Maths
Still forging ahead with percentages this week. We have put a lot of the main structures in place now leaving us free to focus on application in wider problems. The main sticking point is less likely to be finding percentages of amounts, so much as when a percentage is given.
E.g. If £60 = 30 %, what is 75% ?
Meanwhile, we are keeping the earlier topics bubbling through the arithmetic sessions in the morning. This week we have covered, subtracting and multiplying mixed fractions, finding fractions of amounts, and comparing fractions, decimals and percentages.
English
The narrative writing is going extremely well. We are studying how to craft an effective description by looking at the impact of the balance between action, speech and development, but we are taking it much further. Since Year 6 began we have been asking what it means to think like an author. Through this, we have become much better at questioning the impact of different elements, for example, by rearranging a sentence. Now though, as the class book is drawing to a close, we are able to ask much deeper questions about the characters. ‘How would Eileen react to this situation rather than Jannett?’ was a really interesting question to ask earlier in the week. The class all knew it would be different but the question was, why did we know that? What made the characters so believable and real that we actually knew how they would react?
This has formed the main structure of the latest piece of writing which has taken an imaginary character, Rael (Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Genesis, for any ageing prog-rockers out there) and focused on developing them as a believable, living person, who behaves in a believable way that suggests a back-story.
Technical, but the writing they are producing is wonderful.
Cultural Reference Point Friday
1910’s this week. Another rip-roaring success. The music is still agonising, but we are enjoying looking at the evolution of the swim-suit, cars, TV’s and even some Charlie Chaplin footage.
Excellent end to a week.
