This week Class 3 have been busy on their trips to the church, synagogue and The Box. Yesterday, we took a moment to reflect on how our trips have linked to our RE learning this half term. We have been exploring how the question what would Jesus do? impacts how christians make choices. A lot of us were fascinated by how many links there are between the Jewish and Christian faiths. We have enjoyed exploring Christian parables, so far this term. Here we explored Jesus and The Centurion. What a busy week we have had!
This week class 3 started their DT bread making unit. They researched different types of bread using sensory testing. They thought about the appearance, smell, texture and taste and gave them a rating out of 5. They tried white, wholegrain, pitta, ciabatta and olive loaf. The class consensus was that the best bread was the ciabatta.
This week Class 3 had deep water swimming at the Ivybridge Leisure Centre. They have two of these sessions to develop their deep water skills. They spent their time learning different jumps and are looking forward to diving to retrieve objects next week.
In English, they began their new text Everest by exploring how Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest in 1952. They have analysed how the text and illustrations impact the reader and encourage them to read on. They also predicted what may happen to the two explorers based on the first pages of the book.
This week, whilst the Year 5s have been off enjoying their residential, Class 3 have been planning how to raise money for Christian Aid. They will be making flapjack to see on Friday 8th July. They have had to consider: recipes, costing and advertising. They have also thoroughly enjoyed getting back in the pool, ready for a summer term full of swimming!
The Year 5’s have been very busy this week finishing off projects and enjoying various workshops. They are looking forward to hearing all of Year 6’s stories from their residential. At the start of the week they enjoyed creating their own wire sculptures taking inspiration from Louise Bourgoise, she was a mixed media artist who dedicated her life to the artistic process. The children found twisting the wire quite tricky but they certainly showed great resilience. On Wednesday, we were very fortunate to have Mrs Stephenson from Ivybridge Community College join us. The children enjoyed the warm up songs and fun games that we played, to warm up our voices. We have learnt 2 songs and we have been invited to sing at Ivybridge College along with the other local primary schools in July. More details of this to follow. We also finished off our RE topic on Hinduism and discussed and reflected on how Hindus beliefs shape the way that they live their lives. In Geography we have been comparing the terrain, tourism, and weather from the Lake District to Brittany
On Thursday, Class 3 were fortunate enough to walk down to The Delamore Arts Exhibition. We were able to explore the grounds, thinking about how the sculptures were made, their artists and our own opinions on the works. This has linked in with our current art topic on Louise Bourgeois, who created sculptures of spiders. We have been inspired by all the different works in the exhibition and will use this in our own sculptures next week. We had an incredible time.
This week, in computing, Class 3 have been learning how to manipulate 3D models, using the programme Tinkercad. They will be working towards planning and creating their own 3D models at the end of term.
This week Class 3 began their PE unit of Tag Rugby. We played games involving dodging and tactical play to avoid getting your tag taken by an opposing person. The class had some very creative ways to dodge those trying to take their tags and were very tired after an afternoon playing tag rugby in the sunshine!
This week Class 3 finished constructing their canopic jars. They created lots of interesting designs for their lids. They had a lot of fun working with the clay and got to paint them later in the week to make their patterns and designs stand out.
This week, Class 3 have been reviewing their PSHE learning on how the media influences us. They debated aspects such as: parts of the internet which have the most influence on people, the most risky part of engaging with online content and how best to stay safe online. They had an engaging and respectful debate, whilst sharing their ideas and giving examples as support for their argument.
This week Class 3 have been finishing up their fractions, percentages and decimals learning. They have worked so hard on this unit and have been enjoying doing lots of challenging problem solving. On Tuesday, they completed a carousel of activities using critical thinking and teamwork.
This Week Class 3 went orienteering around the school. They showed great teamwork, communication and tactical planning. The class have been enjoying this PE unit and cannot wait to get back out in their teams next week.
This week class 3 have been continuing their gymnastics unit with Premier Sport. They have been focussing on how to complete jumps safely (particularly landing) and how to create a variety of shapes with their body whilst completing the jump. They have been excited to get the gymnastics equipment out again.
This week Class 3 have been designing and building their own architectural structures that include pillars. They constructed them in groups and then evaluated their work. Many in the class found it interesting figuring out how to create a variety of 3D shapes and 2D features.
This week the class has been looking at thematic maps and aerial photography. We went on a hunt to identify key human and physical features using aerial photography. We realised we had used some thematic maps in our history topic last year and thought about what other purposes thematic maps might have such as: population. climate and trade.
In science, Class 3 have been exploring electricity this half term. This week they were testing to see whether a change in voltage impacts how a light functions within a circuit. They found that the higher the voltage, the brighter the bulb shone. However, once the battery voltage had become more than the bulb, the bulb got very hot because it was too much.
This week Class 3 have begun designing their own web pages. We explored different websites thinking about their layouts and key features. We thought about what made them easy to navigate and how we could use some of those features in our own designs.
This week Class 3 has been getting stuck into maps. Our geography topic this term is Map Skills, so we have been using OS maps of our local area, to practise using OS symbols and 4-figure grid references to identify places. This will help us in two weeks time when we begin using 6-figure grid references to locate certain places on OS maps.
This week Class 3 have been delving into Dragonology. They got to act as news reporters of a dragon sighting, they used their knowledge from the book about dragons to create a convincing news report. They thought about the formal tone they needed and made some incredibly entertaining news features.
Class 3 have settled right back into the swing of things this week by starting some exciting new topics of learning. We have got to grips with our new English text Dragonology - an information text all about dragons. It even has dragon scale samples inside!
Autumn Term
This week Class 3 have been talking all things mental health. They have thought carefully about how to keep our mental health well, how to support others and how to get support themselves. We got to watch a video from the Anna Freud National Centre to help us with our discussions and ideas. We have also been enjoying lots of Christmas activities and getting into the festive spirit.
This week Class 3 have been writing their own overcoming the monster themed story. We have had a big focus on the editing process. How to do it effectively and make meaningful changes to improve our story as well as spot mistakes we made during the drafting process. The class has shown some amazing editing practice whilst making effective changes to make their stories even more exciting to read.
This week Class 3 has been continuing to explore the story of Beowulf. We looked at how the author had used a pattern of three throughout his writing by using it for description and to build suspense. We have then written our own overcoming the monster story as a class. The hero named Deborah and monster Cerberus fought it out in a grizzly battle.
This week in History we explored how the Ancient Egyptians mummified bodies after death. We created our own seven step guide for the process of mummification. We learned that only the rich and powerful became mummified in a tomb and anyone else was buried in the sand. In groups, we tried each part of the mummification process and researched some interesting facts about it.
This week, we began our new text Beowulf. We learned that it was originally a very long poem from the Anglo-Saxon period. The version we are reading is just one part of Beowulf's story when he is tasked to defeat the monster Grendel. We reenacted some character interactions and thought about the emotions involved and how we can use emotive language to get a reaction from our reader.
This week Class 3 have been doing a lot of writing. They have produced high quality and in depth recounts of an important, funny or eventful journey they have taken. Each person has drawn on their knowledge of our class book Shackleton's Journey, including drawings, subtitles, modal verbs and a formal tone. The finished products look fantastic - well done Class 3!
In Class 3 this week, we have been looking closely at Shackleton’s Journey, and how it tells the story of Shackleton’s expedition to the South Pole. On Wednesday, we began to think about an event that has happened in our own lives and put this onto a timeline, before we make a start our personal recounts in the same style as Shackleton’s Journey.
This week we have been exploring pneumatics and hydraulics for our DT project. We looked at how gases and liquids can be used to operate different things we use everyday. On Wednesday, we created our own hydraulic propagators out of plastic bottles, tubing, syringes and dowling. We had to think about how we could get our propagator to stand and how to fit the syringes in.
This week in Class 3 we have been exploring our geography volcanoes. We looked at how volcanoes are formed through movement of tectonic plates and then created a model of a composite volcano, labelled the key features and how the volcano had been formed. This has linked well to our harvest festival topic of harvesting near volcanoes, which we have equally enjoyed researching this past week.
This week Class 3 have been continuing to explore the book The Tear Thief. We investigated how the author had used speech in her book, thinking about the purpose of the vocabulary she has used. We even started to plan our own class story based on the book but ours is called the blush thief! We thought of some funny reasons why someone might end up blushing.
This week Class 3 have been talking about strategies for supporting our mental health in PSHE. We have also been mapping Mount Snowdon in our geography topic of mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes. We have looked at symbols on an OS map for key places on the mountain.
This week in Class 3, we have been learning about place value in our maths lessons. We needed to identify and represent the value of each digit in large numbers using a place value grid and counters. In PE, we had to create our own obstacle courses. We did this, making them incredibly challenging, not realising we would then have to complete them blindfolded! It was a lot of fun!
Class 3 have had a great first few days back to school. They have been settling in well to their new roles and responsibilities, as the oldest children in the school. They have already worked incredibly hard on their story writing and everyone has made interesting contributions to our class discussions. Well done Class 3!
We have had an amazing last week together in Class 3. We’ve been swimming, partied, played games and performed our leavers service. It has been a well deserved week of fun. Our favourite moments from this week included swimming in our pyjamas and dancing all together in the classroom. Good luck to all the Year 6s. We will miss you!
Class 3 have been covering electricity in science this term. This week they explored circuit components. They tried creating circuits using a potato and a lemon and even created a battery powered circuit game which we have enjoyed in our class all week!
Class 3 had their pool party on Monday. Unfortunately the weather did not hold out for us but we weren't going to let that stop us! We swam, mostly in the rain, and had an incredible party filled with music and games. We ate hot dogs and most importantly had a fantastic couple of hours celebrating all the hard work we've put in this year.
This week in maths Class 3 have been investigating volume and capacity. On Wednesday, we set up inventions using multi link cubes for volume. This included estimating the volume of the classroom, calculating the volume of a cube and various boxes. On Thursday, we completed a whole-class investigation into estimating capacity using cups of water to fill vessels such as a tray, jug and cup.
This week in Class 3, we have been creating our own music. We looked at the difference between crotchets and quavers. In groups, we created our own short piece which highlighted the difference between crotchets and quavers. Some groups added melodies to their piece and even had a conductor.
This week Class 3 had an exciting trip to Wembury. We met the wonderful Marine Centre team to explore the life and habitats of the rock pools. We had an amazing time with them: finding lots of crabs, shrimps, anemones, limpets, gobies and starfish! We made sure to be careful when lifting rocks and handling the creatures we found. For the rest of the day we did some pebble art, splashed in the sea and had some ice-creams. It was a fantastic day full of fun!
This week class 3 have been practising how to order in French. They started by making their own menus and then roleplaying how to order food and drink. The waiter would ask vous desirez madame/ monsieur and then the customers began their order with je voudrais. The class had a fun afternoon role playing these situations and we had some very interesting orders. At one point the restaurant completely ran out of pizza and tea because so much had been ordered!
This week Class 3 have had a fantastic time swimming in the rain and sunshine. They have done a fantastic job of demonstrating their water confidence and swimming skills.
In English, we have been getting to know our new text: The Secret Garden. They got to watch the most recent film on Tuesday, to understand how the story had been condensed into the version we are studying over the next few weeks. We then story mapped the events and even wrote a book review as part of our immersion into the text.
This week Class 3 continued their learning on The River Erme in geography. They completed a research enquiry and formulated their own questions such as: Does the River Erme have a meander? How long does the River Erme flow from source to mouth? How fast does the River Erme flow at certain points? How is the river used by humans? They presented their research on a double page spread and the results looked incredible!
This week in Class 3 we have been continuing to experiment with our pointillism studies in art. Over the past few weeks we have been looking at different pointillist artists and how they create their landscapes. We have experimented with colour and sketching and are now using these skills to begin planning our own landscapes such as: deserts, mountains, Penn Beacon, Plymouth Hoe and Slade.
Class 3 have been thoroughly enjoying cricket sessions on a Friday. We got to play a cricket match and enjoyed lots of team building games for our warm up. The adults have been very impressed by our teamwork, creativity, resilience, respect and self motivation whilst learning how to play. We just have to keep our fingers crossed each week that it isn't pouring with rain on Friday afternoon!
This week Class 3 have been working incredibly hard to create their own secret war diaries. We have been reading My Secret War diary by Flossie Albright in English. We have explored in depth all the writing devices used by the author (Marcia Williams) and now applied these to our own writing. The class created a double page spread made up of daily entries, newspaper articles, letters, photographs and recipes. They have produced some outstanding examples of war diaries and have really thought about the experience of children who were growing up during the second world war.
This week Class 3 have worked hard on their new geography topic of the River Erme. They researched how rivers change over time through erosion, deposition, transportation and sediment. They researched how this happened using the chromebooks and brought their research together to create a class poster.
Our trip to Dewerstone was incredible on Wednesday. We got to do 12 exciting activities in an adventure race. Some of which were brand new to the site. It involved a lot of climbing, crawling, wading and teamwork. We had lots of fun and ended our day with pizza and ice cream. We all slept well on Wednesday night after a long jam-packed day!
This week Class 3 enjoyed getting stuck into their Geography learning based on rivers. They learned about the different parts of rivers and then constructed their own versions out of junk modelling materials. We were lucky with the sunshine, so took them outside to test whether they worked effectively.