Year 5 pupils came to read their first drafts and helped them to edit and redraft their work. The support from the older pupils was immense and all children really enjoyed this opportunity to collaborate together. They showed them how to use an online thesaurus to use quality vocabulary which really enhanced their writing.
You can read a few of our entries below.
To introduce the novel we read the blurb to the children and asked them to create questions they wanted answered. From here they used the information to create a front cover of the book. Many of our covers included the same key features: cracks in the pavement, large drain, smashed windows, St George's School, Krindlekrax and a hero. The author, Phillip Ridley was also included. Krindlekrax explores the life of a small, skinny, frizzy-haired boy, called Ruskin, and the changes he experiences in his life, from friends, loss of a loved one and unemployment.
Children used the novel, Krindlekrax to find information about four of the main characters in the text. They drew around themselves and then recorded the physical descriptions outside the body and their thoughts, feelings and personality on the inside of the body using deduction and inference skills. The children then asked questions in role of the other characters in the story using empathy skills.
Pupils emailed each other in character. Ruskin, Elvis, (the bully), Mrs Splinter and Sparkey. They were asked to keep in character throughout. Once they had sent the email, pupils used the What Makes This Good peer assessment grid to provided feedback. They then attached this to an email and sent it back to use to improve their work.
Dear Ruskin splinter ,
How are you ?, the reason why I am writing to you Is to ask if you could be my friend because it's just not fair that you do not have a friend and everybody has one but don't worry I will be your friend I will also defend you from ELVIS CAVE!!! he is such a big bully.
Also what do you like to do, l like to watch tv I like eating biscuits and I also love having tea and toast in the mornings. My name is Zion, my favourite colour is blue. I love acting as a hero. My step mother doesn't say POLLY WOLLY DOODLE ALL THE DAY!!! I don't have frizzy red hair, My little broth is called moses he is three years old I have two older sisters one is 12 years old and one is 11 nearly turning 12 as well, Also one little sister called Evani she is 5 years old her birthday is august 15th and my birthday is march 7th my 12 years old sister is named Roxi and her birthday is january 3rd the 11 years old sister is named Lexi and her birthday is september 23rd and she was born 2013 as well as roxi was born 2013 and Evani 2019 I was born 2016,my little brothers birthday is october 6th and he was born 2021 I am 8 nealy turning 9 in three weeks.
Also, Elvis shouldn't be the school hero you should have been. Do you agree? We know you are short and skinny and Elvis is big and strong,And just because you are small and skinny it doesn't mean that you are not smart and outrageous and I bet he doesn't even know his lines."But I know you have thats why should be the hero instead of Elvis
Now that you know that you know why i am emailing you, you should start standing up for yourself thank you
best regards Zion.
Dear Ruskin,
I am emailing you to introduce myself and I would like a chat about becoming friends. We could takeover Sparky and Elvis Cave by being a duo.I think we could do a lot of fun things together and eat tea and biscuits. What are your favourite biscuits?
To start off, I'd like to say that when I am older I want to be an actress. I really like playing with the ball as well and I love singing acting and dancing it's so fun. My favourite colour is baby blue but I also love green.My mum makes me tea and biscuits too, isn't that funny? We have a lot of things in common maybe one day you could come to my house for tea and biscuits.
You're not wimpy and your red hair is nice and frizzy don't listen to Elvis he's just a bully and I wouldn't accept it. We could be best friends and confront Elvis, right? Also, I have a question for you, why do you want to be the hero in the play?
I would like to come friends because I only have one friend called Penelope so we can maybe become friends, I heard that you are very kind and I think you have the confidence to do your lines. I think Elvis doesn't really know his lines but you do. Come on Ruskin believe in yourself. I think Mr Lace should give you another chance sometimes it's not fair is it? I know that you're skinny and small but you could be the hero.
I hope you're getting to know me better and want to be my friend. If you see me on the playground just tap me. I have attached an image so you know what I look like.
Best regards,
Isla
Pupils used their knowledge of the text and empathy skills for this task. In groups pupils discussed the key events from the story so far and plotted them on the x axis, then explored the different emotions Ruskin would be feeling at these key points of the story. From the graph the children could see the range of emotions felt by Ruskin and were able to put themselves in his shoes.
One of the saddest parts of the story is when Corky, Ruskin's best friend, dies. The children were asked to email Ruskin offering support at this time of his life. They were able to draw on their learning from our RVE lessons, where children have been exploring death and what happens after we die. The pupils were able to offer words of support and approached this challenging tasks with maturity.
I'm always here for you
28 Mar 2025, 13:55 (2 days ago)
Dear Ruskin,
I'm writing to you because I know about Corky but the more you cry the longer you'll stay in your room, The whole of lizard street misses you so much. We miss your fuzzy red hair,Your knobbly knees, we want to see you! I know how much it hurts when you lose someone you love but it happens especially when they're old. Please don't just hide away forever.
Even though Corkys is gone the memories of him will live eternally. Think of the good times you spent with him,like going to see Henry V in the cinema and having tea and biscuits together. Maybe we can do some of these things together, we could even try something new like football or art.Would you like any of these things? I could buy you a ball just like the one that Elvis took. Life is cruel sometimes and people die even the kindest person but it does happen. We all lose someone at some point in life.I know on the outside I don't look that sad but on the inside all I can think about is corky and all those wonderful memories of him.
I know you're angry and think life is ruthless but you have to carry on and don't let something like that bring you down. Corky would have liked you to carry on. Are there any memories of Corky that make you joyful or make you giggle? What about the time you and Corky went to the cinema to see Henry V or when he told you stories.
If you ever feel alone,If you ever feel like you want to talk about something,If you ever need a hug, then remember you can come to me. I hope this email helped.I bet you think you'll never, ever feel better... but you will! We all know how much Corky loved you. You were Corky's everything he would even choose you over chocolate biscuits,Make him proud!! Oh and you have loads of friends and their names are Mr Flck, Mr Cave,Mrs Cave, Mr lace,Mrs walnut,Wendy (your mum), Winston (your dad) and the Whole of Dosbarth Gwyrdd.
Best wishes,
Penelope
I'm thinking of you Ruskin.
Fri 28 Mar, 13:55 (2 days ago)
Dear Ruskin,
I'm so sorry Corky died and I know you are heartbroken and really upset and I know that you feel like your world has ended. I want you to know that I am thinking of you and things will get better even if it is not happening now. I know on the outside it looks like I don't care but on the inside I wish Corky never died and never had to die. The more I think about it the more sorry I feel for you. Do you feel the same?
When people die, it is okay to feel really depressed and heartbroken. Sometimes it can be difficult to know what to do with all of those feelings. A good way to help is to talk to someone about it and memorise all the brilliant times you had with Corky like eating chocolate biscuits with Corky, going to the cinema, listening to Corky's stories, Corky giving you the medal, sweeping the playground with Corky and Corky giving you the helmet. That can make you feel better even though we miss him.
One thing that helps is remembering that even if we can't see Corky he is probably watching us in heaven and thinking how much you meant to him and he has everything he needs. His leg has healed and he probably has more than enough chocolate biscuits and misses you. Are you okay now?
If you ever feel heartbroken, If you ever feel lonely, If you ever feel like your world has ended, then i'll be there for you and I hope you will be alright and we can be the best of friends.
From Elijus.
Once emails had been sent to our partners, they read them and completed a peer assessment grid. They looked for ways to improve our writing and suggested a target or way forward. We then downloaded the WMTG? grid and attached it to an email back to our partner. We were then able to edit our email to make it even better.
The children worked together on the 'show don't tell' technique. They talked about what happens to our body when we feel different emotions by using descriptions of senses and actions, rather than simply naming the emotion.
Pupils discussed sound waves and how we measure sound. They learned how sound is measured in decibels and recorded their voices. It was decided to measure three times and then use Google Sheets to calculate the average of all three. They then rounded the figure to the nearest whole number. The next task was to insert a chart and create a graph of these results. Children customised the graphs and made sure they included labels and a title. From here they copied the graph to Google docs and asked questions for their friends to answer.
Dosbarth Du decibel recording. Which class was the loudest?
Our Welsh topic this term was Chwaraeon neu Ysgol.
We learnt lots of different vocabulary and questions to ask in a conversation.
Some of our sentence patterns:
Dw i'n hoffi... I like..
Dw i ddim yn hoffi... I don't like...
Beth wyt ti'n hoffi? What do you like?
Dw i'n dwlu ar... I love...
Mae'n gas 'da fi.... I dislike...
Dw i'n gallu... I can...
Dw i ddim yn gallu... I can't...
Some vocabulary that we have learnt:
Mathemateg Maths
Saesneg English
Cymraeg Welsh
Ysgol School
Chwaraeon Sports
Achos Because
Over the term, we were able to build on our vocabulary and questioning skills which led to us being able to hold a conversation about 'Chwaraeon neu Ysgol'!
To improve our vocabulary, we enjoyed using games to reinforce our knowledge and understanding!
We enjoyed writing Welsh scripts in pairs. We are now able to:
Introduce ourselves,
Ask the other person their name,
Discuss our likes and dislikes,
Give reasons as to why we like or dislike something,
Ask the other person what they like or dislike.
Dosbarth Gwyrdd!
After writing our scripts, we thought that we could record these conversations on ChatterPix... take a look at our clips!
Dosbarth Du!
After writing our scripts, we thought that we could record these conversations on ChatterPix... take a look at our clips!
We learnt to read this book this term. We narrated the story on Google Slides. We created these videos to read to younger pupils in the school. Edrychwch ar y llyfr.