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!
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!
In Class 3 this half term…
We have been incredibly busy across the curriculum. Our overarching question for History has been : ‘Why do we remember people?’ and we have studied this through the Victorian era and focussed on Lord Shaftesbury and Dr Barnardo. It has been fascinating to learn about the lives of pauper children during this period and the reforms both of these men made and their lasting legacies. Some of the lessons focussed on building chronological understanding by placing events on a timeline using dates and some children were able to label and design their own timelines.
We also learned all about the experiences of children in the mines, workhouses and textile mills by recreating scenes using freeze frames. Using a range of historical sources, including: video documentaries, pictures, books and the internet, the children were able to create powerful freeze frames to really engage with what it would have been like for a child similar to them during this era.
We have also used this learning in English to inspire our writing. In reading, we have studied and explored ‘Street Child’ by Berlie Doherty and the children just LOVED it – especially when they discovered the main character was a real boy called Jim Jarvis who inspired Dr Barnardo to open his first home for children! All of this built into our independent writing: a diary and an informal letter which can be found in our English books.
In other areas of the curriculum, we have explored place value in Maths and have taken the opportunity to expand our learning outside, where is what much more fun and spacious to be able to build our own number lines to count in steps of 50 (Y3) or 25 (Y4).
The children have studied Islam in RE and thought about ‘How do Muslims worship?’. The children have enjoyed exploring and learning about another faith and comparing the similarities and differences to their own. One of the most memorable moments was when we had an Islamic artefact box delivered to school from the Open Centre in Derby. The children were able to explore all of the artefacts and items we had discussed in class and try on some beautiful Islamic clothing! A fantastic afternoon!
In Science our focus has been ‘Forces and Magnets’ and the children have become quite the experts with utilising magnets for different purposes and investigations. We explored the earth being one giant magnet and the science behind this. The children used their new knowledge to work with a compass to navigate a way around school to crack a code.
We also explored magnetic fields and the ability to shield them. Using a metal paperclip attached to thread and attracted by a magnet, we tried placing different materials between them to find out which ones shielded the magnetic field and caused the paperclip to drop. The children were also able to explore how and why humans have used different types of magnets to our advantage, such as flexible magnets to attach L plates to different cars or huge disk magnets in a scrapyard!
We are very excited for the next half term and all the new learning that is ahead of us!
We have been incredibly busy yet again this half term, learning all about the tropical rainforests of the world during our Geography unit ‘Where on Earth?!’. The children loved creating their own layers of the rainforest, using globes and atlases to locate the forests and touching real-life rainforests creates when Zoo Lab UK visited our school! Wow, what an amazing experience and we were so brave!
We also explored the Holy Trinity in RE, as we continued to explore Christianity this half term. The idea of there being ‘One God with Three Parts’ is a tricky one to understand so we used apples and Trinity triangles to help us. The children are now able to explain the Christian belief of Trinity using an apple (the skin – Father, the flesh – Son, the core – Holy Spirit) and their triangles which we displayed in our prayer corner of the classroom!
In PSHE, we have also explored keeping ourselves safe and what to do in an emergency. The children learnt all about the use of 999 and who to ask for help. They have explored the differences between risks, dangers and hazards and how to stay safe on the road and in water. To help us even further, and as part of our ’50 Things To Do Before You’re 9′ initiative, we also invited Burton Albion into school to train us in basic first aid – a great and very important morning!
Other things we have been busy with include: our ‘Poet from the Peaks’ visit and writing our own Kenning poems based on the rainforest, our COP26 project by writing a letter to the Secretary of State for Climate Change, Gregg Hands MP and of course… the snow! All of these exciting events can be found on the relevant parts of our website!
