Going Beyond Year 5 English

Places to go… • There’s lots of information about Literary Festivals at

http://www.literaryfestivals.co.uk/ The Oxford festival is inMarch/April but there are plenty around at different times of theyear. Lots of these have events for children.

• Bookshops such as Waterstones and Blackwell’s in Oxford haveevents such as talks and book signings with authors – look at theirwebsites for details.

What to read… • First News or any other children’s newspaper. Look carefully at the

layout and style of newspaper articles.• Use http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/ to find book

recommendations that interest you. Try to read from as manygenres as possible.

• Read some award-winning books.http://www.redhousechildrensbookaward.co.uk/ - Either choosesome winners from previous years or read some books on thisyear’s shortlist.

• Ask the librarians. At school or at your local library, the librarianswill have lots of suggestions if you’re looking for new ideas.

Explore online… • Look at the newsround website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/• Look at the site http://primary.naace.co.uk/startower/menu.html

- have a go at the ‘Word Drop’ or ‘Star Punc’ activities.• Choose some games at http://resources.woodlands-

junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/literacy.html - prefixes might be agood place to start.

• Have a go at the spelling bee athttp://www.learner.org/interactives/spelling/ - select a grade thatchallenges you.

What to watch… • Newsround (BBC or online) – look out for interviews specifically.• If you enjoy a classic children’s book, why not see if a film version

has been made? There are some lovely adaptations of Roald Dahl’sbooks, for example.

• Watch Michael Rosen perform some of his poetry on YouTube.

Going Beyond Year 5 RS

Places to go… • Look out for Harvest celebrations in your village or town –

churches and village halls often have community celebrations orcollections.

• When you go on holiday keep an eye out for local places ofworship – you could take a photo or make some notes on whatthey look like.

• Christchurch Cathedral in Oxford or Westminster Cathedral inLondon are definitely worth a visit!

What to read… • ‘The Kids Book of World Religions’ by Jennifer Glossop or ‘The

Usborne Book of World Religions’ by Susan Meredith• ‘What Do You Believe?’ by Aled Jones (from TV!) may help you

think about what you believe personally.

Explore online… • Look at the Woodlands Junior website at

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/Religion.html to find out basicinformation about the world’s major religions.

• http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/holidays-list has lots of activitiesabout various festivals we will look at – have a look at Diwali,Harvest Festival and New Year (or any others that catch your eye!)

What to watch… • Look out for documentaries about religions and festivals – e.g. in

the Autumn, you may see programmes about Harvest; in Januaryyou may find out about Chinese New Year.

Going Beyond Year 5 History

Places to go… • Any museums – lots are free and sometimes have interesting

visiting exhibitions. Abingdon County Hall museum is a good place to start if you are interested in local history (and you can even go onto the roof if you wish!)

• Attractions such as Warwick Castle often have family events such as jousting displays.

What to read… • The Horrible Histories books are great fun and packed with

interesting facts. • Reading books such as Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers series may

give you an idea about what it was like to attend a (fictional!) girls’ boarding school in the past.

• The ‘Roman Mysteries’ series by Caroline Lawrence are exciting reads (and are relevant for our English work on detectives too).

Explore online… • Look at http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ to find

some historical periods that interest you. • http://mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/kids/ has some great activities on

the Aztecs for you to explore.

What to watch… • http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/watch/by/show/horrible-histories has

some interesting and very amusing clips about lots of different historical periods.

• CBBC also has a show called ‘Gory Games’, a Horrible Histories spin-off! There’s even an app (for Apple or Android) if you have a tablet or smartphone.

• If you enjoyed reading the ‘Roman Mysteries’ books, you can buy the TV adaptations on DVD.

Going Beyond

Year 5 Geography

Places to go… • If you go to the coast, either in the UK or abroad, have a look at

the cliffs and rock formations. Seaside towns might have maritime museums or information boards about the coastal environment.

• The Natural History museums (either the Oxford University one or the one in London) have many interesting exhibits to explore.

What to read… • ‘Cracking Coasts’, ‘Bloomin’ Rainforests’, ‘Stormy Weather’ or any

of the other titles in the Horrible Geography series. • Look at an atlas. See if you can find some countries you’ve never

heard of – or even some that your parents have never heard of!

Explore online… • Look at different weather forecasting websites or apps, focusing

on the symbols used. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/ is a good starting point.

• http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/geoindex.html has lots of interesting information. Start by looking at the ‘Weather’, ‘London’ and ‘Coastal Explorer’ sections.

• Explore http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/ by searching for topics that interest you. There are lots of quizzes to try, too.

What to watch… • Newsround on CBBC – pay attention to how the news stories are

presented. • Watch the weather forecast on television. • Look out for documentaries about extreme weather – there are

lots of programmes made about storms and snow.

Going Beyond Year 5 Science

Places to go… • Oxford University Natural History museum – look out for how the

animals are adapted to their habitats. • The University Botanic gardens – look at how some of the flowers

might attract insects to pollinate them. • The Science Museum in London has many interesting exhibits! • http://www.chaosscience.org.uk/families_home CHaOS run

science roadshows demonstrating fun experiments – they are based in Cambridge but appear in other locations too.

What to read… • Any of the ‘Horrible Science’ series – perhaps try ‘Stars, Space and

Slimy Aliens’ or ‘Body Owner’s Handbook’. • The DK Eyewitness series has excellent books on a range of topics.

Explore online… • The Horrible Science website http://www.horrible-science.co.uk/

has lots of interesting activities to explore. • Look at the science section of the newsround website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/15743115 for the latest discoveries and stories.

• Try some of these fun experiments at home - http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/

What to watch… • Look out for documentaries about subjects that interest you –

whether that is nature or space exploration. • ‘The Blue Planet’ – you can get the series on DVD.

Going Beyond

Year 5 and 6 Maths

Places to go… • The Science Museum in London has a Mathematics Gallery to

explore. • Visit Bletchley Park to learn about code-breaking: mathematics

that helped to win a war.

What to read… • The ‘Murderous Maths’ books by Kjartan Poskitt are excellent. • Logic or puzzle books are good for getting your mathematical brain

working. Try a book of Sudoku or KenKen.

Explore online… • There are many free apps available for tablets and smartphones

that will allow you to practise your maths. Think carefully about which areas of maths you most need to work on when choosing one.

• The nrich website http://nrich.maths.org/frontpage has lots of challenging puzzles and activities.

• All of these sites have fun maths games – just make sure you choose games at the right level for you.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm http://primarygamesarena.com/Year-6 http://www.mathplayground.com/games.html

What to watch… • Try watching Countdown on television and playing along to test

your number skills. • http://www.mathplayground.com/mathvideos.html has lots of

video clips on specific topics.

Going Beyond Year 6 Science

Places to go… • Oxford University Natural History museum – look out for how

predators and prey are adapted. • The Science Museum in London has many interesting exhibits! • The Oxford Museum of History of Science

http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/ • http://www.chaosscience.org.uk/families_home CHaOS run

science roadshows demonstrating fun experiments – they are based in Cambridge but appear in other locations too.

What to read… • Any of the ‘Horrible Science’ series – perhaps try ‘Fatal Forces’ or

‘Shocking Electricity’! • The DK Eyewitness series has excellent books on a range of topics.

Explore online… • The Horrible Science website http://www.horrible-science.co.uk/

has lots of interesting activities to explore. • Look at the science section of the newsround website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/15743115 for the latest discoveries and stories.

• Try some of these fun experiments at home - http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/

What to watch… • Look out for documentaries about subjects that interest you –

whether that is nature or space exploration. • ‘Bang Goes The Theory’ on BBC has lots of good experiments. • ‘The Blue Planet’ – you can get the series on DVD.

Going Beyond Year 6 English

Places to go... • Visit Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London to gain a traditional

theatre experience. Explore the exhibits and maybe even watch one of the plays performed there.

• The Oxford Story Museum is an excellent place to explore creative writing. With exciting exhibitions and author events, it is worth exploring their busy programme of activities at http://www.storymuseum.org.uk

• The Roald Dahl Museum in Great Missenden runs storytelling sessions and has excellent interactive galleries about Roald Dahl’s life and books. You can even follow the village trail to find out even more about the author’s life.

• There’s lots of information about Literary Festivals at http://www.literaryfestivals.co.uk/ The Oxford festival is in March/April but there are plenty around at different times of the year. Lots of these have events for children.

What to read... • Ensure that you are reading a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction

books. The website: www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/ is a great place to start for book recommendations. You will be able to access extracts from some of these books, many of which are available to borrow from the school library.

• Have a look at the Carnegie Book list for recent winners and shortlisted books. Although aimed at 11-14 year olds, many of these stories provide good extension material. http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/carnegie/index.php

• We study autobiographies and biographies in Year 6, so it is useful if you are familiar with this style of writing. Roald Dahl’s ‘Boy’ or Jamila Gavin’s ‘Out of India’ are great places to start!

• ‘First News’ is a children’s newspaper, which is a great way of keeping in touch with current news stories. Look carefully at the layout and journalistic style used.

• Our school librarians are also excellent at recommending great books to read!

Explore online... • Keep in touch with local, national and international news stories on

the Newsround website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/ • Don’t forget to explore different poets and styles of poetry.

http://childrenspoetryarchive.org/ is a good website to get started. • We study myths and legends towards the end of Year 6, so:

http://myths.e2bn.org/mythsandlegends/ is a useful website to read examples from around the world. You can even write your own and submit it online.

• The website ‘No Fear Shakespeare’ provides a great introduction to Shakespeare for those of you interested in some of his plays. The website translates the plays into modern English for easier understanding. http://nfs.sparknotes.com/

What to watch... • Look for interesting articles to watch on the Newsround website and

on the CBBC channel. • One of our group texts this year is ‘Holes’ by Louis Sachar. A movie

adaptation is also available to watch. • TV or film adaptations may be a great introduction to classic

literature. You could investigate Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ or Frances Hodgson Burnett’s ‘The Secret Garden,’ comparing the book and the films.

• In the Lent term you may need to seek inspiration from Dragons’ Den for your persuasive writing: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006vq92

Going Beyond Year 6 History

Places to go... • The Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford is a great place to investigate

artefacts from around the world. This is perfect for our study of ‘Evidence’ and entry to the museum is free!

• Oxford Castle • We visit Reading Museum as part of our study of the

Victorians. Other locations to further your understanding of the Victorian era include: - The Ragged School Museum, London http://www.raggedschoolmuseum.org.uk/ - The Workhouse, Southwell, Nottinghamshire http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/workhouse-southwell/

• Cogges Farm, Witney, Oxfordshire

What to read... • Explore a range of information books to extend your

understanding of the Victorian era (living conditions, schooling, the Royal family, workhouses and factories). The Horrible History writers have an interesting and amusing selection of books, including: ‘Vile Victorians’ and ‘Villainous Victorians.’ They also give you a great insight into typical crimes and punishments and how they’ve changed over the years.

• These fiction stories will give you an excellent insight into what it was like to be a child in the Victorian times: - Street Child by Berlie Doherty - Workhouse, A Victorian Girl’s Diary 1871 (My Story) by Pamela Oldfield. - Factory Girl (My Story) by Pamela Oldfield

Explore online... There is an excellent range of websites to help you explore the Victorian era. These include: • Woodlands Junior

http://primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/victorians.html • BBC Victorian Britain

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/victorian_britain/ • Virtual Victorians

http://victorians.swgfl.org.uk/

What to watch... • http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/watch/by/show/horrible-histories

has an excellent range of amusing clips about different periods of history.

• The ‘1900 House’ is a series that followed the Bowler Family as they spent three months recreating life living in 1900 Britain. Clips are available: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-1900-house/4od

Going Beyond Year 6 Geography

Places to go... • The Earthquake Room in the Natural History Museum allows

you to experience the staggering impact of an earthquake in a Japanese supermarket.

• If you visit the coast (either in the UK or abroad), have a closer look at coastal features, such as the cliffs and rock formations. You may find that seaside towns have maritime museums or information boards about the coastal environment.

• Try using an OS map to navigate around the local area. Look closely at the scale of the map and look at the contours to investigate the elevation.

What to read... • Familiarise yourself with OS maps of the local area and places

you may visit on holiday. Look for the different map symbols and practise reading coordinates.

• Explore atlases to discover information about different places around the world. Can you identify the flags of each European country? Which countries have changed their names or borders in recent history?

• Investigate a wide range of information books (many of which are available in the school library) about our Year 6 topics: mapping; earthquakes and volcanoes; India and coasts. Some suggestions include: - Volcanoes and Earthquakes (DK Eyewitness Books) - Volcanoes (National Geographic Readers) - Geographywise: Coasts - provides a good summary of key vocabulary.

Explore online... • The Woodlands Junior website provides a good starting point

for our study of India: http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/india.html

• The BBC have excellent sites about plate boundaries: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/earth/surface_and_interior/plate_boundary

• Explore http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/ by searching for topics that interest you. There are lots of quizzes to try, too!

What to watch... • The BBC series: ‘Human Planet’ and ‘Frozen Planet.’ • BBC ‘Earth’ contains excellent clips of earthquakes and

volcanoes from around the world. • The BBC ‘Coast’ series will give you in depth information about

coastal locations in the UK. • ‘The Story of India with Michael Wood’ gives you background

information about India’s vibrant history.

Going Beyond Year 6 RS

Places to go... • Christianity - St Paul’s Cathedral, London; Westminster

Cathedrals; local churches including Christ Church cathedral in Oxford.

• Hinduism - Bhaktivedanta Manor, Hertfordshire http://www.bhaktivedantamanor.co.uk/home/

• When you go on holiday keep an eye out for local places of worship – you could take a photo or make some notes on what they look like!

What to read... • Explore different creation stories, looking at the similarities

and differences between the major world religions. • What Do You Believe?’ by Aled Jones may help you reflect on

your own personal beliefs.

Explore online... • An overview of the major world religions:

- http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/Religion.html - http://www.uri.org/kids/world.htm

• Hinduism: http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/religion/hinduism.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/hinduism/diwali.shtml

What to watch... • Look out for documentaries about religions and festivals e.g.

Holi, Diwali. • A collection of clips are available about the major world

religions on BBC class clips: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/introducing-hinduism/3628.html