Category Archives: Science

Sapphire weekly recap

Here is a summary of some of the learning we have completed this week.

In science, we explored how fossils were formed by creating our own replica. We know that it takes the earth tens of thousands of years but we had a go anyway. We used salt dough as the sea bed, torn paper as the sediment and applied the pressure ourselves. Some worked … some didn’t (but that’s what happens in real life as well). What was left behind was an imprint of the animal that had died there.
In computing we continued to deepen our understanding of branch databases. We are really beginning to create our own using yes/no questions.
In history, we answered the question “why were the Roman army so successful?” We learnt how the army is organised and looked at some battle formations. We recreated them ourselves and now feel fully trained for battles in the Roman Era. Here is a picture of us in the wedge formation (attacking) and the tortoise formation (protection).
In English we continued to explore the character’s experiences. We considered how Isla would have felt during her impromptu song and how she would have showed this emotion with her body language. We completed a conscience ally, giving Cliff advice on whether he should go to the Hallowed Shallows or stay and become a stationary island. This helped us to make more considered choices in our own writing.
In history, we also looked at primary sources and secondary sources to help us learn about life in the Roman Era. We had to use evidence and deduce information from the sources. We discovered that they used oil for lights, wore sandals, had coins and used pots. A lot of these looked similar to things we use today.
Also in science, we researched how sedimentary rocks were formed. We looked at information on the internet or provided for us and we really considered the order. This helped us to understand how fossils were formed.

Sapphire weekly recap

Another fantastic week in Sapphire class. Here are a few highlights.

In music, we created our own pentatonic scales (a melody using only 5 notes).
In English, we created a word bank to support us in writing our own list poems all about an island in our story.
We also thought about the authors intentions when writing. We considered the impact sarcasm can have on the reader but role playing as the sarcastic weed from our book.

In science, we went on a walk around our school building, exploring what rocks are used for and how we would describe them. We looked at the difference between natural made and man made rocks.

Here are our special mentions.

Weekly recap

What a fantastic first week back! Here is an example of some of the brilliant learning we have done this week.

In art, we learnt to see like an artist by looking for the basic shapes in natural and man made objects. We then put this into practise.
In history, we started out new topic on the Roman Empire in Britain. We started by researching the many reasons Rome wanted to invade Britain. We discovered it was for the natural resources that would have supported the Roman Empire. We also found out that the Romans failed twice before finally succeeding in invading us 97 years later!!
In computing, we started out topic on brand databases. We discovered that these databases use yes and no questions rather than open ended questions. We practised asking yes and no questions and then put this into practice by making a simple branch database.
In science, we started our rocks and soils topic. We used our science skills or observation and recording data to classify rocks based on their appearance. This helped us to describe the features of rocks.
In English, we started our new story called “ Oliver and the Seawigs”. To start, we looked at a picture of some characters and made some inferences based on it. We made some predictions on what the story may be about and what the characters could be like.

Categorising reflective materials

As part of our light and shadow science topic, we learnt what the word “reflective” means and explored different reflective materials. We now know that light bounces off objects and into our eyes and this is how we see. Reflective surfaces cause all light to bounce off and are very helpful at keeping us safe in the dark.

Autumn 2 round up!

Autumn term was full of fantastic learning and impressive break through!s! We’ve developed our handwriting, independence, number sense and creativity, along with so much more. Here is a quick round up of some of this learning.

Fire safety talk!
We discovered facts about our bones and muscles. Then, explored nutrition.
We created cave art on textured backgrounds.
During healthy living week, we were visited by Errol and got our hearts beating!
In maths, we explored the place value of three digit numbers and explored different addition and subtraction strategies.
In English, we loved our book “Gregory Cool” and used role play to explore the characters emotions.
We gave out lots of awards to our fantastic superstars!

We can’t wait to get started with Spring term!