Poetry web sites

Hi Folks,
Here are a couple of good web sites if you need inspiration for the Poetry Recitation Competition. If you have poetry books at all, all the better, but here are some ideas if you are stuck:

http://www.poetry4kids.com/poems
http://www.pitara.com/talespin/poems.asp
http://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/poems.html

Have fun. Please choose your poem BY this Wednesday and give me a printed out hard copy. We will do the class competition NEXT Wednesday on 22nd June.
Good Luck and be INSPIRED!

Mrs. Ward
XXX

One week until we hit the BEACH!!

Hi Folks,
Just noticed on the countdown that this time next week we will be packing our bags for the beach. It has finally come around. The week you've been waiting for all year!
You'll get a letter this week reminding you of what to bring (and what not to bring) with you each day.
Mrs. W. XXX

Poetry Recitation Competition

Hi Folks,
You may have seen in the Primary Post that we are having a Poetry Recitation Competition at school. We will talk about this in class this week but I wanted to give you some words of inspiration from my favourite living poet, Michael Rosen. Recently, he visited a Primary School in the UK and the Year 6 children interviewed him. One question they asked was:

Can you give us a tip on how to read and perform a poem aloud?

If you're reading and performing on your own, you have to think that you're an actor. You're making the sounds and pictures of the poem live in other people's heads. You have the words to do this with,which means that every word and phrase has to have the right sound. You have to think of these words as flying into people's heads. If you say them too quietly or too quickly, they won't fly. You have to think of your voices, faces and bodies as part of the way in which people will enjoy what you're saying. This means thinking about how you stand, how you look, and what movements you make. If a poem is very rhythmic, you may want to make your head or your hands or your body carry the rhythm. If it's several of you performing a poem, think how you can use your different voices. It's possible for a 'chorus' (that's a group of people who aren't saying the main part of the poem) can carry emotion, rhythm and feeling. They could do this by repeating words as an echo, by being the voice of say the last line of each verse, or the first line, or single words that you want to emphasise. It might be good to mime some of the poem or alternatively to turn some of the moments into a 'tableau' or a still photo shot. A chorus can also make a rhythm behind the main voice by whispering a sound or a word. This could start before the poem begins, carry on through the poem and carry on afterwards. It's a good idea to play around with many of these ideas just to see which effect sounds best.


That should give you something to think about!

See you tomorrow.
Mrs. Ward
XXX

Happy Weekend (after a teary end to the week!)

Hi Folks,
A huge thanks to Luke who helped me get to the end of 'The Butterfly Lion' this afternoon. I got to the very last page and the tears overcame me and I couldn't finish it. As I said, it gets me every time.
Some people said they did not get the story as we were leaving and I did not have a chance to explain...

The author Michael Morpurgo wrote this as an introduction to the book (preface):


The Butterfly Lion grew from several magical roots: the memories of a small boy who tried to run away from school a long time ago; a book about a pride of white lions discovered by Chris McBride; a chance meeting in a lift with Virginia McKenna, actress and champion of lions and all creatures born free; a true story of a soldier of the First World War who rescued some circus animals in France from certain death; and a sighting from a train of a white horse carved out on a chalky hillside near Westbury in Wiltshire.

The small boy in the story is HIM (Michael Morpurgo). He did try to run away from his boarding school, that bit is true. There was a pride (family group) of white lions which Chris McBride wrote about. There is a woman called Virginia McKenna who is an actress and who was really a huge supporter of lions (Google Her!) He used SOME true things and then intermingled it with fiction parts to make it into a great story.

Was Michael really met by the ghost widow of Albert Andrews, who took him into her old house, gave him tea and scones and told him about Bertie, the white lion and her life as they grew up? And she did all this even though she had died over ten years before? That's the magic of great storytelling...
Somehow or other Michael knew that she wanted him to keep the chalk lion clean and clear, so that he (and Bertie) was never forgotten.

Hope that helps you to appreciate it a bit more.

By the way, at the end of the day one of you walked off with the book. Can you please bring it back on Saturday as I need to return it to the library. you can fight over it on your library day.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Mrs. Ward XXX

Tuesday already!

Hi Folks,
Here is your homework for today:
1. Daily Maths 3
2. PCM Page 82 (Rounding Decimals)
3. Decorate the TWO separate covers for the Plants and Feelings topics. You need to do one that has the word FEELINGS on it somewhere prominent, and the other one must have the word PLANTS on it somewhere. You can do it on a computer as long as you have the words on there. You can draw or import images which you think match with the theme of the topic. Stick the FEELINGS cover on the outside front cover of your new ITU book. Stick the PLANTS one on the back cover. It's as simple as that folks! You MUST remember to bring your books in to school tomorrow as we need to finish the 'scream' work and other work in that book.
4. Read and work on Log tasks.
5 Spelling test tomorrow.

Plus if you have not yet brought in your instrument, the deadline for those is BY Wednesday 15th June, just so you know.

See you tomorrow,
Mrs. Ward xxx
PS hope you like the new green look of the Blog to go with 'Plants'. Actually it also goes with 'Feelings' as I love trees and they make me feel happy. :-)

Today in Y5.5

Hi Folks,
We finally had the rest of our presentations today about Vision Aid and Sightsavers. They were very impressive, so well done to all of you. I can see how much you have grown in your awareness of the issues faced by many countries in the world who are not lucky enough to have good eye care available.

Today's homework is Daily Maths Part Two
A Comprehension about NOISE
Reading and reading log tasks.

You all did really well with your rounding of decimals today and your homework tomorrow will be about that, so don't forget how easy it is, and what to do!!!

Keep those straggling musical instruments coming in guys.
Mrs. W.
XXX

Welcome Back! and today's homework

Hi Folks, Well I hope you all made the most of your day off yesterday! The Ward family had 12 hours of people packing boxes of our stuff ready for shipping to Cebu. I can tell you I have gone right off the sound of brown parcel tape (and I wasn't that keen on it to begin with!!!)
Today is officially Arabic homework day, BUT you still have daily maths and some of you have a spelling activity and your handwriting sample to finish. (Some people managed to finish it in class).
Sorry to those who still have not had a chance to do their Vision Aid or Sightsavers presentations. Time ran away with us on Wednesday and also today, as we had to fit in changing everyone's reading books and new spelling lists which we normally do on Saturdays. It's always busy in Y5.5.
Tomorrow we WILL do the remaining presentations so be prepared.
Quite a few people have now brought in their musical instruments now and I have been VERY impressed with the quality. I will add some pictures tomorrow so the rest of you know what you're aiming for.
Until tomorrow...
Mrs. Ward.
XXX