Every pupil has a home-reading record book and is normally expected to read at least twice a week (recording each time within their record book).  Reading to parents, carers and/or siblings as much as possible will be our main focus this half term so pupils will be encourage to read more than twice times and as much as possible.  We will also have a strong focus upon reading in school and will be trying to hear as many pupils read as possible.

 

Many pupils in school are already on upper book band colours (e.g. dark blue, dark red or black) but this should not prevent them from actively reading at home with a family member.  They may wish to read several times a week to an adult and then also read some of their book to themselves - perhaps before bed.  If they do read to themselves then they are encouraged to record this in their reading record book as well.

 

Below you will find some additional resources that may be of use whilst hearing your child read (further materials can be found under the 'Parental information section on this website):

How to fill out a reading record book

 

When a child reads a book to you, please can you complete their reading record book with the following things:

 

• Date that they read
• Title of the book or pages that they read
• Who heard them read
• How they read

 

 

In the comments section, you may wish to add extra comments about any sounds or words that they may have struggled with.  Feel free to add positive comments or symbols (e.g. stars or smiley faces) 

 

If your child is in Year 3 or 4 they will usually be reading to an adult so it would normally be filled in by them.  If your child is older, Year 5 or 6, and sometimes reads to themselves, then they can also add their own comment next to their name.

 

There is a space for unfamiliar words on every double page in the reading records - children can add words they do not know and then find out their meaning.

 

 

Homework at Bottesford Junior School

After lots of discussion with parents we have created a homework system that is aimed at helping pupils develop core skills in literacy and maths but that also gives the opportunity for pupils to engage in more creative types of homework.

 

Please find below all the documents relating to our homework system. 

Weekly Homework Tasks

 

Reading

We ask all pupils to read with an adult at least twice per week. In the case of very fluent readers, this could involve time spent talking about their reading book, the plot and characters etc.

 

Pupils' vocabulary range is a key element of literacy and this is especially important in terms of end of key stage assessments (SATS). Time spent talking with your child about unfamiliar words, their meanings, alternatives etc is crucial in developing a wider vocabulary.

 

Spellings

Your child is allocated a list of spellings each week that they will be tested on. These will be marked and returned home in your child's spelling book so that you can see how well they have done. See below for specific lists.

 

Times Tables

Your child will be allocated a times table (depending on their recall of other tables). Each week they will take part in an assessment task whereby they have to provide the answers to as many questions relating to their focus table as they can within a specific amount of time. This may also include division facts. See below for guidance on which times tables your child should know depending on their age.

 

Further Maths Activities

If you would like to carry out more homework, further work on basic maths concepts is very valuable. See below for guidance on the areas of maths that would be most beneficial. 

 

Creative Homework

Some pupils and parents prefer homework that is related to the wider curriculum, such as history or art. Each year group is given a series of optional homework tasks from which they can choose activities that they would find enjoyable to complete. There is no stipulation on how many of these that pupils carry out.

 

Multiplication Tables

 

By the end of Year 4, pupils should know their multiplication and division facts up to 12 x 12.

By the end of Year 3, pupils should know their multiplication and division facts for the 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 8x and 10x tables.

 

There are many different ways to learn multiplication tables - games and activities that are fun are often the most effective.

 

The Kids' Zone section of our school website (under the Children tab) has several links to online resources that can be used to practise times tables (and other core skills).

Here you can find the termly spellings that your child will be taught in class.  Teachers follow planning, which matches the National Curriculum, over the course of each term and teach a wide range of spelling patterns and sounds.

These spelling lists are for Years 3 and 4, and Years 5 and 6 and are derived from the National Curriculum. We have regular spelling lessons in school and children are tested weekly on the spellings that are send home. We will also be checking that they spell the words correctly in their own writing.

These are the core skills for each year group that pupils need to master by the end of each year. There are videos on the school website to support children and parents with these core skills. We prefer children to be taught the skills in school first and for the videos to be used as a

revision/consolidation tool, rather than to enable new learning.

To mark the 100th Anniversary of the end of World War One, we are joining in with other local schools to produce work that can be displayed both in school and in St Peter's Church. The poster below can be used for ideas, or you can produce your own. Please can the work be handed in for Friday 12th October for inclusion in the exhibition. 

We aim to split the work between the two sites (depending on how many pieces we receive).