpurgo

Say Something Nice by A.F. Harrold – page 36

The Greatest Gift by Maz Evans – page 253

After you have read the texts, please complete the tasks. Remember to try and follow our usual guided reading structure. Try to read with an adult one day, read the texts again independently and then complete one task per day.

When you have finished all of the tasks, send me your work and any of your feedback on this Google Form

https://forms.gle/Rb9hMsVgiy3pYAX68

It's Short Story time!

The attached document includes a storyboard for a short story we'd like you to write. Read the Remember Tos - we need expanded noun phrases (not just a road, a sun-lit winding, undulating road). Open sentences in an interesting way (Suddenly, Unexpectedly, Without warning, Surprisingly, Despite, etc.) Who is the character? Tell us about him/her - appearance, motivation, background, etc.) There might be an opportunity to included speech "   " marks. It's set in France - find out about things you might see whilst travelling in France to make your story realistic.

Anyway, have fun planning your write. Tomorrow, there'll be further guidance on writing and editing your first draft, and next Monday we'll talk about final edit/polish and publishing. Take your time and ask people in your household to read your writing and feedback as you go.

As always, we're looking forward to reading your writing.

Guided Reading – VE Day

This week, we have an early bank holiday. The bank holiday for May Day would normally be on a Monday. However, this year it has been brought forward as the 8^th of May is a very special day in British history – it is the anniversary of VE day (Victory in Europe Day) which marks the end of the Second World War for Europe. It is particularly important this year as it is the 75^th anniversary. Read the text below to find out more. There is also a link to a video which tells you the key information and another link which will play Winston Churchill’s actual speech he made on VE day on 8^th May in 1945. The text is a Twinkl text which has three levels. I suggest purple and green group read the 3 star text, yellow and red read the two star text and blue read the one star text. There are comprehension questions after the text if you want to have a go at these but they are not your task. Once you’ve read and listened to the information, click on the link to the three tasks I have set you for this week.

SPaG - Expanded noun phrases

Here are a couple of tasks to do with expanded noun phrases - a complicated name for what is really just using adjectives to describe a 'thing' (noun).

Have a read through the PowerPoint to remind yourself what they are then have a try at the activities below. 

Task 2

Follow the link below to the Bitesize website. There are a few activities here on expanded noun phrases and some videos to watch. The activity I thought you might like is to do with food (always a favourite!) 

Watch the video under activity three which is a clip from Roald Dahl's 'Boy'. There are lots of examples of expanded noun phrases to describe food in the clip. Maybe you could make a list while you watch then check against the list below the video.

After watching the video, have a go at writing some descriptive sentences about our favourite food or sweets. Try to include as many expanded noun phrases as you can. Make my mouth water!

GUIDED READING

This week your guided reading text is an information text about some famous landmarks in Paris. You have the whole week to complete all of the tasks so take your time and read the text thoroughly before you start. Use the same format that we do in school. Read the task with an adult one day, then read it again by yourself, then try to complete the tasks in order. 

Thank you so much for all of the efforts you are making at home. I received the first 'Odette' storyboard today and I can't wait to see more! Well done Robbie for another fantastic piece of work!

Ms. Solinger

Monday 20th April

This week for your guided reading text, I chose a story that is set in Paris. I thought this was a good way to see some beautiful illustrations of Paris and to read one of my favourite stories from my own childhood. In fact, I love this story so much that my daughter's middle name is 'Odette'! I hope that you enjoy it as much as me. Please send in any of the tasks that you do to enquiries@walkley.sheffield.sch.uk

Well done for all of your hard work!

Ms. Solinger

Monday 20th April 2020

Do you know what a group of cows is called? What about more than one fish? The words used to describe groups of things are called 'collective nouns'. In the attached document are a selection of objects (living and non-living) and your task is to find out and record the collective noun for each thing. At the end are some blank boxes where you can draw your own objects and record the collective noun for each - be adventurous! We'd love to see some of your drawings and collective nouns. 

Guided reading

Here's some guided reading for you all to have a go at. Hopefully you can read the text on the image pages - if not then enlarge in on your screen. The text follows on from our climate change trip. We discussed our carbon footprint but our water footprint is also important and something we can try to reduce in order to look after our planet. The task sheet outlines three tasks for you to have a go at based on the text. If you don't have a dictionary at home, try using an online dictionary.

It would be great to share some of your posters that you create for task 3 - if you email them to enquiries, I will publish them on the blog. Maybe you could even try and make a poster on PowerPoint.

Strategies for practising your spellings with Miss Travis

Find your age related spellings on the Lockdown Learning Log

Completed work

Wow! I was so happy to receive some emails from parents today of the work their children have been producing at home. You make me very proud to be your teacher. Here are some pieces of literacy work. Remember, I will email the letters you write to Matt as our way of thanks for the trip.

CLIMATE CHANGE DAY LETTER

I know it seems like a long time ago now, before the world for us changed, but remembering a fun time we had together around a week ago will bring back happy thoughts of strong friendships and brilliant experiences. We're hoping you can spend some time writing letters to Matt - the Peak District Ranger that organised such a fab day for us all which we were able to enjoy for free.

In your introduction, include the main aim of the letter - to show what you have learned and thank the Peak District Rangers for providing the day for us. In other paragraphs, you could include: information about the day and the activities you enjoyed, what you learned (think about the local wildlife affected by climate change), what you will try to change now (think about your pledges), an ending to your letter - final thoughts and thanks.

I have attached the things you would normally use to help prepare for a write - a reminder of the ten step process of writing, a potential brainstorm you could use, a vocabulary grid to make sure you use some of the language that will make your writing sound knowledgeable and some remember tos so that you can ensure your writing is year 5 quality. Visit our 'What we're doing in class' and click on 'Spring 2' to see photos of our day - talk through the photos with an adult to remind yourself our the day we shared.

Maybe you could type up your final draft (once you have edited it) or take a photo of your final draft if you hand write it. If you email your letters to enquiries@walkley.sheffield.sch.uk I will email these to Matt which I'm sure will spread some Walkley cheer and put a smile on his face!

We can't wait to read your letters year 5s!

Year 5 team