Spring 1
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 a treasure map to crack a code. We also explored friction and how a surface’s texture affects the amount of friction is made. We rolled a car down a ramp serval times, changing the material on the ramp (bubble wrap, honeycomb paper, a towel etc.) and timed how long it took the car to reach the bottom. We found out that the rougher the surface, the more friction is built up and the slower the object moves! The children were also able to explore how and why humans have used different types of magnets to our advantage, such as on maglev trains, MRI scanners or in compasses.
Autumn 1
In Science, we have been learning about living things and their habitats. We have developed our scientific enquiry skills by classifying and grouping animals using closed questions, and finally creating our own classification keys. We learned about camouflage and how some animals use this to hide from prey or predators. We looked at how animals’ bodies are adapted to their habitats, such as a camel has long eyelashes to keep the sand out – wow! We also looked at food chains and food webs, including working in teams to create our own food chain display cards, showing the transfer of energy from the producer up to the apex predator in each chain. Class 3 also explored how climate change is impacting habitats around the world and what the word ‘endangered’ means. We used our core value of hope to explore ways we can reverse climate change and make positive changes in the world around us.
Autumn 2
In Science, we have been learning about rocks and soils, which linked wonderfully to our Geography unit on volcanoes. We have developed our scientific enquiry skills by classifying and grouping rocks and soils based on their properties and we also grouped rocks based on whether they are natural or man-made. We learned about the types of rocks and how rocks are formed (igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic). We looked at how important soil is and what it is made of. We had a great afternoon, investigating the properties of the soils! We then used all of this knowledge to explore the types of erosion and how rocks and soils can be worn away. We know this a natural cycle but humans can impact some types of erosion and we discussed the importance of tree roots in binding the soil together and why cutting down too many trees would be harmful. We finally looked at fossils and how they are formed. Mrs. Collier even brought in a rock full of fossils for us to look closely at.
