Summer Activity Guide 2021
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Work well and be happy
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Welcome to your activity guide These are unusual times and we are well aware that the experience of teaching and learning during the pandemic will not have been the same for all pupils. To help maintain learning over the holidays we have put together this booklet full of helpful tips and ideas from our Heads of Department. If you have any time to spare, perhaps you would like to keep a diary? Why not fill an A4 8 scrap NOV book with simply your best writing, drawings and photographs to document all of your holiday activities. 8
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Art Our Art Department are passionate about teaching students how to draw and paint but not only that, they find it thrilling to learn so much from the new and creative ideas that potential students will bring to the school too. Here are some websites you might like to explore and presentations, with information and activities, which will help to keep you thinking creatively.
Links to explore Explore this Google arts page and find famous paintings dominated by particular colours. Perhaps you could make a picture to fit in with one of the groupings or copy your favourite. https://artsandculture.google.com/ color?col=YELLOW&hl=en Albrecht Durer was brilliant at painting realistic people and animals. Take a close look at his painting of a hare. Have you got a pet to draw? https://artsandculture.google.com/story/ uQUh0QSuBi_dgw?hl=en Explore the Tate Gallery’s children’s website of games, activities and quizzes. Why not do the ‘Draw a Sound Creature’ activity and bring your results to show us in September? https://www.tate.org.uk/kids If learning about art is your thing, then here is a link to some free art history books: https://www.artystories.org/
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Art task 1 Create an observational study of selected kitchen equipment. Arrange some cutlery or kitchen utensils and draw them from life using pencil. Use the images on this page to inspire you. Challenge: Create an observational study in colour, use paint or pencil crayons. Capture the whole arrangement or a section of it. Task: Create a range of line drawings of kitchen equipment and overlap the drawings to create an interesting composition.
Art task 2 Using a variety of different papers, create a collage of different items you may find in the kitchen. Take inspiration from the imagery on this page; use old book pages, newspaper, takeaway menus, coloured papers etc.
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Photography task 1 Create a colour wheel using food and objects you find in the kitchen. Put your items together and photograph them.
Photography task 2 Taking inspiration from the food photography opposite, take one food item and photograph it as it is being eaten or cut. Then collate the images to create a composition similar to those on this page. Remember the first photograph should be of the item as a whole.
Photography task 3 Photograph a range of kitchen utensils in different compositions; create patterns, create an arrangement, order them in size or colour.
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Design & Technology For those of you who are new to Design & Technology you will be amazed at our extremely well equipped workshops and impressive facilities when you come to visit KGS. The department is very successful and a popular option choice for students as they progress through the school. We have a thriving Technology club at Kingston Grammar School, and you can check out our robot ‘Frostbite’ on the BBC2 programme Robot Wars: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ELaeirIZw8c&t=34s
Click here Have a look at these Smallpeice Design and Technology challenges and have a go at building one. • https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=AWcrDTnehNc&feature=youtu.be • https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=NGE1PMTL08c • https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=KkIBeb51hW4&feature=youtu.be • https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=RifVlosGJLw • https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=cbWCoEaQ_FY • https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=AeGS8Rc8y3A
Read it, do it As an extra challenge, look at three products from home: One wood, one metal and one plastic. Take a picture, copy the picture into a Word document and explain three reasons why that product is made from that material. Good luck.
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Drama At KGS we have three fantastic locations for Drama: The Theatre, The Studio and The Green Room. There are many exciting opportunities for our students to be either showcasing their talents on stage or working backstage on props, lighting and costume. We teach one Drama lesson a week, working on key skills: Creativity, Collaboration, Communication and Co-operation!
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Top tip The main thing I would say for First Years is to observe people as much as possible, thinking about characters (eg, the way people move, walk and speak). Much of the First Year will be spent exploring how to create convincing characters through your voice, body language and interaction. You could even keep a record of all the wonderful characters you spot in your day-to-day life!
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Watch this! The National Theatre is showing a number of its productions online: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ nt-at-home The RSC has also made available a range of resources https://www.rsc.org.uk/at-home-withshakespeare
English Virtual Travel! Fancy a writing challenge? Then try this… Physical travel has been extremely limited over the past year, but that doesn’t stop us travelling in our imagination! Try designing a postcard from a place you’d like to visit (real or fictional). Draw or design an image for the front, then write a message to a friend or family member on the back. Describe your imagined experiences and explain why it would be a fantastic place to visit.
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Read up! Some books are harder to “get into” than others, but don’t judge a book by its cover or its title and have a good attempt at reading something a little different from your usual choice. Some are fiction, some are non-fiction. You will have received a copy of our reading list but see below for some of our favourite books. Kerr, Judith When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Series)
Little Women
Palacio, R. J. Wonder Sachar, Louis Holes
by Louisa May Alcott
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings
Following the lives of the four March sisters Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy - the novel details their passage from childhood to womanhood and is loosely based on the author and her three sisters.
Wonder
by R.J. Palacio I know I’m not an ordinary kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an Xbox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary. I guess. And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go.
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Holes
by Louis Sachar
The book centres around an unlucky teenage boy named Stanley Yelnats, who is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile corrections facility in a desert in Texas, after being falsely accused of theft. The plot explores the history of the area and how the actions of several characters in the past have affected Stanley’s life in the present.
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The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
In July 1942, thirteen-year-old Anne Frank and her family, fleeing the occupation, went into hiding in an Amsterdam warehouse. Over the next two years, Anne vividly describes in her diary the frustrations of living in such close quarters, and her thoughts, feelings and longings as she grows up. Her diary ends abruptly when, in August 1944, they were all betrayed.
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Boy
by Roald Dahl
As a boy, all sorts of unusual things happened to Roald Dahl. There was the time he and four school friends got their revenge on beastly Mrs Prachett in her sweet shop. There are stories of holidays in fishing boats, African adventures and the days of tasting chocolate for Cadbury’s. Roald Dahl vividly shares his memories; some are some are funny, some are painful, some are unpleasant. All are true.
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When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
Suppose your country began to change. Suppose that without your noticing, it became dangerous for some people to live in Germany any longer. Suppose you found, to your complete surprise, that your own father was one of those people. That is what happened to Anna in 1933. She was nine years old when it began, too busy to take much notice of political posters, but out of them glared the face of Adolf Hitler, the man who would soon change the whole of Europe – starting with her own small life. One day, Anna’s father went missing. Then she herself and her brother Max were being rushed by their mother, in alarming secrecy, away from everything they knew – home and schoolmates and well-loved toys – right out of Germany...
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Geography In Geography classes at KGS, students develop the knowledge and skills required to be geographical thinkers, able to analyse and evaluate a wide range of fascinating global issues as well as explain processes happening in our physical environment.
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Fancy a challenge?
Atlas Skills https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ ztqtyrd/revision/1 Map reading made easy https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ documents/resources/map-readingmade-easy.pdf Map reading activities and quizzes https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ mapzone https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ z6j6fg8/revision/1 Explore natural hazards https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/ zn476sg
As Geographers we really want to get to know and understand the world we live in. We need to be curious and always have a desire to find out more and know more. You can have a go at this: simply pick a place you want to know more about - it could be a country, such as China or Norway, or a large ecosystem like the Amazon Rainforest or Sahara Desert. Spend some time researching to see if you can make a one-page fact file on your chosen place.
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History The KGS History Department has really fun lessons in the Lower School where our First Years learn about lots of fascinating aspects of the medieval era ncluding the Battle of Hastings, the development of castles, the Black Death, Thomas Becket, the Crusades and much more! Check out these links for some useful resources.
Read up • • • • •
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Stormin’ Normans, Terry Deary Measly Middle Ages, Terry Deary Dark Knights and Dingy Castles, Terry Deary Great Events: The Battle of Hastings, Gillian Clements Crusade, Elizabeth Laird (Historical Fiction).
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Click here Castles through Time https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/ castles/castles-through-time/ Life in a Castle https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/ castles/life-in-a-castle/ 1066 and the Norman Conquest https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/ learn/1066-and-the-norman-conquest/ BBC Bitesize on the Middle Ages https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/ zfphvcw The National Archives, Time Travel TV http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ education/students/time-travel-tv/
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In First Year at KGS the Mathematics Department spend time going through topics that most of you will be covering at your current school.
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Sport. Sports are the perfect chance to think about speed, scores, time and angles. Get competitive; try out different angles to score from, predict how many star jumps you can do in a minute.
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Explore the local area. Can you guess how many people live in your town, how far is the nearest airport etc? Try and explain your reasons for your answers then check your answers online.
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Estimation. Can you estimate how many bricks were used to build a local landmark?
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Hobbies. Can you think how maths comes into your favourite hobby?
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Journeys. Can you predict how many miles or kilometres you have travelled, how many are left and what time you should get to your destination?
Read up Over the summer get some practice in on the numeracy and geometry skills you have developed at primary school. The Fourth Grade module on the Khan Academy website is excellent practice with lots of tutorial videos and online quizzes.
Maths out & about •
Directions. When travelling somewhere familiar, turn into a sat nav and give directions and timings to the driver. If you go wrong find a solution and think of the best way to get back to where you want to go.
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Languages Languages are a life skill! In the First Year, all students have the opportunity to study French, Spanish, German or Italian, and from the Third Year Mandarin too.
Italian: www.radiocuore.it www.rai.tv
At KGS we don’t just teach you the language, but also the culture, history, music and literature of each country where the languages are spoken. The Modern Foreign Languages Department is a vibrant place with lots of fun activities.
Conjuguemos – Vocabulary, grammar, listening activities and games in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Korean and Latin
Top tip Read – listen – watch! Immerse yourself in a foreign language! It is fun and it gives you confidence when it comes to speaking!
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German: www.antennekids.radio.de www.zdf.de French: www.radio.fr www.ados.fr Spanish: www.rtve.es/radio/ www.kissfm.es/
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Learn online
Duolingo – learn foreign languages
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Music Our Music Department love to introduce students to a wide variety of interesting music from all around the world. Everyone has the capacity to enjoy listening to and making music and that is something we do a lot of in the First Year at KGS.
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Have you listened to? Music in styles you might not be familiar with? This is very easy to do with apps such as ‘Spotify’ and ‘Apple Music’. Why not try searching for playlists in genres such as ‘Jazz’, ‘Hits from the Movies’, ‘Classical Essentials’ or ‘Reggae Classics’?
Listen online https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/tenpieces/ten-pieces-at-home/zjy3382
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/ zmsvr82
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BBC ‘Ten Pieces’ has a wealth of information about various pieces of classical music and composers and there is also a lot of information on the BBC ‘Bitesize’ website. If you are feeling creative you can have a go at some of the performing or composing ideas on the websites!
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8 V Top NOtip We encourage you to think about the component parts of different musical styles and what similarities and differences exist between genres. Why not start a listening diary listing some of the music you have heard over the summer and jot down a couple of sentences about why you like (or dislike!) a particular piece?
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Science Science is fundamental to all walks of life. The following links should help to whet your appetite over the summer and explore Science in more detail.
Read up Nick Arnold - Horrible Science Science with the squishy bits left in! These cover all sorts of topics. Of particular note: Vicious Veg; Nasty Nature; Blood, Bones and Body Parts; Painful Poison; Microscopic Monsters; Sharks; Frightful Flight and Bulging Brains!
Click here Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell https://www.youtube.com/user/ Kurzgesagt Lots of easy-to-watch animations about various science questions. Some more complex than others.
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Journey to the Microcosmos https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCBbnbBWJtwsf0jLGUwX5Q3g Incredible footage of tardigrades and other microorganisms taken down a microscope. The KGS Biology YouTube page for First Years https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4E3uGTfbAucenp3v9dJIowAvTin8Mppl Bitesize, of course https://www.bbc. co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zng4d2p Some short films and experiments for students to do at home from the Royal Institution https://www.rigb.org/families/experimental Some really good ideas from the Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/education-skills/teacher-resources-and-opportunities/resources-for-teachers/science-at-home/
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Enjoy your summer!
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Kingston Grammar School 70 London Road Kingston upon Thames Surrey KT2 6PY T: 020 8546 5875 E: enquiries@kgs.org.uk W: www.kgs.org.uk
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