Autumn
Make and Enjoy 20/12/23
Well I have a confession. I was so leased to be out and about with the Invention Shed crew that I completely forgot about a camera. All the pictures we have are from after playtime. Can you guess who was in charge of the camera? (Hint: They took a lot of selfies.)
In the first 1 ½ hours the children decided that making today was going to consist hot chocolate, soup and biscuits. We made a fire with some little sticks. Using the ferrous rods was very hard but we eventually got the sticks lit and we were able to boil some water for our warm drinks. I was surprised that that took us up to play time.
When the children came back out we had to work very hard to get what we wanted finished. We used the wood that we cut last week to make some lovely candle holders. One child become very interested in the electric he found in the shed and made a light circuit, it looked very cool. All too quickly the session was over but we found time for a last tidy up.
Softy the Snowman 13/12/23
Well it wasn’t snowing but it was wet and cold. I was pleased that we were in the invention shed today.
I had noticed that a willow was getting pulled down the hill by the weight of some of its branches. To try and prevent this and give some more room to the other trees I had sawn off a couple of branches. Invention shed gave the perfect opportunity to try and use some of that woof. The children set to clearing the branches and transporting them into the outside class room. We got in just in time as it stated to rain. Some children cut wooden biscuits whilst others trimmed the smaller twigs off the big branch. When we had cut enough for everyone to use it was back to the invention shed.
I was pretty tired out by now as it had been hard work so we all stopped for a snack and a hot drink. It was nice being inside with a hot drink whilst it rained outside. It did stop raining now and again and, in those times, we were able to do some hammering.
The Invention shed is full of wonderful things and it is quite easy to become distracted by something shiny. We started off making snowmen and Christmas themed things but by the end of the session we had a wide range of ideas of things we would like to make next week.
All our photos were taken by the students.
Virtual Amazon Visit
This morning we were visited virtually by Emma and Marcella. Emma told us all about the Amazon rainforest and showed us lots of artefacts that were from there. We had lots of discussions about what they could be and what they would be used for. We got lots of them correct too! We also looked at some videos and photographs of deforestation in the Amazon. We talked about the importance of the rainforest and why we need to protect it. Marcella is a photographer and she showed us photos and videos from her time visiting the Kambeba tribe in the Amazon. It was very interesting to watch and learn about how the tribe live in harmony with their surroundings. We ended the morning by asking Marcella questions about her visits to the Amazon. A very interesting morning!
Composing and Performing music
The class have enjoyed using the glockenspiels over the last few weeks. Today we were composing our own music. First we needed to think about the rhythm we wanted and then we added the notes to our composition. The class enjoyed playing their compositions to one another.
Save the Rainforest at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens
Today we visited Marie and Alan at Sunderland Winter Gardens to take part in a workshop all about the rainforest. We started off by impressing Marie with all of our rainforest knowledge. We knew where tropical rainforests are located on a map and we could tell her what the climate was like there. We spent some time thinking about the layers of the rainforest and looking at the plants and animals that live in each layer. Afterwards, we got to handle some things that came from a rainforest. We enjoyed deciding what each item could be and how it could be used. Next we had to explore the winter gardens and find out all about why rainforests are so important. We found out lots of information which was great because when we got back to the workshop, Marie told us that we would need to write persuasive letters to Rishi Sunak. We would need to let him know how important the rainforests are and why they need to be saved. The whole class were up for the challenge and started planning their ideas straight away. Mrs Gill has decided that we can use these ideas back in the classroom for our English work this week and get started on our letters to the Prime Minister. Watch this space...
In the afternoon, we were able to spend a little more time in the winter gardens and have a go at sketching some of the plants that we found there. It was a nice way to end the day, sitting on the balcony, looking across at the canopy and having some time to sketch. A brilliant day!
Virtual Author Visit - Emily Dodd
Today we had a fantastic virtual author visit from Emily Dodd. She talked to us about being an author and shared one of her books with us. It was called ‘Surfing the Moon’. The class enjoyed listening to find out about the main character, Jack. After talking about the book, the class had a science competition to try. The whole class had to make a rocket and test them to see who could send it the furthest through hoops in the hall.
National Poetry Day
On Thursday it was National Poetry Day. In class, we always look at a different poem on Verse Day (Thursday) but this week we decided to look at lots of different poems. The class chose a poetry book from the library and read a selection of poems independently, in pairs and then some children read their chosen poem aloud to the rest of the class. The class even had some special visitors from Year 6 and got to listen to two Year 6 pupils who read their own poem that they had created.
Visit to the Church
Mr Vyle took us down to St Michael's and All Angels church in Newburn to look at the building at its layout. We looked at why the church was built in a particular way and what the different parts of the church were used for. We will compare this to a Buddhist Centre later on in the year.
Ancient Maya
We started our new history topic today: Ancient Maya. We looked at artefacts and clues to find out what the Ancient Maya were like. We realised that they were very skilled as they carved stone and created amazing sculptures. They also played a ball game that reminded us of basketball. A really interesting fact that we found out was that the Ancient Maya discovered chocolate and how it could be used. We can't wait to investigate further to find out more about them.
A brilliant first week back
What a fantastic start to the school year! Year 5 have settled in very well and worked incredibly hard this week. They all have a new reading book and already have their first set of spellings to learn. The class particularly enjoyed music this week where they started to learn a new song. They also visited the school library to look at the books they will be able to borrow. From next week they will be able to borrow a book each week.