Upper Key Stage 2 - Years 5 & 6 Homework Overview
Year 5 Weekly Homework:
- Children should read daily.
- They should answer questions from the sheet attached to the homework diary and the reading should be from a range of sources and genres/ styles including newspapers, novels, instruction manuals or blogs.
- From Spring Term, the reading homework will alternate between a comprehension task and the reading task stated above.
- Spellings. A list of 10 words will be given which the children will be tested on.
- They must also pick a task from their spelling activity grid to help them learn the words and their meanings.
- Times Table Rockstars – Children are asked to practise their times tables online every day to consolidate their learning and to increase their speed.
Other home learning tasks to be carried out during the year:
- Children should try to challenge themselves to use some of their more unfamiliar spelling words in normal conversations at home and in school to help them increase their word power and begin to appreciate the shades of meaning of synonyms for their spelling words.
- Children should be taken to visit sites of historical significance such as Hampton Court or Harrow Heritage Museum to appreciate aspects of the lives of Tudors.
- As winter approaches, children should take advantage of the early darkness and take a look at the stars and constellations in the night sky. They should be encouraged to observe the moon in its different phases. If they can go to see a planetarium, or visit the Science Museum this will really help to reinforce the science in Year 5.
- Encourage children to take part in gardening at home. If they can’t do it outside, then maintaining and propagating houseplants will help them understand about how they can grow things.
- To increase their problem solving abilities, children should take part in normal family mathematics: budgeting for birthday party, checking timetables for a visit; measuring and costing the ingredients for a meal.
- Children should be encouraged to find opportunities to write in a variety of different ways for example, old fashioned letters to relatives, emails and meaningful blogs on DB Primary.
- Children should ensure they get plenty of fresh air and exercise to boost their wellbeing.
Year 6 Weekly homework:
- Children are expected to read a range of reading material throughout the week.
- Pupils are expected to answer 5 questions, in their homework diaries, on their reading from the question prompt sheet that they have been provided with.
- The children have a library slot each week which gives them access to a variety of books which they are allowed to borrow and read at home.
- Children are given 10 spelling words each week and they are expected to complete an activity associated with them.
- The children will receive one piece of English homework each week. This could be focused on any of the following:
- Reading comprehension.
- Grammar and punctuation activity.
- Creative writing.
- Topic based project.
- A Maths activity will be sent home each week.
- In addition to the homework, children will be given access to a range of practise material in order to prepare them for the SATs.
- Monster SATs: for Maths, Reading, SPAG revision and test practice. (Subscription is paid for by the school.)
Monster SATS is an interactive platform to help pupils to prepare for the National Curriculum tests and beyond. It has a range of unique practice papers and curriculum based games (with instant marking) to build test confidence in each curriculum topic. Matched to the requirements of the National Curriculum, the practice papers are designed to target every topic in year 6. They are designed to be used flexibly throughout the year to prepare pupils for the statutory tests.
Other home learning tasks to be carried out during the year: SATs Reading revision
Create a space to read (for both of you)
- A well-lit, comfortable area will make reading far more enjoyable. Take turns to read out loud with your child to encourage them to do the same while improving their speaking and listening skills.
- Ensure when reading with your child, your questions covering all the reading domains: define, retrieve, summarise, infer, predict, relate, explore and compare.
Practice makes perfect
- Use revision materials to understand what reading skills your child needs for SATs and check they feel confident about applying them. Work through the questions with your child until they are answering confidently. Use the marking schemes, in the revision books to check that the children are structuring their answers correctly.
Variety is good.
- Give your children a wide variety of reading material – fiction and non-fiction. Use your local library as a source to get additional reading material. Some libraries provide competitions and challenges. Encourage your child to participate in these.