Class 3 have had another busy half term, this time focussing on history and the invasion of Britain by the Ancient Romans! The children have explored when, why and how the Romans invaded Britain and the life of a Roman soldier. We looked at the building of Hadrian’s Wall in 122AD and the revolt of Boudicca in 60AD. The children used maps, books, paintings, artefacts and sources from the internet to explore and find out more. We even had a Roman legionary visit our school to show us what life in the Roman army would have really been like – the children got the chance to dress up and practice their marching skills with their own shields! We also looked at what impact the Romans had on British life and the ideas and inventions they left behind. The children became archaeologists and uncovered some Roman artefacts to discover how we can use such sources to help us find out more about life in this incredible civilisation!
You can find out more about our visit from a Roman Soldier here.
In Science, Class 3 have been exploring plants and their life cycle. The children learned about the main stages of a flowering plant’s life and why the roots are so important to its survival. The children also investigated photosynthesis and what ingredients are needed for this fascinating chemical reaction to take place: water, carbon dioxide and sunlight! The children compared two plants – both had been given water and carbon dioxide – but one had been restricted of sunlight and placed in a dark cupboard. The children were amazed to see what effect this had on the plant! Its leaves had weakened and dried and the plant just didn’t look healthy or well at all because it was unable to create its own food. We have also explored seed dispersal and will be finalising that learning immediately after half term.
The children have also learned all about ‘Online Safety’ this half term, using our Computing software ‘Purple Mash’ to help us. We have looked at how to create a strong password, why passwords are important, our identity online and whether everything we read or see online is true. The children created their own spoof website to show how easy it is to create fiction on the web. Age ratings are also really important and we explored how we can recognise if a game or film is appropriate for us to watch or play using the PEGI or BBFC ratings. The children watched a video of a boy discussing how it made him feel when his older brother showed him something ‘funny’, but he actually found it quite scary. We talked about what we should do if we ever find ourselves in that situation and how we should always tell a trusted adult. As part of ‘Safer Internet Day 2022’ we also explored relationships and respect online, creating posters and guidelines explaining how we should behave on the internet, particularly when gaming. You can find out more on our ‘Computing’ page!
We have had a very Science-filled half term with Science Week being a fantastic time to explore ‘Growth’ across the school. We had a visit from JCB to guide us through a STEM activity – constructing replica models of JCB machinery using instructions and 3D digital software. We also planted our trees, sent by The Woodland Trust, in response to our COP26 work on Rainforests in the Autumn term. Class 3 also cleared their raised bed outside and planted some vegetables – potatoes and onions – which required specific measuring to ensure the crops were planted appropriately spaced out!
In the classroom, we finished off our work on plants by investigating sycamore seed dispersal. This involved the children collecting different sized sycamore seeds and releasing them from a set height and measuring the time it took to reach the ground. We then moved onto our new unit of work – Rocks and Soils – where have been busy creating our own fossils and sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks using chocolate!
As part of our Design and Technology project this half term, the children in Class 3 have researched, designed, created and evaluated their very own Roman shields after learning so much about them last half term during History! The children researched why the Roman shields were used, how and which materials they were made from. They then had to make decisions on what materials they could use from home and school to substitute the ones the Romans would have used. The children understood that the shields needed to be strong and study, but also able to be decorated. They also spent time designing the patterns to go on the front of their shield, taking note that many of the designs the Romans used were to symbolise something important – for example, an eagle for bravery and might or thunderbolts for their God Jupiter!
Class 3 have been learning about volcanoes in Geography – which blends beautifully with our work on rocks and soils in Science! For our lesson on tectonic plates, we went into the hall and ‘made’ the three types of plate with our arms – convergent (where the tectonic plates move towards each other), divergent (where the tectonic plates move away from each other) and transform (where the tectonic plates move against each other). It was a really engaging and active way to explore the movement of these plates and why then, many volcanoes are found near the boundaries of them!