5th January 2018
Learning Challenge
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are delighted to provide you with the Learning Challenge for the First half of the Spring Term. The activities are split into Basic, Advanced and Deep Learning. This allows us to look at learning at Mead, and is designed to ensure that children not only acquire factual knowledge but also gain a further understanding about how their new skills or knowledge can be applied to their own lives or be used to further their cognitive and social development.
The theme of the Learning Challenge for the First half of the Spring Term is What Makes Britain Great? It is entirely up to the child whether they select the poem, significant person, music or painting, or a combination of all 4. They can also select the activities that they want to attempt, though we would encourage them to deepen their learning as much as possible.
Although the Learning Challenge is entirely optional, and in addition to the daily homework expectation of 15 minutes reading, 15 minutes times tables rehearsals and 15 minutes spellings practice, we have found that a large proportion of children have voluntarily taken up the challenge and have gained a great deal from it. We would therefore be grateful for you to encourage this at home. The children will receive a special Learning Challenge certificate at the end of the half term on completion of a project that shows a significant level of effort and challenge undertaken by the individual child.
Should you have any problems regarding this, or any other issue, please do not hesitate to contact us. We thank you again for your continued support, and look forward to seeing you in the near future.
Yours sincerely,
Miss Galpin Miss James
USA Class Teacher USA Class Teacher
Miss Havelock Mr Frith
Canada Class Teacher Mexico Class Teacher
Poem
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Painting
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Person
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Composer
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Basic
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Learn it off by heart
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Find out 10 facts about the painting/artist
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Draw a portrait of the person
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Listen to a piece of music
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Find another poem by the poet
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Produce a collage of other paintings by the artist
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Produce a timeline of their life
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Identify the instruments.
| |
Advanced
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Create a performance as part of a pair/group
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Draw a picture in similar style
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Produce a poster to advertise their achievements
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Research the life of the composer.
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Write a short biography about the poet
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Transform the medium of the painting: use collage instead of painting
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Write a letter asking them about their life
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Attempt to recreate the piece of music
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Deep
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Write your own poem inspired by the topic
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Use the image as a stimulus for 100WC
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Explain how the world would be without this person
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A mind map of different emotions you feel at various points in the piece
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Compare and contrast two poems by the poet
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Describe what the painting: what it represents, how it makes you feel, what it is based on
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Give five reasons for and against why they should be in ‘The Hall of Fame’
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Produce a piece of art/collage based on how the music makes you feel.
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Music: Elton John ‘Billy Elliot The Musical’ - Electricity
There once was a lone light bulb,
which lit this front porch, just for me,
every night, it'd find the power,
to give me light so I could see,
For years and years, the bulb would shine,
I took for granted all its light,
and when the darkness fell upon me,
The bulb would make the darkness bright,
But as time passed, the bulb burnt out,
and all its light became no more,
for once, I saw not who I was,
but all the wrong I'd done before,
As my hopeless eyes grew weary,
I went inside to grab a bulb,
but no other light could take it's place,
the task was much too bold,
and nothing would ever be the same.
- - -
Then came a time, my life was sullen,
my fears were governing my mind,
the darkness pierced me like a plague,
it took the reins and made me blind,
And on the porch, with my affliction,
a light would piece the dark and glisten,
I looked up unto the sky,
the moon and stars became my vision,
I was free from this dark prison.
- - -
While the bulb I knew and loved,
could only give me light so long,
This new source would shine forever,
as it'd been here all along,
with it's power, pure and strong,
Still I think about that bulb,
and how hard it worked to give me light,
I hope someday to do the same,
for someone else who loses sight,
I pray I'll shine just as bright.
Person: Thomas Edison
