Author: Miss Gordon

Posted in Homework

Reading Diaries: Uses and Questions: Summer 2 Wks 1-2

Posted on by Miss Gordon

Good afternoon, Year 4!

As mentioned weekly, the children will need to write a few comments about their book in the comments section of their reading diary.

Question for Weeks 1-2:

FICTION 

Monday: 

Summarise your main CHARACTER in a sentence: think about LOOKS / PERSONALITY / BEHAVIOUR

Tuesday: 

What STEREOTYPE do you think your main characters are? DO we have a HERO? a VILLAIN? OTHER types?

Wednesday: 

Can you find examples of SHOW DON’T TELL – when the writer describes how the character feels, not just says ‘happy’ etc.

Thursday: 

Can you explain the SETTINGS you’ve experienced so far? What is SIMILAR and DIFFERENT between them?

Friday: 

Which PLOT section are you currently reading? Intro. / Problem 1 / Solution 1 / Problem 2 / Resolution. What EVENT happening now proves this?

Weekend: 

Do you have an ANTAGONIST (‘villain’) and / or a PROTAGONIST (‘hero’) roles in your story? What can you tell us about them?

NON-FICTION

Monday: 

Does your text feature SUB-HEADINGS? Do they actually explain what the section is going to be about?

Tuesday: 

What are information areas that are MISSING from your text? What else did you think might be explained?

Wednesday: 

‘I think the author of this text is really good at…’

Thursday: 

Which PERSON is the information presented in? 1st – I / my or 3rd – He / she / they.

Friday: 

Summarise your text in 2 sentences… ‘What’s it all about?’ and ‘What SUBJECTS does it cover?’

Weekend: 

Locate and explain the meaning of 2 examples of TECHNICAL VOCABULARY… words only to do with the subject you are reading.

Please could we ensure that all children are bringing their reading diaries into school, every day; and that they are commenting in them, throughout the week.

Kindest regards,

The Year 4 Team

Posted in Homework

Reading Diaries: Uses and Questions: Summer 1 wk 6

Posted on by Miss Gordon

Good afternoon, Year 4!

As mentioned weekly, the children will need to write a few comments about their book in the comments section of their reading diary.

Question for Week 6:

FICTION 

Monday: 

Can we find an example of a CONJUNCTION? Which word was used and how did it combine two sentences?

Tuesday: 

What OTHER story is your text SIMILAR to? Are there any other books you have read that match this one?

Wednesday: 

Can you find examples of SHOW DON’T TELL – when the writer describes how the character feels, not just says ‘happy’ etc.

Thursday: 

‘If there was one thing this story does REALLY well, it’s…’

Friday: 

Have you heard of the AUTHOR before? What other books have they written (sometimes shown on the inside covers!)? If not, perhaps try to look up some information on them!

Weekend: 

Recommend your text – but try to give 3 things you would IMPROVE about your book…

NON-FICTION

Monday: 

Can you find a NUMERICAL fact? One that features NUMBERS within it? Does your text feature a LOT or a LITTLE of these?

Tuesday: 

Can you find a CLAUSAL sentence? One that features 2 clauses (perhaps a COMMA might be a hint)… Does have more detail like this help you understand?

Wednesday: 

Summarise your text in 2 sentences… ‘What’s it all about?’ and ‘What SUBJECTS does it cover?’

Thursday: 

‘The PURPOSE of a non-fiction book is to…’

Friday: 

How do you think the author ‘knew’ all this information shared in the text? If not ‘knew’… how did they find out more, do you think?

Weekend: 

Recommend your text – but try to give 3 things you would IMPROVE about your book…

Please can we make sure that all children are bringing their reading diaries into school EVERY DAY; and that they are commenting in them, throughout the week!

Kindest regards,

The Year 4 Team

Posted in Handwriting and Spelling, Homework, Spellings

Reading Diaries- Questions

Posted on by Miss Gordon

Good evening, Year 4!

As mentioned weekly, the children will need to write a few comments about their book in the comments section of their reading diary.

Question for Weeks 4 & 5:

FICTION 

Monday: 

Can you explain what a ‘PLOT’ is? Where is your story set in, currently?

Tuesday: 

Is the story at the beginning, middle or end of the plot, currently? How could you PROVE that?

Wednesday: 

Can you make a PREDICTION about what will happen next, to the main character? How do you know it IS likely to happen?

Thursday: 

Is your story organised into actual SECTIONS (does it have CHAPTERS)? Why do you think some authors / books are split into sections?

Friday: 

Many stories have an ‘End Goal’ for the characters to achieve… Does yours? What are they trying to do by the end?

Weekend: 

Recommend your text – try to give 3 POSITIVE things about your book…

NON-FICTION

Monday: 

What CAPTIONS do your pages feature? DO you think they are too simple, too detailed or ‘just right’?

Tuesday: 

What SUB-HEADINGS or ‘sections’ does your page have? Do they each have a special subject of information?

Wednesday: 

Does your book feature diagrams, photos or pictures? Do the images link to the information on the page well?

Thursday: 

How much information does the whole COVER of the book provide? We should be able to find at least 5 different aspects…

Friday: 

What SUBJECT has been most interesting to learn about, so far? Which FACT really surprised you?

Weekend: 

Recommend your text – try to give 3 POSITIVE things about your book… 

Please can we make sure that all children are bringing their reading diaries into school EVERY DAY; and that they are commenting in them, throughout the week!

Kindest regards,

The Year 4 Team

Posted in Homework

Reading Diaries- Uses and questions (Summer 1 week 2 & 3)

Posted on by Miss Gordon

Good evening, Year 4!

As mentioned on Friday, the children will need to write a few comments about their book in the comments section of their reading diary.

Question for Weeks 2-3:

FICTION 

Monday: 

Summarise: What happened at the start of the story? 

Tuesday: 

Where does the story take place (the setting)? How does it link to the theme (the big message/idea)of the story?

Wednesday: 

When does the story take place? Does this help give the book an atmosphere?

Thursday: 

What happened in the story, so far? Can you explain the events?

Friday: 

Find some words or phrases that tell you about the setting. 

Weekend: 

Who are the key characters in the book? What ROLES do they play in the story?

NON-FICTION

Monday: 

What is the text about? What THEME (the big message/idea) are the facts linked to?

Tuesday: 

What is the title of the text? How has it been presented (fonts, sizing etc)?

Wednesday: 

Who is the author? Can we search for more by this author?/What other books has this author written?

Thursday: 

Predict- What would you expect to see in this text? What kinds of questions could it answer?

Friday: 

What is on the cover of this book? What does this tell you about the content inside? 

Weekend: 

Can you find the key features of this type of book? 

Please can we make sure that all children are bringing their reading diaries into school EVERY DAY, and commenting in them throughout the week!

Kindest regards,

The Year 4 Team