Medicine

During this topic our book has been George’s Marvellous Medicine, it has been fantastic to read! In English we have create a set of instructions for our own medicine and considered the reasons for the ingredients and what it might do to Grandma. We moved onto writing another version of the story when Grandma was given our medicine, the events were rather shocking!

In our science sessions we have learnt about the 3 states of matter – solid, liquid and gas. Everyone enjoyed becoming a molecule and moving between the states of matter whilst they were outside. We have also conducted a very exciting experiment – heating up an ice cube and watching it turn from liquid and gas right before our eyes. We even collected the water vapour and saw it condense back into liquid.

Rainforests

Over half term our hall term into a rainforest! During this topic we learnt about where rainforests can be found, what their climate is like and how they are made up of different layers. In geography we used atlases to record rainforest locations on our maps.

As a class, we focused on the Amazon Rainforest. Our book the Great Kapok Tree, explored the impact of one tree on a variety of animals and the environment. We listened to what the animals said and then in a drama session we shared more reasons for saving trees. To develop our knowledge further we researched what animals could be found in the Amazon Rainforest in the different layers. In our English session we made an animal fact-file.

In science we learnt about the different parts of a plant, in particular the flower. We dissected a flower and could see the different elements clearly. To help us understand about the plants and trees we had a fantastic trip to the botanical gardens.

Trains, Planes and Automobiles

In this topic we focused on trains! We really enjoyed learning about friction in our science lessons. We conducted an investigation where we explored the different surfaces of ramps and how this effected the speed of the travelling toy train. In science we also made complete circuits using wires, batteries, bulbs and switches.

In English we were looking at instructions and we followed a set of instructions to make a battery powered car. We used our knowledge of circuits to build a complete circuit which powered the fan to move our car. Afterwards, we raced them in the hall!

During our reading sessions we enjoyed reading the book, Railway Children. We found the different characters interesting and at the end of term we managed to compare the book with the film.

Toys

Within the topic toys, we have been reading the book ‘The Iron Giant’. Everyone has enjoyed the story about the Iron Giant. We have considered the characters feelings and made some good inferences. We all write a newspaper article about the events that happened in the village as we thought it would have definitely made the news. Children included quotes from Hogarth, so he was able to tell us exactly his thoughts.

In our science lessons we have been learning about Magnets. We have watched magnets attract and repel. Everyone enjoyed experimenting with magnets and working out what items are magnetic. We learnt about the toys that use magnets and what purposes they have.

In our DT we made a wooden frame (using saws and glue guns!) which we developed into a toy car. We used magnets repelling to make the car move. Some of the children raced the cars to see which design was the most effective. When we evaluated, we discovered what elements we had changed to our original design and how we adapted parts to make is successful.

Where’s Wally

Our topic is over and the 4 weeks have flown past! Well actually our topic started with a flight around the world. The whole school boarded the Tydd St Mary Airlines, with Pilot Spelman, on a journey to 8 different countries. Everyone came dressed as Wally, characters from the books or a traditional country outfit. It was a fantastic day! We completed an activity in each country – some dance, food tasting, art and craft.

In our classroom for the remainder of the topic we focused on the continent Europe. We learnt about the countries within Europe and the climate. We completed a place study on Italy where we made a model of the country (considering land height) and recorded many information boxes about what you would find in Italy and what life is like there.

In our English work we read the book ‘The boy who biked the world’. This book was fascinating and the children wrote a diary entry about what one day would be like biking through a country in Europe. We used our geographical knowledge to help us.

Discovery

Our discovery topic has now come to an end. We learnt lots of information about the Vikings within the 4 weeks. Everyone enjoyed having the Viking visit the school for the day. Our hall was turned into a Viking market place with lots of rumours flowing around the room about the invasions. The Wose women made us some potions and remedies for our ailments and we made candles along with pendents. We used maps to find out the routes of invasion and made Viking boats.

We used the book 'Arthur and the Golden Rope', which the whole class enjoyed reading. We wrote a letter to Professor Brownstone to be selected to visit his vault of historical treasures. We were all excited to find out he selected us! We visited the vault (Kings Lynn Museum) and enjoyed exploring the artefacts along with learning about the Vikings from some organised activities.

In our English we turned the journey map (within the book) into a narrative story. Everyone enjoyed being creative with what happened along the way. There were many interesting things that happened to Arthur along the way. 

All About Me

Well we have now just finished our topic, which we have all enjoyed. The children have loved reading the beginning of the Boy a The Back of the Class and some children have alrady chosen the book to read for pleasure.

In English the children wrote a diary entry as the narrator of the story. Our next peice of writing was an explanation text about the digestive system. Everyone loved writing this and included some interesting vocabulary.

In our Science sessions we learnt about the human skeleton, teeth and the diegstive system. We made skeletons, Bob the skeleton came to visit, we made model msucles using card and elastic bands, identified the organs involved in digestion and discovered what happens when food is digested.

A busy but fun topic!

Next is Discovery where we become Historians!

Welcome Back!

We have had a great first day back and everyone has settled in well.

Information about class routines will filter through the week and notes will be sent home in the planner to help you all understand the expectations. Planners are a great form of communication so please check them for letters and notes. You can also write notes in the planner for myself (Mrs Burton) or any other adults in school.

PE days are Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesday is indoor PE, where children need blue shorts and a white t-shirt. Thursday is outdoor PE, where children may require a warmer layer as the weather cools down along with some trainers.

Our first topic is 'All About Me', we will be looking at the skeleton and the digestive system in our science based topic. Our book is one of my favourites - The Boy at the Back of the Class and I'm sure the children will enjoy it too!!

We are all looking forward to the new year!