Spring - Week 6
Ordering decimals to 3 decimal places.
In Maths this week, we have been looking at the value of each digit in a decimal number. We know the first column after the decimal is called the tenths, the second column is called the hundredths and the third is called the thousandths. We have been comparing and ordering decimals with mixed numbers of decimal places.
Week 5 - 3.2.25 - Science, Art and PE. In Science, we have been exploring how to separate different mixtures. We learnt about sieving, filtration, evaporation and magnetism. In Art, we have been building on our skills when using Indian Ink, creating a wash, value scale and different thicknesses of line. In P.E. we performed the routine we had been working on with our partners. Take a look and see if you can work out how many beats we did each dance move for.
Week 4 - Science
In Science this week, we have been looking at dissolving. We used the terms soluble (will dissolve) and insoluble (will not dissolve) and investigated which materials fit into these categories. We thought carefully about how to ensure we carried out a fair test.
Week 4: Art
Week 3: This week we have had a packed full week of activities. In Science, we conducted an experiment to see which materials were thermal insulators and which were conductors. Most groups discovered that tin foil was the best at keeping the heat in and bubblewrap was the worst. In Guided Reading, we worked in small groups to act out how Dr Gwen Bigby may have felt during the extract. We then did a freeze frame for certain moments. Can you guess how she was feeling based on our freeze frames?
Science, Guided Reading & PE
Week 2: In Art, we have begun exploring our new topic: mixed media for city and landscapes.
Last week, we looked at two artists: Phil Dean and Vanessa Gardiner. We looked at examples of their work and discussed their style. This week, we have created our own sketch books ready for when we go out and about to sketch various landscapes and cityscapes.
Spring Term!
Week 1: This week we have begun looking at two of our new topics: North America and Properties of Materials. In Geography, we used atlases to locate the different countries and then went on a hunt around the room to find out more information, such as capital city, currency, official language etc. In Science, we conducted an experiment to determine whether a range of materials were transparent, translucent or opaque.
Well done Meerkats for an amazing Autumn Term! All the adults are very proud of what you have achieved this term and are excited to see what 2025 brings.
We hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and a Happy New Year. Stay safe and see you in 2025!
Take a look at our year group page to see some pictures of our Christmas Event.
PSHE - Our focus today was turn-taking, patience and respecting others. We learnt some new games, talked through strategies of what we could do if there was a disagreement and then played the games.
Reading to Year 4 - After completing our own 'defeating the monster' style story, we invited Year 4 to come up and hear them. Some of us sat in the comfy corner, some under tables and some at our desks and we read our stories. Then we quizzed the Year 4s on what they had just heard.
DT - Today we built our moon buggies in groups. Last week, we drew out our plans so we knew what materials we would need and what size, and then today we have constructed them. We ensured we safely set up our vice and wood block, then used a saw to cut the wood to length and a hot glue gun to secure the parts together. In the new year, we will race them and see whose is the fastest
PSHE - today we sorted a list of items according to which made up feel the happiest. We then watched a video about children in Ghana having to work on the cocoa plantation and heard some of the things that made them happy. We then re-sorted our list considering how those children would feel.
Daily TOPS Time Celebration
This week, we have been learning new games during our TOPS time celebration. Can you guess what game we played today?
Viking Day
Odd Sock Day: take a look at our wonderful colourful odd socks we wore on Tuesday. As part of the day, we looked at various situations where someone might be being unkind and discussed in groups how we could resolve the situation or suggest something more positive. We also discussed what to do if you are being bullied or you witness bullying. In PSHE, we learnt about respect and the amazing things we have thanks to having a culturally diverse Britain. We played a range of games from different cultures. Then on Friday, it was 'Be Spotacular!' We all wore something colourful or spotty for Children in Need. We watched Newsround to find out what various people were raising money for.
The first week back after half term has flown by! Here are a few photos from our week: we learnt stanzas from the poem 'Jack and the Dragon' and did a freeze frame for our favourite part of the poem. In P.E, we created the first part of our gymnastics routine, where we had to consider 3 different ways to travel and different balances - these could be synchronized or in canon, and independent or partner balances. Take a look below for our videos
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The wait is over - here are our perfect polar bears! As part of the unit, we have chosen how we would like to present our polar bears in class too. If you are able to come along to Parents' Evening, you will see them then. If not, we will upload a photo after half term but we don't want to spoil the surprise :)
Science - today we conducted an experiment to learn about friction. We learnt that rougher surfaces have more friction and smoother surfaces have less friction. We also found out that from the materials we tested, bubble wrap, rubber and a thick carpet give us the highest Newton meter readings, which means they have the most friction.
The next stage of making our polar bears. We will share a picture of their final design next week.
Sharing Spooky Stories with Year 6
Polar Bears
As part of our 'understanding global issues' topic, we have looked at how the ice caps melting are affecting the polar bears. We have looked at various videos and pictures of them in their natural habitat and sketched them. Following this, we created a polar bear out of recycled material and then covered them in modroc. Here are our polar bears so far - next week we will be painting them and you will be able to see them at parents' evening.
Parent Event
What a wonderful afternoon! The children loved having their adults in and help them to create their own animal artwork in the style of Franz Marc. We took inspiration from some of his artwork, such as Blue Horses, Tiger and Yellow Cow. Take a look through the gallery below to see us working on our pieces as well as the finished piece of art.
Science
This week, we were learning about water resistance. We all had a go at making different shapes out of Play-doh and then tested how long they took to fall to the bottom of a bottle of water. We discovered that thin, streamlined shapes fell the fastest and flat, pancake shapes took the longest. This was because there was more water resistance for the flatter shapes, which made it fall slower through the water.
Art Day
On Monday, we worked with Year 2 to make 3D Colour Monsters. Hummingbird class used paper pebbles to create the 3D parts for the monsters. Then Toucan class added the colour. Finally, we finished the colour and added the extra details, such as facial expressions and fur.
Science
In Science this week, we have been learning about air resistance. In groups, we designed a large, medium and small parachute and attached a small meerkat (toy, of course!) to the bottom of it. We then tested how well our parachutes worked by letting them drop from the top of the gym equipment in the hall. We timed how long each parachute took to fall down. We discovered that the larger parachute took longer to descend as there was more air resistance. We also learned that items with a greater mass affected the parachute too, so we made the link to why human parachutes have to be so much larger than our toy meerkat's.
Art - Exploring art within global issues
We started our new unit and we talked about how artists use their artwork to raise awareness and talk about global issues. We discussed the decline in polar bears and changes in the Arctic. We sketched the polar bears. We also talked about the artist Faith Bebbington. We created visual notes about her work. We especially liked the large polar bear she made with plastic bottles.