LB3 Week 6
11/12/2017
Learning Journey
This week in learning Journey MP3 continued with the science of all things space. We gained knowledge about the vast distances between planets in our solar system. We learned all about gravity and orbit and how the planets orbit the sun at different speeds and distances with just enough velocity to keep them in orbit.
We then researched different forces (air and water resistance, gravity, surface friction) and how these forces would affect our attempts to land a rover on Mars to collect important data. From our research we designed our rovers that are capable of landing on Mars collecting information and returning home safely. They had to take into account the lower gravity, enormous storms, rocky terrain and frozen ground of the planet.
MP3 Residential
Year 5 had an amazing time in Kampot. We visited EPiC Arts for dance and art workshops, went to Climbodia for caving and rock climbing, and of course the Sailing Club in Kep for kayaking, sailing, and paddle-boards. What a week Year 5!
Year 6 had a fantastic time on their visit to Siem Reip and Battenbang. We explored the ancient temples of Beng Meala, learnt how to prepare and make Khmer dishes at a cookery class, watched 4 million bats fly out of their caves, visited Tonle Sap lake and received circus skills training from the performers at Phare Ponleu Selpak; The Cambodian Circus. The trip culminated in us being able to watch the evening show, with birthday boy Edward even making it onto the stage!
Maths
On Wednesday we had our maths day! MP3 spent the morning creating and designing a variety of maths games, maths puzzles, maths themed food and drinks. It was important that we came up with creative games that would keep learners engaged from Reception to Middle Years – it was quite the challenge. In the afternoon we joined with the rest of the school in a maths celebration in the garden.
Literacy
This week Year 5 wrote recounts of their residential in Kampot. The first thing we needed to do was to learn the features of a recount. We needed to ensure that it was: in past tense, the first person, had time connectives, used paragraphs to group ideas, had interesting adverbs and adjectives, and included just the right amount of detail to engage the reader! All of that before we even started to mention how much fun we had on residential.
This week Year 6 have finished reading the book Demon Dentist. We have really enjoyed using this book as stimulus for our writing. The book had two fantastic twits at the end; with both a happy and sad ending. We have spent time analyzing how David Walliams created tension and built in good descriptions into his scenes. Doing this has really improved our own writing this learning block.
Stars of the Week !
We have all been talking about this weeks talk topic of Holiday Plans. Enjoy your holidays and when you come back to school in January we will have a brand new talk topic… New Years resolutions.
LB3W4 Friday 1st December
28/11/2017
Learning Journey
Milepost 3 started the science portion of our unit Mission to Mars this week. This involved some knowledge lessons about our solar system, the planets and moons in it and how it revolves around this fiery ball of gas in the centre.
We created planets to scale (1:100,000,000) and then displayed them in the corridor outside our rooms. While the planets are to scale, the space in between them is not – it turns out our corridor would need to be many km’s long to recreate the whole solar system to scale.
Literacy
In Literacy this week Y5 have been exploring the darkest depths of the solar system. We started by gathering facts about planets, both real and fictional, and then set about writing our own non chronological reports. They needed to be a formal piece of writing that would inform the reader but we could be as creative as we wanted. Did you know, that on Pandora, the air is so toxic that human inhabitants would have to wear a mask to survive? Stay tuned for more to come in the following weeks.
This week in Year 6 we have continued to develop our descriptive writing. We have improved our vocabulary and talked about ways to portray feelings of characters in our writing. Our work culminated in a Big Write based around this picture. …
Maths
This week in maths Y5 have been learning how to add and subtract fractions. We first started with fractions that have the same denominator, and after we quickly smashed that one we moved on to fractions with different denominators! We have started to look at what happens when we multiply fractions by whole numbers. More to follow next week…
This week in maths Year 6 began the week by looking at number patterns in general before moving onto solving linear number sequences. We discovered that with patterns and sequences we can use a ‘rule’ to help us find numbers further along the sequence. This rule for finding numbers in a sequence is called the ‘nth term’
Stars of the Week !
Wow! Who knew how interesting toys were? We had a few good chats about favourite toys, and how often the simplest toys were the most used. Next week our talk topic is hibernation. What is hibernation? Which animals hibernate? Why do they hibernate? How do they prepare for the long nap?
LB3 Week 3 Friday 24th November
22/11/2017
Learning Journey
This week MP3 conclude the geography section of Mission to Mars. Over the course of the past three weeks we have conducted a number of investigations to answer geographical questions. We have recreated the landscape of Mars and filmed a tour of the red planet; we created a river in our rooms to see if the effect that running water had on the sand was similar to that on Mars; and finally we used ice and frozen ground to see how melting ice would alter a landscape.
After collecting all of the evidence MP3 have found that a lot of the land formations on Mars look very similar to ones on Earth that were formed by water or ice, and we reached the conclusion that Mars once had water and may still have pockets of ice under the surface! Quick call NASA and let them know.
Literacy
In literacy Y6 have begun writing descriptive paragraphs about various rooms in Alfie’s house. We practised different writing skills including using complex and compound sentences. Our paragraphs really brought each room to life as we wrote about pungent smells and eerie noises. It was useful to concentrate on the five senses when describing each room as it enabled the reader to really feel involved in what was happening.
This week in Literacy Y5 have started to learn all about non chronological reports. We began this by assessing everything that we knew already about the features of these and then found texts that were, or were not, non chronological reports. In order to gather information for our own NCRs, we learnt the skill of note taking. We used abbreviations to record information efficiently from videos and websites.
Here are some videos from last weeks Oral storytelling sessions. Please enjoy.
Maths
In maths this week Y5 have been focusing on improper fractions and mixed numbers. We worked out that an improper fraction is when the numerator is larger than the denominator and that this can be converted to a mixed numeral (which is a mix of whole numbers and fractions). We learned how to convert from one to the other and back again.
This week in maths Y6 have begun learning about probability. We explored how likely it was to roll a certain combination of numbers on a dice. We also explored how likely it was that certain events would occur. For instance we thought about the probability of it snowing in Cambodia or how likely it was we would be learning maths that day. In our following lessons we thought about ratio and even practised writing our own ratio word problems.
Stars of the Week !
What a show it was Y6!
Last weeks talk about Thanksgiving was a real eyeopener! I learned so much about that holiday. This week our talk topic is toys. What is your favourite toy? Why are toys important? Do we ever outgrow toys? All things and more to be discussed next week.
LB3 Week 2 Friday 17th November
14/11/2017
Learning Journey
This week in Learning Journey milepost 3 went on a tour of Mars. In groups we researched various features of the Martian landscape including Olympus Mons (the largest volcano in the Solar System – three times larger than Mt Everest) Hellas Basin, Valles Marineris (a 3oookm canyon cutting through the surface, and the polar caps.
We then re-created them using sand, dirt, and other bits and pieces, and then finally filmed a tour guide experience of Mars
Literacy
This week in Literacy Y6 have been creating their own poems about space. Year 6 have practiced a range of skills in order to bring their poems to life. We learnt about onomatopoeia and the effect certain words can have on an audience… BANG! BOOM! We also learnt about the difference between similes and metaphors. Can you spot the difference between these two sentences:
Space is a vast black hole that consumes the universe
Space is as dark as a black hole that consumes the universe
This week in Literacy Y5 concluded our oral storytelling unit. We used a range of different strategies to help us remember the story and then filmed them so that we could assess how effectively we maintained the interest of the listener. We will post the links next week and you can see for yourselves how we did.
Maths
In Maths this week Y5 have continued to work with parts of a whole. Ordering fractions and finding common denominators was only the beginning – now we are looking into the mysterious equivalent fractions where 3/7 can equal 24/56 which in turn equals 12/28 and not forgetting that would of course equal 450/1050… The Y5 learning facilitators were super impressed with the resilience that everyone showed when attempting this task. Great job Year 5!
Stars of the Week !
This week we talked about celebrations. What your favourite one is, and how we celebrate our celebrations! Its all very celebratory at the moment because next weeks talk topic is a specific celebration…Thanksgiving.
What is it?
Who celebrates it?
How do they celebrate it?
Are there special foods? Songs? Traditions?
This is the week to find out!
LB3 Week 1 Friday 10th November
7/11/2017
Learning Journey
What a sensation Entry Point MP3! I know we all had a fantastic time at iCAN’s Space Academy boot camp!
The MP3 ‘space cadets’ were put through their paces as they strived to show us that they had what it took to be included on our Mission to Mars! They began with a comprehensive warm up led by Major Tom, and then were tested both physically and mentally by the task specific challenges lead by Captain Robyn, Colonel Phill, and General Rosie. The Drill Sergeants; Sokhary, Kimthan, Neath, and Somnang kept the recruits in line. We look forward to learning about the geography of Mars in the upcoming weeks.
Literacy
This week in Literacy Y5 started looking at oral story telling. We discussed what criteria we would need to capture an audience’s interest and maintain their attention. After watching a pro in action, we had a go at speaking with confidence in a drama activity. We realised it was not just as easy as reading aloud and it helped us to understand how many different things we need to think about when effectively telling a story. Our next step is to try and learn and re-tell our own story… watch this space for the videos.
This week in literacy Y6 have begun writing poems. We have learnt lots about poetry and have particularly enjoyed reading humorous poems and bringing them to life. We also looked at various types of poetry such as rhyming verses. We even compared rap lyrics and poetry and tried to determine which was which. We are working towards writing space poems, imagining the view of space from a rocket ship in line with our Mission to Mars.
Maths
This week in Y6 has been all about consolidating our knowledge of fractions. We completed a code breaker hunt at the start of the week in which we answered questions that involved adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions. At times it can be tricky to remember when and how to simplify a fraction. We also had to practice the skill of converting between and improper and mixed numbers.
In Y5 we are beginning to look at parts of a whole as well. We completed a treasure hunt using fractions, decimal, and percentages; and worked collaboratively to show our prior learning in the knowledge harvest. Y5 have began ordering fractions in ascending or descending order. We did this with fractions that had the same denominators at first, and then really showed our understanding by repeating it with fractions with different denominators.
Stars of the Week !
I’m sure we all had a great chat about all the fireworks over the water festival when discussing Guy Fawkes in the last talk topic. Next weeks topic is Festivals. What festivals do you and your family celebrate? Are there festivals celebrated in your home country that are not celebrated in Cambodia? What is your favourite festival? I look forward to hearing all about it next week!
LB2 Week5 October 27th
25/10/2017
Learning Journey
We have said goodbye to Science Investigators following our Exit Points last week. We took some time to reflect on all the learning we have done in science, revisited our Learning Journey books and the learning walls. It was a massive unit jam packed with investigations, experiments, and of course the accident involving Ms Fee.
We are looking forward to our new unit Mission to Mars which we will kick off after the water festival break. We look forward to sharing some of this with you on Tuesday 7th November at the Family Learning Day! Please remember to sign up for a time on the sheet outside the MP3 classrooms
Literacy
This week in Y6 we have been getting to know our main characters in Demon Dentist even better. We wrote detailed character descriptions for Alfie, Mr Griffiths, Winnie, Gabz and probably the most favourite one to write about… Ms Root! We had lots of fun using similes to describe how rotten Alfie’s teeth are as well as using ambitious adjectives to really give an impression of how despicable Ms Root is!
In Literacy this week, Year 5 have been teaming up and combining our fantastic mystery writing to make The Ultimate Mystery Stories. Using the video ‘Road’s End’ as a stimulus, we have created pieces of writing that could be read aloud alongside this animation. We will be using these oral story scripts after the water festival break to make super tense mystery videos that we hope will have viewers clinging to their seats in anticipation…
Here is one of our ‘superstories’
Maths
This week Y5 have been learning about squared and cubed numbers. Did you know that the first 5 square numbers are 1, 4, 9, 16, and 25. What do you think the next one is??
We also created some rules for mental division; in groups Y5 learners explored different ways to mentally divide numbers. We discovered that the most efficient way to divide mentally by 5 was to first divide by 10 then to double the answer! For example 642 divided by 5 = 64.2 x 2 = 128.4. Another nice trick we found was that the best way to divide by 8 was to half, half, and half again: 612 divided by 8 = 306 = 153 = 76.5.
This week in mathsYear 6 have been continuing to build on our knowledge of fractions. We have been practising simplifying fractions as well as adding them together. The majority of our learners predicted that multiplying fractions would be harder than adding and were surprised to learn it was the other way round! Adding together fractions involves lots of different skills such as knowing your times tables, being able to simply fractions and being able to find common factors in denominators.
Stars of the Week !
Water Festival was a great talk topic this week. I know in MP3 we all spent some time talking about the festival, the boats, and of course the upcoming holiday. The talk topic for the first week back is Guy Fawkes. Have a great break!
LB2 Week 4 October 20
17/10/2017
Learning Journey
This week we have been investigating all of the clues. We began by investigating the liquid that was found at the scene. The police thought Ms Fee might have been poisoned so we tested the PH levels of the liquid. We found that the liquid had a pH of 6.5 and that it definitely was tampered with. We researched things that also have a pH of 6.5 to try to narrow down what it could have been. Another clue was the missing note and we used our skills in chromatography to separate the inks and find which pen was used to write the notes!
Then finally, at the exit point, we presented our findings. We focused on the facts – only using evidence to draw conclusions. We ensured that all investigations were both fair and reliable and then we created theories as to what happened based on all the available evidence. These theories often varied from one group to the next, but the one common thread was that the culprit was Mr Tom!!
Literacy
This week in Literacy we received a draft copy of Mr Tom’s new novel The Mystery Man. He had requested that Year 5 edit it and then provide him with some constructive feedback to help him to further improve it. The feedback needed to provide examples of excellent skills that he had used, or ones that he could get better at next time. After thinking carefully about what we would say, we sent him an email back, with our comments, in the hope that his next draft would be better! Being editors allowed us to think more deeply about what we had understood so far about effective mystery writing techniques.
Following on from writing a biography of David Walliams last week, Y6 decided to write an autobiography! We discussed the differences between the two before planning our own autobiography in chronological order. It was harder than we thought and had to get our parents help as we could not remember being a baby! We practised writing in an informal style to keep the reader entertained. Obviously we are only 10 or 11 years old so we did not write more than 2 pages but we finished with a summary of our hopes for the future. Maybe in 20 years time we can write another one and see if our hopes came true!
Maths
In maths this week Year 5 have been practising mental operations. We have drawn upon previously learned facts about addition and subtraction, whilst learning new facts about mental multiplication and division. We have applied these throughout the week, in particular in the 5 minute 180 question times table challenge. Do you think you could answer 180 times table questions in just 5 minutes???
In year 6 we have been continuing to practice our prime numbers in preparation for our rap battle! Our challenge is to memorise and know the prime numbers between 0 – 100 but also to be able to say them as QUICKLY as possible! A prime number is a number that can only be divided by one and itself. Do you know the answer to the following?
- How many prime numbers are there between 0 – 100?
- Is 27 a prime number? How do you know?
- What is a composite number?
Stars of the Week !
I hope we all had a good chat about languages in as many languages as possible last week. Next week the talk topic is Water festival. Where are you going during the water festival holiday? Have you ever been to the boat race?
LB2 Week 3 October 13
11/10/2017
Learning Journey
This week we have been continuing to develop our investigating skills. We have been learning all about reliability and how we can improve the reliability of our investigations. We have also further consolidated our learning about conducting scientific investigations – it can be hard to work out how to investigate in a way which will actually solve the question we want answered!
Using all of our new skills and knowledge we have then undertaken our training days assessment and have become forensic scientists ready to investigate the mystery of poor Ms Fee!
Maths
In Year 5 we have continued to delve into that mysterious thing called division. We have been practising a lot of mental division, as well as using the bus stop written method. We are now becoming more and more confident with this operation!
Year 6 have begun looking at fractions this week. We completed a Knowledge Harvest to find out what we already knew about fractions and the four operations. We then moved onto converting between improper fractions and mixed numbers. Using a mars bar concept really helped to deepen our understanding.
Literacy
In literacy Y5 have been practising our skills in sentence crafting. We have been using a combination of short sentences to build suspense and longer, complex sentences to add detail to set the scene. Using the video as a stimulus, we tried to ensure that our writing maintained the interest of the reader, but didn’t give away too much too soon…
This week in literacy Y6 started reading a new book, Demon Dentist. We have enjoyed the first few chapters and love the writing style from the author David Walliams. We decided we wanted to know more about the author after gathering facts about him, so we could write a biography. After we used various sources to find as much information and facts about him as possible, we grouped the information together into potential paragraphs and decided which information would not interest our readers. Then on Friday we put it all together in a big write.
Stars of the Week !
Next week’s Talk Topic is languages.
How many different languages do you use at home?
Can you speak fluently in more than 1 or 2 languages?
How many different ways can we say Hello/ goodbye/ how are you/ thank you
05/10/2017
Learning Journey
MP3 embarked on an investigative adventure this week to the Escape Room 60. Our learners had to work hard to be great thinkers, communicators, cooperators and risk takers. There were two adventures that our learners explored; The Temple and The Shelter. Inside the rooms our learners had to follow instructions and work out the answers to various clues in order to escape in 60 minutes. Many of our learners managed to complete this daring feat but some have still not managed to escape…!
Science
This week in Science we have continued to be good investigators by planning a fair test that includes a systematic and accurate way of collecting results. It can be tricky to plan a fair test because you need to think of the independent and independent variables as well as what you’re going to measure. We also needed to think of how we would record the data and results that would be collected by the investigation that we planned. We managed to successfully complete our plans and passed our scientist training which means we are now able to investigate Ms Fee’s accident!
Maths
This week in maths Year 6 have been practising all things to do with division. We have recapped our understanding dividing by one digit numbers before introducing dividing by two digit numbers. We have also looked at converting remainders into decimals and reading questions carefully and making sure the answer is put into context. This work has been challenging and the children have shown great resilience all week and have made superb progress across their learning.
Y5 this week have been multiplying and dividing all sorts of numbers in all sorts of ways. We have practised mental multiplication and division by doubling and halving numbers a bunch of times. We can now mentally multiply a number by 32 (double, double, double, double, double) and mentally divide a number by 8 (half, half, half). In addition to this we have been practising our written long multiplication and formal division.
Literacy
This week in Literacy in Year 5 we watched a short mystery video and used this to influence our own writing, carefully studying the film for things that seemed unusual. We discussed the appearance and behaviour of both characters in the film to help us to better understand the story. By creating complex character profiles, we were able to generate a range of vocabulary that we could use in our opening paragraphs. We used prepositions to help us vary our sentence starters and include more detail in our writing.
Linking to our IPC topic of investigators, In Literacy, Year 6 have been trying to solve the mystery of missing man John Bonbon. We watched a video recording of a car accident, heard and read witness accounts and interviewed suspects. We pieced together all the information to write a newspaper report on the event. Our learning was focused on direct and indirect speech and also the structure of paragraphs within recounts in the form of a newspaper. Watch the mysterious video clip below…
Stars of the Week !
LB2 Week 1: September 29th
26/9/2017
Welcome back after a well-earned Pchum Ben break. We hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing holiday and are champing at the bit for another exciting learning
Learning Journey
This week we have been continuing to develop our investigating skills. We have been learning all about reliability and how we can improve the reliability of our investigations. We conducted two more investigations into water absorption and heat insulation. We have also further consolidated our learning about conducting scientific investigations – it can be hard to work out how to investigate in a way which will actually solve the question we want answered!
Simon the Scientist makes a number of errors in his experiment. Can you identify the reasons why this IS NOT a fair test?
Literacy
This week in Literacy Y5 have started to look at mysteries. Using our topic of Investigators as inspiration, we have been studying texts that include mystery and suspense. We played a murder mystery game to think about how clues can come together to reveal a secret or unknown element to a story. Later, we used our detective skills to unpick different texts, seeing which clues they may be concealing…
In Literacy, Year 6 have planned their newspaper reports about the disappearance of Molly, Gracie and Daisy. The report needed to include the key features of a newspaper report as well as examples of indirect and direct speech. This is an important skill that we practiced in order to share information given by key witnesses who had seen the three girls along the Rabbit Proof Fence. See below our examples of practicing writing direct and indirect speech.
Maths
This week in maths Y5 have looked at prime and composite numbers. We worked out, through our knowledge of factors from the previous week, that prime numbers are numbers which have exactly one pair of factors. Y5 have also begun looking at multiplying and dividing by 10, 100, 1 000, and 10 000.
This week in maths Year 6 have been looking at multiplying large numbers using a range of methods. We used the grid method and long multiplication to solve calculations such as 65 x 372. Then, we solved word problems using the method we felt worked best for us! Comprehending word problems is a skill in itself. We deconstructed a word problem by reading it carefully and selecting the relevant information. To deepen our understanding we read word problems that had missing information and tried to identify why the question was impossible to answer.
Stars of the Week !
This weeks healthy eating topic generated a lot of good chat in MP3. Hopefully next weeks topic, Natural disasters, can do the same.
What is a natural disaster? Have there been any in the news recently? Are there ways to prevent or prepare for natural disasters? Are certain parts of the world more prone to them then others?
September 15th, Week 6
13/9/2017
Learning Journey
Training to become forensic investigators is in full swing, So far we have conducted investigations into the pH of different items and investigated what black ink is made from. We have learnt to be SYSTEMATIC and ACCURATE and are beginning to ensure our investigations are both RELIABLE and a FAIR TEST. Our training will be completed after Pchum Ben when we will all be ready to investigate the incident of Ms Fee!
Here you can see MP3 testing the pH level of different liquids by dipping in litmus paper and matching them to the pH colour scale.
Literacy
In literacy this week Year 5 have been teaming up with Mr Sergi. We started our pen pal communication with other children, all the way across the world, in Spain! We had to write letters that gave interesting information about our school and ourselves. It was fun coming up with questions that we wanted to ask them about their lives in Spain. We were also able to practise applying our grammar knowledge of present tense writing within our letters. Hopefully the children will be able to translate our work and write back in Spanish soon!
In literacy this week Year 6 have been focusing on newspaper reports. Our report centred around the disappearance of Molly, Daisy and Gracie from Moor River Settlement. We practised the skill of using direct and indirect speech to share what key witnesses thought about the whereabouts of the three girls.
Maths
This week Year 5 have been looking at factors and multiples. We created our own definitions for the terms and spent some time finding factors of numbers up to 100. We demonstrated our understanding by working on problems with missing pieces of information. We need to work backwards through problem starting with the solution to uncover the missing pieces of the question. Year 5 then began identifying prime and composite numbers and explained why any particular number was either prime or composite.
This week in maths Year 6 have been looking at number facts including finding prime and square numbers up to 100. We have also been furthering our knowledge of the terms multiples and factors of numbers. We have shown understanding by finding the highest common factor and lowest common multiples of numbers before our big challenge at the end of the week. We worked together in pairs to fill in the numbers on this table. It took us ages but we showed great thinking and resilience skills to finally get all of the numbers in the correct squares on the grid!
Stars of the Week !
Now that we have spent the last week talking all things Pchum Ben it is time for a well deserved holiday. Fear not, Talk topic will resume after the break!
The first talk topic for the new Learning Block is Healthy Food. What is healthy food? Why do I need to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables? Whats wrong with too much sugar?
Week 5, Friday 8th September
5/9/2017
Learning Journey
We have been working hard to train as forensic scientists. We have been considering our training days assessment and asking enquiry questions about this. We have then been taking each aspect of the assessment and learning about what it means. MP3 also conducted an experiment using filter paper and ink, are hoping it provides us with clues for the on-going investigation.
MP3 beginning their forensic training. In order to solve the crime we first need to learn how to investigate…
MP3 enjoying the Quiz Quiz Trade learning structure. Here we are learning science vocabulary to help us in the upcoming unit.
Maths
Year 5 have continued with addition and subtraction this week. We have used formal written methods and mental methods to solve calculations. We deconstructed word problems to ascertain the useful information, and then decided what the best course of action to take was. We even began creating our own word problems, with Ms Rosie as the subject.
This week in maths children in Year 6 have been checking and consolidating our formal methods of column addition and subtraction. We then had an attempt at some difficult two step problems involving both addition and subtraction. We found we had to read the questions very carefully before deciding which operation to choose. An example is found below.
Literacy
Year 5 continued to edit and improve our autobiographies this week. We looked constructively at the feedback provided by our peers, and created a final document. These are typed and on display in the corridor outside of our room, to be made into a book at a later date.
In Year 6 this week we finished watching and reading Rabbit Proof Fence. It was a very emotional ending and we took how the story made us felt and turned it into a diary entry from the perspective of Molly. In our recount we had to make sure that we used simple, compound and complex sentences. We used our story maps and feelings graph to help us write our recount.
Year 6 using Talking chips to discuss the difference between a range of diary entries.
Stars of the Week !
I know there was a lot of good chat in MP3 about After School Activities this week.
Next week though we would like you to discus Pchum Ben.
What is it? What does it mean to you and your family? What happens in Phnom Penh during this time?
Week 4 Friday 1st September
30/8/2017
Learning Journey
OH NO! What happened to Ms Fee?
We discovered Ms Fee dazed and confused lying unconscious on the stairwell near the staff room. She can’t remember anything that happened!
We became detectives and have recorded all of the clues that we could find. We have a long list of suspects waiting to be investigated! The investigation is on! Welcome to our new unit Science Investigators.
Maths
This week in maths Y5 have started looking at some basic operations; we started by getting a refresher course in addition and subtraction methods, and then moved on to when we might apply the different ways of doing these operations. We have looked at both mental and formal written structures. We used rounding and estimation to check the accuracy of our calculations.
Meanwhile in Y6 this week we have focused on negative numbers. First we recapped skills from last year, using a number line to find the answers to simple calculations across zero. Then we put the skills into practice to show our understanding by solving questions with real life situations involving money and temperature.
Literacy
In Literacy Y5 have been looking at how a great piece of writing creates a vivid picture in our minds. We got a partner to read our writing and see if they could draw an accurate picture from what we had written so far. Afterwards, we gave each other feedback on how these could be improved. This process helped us to see where we could put more detail in our autobiographical writing in the second draft.
Y6 have continued to read ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’. This week we practiced writing complex sentences to include in our character comparisons. We worked in partners using Rally Coach to ensure we understood how to accurately use a complex sentence. We are now at the part in the story where Molly, Daisie and Gracie have escaped from Moor River Settlement and are trying to navigate a route home to Jigalong. We are all in suspense wondering what else is going to happen on their journey!
Stars of the Week !
Talk Topic is making its triumphant return! Next weeks talk topic is iCAN! What do you like best about your school?
Learning Block 1 Week 3
30/8/2017
Learning Journey
This week brings a close to the first Learning Journey unit, Brainwave. This week’s tasks focused on how the brain works, how we learn best, and what being internationally minded means to us. We completed Brainwave with a frantic Q&A that involved digging through brain shaped jellies to retrieve the questions; delicious and educational! Followed by a Learners Vs Teachers brain based quiz,in which the Learning Facilitators were resoundingly defeated.
I know you are all eagerly anticipating the next unit, which shall begin next week, Investigators.
Year 5
Maths
Year 5 continued to push forward this week with place value. We studied negative numbers using calculations, number lines, and real life scenarios. We answered word problems using negative numbers, and then created our own word problems to show our understanding of the topic. We began to round numbers to the nearest 10, 100, 1 000, 10 000 and 100 000.
Literacy
This week in literacy, we started our autobiographical writing unit, ‘All about me’. Using a model text to give us ideas, we began planning and constructing our first draft from an initial plan. We then continued to develop our original sentences over the week, adding in further detail, edits and improvements. Over a series of re-drafts, we tried to further advance our writing style; we used similes or metaphors and aimed to vary our sentence structures.
Year 6
In maths this week Year 6 have continued their learning on place value up to 1 billion. We compared the prices of famous footballers including Paul Pogba who cost $89,000,000. The children had to guess how much Brazilian forward Neymar cost Paris St Germain and write the number in figures. Towards the end of the week we looked at rounding these large numbers to the nearest thousand, ten thousand and hundred thousand to try and make solving sums with such large numbers easier.
In Literacy this week we have started reading Rabbit Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington. The story follows three aboriginal girls who are taken from their families and sent to be taught how to live in a western society. We have practised the skills of prediction and interpretation. One learner shared what he thought of the story so far: “It was very emotional when the three girls go t taken away from their families because of the colour of their skin”
Stars of the Week !
Welcome Back!!
16/8/2017
Learning Journey
As always at iCAN we have kicked off the year with the unit Brainwave. This unit helps the learners to understand their own brain and how it works, but also encourages them to think about the ways they learn – and how they learn best. MP3 started this journey by dissecting real pig and cow brains! Then we located specific parts of the brain and researched what each part of the brain is responsible for. We used this information when making our own 3D model of the brain out of salt dough. We tried to make our brains as accurate as possible when labelling them.
MP3 then looked at the difference between having a Growth Mindset or a Fixed Mindset and how that can impact on our learning; and the difference between long term and short term memory.
Year 6
In maths our learners have been recapping their knowledge of place value, writing figures and numbers as words and recognising numbers up to 1,000,000. We have also tried to practice our times tables playing a variety of games such as round the world and popcorn. We are all superstars at recalling our times tables and almost know them all up to 12!
In Literacy we have been thinking about our summer holidays and have been planning to write a recount about what we did. In order to remember everything that we did during the 7 weeks we drew mind maps and used pic collage to share images about we did.
Year 5
In maths Year 5 have been researching the average Year 5 learner at iCAN. We surveyed, measured, and then averaged a bunch of interesting facts about us. For example did you know that the average Y5 student has hair that is 22.5cm long? Or is 9.1 years old? Has 5 family members and 1 pet? We also started looking at place value this week; reading, writing, and ordering numbers from millions down to the hundredths.
In literacy this week Year 5 have been practising a range of skills and writing techniques that we will be using in our work this term. We have been looking at the importance of using grammar in our writing and learning that words can have lots of meanings in different contexts. We played games, and created a range of sentences from these, to try to get our heads around this tricky concept!
Stars of the Week !
