Here’s a new brain teaser for you to ponder:
If we moved the entire school building to Africa but left every child and adult here, where would the school be?
For this question, you will need to consider what you mean by the word, ‘school’. Depending on how you look at it, the word can have different meanings. This is another of those questions which requires some deep thinking because there are different possible answers. Over to you …
Wow. What a week that was! You have all been amazing during your SATs tests. You have worked hard and been so positive. We are all very proud of you.
All this test business set me thinking about the meaning of success and failure. Your THUNK this week connects with that idea:
If you could take a pill which would mean you would never fail – would you?
In Year 6, we have been carefully putting together our short narratives inspired by Philip Pullman’s story, Clockwork. But can you write a REALLY short narrative? Can you write a narrative which has fewer than 100 words?
TOP TIP 1: Remember what Malorie Blackman said in her video about narrative: create a character; make something bad happen to it; fix it!
TOP TIP 2: Last year we tried writing stories in five sentences:
Once upon a time …
One day …
Unfortunately, …
Luckily, …
Finally, …
Good Luck!
In Maple 2, we have just started reading Clockwork, a fabulous short story by Philip Pullman. At the beginning of the story, we meet Herr Ringelmann, Karl and Fritz in the White Horse Tavern on a winter’s day in a little German town. We learn that Karl is about to finish his apprenticeship as a clock-maker and that Fritz, a novelist, is about to tell his latest ghost story.
Your challenge is to imagine that you are one of the guests sitting comfortably in the tavern as these characters have their conversations. Using the slow writing technique, write a paragraph to describe your experience.
Sentence 1: Use the past perfect tense.
Sentence 2: Use a colon.
Sentence 3: Use a subordinate clause.
Sentence 4: Use dialogue.
Sentence 5: Use the past progressive tense.
Sentence 6: Use a fronted adverbial.
Last week, we thoroughly enjoyed the innovative performance of Shakespeare’s famous play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In particular, we enjoyed the strong characters of the fairies: Oberon – the King; Titania – the Queen and Puck – the mischievous sprite. In Maple 2, we are planning to write our own narratives inspired by this play. To get ourselves warmed up, today’s challenge is to write a simple poem about one of these characters.
Remember to use some of the pronouns we have been learning about; remember to think carefully about your word choices so that your words paint a picture of your character in your reader’s mind.
If the cure for cancer meant building a huge research station in Antarctica, should we do it anyway?
Prepare your answer by thinking about what the advantages of this could be, what the disadvantages could be and what questions you might need to ask in order to make your decision.
Sometimes it’s a great idea to exercise your brain by doing some extra thinking. Thunks are a good way of doing this. A thunk is a thought or an idea that you can discuss with friends. Those of you who have tried philosophy either in school time or in the after-school club will be familiar with this type of thinking. Thunks are also great for sharing on a blog – just like this one. Here’s a seasonal one for you. Read the thunk and then write down your first thoughts.
Would you rather live in a democracy or a dictatorship run by Father Christmas?
P.S. The UK is a democracy – adults have the right to vote for MPs to represent them in Parliament. Power is shared. Recently, the EU referendum and the vote for the American president were also examples of democracy. In a dictatorship, one person has absolute power. They are not elected by the people of the country. The dictator can make decisions without asking for permission.
Maple 2 said that they wanted to do more learning outdoors, so that is what we have been doing.
Today’s lesson was a grammar treasure hunt! Every child had a sheet listing 16 grammar terms: noun, verb, adjective, pronoun, adverb, preposition, determiner, clause, conjunction, subordinate clause, relative clause, modal verb, noun phrase, passive voice, active voice and subjunctive. 
The challenge was to create sentences which included examples of all 16 terms, with bonus points if the sentences made a paragraph.
And where did the inspiration for this writing come from? Being outside. Sometimes, sitting on a chair at a table just isn’t quite enough to give us the ideas we need.
Watch this space for the results …
On Wednesday 7th September, we embarked on our Rockley adventure, three days of water sports on (and in) the waters of Poole Harbour. Adventures are about new experiences, being brave and sometimes facing fears. As few of us had ever sailed before and one or two could not even swim we approached the event with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. What would we learn? What stories would we have to tell when it was all over?
On the first day, our coach took us swiftly to Rockley Park and as soon as we had met our instructors, Si and Paddy, we headed straight down to the beach. The plan was to complete a day sail on Wayfarers, boats which could hold four passengers. As the weather was hot and sunny we didn’t need our wetsuits, only waterproof trousers. Putting these on together with the essential buoyancy aid was completed with lots of laughing and was our first introduction to the need for teamwork. Without fuss, we climbed into the motor boats and were ferried out to the Wayfarers, moored a little way from the quay. 
Sails were hoisted, ropes were cast off and with an instructor at each helm we headed out into the harbour. Our destination was Hamworthy for a picnic lunch in Ham Park. After lunch, we became a lot braver with lots of children dipping their heads over the side into the sea and some ‘accidentally’ falling out. We were surprised how warm and shallow the sea was at that point in the harbour. What a fabulous first experience of sailing. Everybody enjoyed it. After dinner back at the lodge we returned to the beach for crabbing and archery. As the sun set around us we became food for the midges
The second day dawned bright and clear. Today we were heading out into the harbour again, but this time were highly likely to end up in the water so it was time for the wetsuits. 
If we thought getting the waterproof trousers on was tricky, this was as nothing compared to getting 27 children and 3 adults into wetsuits and buoyancy aids. Teamwork, perseverance and a certain amount of wriggling around eventually resulted in success and we were ready. Half of us headed out to the picos, small sailing boats for two sailors. 
Half headed towards the raft building and paddle boards. It was a challenging morning. Many of us found the new skills tricky and some of us had to face fears we didn’t know we had. Fortunately, the sea was still warm as many of us found out when we capsized, fell in or jumped in. 
After swapping stories over a welcome lunch of baked potatoes followed by chocolate cake and some running games on the beach we were ready to try our second experience of the day. A weary class headed back to the lodge that evening where we were fed a fantastic meal of chilli con carne and were quite relieved to hear that our evening entertainment would be inside, out of reach of the midges. 
As we reached the beach on our final day a cool breeze picked up and the sky was cloudy and overcast. It was an inauspicious start. A few decided that they had completed enough activities on the water and chose to stay on the beach with Mrs Chesterfield. The rest of us climbed, wriggled and jumped our way back into our wetsuits. It was time for the ‘cats’. Catamarans – the fastest boats on the water. Instructors would sail them and we would hold on tight. Si described it as like being in a washing machine. He was right. The boats cut through the waves rather than riding on top of them and that water was unceremoniously dumped on top of the passengers. Some of us found it exhilarating, some of us found it extraordinary and a few of us were not convinced by it at all preferring to ride on the safety boat with Paddy. All too soon the experience came to an end and it was time to head back to the lodge ready for the journey home.
Three days. Two nights. One experience which has left us all with memories which will last a lifetime. Funny moments, exciting moments, scary moments all combining to help us learn more about ourselves and what we are each capable of.
We all know that reading is important but have you ever had the problem that you just don’t know what to read? No matter how hard you try, you just can’t find the right book. The book that will engage you, inspire you and hook you in, so that time flies when you are reading it.
One of the great benefits of blogging is that ideas can be shared between lots of people. Think back over books that you have read. Which ones were your favourite? What would you recommend? Try to summarise the atmosphere and content. Explain why you have made your recommendation.