Tag: help with homework

Posted in Mental Health, school closures

Five Things to Help When Home-Ed goes Tits Up

Posted on by Sharon Grimshaw

I get it.  That first week of school closures was a pleasant surprise for some of us.  Our Superstars were excited to get on with homework!  Some couldn’t wait to log on to Google Classroom, or Purple Mash, or SeeSaw – or dive into the pile of worksheets.

They were excited to spend time with us – bouncing along to PE with Joe, happily helping us in the kitchen, even enthusiastically doing chores!

(OK, that last one might be a stretch!)

And then… everything changed. 

You were left doing PE with Joe alone.

Getting school work done required nagging, and even then it was half-hearted. 

You’ve started wondering what on earth you’re doing wrong! 

This is perfectly natural.  Let me repeat that.

THIS IS COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY NATURAL!

This current situation is a traumatic experience for everyone, children included. We are experiencing grief – grief for the way life was, grief as we miss friends and family, and for some of us, grief for the loss of loved ones from this awful virus.

Some children react to trauma immediately.  Trauma responses may be irritability, anger, being weepy, being withdrawn.  Wanting to be with you constantly, or wanting to be alone.  Being unable to focus.  Feeling apathetic and lethargic, or hyperactive and unable to keep still.  Nightmares and night terrors.  Being unable to sleep,  or wanting to sleep a lot.  Spending hours on devices.

Others have a delayed response – occurring days, weeks, maybe months or years later.  Very few don’t react at all.  Responses will often come and go – one minute they seem absolutely fine, then all of a sudden they’re not.

DON’T feel as though it is your fault – it isn’t!  (You may be experiencing a similar response to this too.)

There is no one-size-fits-all response to trauma, and there is no global solution to it either. 

But here’s FIVE things that can help:

Go with the flow

Be prepared to change routines, or to drop them completely from time to time.  Or be prepared to stick rigidly to a routine if that is what your child is more comfortable with. 

Validate their feelings

They aren’t daft, these Superstars of ours.  They are picking up on our emotions constantly, and will often reflect those back at us.  Be mindful of their feelings – now is the time to reassure them, rather than dismiss fears.  If your child is worried about you becoming ill, then acknowledge that this is possible, but that you are doing all you can to minimise any risk to yourself.  A fear acknowledged and shared is unlikely to magnify and become catastrophic.  And be prepared to do this more than once!

Don’t compare

Don’t compare how your Superstar is doing to another Superstar – even in the same family.  The Teen is coping admirably, The Tween isn’t.  She needs much, much more support than her big brother RIGHT NOW.  (Of course, this could change at any time!).  Don’t compare how your family is doing to any families on social media.  Remember – social media LIES BIG TIME!  You only get to see the best bits! 

You are not their teacher

You are their parent/carer.  You are their support system, the person they come to in a crisis.  You are their HOME.  Yes, they learn lots from you all their life, but you are not their teacher for formal schooling.  So if they simply don’t want you to help them, or get frustrated with you, understand that you are their safe space.  This is really, really important!  You are keeping them safe at home.  THAT’S more important than teaching them how to work out percentages!

Let shit go

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – and if you’re really unlucky, I’ll sing it with actions in an Elsa costume.  LET IT GO!  Get rid of the expectations and work WITH your child when they are struggling with their emotions – even if that means not keeping to a rigid schedule.  If they want to bake buns instead of completing a science project, watch The Trolls for the twentieth time instead of all the educational online lessons that are available – it’s ok.  When they are in the midst of a trauma response, be their safe space.  Their comfort zone.  Their life-line.  You are not alone – children all over the world right now are going through the same thing.

Remember – shout out if you need anything!  We are all in this parenting lark together!

Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay sane, my lovelies!

Posted in Maths, SATs, Uncategorized, Year 6

Unpack the RUCSAC to help with Maths!

Posted on by Sharon Grimshaw

It’s all very well learning how to do all the maths operations – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division – and being able to put them to work with fractions, decimals, percentages and angles, but our Key Stage Two kids need to know how to use them to solve word problems!

In the Key Stage Two SATs, two out of three of the maths papers are reasoning papers – they are worded questions where a student needs to work out what operations to use to solve a problem or puzzle. This can be really intimidating for many children!

We can help them by getting them to use RUCSAC to approach the question!

Here’s an example from a past SATs paper:

R – READ!

First things first – read the question carefully! What is it asking? It’s asking:

It’s asking for the number of chocolates Ken has bought.

U – UNDERSTAND!

OK, so we need to know how many chocolates Ken bought. How are we going to work this out? Let’s look at the information we’ve got:

He bought THREE large boxes containing 48 chocolates, and TWO small boxes containing 24 chocolates. Three lots of 48, and two lots of 24.

C – CHOOSE!

So let’s choose what mathematical operations we are going to use. In this case, we are going to have to use both multiplication and addition:

3 x 48 = and 2 x 24 = and then add the two answers together!

S – SOLVE!

Using whatever method we feel comfortable with (column method, grid method, repeated addition) we can now work out the calculation! In the SATs exam, when we see this box and the wording ‘Show your method’, it is important that you write your calculations down in the box provided.

To get the full two marks, you’ve got to get the right answer AND show how you got there! If you don’t get the right answer, but show the correct method, you will still get a mark for doing the right mathematical operation.

A – ANSWER!

And the final answer is 192! It is really important in the SATs exams that the answer is written in the box provided (see the above image) – IF THE ANSWER ISN’T IN THE BOX, YOU LOSE A MARK, EVEN IF YOU GOT IT RIGHT!

C – CHECK!

Check your answer – have you answered the question? We needed to know how many chocolates Ken bought altogether, and we worked out that he bought 192 chocolates. So now let’s quickly check the calculations are right to get to that figure – check to make sure we’ve made the right multiplication calculations and then the right addition.

One last point – in the SATs exams ALL children can ask for a question to be read out to them. It’s really important to encourage them to do this, especially if they are unclear about what the question is asking. Although a teacher cannot explain what is needed to answer the question, often just having the question read to you helps to clarify what the question is asking. This is the guidance the government gives to teachers and teaching assistants:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/762829/KS2_access_arrangements_guidance_.pdf

And that’s our RUCSAC unpacked!

Sample SATs maths questions found here

Top photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

Posted in SATs, SPaG, Year 6

Be Determined To Get The Right Determiner!

Posted on by Sharon Grimshaw

A determiner is a word that shows us the noun in a sentence – a, an, the, each, many, every, these, those – and even a number!

For example:

AN apple was given to EACH child EVERY day for THREE weeks.

✔ THE is known as the DEFINITE ARTICLE – it refers to a particular item.

For example:

I would like THE apple. (You want a particular apple – I bet it’s that juicy red one!)

(Note: Although we can also use the words this, those and these to denote a specific noun or nouns, they AREN’T definite articles – only ‘the’ is known by this term. This, those and these are sometimes known as ‘demonstrative determiners’ – imagine that you are demonstrating what you are talking about by pointing to them! You don’t need to know this for Year 6 SATs!)

✔ A and AN are known as INDEFINITE ARTICLES – they don’t refer to a specific item.

For example:

I would like AN apple. (You would like any apple.  You’re not bothered which one!)

It’s easy to work out whether you need to use A or AN in front of a noun as long as you know your vowels – A E I O and U! If a noun begins with a vowel, you use AN – if it doesn’t, you use A!

For example:

I placed AN orange on A plate.  (Orange begins with a vowel, so you use ‘an’, whereas plate begins with a consonant, so you use ‘a’!)

(Note: The determiners my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose are known as ‘possessive determiners’ because they show that the noun belongs to someone or something. You don’t need to know this for Year 6 SATs either!)

Photo by Christine Wehrmeier on Unsplash

Posted in SATs, SPaG, Year 6

So where’s the preposition, then?

Posted on by Sharon Grimshaw

Prepositions are the words in a sentence that tell us the position of something, when it’s happening, or the direction it’s going.


Position: these include on, under, behind, in front of, next to, inside.
For example: The cat is under the table.

When: these include before, after, during, on Saturday.
I’m going shopping on Saturday.

Direction: these include towards, away from, along, into.
Mikey walked along the road.

This term is quite easy to remember because preposition has position in it!

Photo by Elio Santos on Unsplash

Posted in SATs, SPaG, Year 6

Let’s join together for – Conjunctions!

Posted on by Sharon Grimshaw
a picture of two hands holding each other.

Conjunctions are words that are used to join sentences, or bits of sentences together. There are a couple of types of conjunctions:

✔ Co-ordinating conjunctions
These are the words that join two sentences together – we can use FANBOYS to remember what they are – For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.
For example:
I was hungry so I made myself a sandwich.

✔ Subordinating conjunctions
These join two parts (clauses) of a sentence together. There’s another mnemonic to help us remember them – I SAW A WABUB!
If, Since, As, When, Although, While, After, Before, Until, Because.
For example:
I’m going home before six o’clock.
When Mikey comes home, he will have a snack.
The subordinating conjunction always comes before the part of the sentence that wouldn’t make sense on its own!

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

Posted in SATs, SPaG, Year 6

Show how you do it with adverbs and adverbials!

Posted on by Sharon Grimshaw

Just like adjectives describe a noun, adverbs tell us more about the verb in a sentence. (Yes, I agree, adjectives should really be called adnouns!!)⠀⠀

Adverbs tell us how, why, where or when something is happening.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
She danced gracefully.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Carefully, Mikey picked up the cat. (Tells us how something is happening)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The cat pooped in my shoe yesterday. (Tells us when something is happening)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I always walk to work . (Tells us how often something is happening)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The kids raced inside. (Tells us where something is happening)⠀⠀⠀

Adverbs can also tell us the possibility of something happening:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I definitely placed my keys on the table.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Mikey never misses a chance to go for a walk.

It will probably snow tomorrow.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Maybe she dances when no-one is looking.

And yes, the cat really did poop in my shoes this morning. Thanks, Spangle!

Trust me, adverbials really aren’t scary at all. They are just a small group of words that do the same job as an adverb – they give us more information about the action that is happening in the sentence.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
They are usually about place:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The cat pooped in my shoes. (I’m not getting over that any time soon, you know.)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Or they can be when something happened:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I walked a mile early this morning.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Or they can be how something happened:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
My husband drank his coffee as quickly as possible.⠀⠀

A fronted adverbial is just an adverbial at the front of a sentence:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Almost instantly, I remembered I hadn’t fed the cat this morning.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
After today, I work three shifts a week.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Below the apple tree, the children ate a picnic.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Fronted adverbials are ALWAYS followed by a comma!⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀
Photo by Laura Marques on Unsplash

Posted in SATs, SPaG, Year 6

Nothin’ Happens Without a Verb!

Posted on by Sharon Grimshaw

Verbs are really important!  If there isn’t a verb in a sentence, it’s NOT a sentence! They are the action word – they tell us what something or someone is doing or being in a sentence.  For example:

The cat stretched.

Put your jacket on!

I swam to the edge of the pool.

Ella is drawing a picture.

As you can see from that last example, you can have two verbs together in a sentence.

One of the tricky verbs to spot is the different forms of the verb ‘to be’ – I am, he is, she is, we are, I was, you were, he was, they were.  Sometimes they can be on their own: Mikey was late.  Sometimes they will be together with another verb:  I am typing this post!

Verbs are the words that change to show WHEN something happened – in the past, in the present, or in the future.  Don’t worry about tenses, we’ll have a look at those another day!

Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash

Posted in SATs, SPaG, Year 6

Amazing Adjectives!

Posted on by Sharon Grimshaw

Adjectives are words that describe nouns, giving us more information about what the noun looks like, feels like, smells like, tastes like etc. They let us build up a picture in our minds! For example:

I saw a cat.

Let’s add in an adjective!

I saw a ginger cat.

We can add more than one adjective, to make the picture even clearer:

I saw an enormous, ginger cat.

✔ COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES compare the noun to something else and they often end in -er.

I had the bigger slice of cake.

Be careful – you can use ‘more’ or ‘less’ with an adjective to make it a comparative one:

My dinner was less tasty than the cat’s.

✔ SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES show us that the noun is the least, most, worst or best.  They often end in -est, like smallest, biggest, loudest, quietest.

We can also use ‘most’ or ‘least’ with an adjective, to make a superlative adjective:

Monday is my least favourite day of the week!

Photo by Simone Dalmeri on Unsplash

Posted in SATs, SPaG, Uncategorized, Year 6

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar – SPaG!

Posted on by Sharon Grimshaw

ben-mullins-785450-unsplashOne of the test papers in the Year 6 SATs exams is all about spelling, punctuation and grammar.  So if your child comes home and is worried about fronted adverbials, passive voice, present perfect tense, superlative adjectives and you’re scratching your head – you’re definitely not alone!

You and your child use ALL of the above every day and they aren’t as scary as you think!

What are they testing in SPaG

The Key Stage 2 assessment for English Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar is in two parts – a grammar, punctuation and vocabulary test and a separate spelling test.

The first test is looking at seven different areas:

1)  Grammatical terms and word classes – that’s where those scary terms like abstract nouns and subordinating conjunctions come in!  Find out about nouns and pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, determiners and the subject and object!

2)  Functions of sentences – these are the different types of sentences, such as questions and commands.

3)  Combining words, phrases and clauses – finding different phrases in a sentence and what their purpose is.

4)  Verb forms, tenses and keeping them consistent within a sentence or piece of writing – recognising different tenses and being able to form the verb to match the tense.

5)  Punctuation – from capital letters to colons, you need to know where they can go!

6)  Vocabulary – knowing the meaning of words

7)  Standard English – recognising formal language and using it instead of informal, chatty language.

We’re taking a look at each section over on Instagram this week, but don’t worry – there will be a catch up here too!

(And honestly, it’s much easier than you think!)

So, are you ready to be the SPaG superstar your child can turn to?  Then hold tight for SPaG week!

sharon

Student photo by Ben Mullins on Unsplash

Moody sky background by Tom Barrett on Unsplash

Posted in Maths, Uncategorized

Are Times Tables Terrorising You and Yours? Here’s Six Ideas to Help!

Posted on by Sharon Grimshaw

 

Times tables!  Absolutely the most useful thing our kids can learn to help with their maths but oh, the utter tedium of learning them – yuck!  Helping them is often just as tedious and frustrating for us as parents too.  The UK government is currently trialling a times tables check system in several schools, with the test being given to Year 4 children – that’s eight and nine year olds who will be expected to know their multiplication facts up to their 12x table.

If you can feel that sinking feeling right now, you’re not alone!  Here’s some ways to help your child learn their times tables without them feeling overwhelmed:

Use the apps your child has access to through school

Whether it’s Mathletics, Times Tables Rock Stars or another app that your child’s school has paid for, get them to use it!  Set a timer – five or ten minutes a day is much better than an hour once a week.  Sometimes your child’s teacher might set them specific tasks to do on the app before they can have ‘free time’ on it.

Other apps

Search out free times tables apps on your computer, tablet or phone that your child might enjoy.  Check out a list here  with links to some paid options too!

Electronic-free ideas

Chanting – yep, the old fashioned way may be boring, but it does work!  Altogether now, “One times two is two, two times two is four…”

Skip-count – saying just the multiples, for example “Three, six, nine, twelve, fifteen, eighteen…” 

Skip-count games – throw and catch a ball to each other, saying the next number in the sequence.  Try doing it going down the table instead: “Thirty-six, thirty-three, thirty, twenty-seven…”

Learn four facts – the first four facts of a table such as 1×8, 2×8, 2×8, 4×8 and practice them by writing or speaking them.  Add the next one or two facts the following day, practicing them and the previous ones.  Repeat until you reach the twelfth fact!

Draw the answers outside on a patio or driveway using chalk – call out a times table fact, can your child find the answer and jump on it?

If you’ve got any other ideas that have helped your children I’d love to know!  Please leave a comment, or jump on over to Insta or FB and let me know!

Top photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash

Second photo Patricia Prudente on Unsplash