Last updated February 28, 2003

This is where you will find all of the homework you can choose from.  You will be able to choose from any of the following topics for your homework (or even more than one).  Make sure it is handed in on the next due date.

Each week you should choose one activity from each of the first three columns (Spelling, Writing & Reading).  The fourth column is optional but I highly recommend you have a go at one per week because they are good fun!  Find your current spelling list here.

These activities have been designed for completion by students who have access to a computer AND those who don't. Almost all activities can be completed without a computer or, alternatively, with a computer.

Remember that homework is due every Monday morning in Theme Group.  If you are away during the week then you will need to ask a friend or if you have the internet at home you should be able to check it out from there.  If you don't have the internet at home then you can print what you need at school.

A note for parents regarding theme homework.

Spelling Activities - Current spelling words

Base Words

Write list word, base word and country of origin if you can

Jumbled words

Write a list of your spelling words and jumble them. See if someone can guess them

Categories

See how many of your list words you can fit into the categories below

Rebus

Write your words as a rebus

i.e. homework =                       + work

Missing Letters

Write your words without the vowels (a,e,i,o,u)

Wordsleuth

Make a wordsleuth using your words

Sentences

Write three interesting sentences using as many list words as possible

Meaning match

Write down your words in a list and jumble their meanings on the right. Try and match them again.

Meaningful sentences

Write a meaningful sentence to explain each list word

Anagrams

Write your list words and see if you can find an anagram for each of them. For example the words cat uses the same letters as act

Magazine / Newspaper search

Locate each list word in a magazine or newspaper. Cut them out and glue them in your homework book.

Morpheme

Choose a base morpheme from you list word and write as many other words as you can with the same morpheme.

i.e. leg – legend, legal, legate, legacy

Dictionary Search

Find each of your words in the dictionary. Write down the word that comes before and after that word in the dictionary.

Writing Activities

Create-A-Quiz

Using your knowledge of animators and famous cartoons, create a 5 to 10 question quiz (with correct answers) to test your friends.

The Wolf's Side of Little Red Riding Hood

Listen to the online story of Little Red Riding Hood as told by the wolf.  What do you think?  Did you see the wolf's mouth move in the animation?  Using a fairy tale, have a different character explain their side of the story.  Draw the character in the style of the wolf with four different mouth movements.  You can later use this to make your own online story book!

Create A Story

Go to this PBS Kids Page and fill in your details.  Your story can be printed out or cut and paste into another document and printed later.  Decorate your story with characters and scenes from your generated story.

The Question

The answers are: Walt Disney; The Oscars; The Simpsons. Write three questions for each answer.

Factual Comic

Choose a topic from the news or newspaper and create your own comic strip about it.  For some ideas have a look at the editorial section of the newspaper.

Cartoon Narrative

Create your own narrative that could be the basis of a comic strip.  Remember to identify the main characters so that the reader will know who you are talking about.  You might need to be very descriptive so that someone might be able to draw your character.

Reading Activities

Cartoon Capers

The Dude Brothers

Read the online story about The Dude Brothers and draw four scenes that could be included in a comic strip.  What did you think of the animation?  Give it the 2 stars and a wish treatment (2 things that were cool and one for improvement).

Comic Dialogue

Cut out a comic which shows dialogue between two people.  Paste into your homework book.  Below the comic, rewrite the dialogue using the correct punctuation marks.

Editorial

Cut out the editorial cartoon of a daily newspaper (usually about page 17) and paste it into your homework book.  Below the comic write what it is about.  Is it funny?  How is it different to the strips you see in the comic section of the newspaper?

Wanted

Choose any character from an animated movie or comic strip that you've seen.  Create a wanted poster showing the characters physical features and a description of their character.

A New Ending

Cut out a comic strip from the newspaper and remove the last two scenes.  Create your own new scenes that change the original story to something that you've re-created.  Glue these into your homework book with the original two scenes.  You might even like to add an additional two scenes of your own!

A New Character

Choose a comic strip or animated movie that you've seen and re-write/re-draw the comic so that the character is now a boy/girl instead.  How has this changed the story?

Special Interest Activities

Create a Thaumatrope

Invented in the 1820's by John Paris, an English doctor, the Thaumatrope is a small disk with one image on one side and another image on the other side. Strings are attached to the sides of the disk. When the disk is spun by twirling the strings between the fingers, the two images appear to combine on the disk.

Put part of an image on one side	Put another part of the image on one side	Spin by twirling the strings between your fingers, the two images will appear to combine

http://library.thinkquest.org/11039/thaumatrope.html

Zany Zoetrope

What to do:

1. Take a 1kg circular plastic margarine or ice-cream tub (a 500g tub will also do).

2. Paint the outside of the tub black. You can use a black texta to do this, but paint is better.

3. Cut a thin strip of paper and place it around the outside of the tub. Attach it temporarily with paper clips.

4. Cut the paper so that it fits exactly around the outside of the tub.

5. Remove the paper, measure it and make 12 equally spaced marks on it.

6. Reattach the paper to the tub and mark on the tub the 12 even spaces.

7. At each mark, cut a 3mm by 3cm slit (ask an adult to do this bit). You can use kitchen scissors for this.

8. The plastic tub should have a plastic extrusion mark (a bump) right in the centre of the base. From underneath the tub, push a drawing pin into this mark.

9. Create an action strip of 12 drawings on the paper making each drawing a tiny bit different from the drawing before it. For example, on this page we've drawn a chicken walking. You could copy this illustration or create your own. It might be a bat flying, a stick figure running or even a spot growing and shrinking. All you have to remember that there should be little change between successive images.

10. Place your action strip inside the tub so it lines the bottom wall of the container. 

11. Place your zoetrope on a hard surface and spin it. To see the moving picture, look at the images through the slits.

http://www.csiro.au/helix/experiments/dhexpzoetrope.html

SpellaRoo

How good is your spelling going?  Are you getting everything right?  Try out SpellaRoo and see if you can win at both levels and get to the "Land of Joeys".

Learn to Draw

Go to either Draw and Colour With Uncle Fred or Learn How To Draw with Gary Harbo. See how you are at drawing a cartoon character.  Submit at least two characters (if you can stop at two!)

Week 1 Homework

 qbstheme@lycos.com

Last updated February 26, 2003
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