Learning Challenge
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are delighted to provide you with the Learning Challenge for the first half of the Autumn 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 Autumn Term is ‘What does culture
mean?’. 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.
Painting
'Sisters' by Claude Clark
Poem
‘Caged Bird’ by Maya Angelou
The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
Significant Person
Muhammad Ali
Music
'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong
