Week 3 Learning Challenges

We are one week closer to being back in school, well done for all of your hard work so far! 

Phonics

Our new phonics sound this week is 'ure' 

The third and final trigraph! This sound usually comes at the end of words just like in: cure and pure. 

It can be tricky to read 'ure' words because they can sound very different, just like in: treasure and manure! 
Can you think of any more 'ure' words? You could have a go at drawing a picture of an 'ure' word and labelling it - like treasure! 

 

Have a go at the 1 minute challenge. Set a timer and see how many times you can write the 'air' word by yourself... did you write it more or less times than last week? 

Can you make a game with all three of the new trigraphs you have been learning?

 

Here is Geraldine the Giraffe learning the 'ure' sound, do you have anything around your house with this sound in too? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwCzf71flBA

 

Here is an Alphablocks video, with some sounds in that you might recognise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN0vbgpCThI

 

Your Phonics challenge this week is to write up to 3 sentences with these words in: treasure, capture and picture.

Remember, when you are writing have a go at sounding out each word by yourself without copying. It doesn't matter if you miss out some letters, as long as you are trying your best. You could use your own 'ure' words if you like, they are very tricky so don't worry if you get a bit stuck! 

Maths

In Maths this week we are going to be looking at halving and doubling amounts and numbers.

 

We have had a go already with sharing amounts in half between two people. Remember, put the whole amount in front of you and give your objects out one at a time to each person - if they both have the same amount when you are finished then it is fair. 

 

Have a look at this video about doubling numbers using adding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jOzhiACB68 

 

This is also a good opportunity to talk about anything that looks exactly the same, it gives the children an opportunity to look closely at things and concentrate. A few examples would be looking around the house for 'double' of anything. E.g. 2 tins of beans, a pair of socks, 2 grey cushions. Another example would be some 'spot the difference' pictures, to see if they are noticing minor details in pictures. They could even have a go at making their own!

You could also talk about twins and how they look the same. It's a good way to check what your child notices in their day to day life You could ask them, which two things look exactly the same? Asking them to describe the details and check if they are 'identical'. 

 

Your Maths challenges this week are:

 

Doubling... 

Play a doubling game with someone in your family. If you were playing with your Mummy, you would both put your hands behind your back. Mummy would then hold up 4 fingers and as quickly as possible you need to show the same amount of fingers and tell Mummy how many are there now. You could practice saying 'double 4 is 8'. Try this with amounts up to 10 and see how quick you can be! 

 

If you have a dice at home you could roll the dice and double the number that you roll! What is the biggest number you could make? What is the smallest number you could make? 

 

If you're feeling extra clever, you could have a go at writing a doubling number sentence just like in the video.

 

Halving...

Count out 4, 10, 16 and 20 objects separately. Can you halve each amount with someone in your family? Is it fair? Do you both have the same amount? You could use toys, pasta, beads, spoons, stones - anything you can find! 

 

Can you cut anything in half? You could practice cutting a pizza, a cake, a piece of paper or using playdough you could make something and cut it in half. Remember that both sides need to be equal. It wouldn't be fair for one person to have a really big piece of cake and someone else to have a tiny bit! 

Topic

 

This week you are going to learn about Paleontologists and how they helped us to know and learn about dinosaurs. We already spoke about how archaeologists used special tools to dig underground and find clues about the different people and creatures that used to live on Earth. Paleontologists also do this, except they look specifically at dinosaurs! 

 

Here are some videos to get you started:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FjyKmpmQzc 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87E8bQrX4Wg

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koota_lwU_4

 

Your challenge this week is to have a go at being an archaeologist or a paleontologist. Can you go for a dig outside? Maybe you could go for a walk with your family and take some tools with you. I wonder what you might find?! 

 

You could also have a go at making your own fossils. You could use playdough or clay.

Try putting a small plastic toy inside a balloon or  container and filling it with water, put this in the freezer and after a few hours you can pretend to be an archaeologist and dig the toy out!