Writing in Term 5

For the first four weeks in term 5, our writing will be based on the book 'Arthur and the Golden Rope'. In week 1, we will be writing a diary entry in role as the main character Arthur. Then we will be writing an informal letter in role as one of Arthur's classmates, to persuade him to go on an important quest to save their town. From week 2, we will be exploring the features of myths before writing our own myth where Arthur has to overcome a different monster. 

Later in the term, we will be using the story of Beowulf to write a news article about the attack of Grendel!

Guided Reading in Term 5

In Term 5, we will be reading 'Viking Boy' by Tony Bradman. 

Gunnar is the son of a Viking chieftain, living peacefully on his family steading with his mother, father and their people – until they are raided by Skuli and his Wolf Men, who raze his home to the ground and take his father's life. Gunnar swears an oath to avenge his father's death and save his mother from Skuli – but first he must run to save himself. Murderous raiders, hand to hand battles to the death, mythical flying wolves and a relentless sea journey to the Land of Fire and Ice... Unknown to Gunnar, his life has been foretold, and he finds he has a destiny greater than his own story.

We will be using our VIPERS skills to explore the text and learn more about the characters and historical figures in this story. 

Reading at River in KS2 for Parents

• Parents Reading at River KS2.docx

The document above gives lots of different questions you can ask your children at home when they read with you, this is very important for developing their comprehension skills as well as their word reading skills.

It is really important for children to regularly read their home reading book, returning it to school on the appointed days, so that they can enjoy some of our new school reading books and read a wide genres of texts. 

Reading lots at home also has a really positive impact on the children's writing as hey absorb vocabulary and learn different writing techniques from other authors.  

We encourage the children to read a wide variety of texts both through their reading material at home; visiting local libraries with families or accessing their online resources as well as reading books that are sent home from school.

Use the VIPERS questions at home to help you understand the texts you are reading.

Vocabulary - questions that focus on the meaning of words and understanding why the author has used certain words or phrases.

Infer - questions that focus on using clues from the text to understand character thoughts/feelings/actions and being able to show this evidence.

Predict - questions that focus on understanding what happens next and what role the characters will play in the story. Use evidence from the text to prove your predictions.

Explain - questions that focus on giving a detailed explanation e.g. explaining similarities and differences between events/characters or explaining your opinion about topics.

Retrieve - questions where you can 'grab' the answer from the text.

Summarise - questions that focus ask you to 'sum up' what has happened or putting events in order.

 As well as books from school, you can access some great books in your current book band level at the Oxford Owls Website

Reading activities and games