We are scientists
Our new science topic this half term is all about variation and adaptation. As we are studying living things, we are being biologists. We began by looking at our new vocabulary. It is important we understand these words as it will help us in the lessons. We discussed how there are variations within different groups of living things. We know that we have different breeds of dogs etc within the species. We went on to recognise that when offspring are produced, this can create variations. In humans, this can be things like hair colour and eye colour. We completed some tally charts to see which was the most common eye and hair colour in our class. Blue eyes came out on top and brown hair was the most common.
Here is the vocabulary that we are learning this half term.
Help at home: Can you help your child become familiar with this vocabulary?
Topic: We Are Historians!
This half term, we are becoming historians as we begin an exciting new topic all about Britain during the Second World War. In our first two lessons, we explored what World War Two was, when it happened, and why it began. We looked at the major countries involved, key events that led up to the war, and how it affected people across the world.
We also began to understand some of the terrible impacts the war had, particularly on Jewish people, and learned about the discrimination and persecution they faced during this time. Everyone has shown great curiosity and maturity while discussing these serious topics. We are looking forward to finding out more about life in Britain during the war in the weeks ahead.
Help at home: Ask your child about the new vocabulary they are learning.
Author Event
This afternoon, our school librarians were fortunate enough to attend an author event held at Allerton C of E Primary School. They met author, Dermot O’Leary, who discussed his inspiration and anwered questions.
Science: We are Biologists!
This week, our lively Year 5/6 classes took part in a fun experiment to learn how exercise affects our heart rate.
We started by measuring our resting heart rates before doing four rounds of exercise, including star jumps, running on the spot, and jumping jacks. After each burst of activity, we checked how our heart rates changed and were amazed to see how much faster our hearts beat as we exercised.
The most exciting part was seeing how quickly our heart rates returned to normal once we stopped moving. It was a fantastic way to explore how our bodies respond to exercise and helped us understand the important role our hearts play in keeping us happy and healthy.
Help at home: Ask your child about how the circulatory system is effected by exercise.
Topic: We are computer programmers!
In computing this week, we have been developing a pedometer. Pedometers are devices that track the number of steps you take. They contain an internal mechanism or arm that moves up and down in response to the motion of your hips. With each step, your body tilts to one side and your leg swings forward. As your body shifts the other way, your other leg moves forward as well. Each tilt of your hips, along with the forward swing of your legs, is counted as a step.
In our first lesson, we developed our code – the children needed to fix a few problems with their initial algorithms. We had to use decomposition to help us debug it. In the next lesson, we downloaded our pedometer code to our micro:bits and they worked! Following some success testing them in the classroom, we took them for a spin outside and had lots of fun along the way.
Help at home: Why not have a go at creating a program on Makecode?
Living and learning
Our living and learning statement this week is ‘I can give and receive compliments‘. As a class, we talked about what a compliment was and how it made us feel. We discussed that compliments should be less about what people look like physically and more about other aspects of our lives such as our personalities, our strengths and our learning behaviour. We spent some time moving around the classroom and writing compliments on each others compliment cards and at the end we shared our favourite comments. Everyone had a smile on their face at the end of the lesson as it made us feel good about ourselves.
Art Skills
In our art skills lesson, year 56 have been learning how to mix primary watercolours to create secondary and tertiary colours.
We are writers!
In writing, we are going to be poets! We are linking our love of writing with our love of sport. We have used some videos of children who have been inspired by their love and passion for a sport. They talked about their determination and resilience when playing a sport, how it has made them grow as a person and how it has improved their lives. The children will create their own poems based on a sport or another interest that they are passionate about. They will also include some figurative language. This is something we’ve been working on recently. Ask your child about their poem at home.
Here are a couple of the videos that have inspired us:
Performing Poetry
This week, we’ve been exploring a poem titled Girl Footballer by Jackie Kay.
Jackie Kay is a remarkable poet, known for writing both playful poems and serious ones that address issues like discrimination and equality.
Today, we performed the poem in pairs! We received some helpful advice from Michael Rosen and came up with a few R2s to enhance our performances:
- Varying tone
- Varying pace
- Varying volume
- Incorporating engaging actions
Help at Home: by reading some poems together!
Computing
We have had another week where we have been able to enjoy using the laptops and the micro:bits. Micro:bits are like small computers that can be programmed to create different outputs. They contain an LED screen and can also make sounds. We love them!
This week, the children built algorithms that made the micro:bit act like a Magic 8 ball. It would randomly, when shaken, display yes or no on the screen. In the next lesson, the children were able to turn the micro:bit into a counter. When one button is pressed, it adds 1 to the total. When a different button is pressed, it subtracts 1. The children built their algorithms well and are showing more confidence at debugging when something isn’t working. They were also fantastic at supporting each other.
