Oak 5 challenge

1. ReadingRead independently, as much as possible. Read many different text types (websites, newspapers, stories etc.) Read a variety of literature and nonfiction texts (extracts or whole texts).

Reading activities to choose from:

Write a book review for a book you have / have not enjoyed. Write your own blurb for a book you have read. Re-write a chapter as a play script. Write about what a character might be thinking or feeling at different

stages of the story. You could write it in the first person or in a speech bubble.

Predict what might happen when you are part way through a book. Write your prediction in the form of a story plan in boxes.

2. Challenge:

Have You Ever Wondered...

What is a murder hornet?

Oak 5 challenge

Find out more…

Where do murder hornets otherwise known as Asian giant hornets live?

Are they dangerous?

What makes it different from other hornets, bees, and wasps?

Summarize what you learned for a friend or family member to help them spot a murder hornet if they see one.

Oak 5 challenge

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Guess the Idioms

An idiom is a phrase or saying that has a double meaning. It's usually used in order to emphasise or exaggerate something. Idioms aren't meant to be taken literally.

Oak 5 challenge

Tongue Twisters

Read each of the tongue twisters out loud. Say them quickly four or five times. Which one is easiest? Which is the trickiest?

Santa’s sleigh slides on slick snow

Bobby brings bright bells

Ten tiny trains toot ten times

She sells seashells on the sea shore

Purple paper people, purple paper people, purple paper people...

Bubble bobble, bubble, bobble, bubble bobble…

What do you notice about how the tongue twisters are written? Can you think of a good tongue twister of your own? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Oak 5 challenge

Word patterns Add one or more of the letters below in front of the letters in the circles to create four words for each. You can use each letter more than once.

a b c e f h l n r t

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Adverbs.

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An adverb is a word that modifies (describes) a verb. Choose a word from the brackets to finish each sentence:

1. The children played (noisy noisily).

2. Susan writes (neat neatly).

3. Mary speaks (soft softly).

4. The rain fell (gently gentle).

5. The lark sang (sweetly sweet).

6. The train ran (speedy speedily).

7. I heard the sound (faintly faint).

8. The man spoke (cross crossly).

Oak 5 challenge

Developing reading skills

The Burning of the Rice FieldsOnce there was an old man who lived high up on a mountain far away in Japan. All around his little house the ground was flat and the soil was good. Here were the rice fields belonging to all the people who lived in the village at the foot of the mountain. Beyond the village was the blue sea, so close that there was no room for anything but houses.

The old man lived with his grandson, Yone. The child loved the rice fields and he often helped his grandfather to watch over them because he knew that all the good food for the villagers came from there.

One day, the grandfather was standing on his own looking down at the village and the people going about their business. He was thinking how beautiful the scene was when something caught his eye far out to sea. It was as though a huge cloud was rising and as if the sea itself was lifting into the sky. The old man put his hands to his eyes and looked again as hard as he could. Then he turned and ran to the house shouting, “Grandson, grandson! Come quickly! Bring a burning stick from the fireplace!”

Yone could not imagine why his Grandfather wanted the fire, but he always did as he was told without question, so he quickly and carefully got the burning wood.

The old man grabbed the fiery wand and ran to the rice fields. Yone ran after him and was horrified to see his grandfather setting light to the dry rice in the fields. He thrust the torch in again and again as the stalks turned red, orange and yellow.

“Grandfather! What are you doing?” screamed Yone, thinking his grandfather must have lost his mind.

Very soon, the field was completely ablaze; the fire spread quickly and black smoke began to creep up the mountain side. It rose thick and dark and in no time the people in the village below saw it and knew that their precious rice fields were on fire. As quickly as their legs could carry them, they ran. Not one person stayed behind.

When they came closer, and could see that they were too late to save any of it, they cried and wailed, “Who could have done this? How could it happen?”

Oak 5 challenge

“I did it,” said the old man.

“It’s true,” sobbed his grandson, “My grandfather started the fire.”

The villagers gathered angrily around the old man, “Why?” they screamed, “Why?”

He turned and pointed to the sea. “Look.”

They all turned to look. There, where the sea had been so beautiful, still and calm, a gigantic wall of water as tall as the sky was rolling in. The people were so aghast at the terrifying sight they could not even scream.

The wall of water fell on the village and destroyed every hose and building. The sound was awful. Wave after wave battered and covered the place where the village had been until it was all under the sea.

Disastrous as this was, every last person was safe. When they realised what the old man had done, they thanked him and honoured him for his quick thinking which had saved them all from the tidal wave.

Answer the following questions:

1. Where is this story set?

2. Why did Yone not ask his Grandfather why he wanted a burning stick?

3. What was the danger coming from the sea?

4. Does the story have a message? What do you think it is?

5. The Burning of the Rice Fields is a re-telling of a traditional tale. Can you name 3 other traditional tales?

Oak 5 challenge

Have fun with a story idea generatorSometimes it’s the mix of ingredients that can give you a story idea that stands out from the crowd. Choose different characters, settings and genres from the table below and mix them together. What kind of mystery would Sherlock Holmes solve on his visit to Hogwarts?

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/story-starters/

Story ideas…

Oak 5 challenge

SeasonsThe four seasons are spring, summer, autumn and winter.

We have different seasons because of the earth’s constant movement around the sun.

In Australia, spring is in the months of September, October and November.

Antarctica only has two seasons: summer and winter.

The coldest temperature ever recorded in the UK during winter.

Activity Ideas! Is it spring everywhere in the world?

Research and find out the reason why we have different seasons throughout the year and why different countries have seasons during different months of the year. Create a leaflet or poster to explain this and help to teach others.

2. Create acrostic poems about the seasons.

In an acrostic poem, the first letter of each line spells out a word. Think about each season and create a themed acrostic poem. Try illustrating these with drawings that represent the season.

4. Which is your favourite season and why?

Think about your favourite season and why you like it. Is it because you can do something you enjoy? Or is it because of a memory you have? Write about your favourite season and include details about why this is your favourite and what you enjoy doing.

Oak 5 challenge

Creative thinking

Spoonerism and Malapropism

Ways to play around with words and add humour to your

creative writing.

Spoonerism: swapping the first letters of words in a phrase. Can you work out the original words of these spoonerisms?

‘Jipping and skumping’ from The BFG

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catasterous disastrophe’ from The BFG

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Malapropism: using a made-up word that rhymes with, or sounds like, the original word. Can you work out the original words of these malapropisms?

‘bellypopper’ from The BFG

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‘scrambled dregs’ from The BFG

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Have a go at creating some of your own spoonerisms:

strawberries and cream rat’s tails nail varnish

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Have a go at creating some of your own malapropism

chocolate frogs legs shampoo

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Oak 5 challenge

Using spoonerisms and malapropisms write a recipe for one of the following:

a new Wonka sweet for the Wonka chocolate factory a dish made with disgusting ingredients for Mr. Twit a marvellous medicine for George’s Grandma

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Oak 5 challenge