Term 5

DT: Making a pasta salad

Linking to last week, Sycamore class are going to be following a brief and making a pasta salad. 

PSHE: Healthy Eating

We finally looked at what a healthy diet is compared to an unhealthy diet. 

Then we looked at items and their calories, and made a table to represent our findings. We then discussed what we saw, and tried out some yummy vegetables ready for next week's DT!

We first started off by looking at what we remember about healthy eating, and by drawing a diagram of what our healthy diet should look like, as well as explaining why we need certain things in our diet. 

 

This week in Sycamore class we have looked at what makes us healthy, looking at calories, and understanding what happens if we do not have a positive diet. 

 

PSHE: Money

 

We finally then created a poster based on where we can keep our money safe.

We then looked at what our wants and needs are.

We started off by looking at what money is, and what are incomes, outgoings, budgets, and debt. We also looked at where we get our money from. 

This week in Sycamore class we are looking at what money we have, what are the key vocabulary surrounding money, how can we keep our money safe, and what are our wants and needs. 

History: Ancient Greeks

 

To sum up our experiences over the three weeks, we finally answered the burning question in the back of our minds: What is the Ancient Greek legacy?

We then looked at the Olympics and looked at artefacts that allowed us to explore what the Olympics really was to the Ancient Greeks.

Sycamore class also looked democracy, how voting worked, and how language linked into it. They researched for themselves about the different governments that existed in Ancient Greece, and we discussed how it links to today.

We also had a lesson on the Ancient Greek language and what it told us about Ancient Greece. We also then translated the names of famous individuals from religion to stories. 

Sycamore class researched children in Ancient Greece and what happened to them, noticing that girls and boys had very different upbringings. 

We then designed our own exhibition, and decided from the sources we looked at what we wanted to include.

 

We then looked at Alexander the Great in terms of his military success. We also reviewed what we knew as a primary source and what a secondary source is. 

We also researched about Alexander the Great after looking at primary sources and secondary sources on him. 

 

We then did a quick comparison to another religion we understood which was Christianity, and then went onto looking at sources about Alexander the Great to see if we could figure out who he was.

After this inquiry, we looked into Alexander the Great, but first we needed to recall the Gods and Goddesses that we studied. We did an incredible job! 

 

We also made a family tree of the Gods from researching up about the family.

 

We then spent some time looking at the Gods, and independently analysed sources, and looked at what Homer (one of our key sources this week), tells us about the Gods and their relationships with mortals. 

We then, in the same lesson, looked at Athens and Sparta, and analysed sources independently before we investigated what they actually were.  We also wrote down the difference between Athens and Sparta, and voted that Sparta was the place we would most likely prefer to live in!

We then looked at timelines and what we understand about timelines, and how they might cross over with other periods in history. We learnt that if before B.C.E, we count down to 0, but after C.E., we count up. 

We started by looking at modern and ancient maps of Greece and comparing what we can see, what features exist and then discussing the differences they notice. 

 

For the next three weeks, Sycamore class are going to explore the Ancient Greek world, focusing on enquiries and information that they gain through research. 

Term 4

Geography: Coasts

Our final lesson is about our research on coastal defences, and which coastal defense we would use to protect Broadstairs!

We finally went on our trip to Broadstairs! We had a great time exploring Viking Bay and Botany Bay and completed some comparisons of each. 

 

We then learnt about longshore drift and how that impacts the coastlines including making spits.

 

We also looked at the formation of caves, arches, stacks and stumps in headlands that are from hydraulic action, and looked at how this would affect the bays and headlands that existed. 

 

We first looked at the water cycle and understood why that is important and fits into our topic of coasts.

 

For the next few weeks in geography, we are looking at coasts and what makes them. This includes looking at headlands and bays and going on a trip to Broadstairs!

Computing: Movie making

We finally made our movies. Check below to see the movies:

 

 

We proceeded to write a script about what we wanted to see. 

 

Before we started, we wrote in mindmaps what are things that make Greenfields great, and what photos we would like to take.

We then spent time identifying the buttons and their purpose on the iMovie app to help us in the future!

 

First, we identified and played around with the iMovie app on the iPad, and understood how we could do it. 

For the next two weeks, children will be making a video about how incredible Greenfields is!

Science: Sound

Finally, we understood what pitch is and tested different instruments to understand what instrument had the highest pitch, and which had the lowest. 

We then planned an experiment to record sound and declare which class was the loudest... 

We performed an experiment using cups to show how this works.

We have just learnt that sound travels through waves and into the ear through different parts of the ear and their reaction to the waves.

This week, we are learning how sound travels. 

Spanish: En la cafeteria

For our final lesson on Spanish, we did two things: 1. pretended we are in a cafe and ordered our own (invisible) foods. 2. Looked at how we can count money. 

 

 

To start this lesson we played some snap to help us recall what we learnt last lesson!We have now looked at the 'feminine' word group, and have compared what we know about the names of the foods and drinks, and made a menu to order from!

 

 

We started off by looking at foods and drinks that are part of the 'masculine' word group. These words have the determiner 'un' and 'unos'. 

 

This week in Sycamore, we have been focusing on Spanish and learning how we can order foods in a cafe. 

Term 3

Computing: Networking. 

We finally looked at how the internet works, and how each website has its own label. We then wrote how it works. 

 

We then looked at computer servers and how these can be used. We even saw a server in our classroom and now know what one can look like!

 

Our first lesson focused on what a network is, and how networks can be useful with connections. 

For this week, we are learning about what networking is, and how it is seen within computing. 

 

Science: Teeth and Digestion

 

We then also did our own diagram about the human digestive system to show where everything is, and wrote a paragraph explaining the process. 

We then had a go at an experiment that created human waste! We used tights, bread, vinegar and sandwich bags to make it. 

We looked at food chains and how animals eat one another. 

We looked first what a tooth is, and the components that make up a tooth! We set up an experiment as well that allowed us to see what vinegar, coke and water did to our teeth. We then looked at the variety of different teeth that a human has, and looked at how they link to our understanding of diets (carnivores, omnivores, herbivores).

 

For the next two weeks, we will be investigating our teeth and digestion through different means. 

Printing

For this week, we have been looking at how printing works with making a variety of different symbols into the styrofoam and printing it onto a wooden block. We used our knowledge of Christianity to create symbols that are important to many Christians, and printed them!

 

Christians

 

We also had a look at how we could combine our knowledge of Christianity into one single 'Palm'. This will help us remember the key aspects of Christianity!

 

We have also been looking at what the Ten Commandments are and why they are important to Christians. We also discussed how some of the Ten Commandments are considered laws and other religions also have very similar rules. 

 

On Friday 5th January 2024, Sycamore class went to visit a church where many Christians go to worship their god. 

We learnt about the architecture, the events that occur at a church, and had a sneaky session on the organ!

Sycamore class had a workshop going over two of the key events many Christians might go through. This includes Baptisms and Weddings! 

We started off with a workshop on Christians by someone who is Christian, and we learnt the different verses in the Bible and why they are important to Christians. 

For two weeks, we will be studying Christianity and what the key aspects are for that religion

 

Term 2

Tarzan: The musical

Sycamore class have learnt how to compose their own music! Have a listen to some examples:

 

 

Classifications: The adaptations

 

We just created our own classification key! 

Thanks to understanding invertebrates and vertebrates, we have learnt how to classify different animals! We had to research 5 different types of classifications - reptiles, fish, mammals, birds and amphibians.

 

Sycamore class have just learnt how to separate different animals based on their backbones - invertebrates and vertebrates!

 

We started science, and we have already understood what counts as living and non-living through MRS GREN. 

PSHE

We also researched and found out ways we can save habitats, including making a sky garden and using bicycles instead of cars. 

 

For PSHE, Sycamore class were learning about habitats and how cities are displacing animals. 

We learnt to make seed balls that we are going to release in the spring for more flowers to grow!

Tree-mendous Rainforests

 

We have just completed making our rainforest diorama to show our understanding of how a rainforest is made. 

We had an amazing time at BBC Earth Experience learning about the world and its animals!

 

 

We then researched the different biomes, and we learnt there are six: Rainforest, Desert, Woodlands, Savannah, Tundra and Grasslands. 

 

For three weeks this term, we are going to be looking at rainforests in Learning Experience. 

We started with understanding the different continents. These are: Asia, Europe, Antarctica, North America, South America, Oceania. 

Term 1

Wondrous Watercolour

Thank you for coming to see the artwork we made! 

We have visited Mote Park and take pictures that we are going to start sketching!

Our learning experience for the next two weeks is on watercolour. We have already learnt some techniques such as wet-on-wet and the different types of brushes!

 

Online relationships and being safe

Our learning experience for the week is on online relationships and being safe online!

We have joined in on a workshop, and have made it clear that we have boundaries, and know that we need to ask for help if something is not right!

Get Aethelraed-y for the Anglo-Saxons!

We finally went to Canterbury Cathedral. This place is significant because it was built for the first Christians in Anglo-Saxon Britain. We dressed up, we met museum staff and even saw artefacts!

We also held and analyses artefacts like real archaeologists - trying to understand what the Anglo-Saxons liked, and what they use these objects for!

 

Our learning experience for the next two weeks is about the Anglo-Saxons (Get Aethelraed-y for the Anglo-Saxons). Over the next two weeks, we will be looking more into how the Anglo-Saxons lived through artefacts and sources, and understanding what the Anglo-Saxons were doing to, and in, Britain. 

Making history!

Today, we have learnt about how chronology works, and were able to put together a timeline of important events that happened during the period of time we are looking at. We also wrote about why the Romans left and why the Anglo-Saxons wanted Britain for themselves!

Watts in a circuit

This week, we had our learning experience of science focusing on circuits (Watt is in a circuit). We built circuits including bulbs and buzzers, and tested out different materials to see if they were conductors of electricity or insulators!

Making our circuits

 

Glass is not a conductor!