Topic

This term in History we have been looking at schools from the past and how different children were taught in Victorian times. We used our enquiry skills to find out why teachers used sticks in lessons, why there were black boards instead of white boards or why the chairs were made of wood. We role-played being in a Victorian school, sat in rows and wrote on chalk boards. We also learnt about John Curwen and how he is linked to Curwen Primary School. Finally, we compared the schools from the past with the ones from the present.

In Art we did our own fibre art using weaving. We were inspired by Meghan Shimek who creates work based on her emotions to create large tapestries. We used different materials as the weft and selected colours to show how we feel. We practised our technique with paper before showing our expertise with fabric.

Maths

In maths we learnt about measuring. Through experiential learning, we learnt how to measure length, capacity and mass and had so much fun!  We discussed the importance of these in real life, used rulers, measuring tapes, different weighing scales and several jugs and containers to measure.

We then used our knowledge of measuring capacity to make squash and our knowledge of measuring mass to weigh the ingredients and make shortbread. We then linked this to Science in a lesson where we used our 5 senses to describe the biscuits, then we ate them! Delicious maths!      

Literacy

In Literacy we observed real chicks that started as eggs, read texts about the life cycle of a chicken and answered comprehension questions. After observing and holding the real chicks that grew in school, we then filled in observation sheets using the language learnt to describe them.

Topic

In Geography we have been learning about hot and cold countries. We have used globes, atlases and compasses to find different continents in the world. We found out that the hottest countries are near the equator because it is closest to the sun. We also looked at where we come from and located them on a map. We learnt how many continents there are in the world and researched which countries belonged to each continent. We related this back to the UK being a moderate country to help us in our Science lessons. In addition we visited London City Airport to explore new language and even met a Pilot!

In Computing we have been exploring how to operate Beebots through developing our communication skills, directional language and developing an understanding of Algorithms. We have learnt how to share an Algorithm with our partner to direct them or the Beebot to a desired destination. By the end of the topic, we have been able to understand that most electronic appliances/ devices (even naming ones we see around us) need to be directed to be used through an Algorithm.

Literacy

This term we have been rehearsing poems about ‘Bravery’ to get ready for poetry day! We watched Michael Rosen and Maya Angelou perform a variety of poems, which inspired us to use our big voices, expressions with our face and actions with our hands. We all got the chance to perform our poems to our class who then voted for their favourite one.  We have continued to explore a variety of books and develop our love for reading.

Maths

In Maths we have been learning to tell the time. We used our analogue clocks to show o’clock and half past. We now know that the long hand shows us minutes and that the shorter hand tells us the hour. We also know that the long hand must point at 12 for it to be something o’clock! 

After learning how to tell the time we learned about halves and quarters. We now know that quarters have 4 equal parts and halves have 2! We have also consolidated our adding and subtraction skills using a variety of strategies and resources.

Science

In science we learnt about materials and their properties. We started by having a look at different objects and thinking about what they are made of. We learned that lots of everyday objects are made of plastic, metal, fabric, glass and wood. We spoke about why each material is appropriate to use for that object. We sorted materials according to their properties and learnt about the difference between an object and a material.

Literacy

In Literacy we have been looking at the author Julia Donaldson. One of the books we read was The Smeds and Smoos. We covered lots of reading skills and used colourful semantics to help understand the story and write about it. The skills we learnt about were, sequencing, predicting, and inference.

Maths

In maths we have been representing numbers using cubes and ther everyday objects. We also looked atpatterns, identifying and sequencing patterns and numbers. We used pictures and everyday objects to make our own patterns too. We worked as partners and had to use our communication and teamwork skills. Can you see any patterns in your home?          

Geography

This term we took part in our annual Geography Day. We visited West Ham park to carry out some field work and explore the grounds. We went on a nature trail and did some tree spotting and some observational drawings. We used magnifying glasses to observe mini beasts and also collected items from the natural environment such as leaves and tree bark to make some rubbings.    

Literacy

For world book day we had to make a character using a potato. In literacy we then wrote a book review about our favourite book and why it was our favourite book. We also had to look at a picture of a front cover and come up with our own title for the book. This was quite challenging as we had to use our inference skills and predict what the story was about based on the image on the front cover. Can you guess which book this character is from?

Maths

In maths we have been learning about measure. We learnt how to measure length, capacity and mass. We discussed the importance of these in real life and what jobs we would need to use each of these topics in. We used rulers, weighing machines, measuring jugs and containers to measure.