All posts by Laura Russell

No Paper Day

Lexi the lemur has recently been in Primary 3/4 and trashed the classroom. We were all very shocked to see what had happened on Monday morning.  She had left a letter behind explaining that we need to appreciate resources from the rainforest more, such as paper.  Lexi challenged us to a ‘No Paper Day’.  Here is what the classroom looked like!

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We successfully managed to complete a no paper day by using no new paper.  Primary 3/4 still used books in reading, however we completed reading tasks on whiteboards and through discussion.  We had active maths stations which focused on times table practise.  On Monday we also had Aberdeen football coaching and M&M production of ‘Treasure Island’ in the afternoon.

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Animal Discovery

Today we have been writing detailed descriptions of new animal discoveries from the rainforest.  We have been thinking carefully about wow words to engage the reader and some of us have been using a thesaurus to uplevel our writing by finding synonyms.  Everyone has assessed their writing with their partner and has highlighted the words  in their description that they think are exciting.

 

We created these animals in IDL last week by considering how animals have adapted to environments.  Primary 3/4 have thought carefully about which layer of the rainforest the animal lives and how the animal has adapted to their habitat.  Some of the creatures have wings for flying high in the emergent and canopy layer or they are able to camouflage on the forest floor. We have been busy using our imagination!

TERM 3

TERM 3

Welcome back to school and I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing break. Thank you for the kind cards and gifts for Christmas.  This was much appreciated and very generous of you all.

MATHS

Pupils in class have been learning and revisiting the properties of 2D and 3D shape. We have also been investigating symmetry of shapes and pattern.  Some pupils have also been learning the angle points of a compass and learning about direction points.

Pupils have been given the Big Maths Learn Its for Term 3 in their homework jotter with the flashcards to support. Please ensure that these are learned and memorised in order to support mental maths and the weekly Beat That tests in class.

TOPIC

Primary 3/4 are very excited to discover a lemur has been delivered to Cults Primary School. She came in the post with a letter about where she was from.  We have named her Lexi and she is from the Madagascar rainforest so we have decided to look after her to make sure she feels as homely as possible in her new environment.  So far we have learned to locate the different tropical rainforests around the world and have used atlases to help.  We have also learned about the habitat of ring tailed lemurs and have learned about the habitat of each layer of the rainforest – the forest floor, understorey, canopy layer and emergent layer.  We are all looking forward to finding out more about Lexi the Lemur and why she has come to visit.

LITERACY

We have been focussing on descriptive pieces of writing and uplevelling our writing. This week we have written descriptive pieces of writing in the first person using our senses.  We were using our imagination to describe what we might feel, see, touch, taste and smell in the rainforest.

Scots Poetry

Primary 4 pupils have been given a variety of poems to choose from to practise and recite back to class. There will be pupils chosen from each class to present their poem to Mrs Dalziel.  Pupils can use props to help if they wish.  We will be looking for good knowledge of poem, pace and vocal and facial expression.  Primary 3 pupils have been given ‘A North East Loonie Caad Mike’ to recite in class to a group or, if confident, to the whole class.

RME

In class we have begun learning about Sikhism. We have learned about the story of Guru Nanak which was the main founder of Sikhism.  Primary 3/4 have learned about where Guru Nanak was from and how he travelled around India to share what he had learned.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

As part of health and Wellbeing we have been learning about how to stay safe and what to do in an emergency. Last week we discussed what to do in an emergency learned how to treat a burn.

We are also very excited to have a coach from Aberdeen FC to teach us skills in football for the next 5 weeks. All of Primary 3/4 have thoroughly been enjoying these sessions so far.

 

Primary One Share Stories

Primary one came to visit us to share their stories that they have been writing.  Their stories were about animals from the North Pole and the South Pole.  We were paired with different primary ones to share stories.  We enjoyed meeting new people and asking them what they are enjoying in primary one.  They had some good stories and quite a lot of information on global warming.  We thought their pictures were amazing!  Most of the stories were about saving polar bears.  Their topic sounds very interesting.

We also shared our fairy-tale stories.

P3/4 Update

Primrary 3/4 have been very busy this term and have lots to share on our blog.  Take a look at what some of the pupils have been learning in class.

Literacy

We have been writing stories this week in class and using story mountains to help plan a clear beginning, middle and ending.  Our stories were fairy-tale twists and the story we were focussing on was Little Red Riding Hood.  We have chosen different twists to our stories to make our fairy-tales unique and exciting for the reader.  We will be reading our stories to Primary One very soon!

In reading we have been focussing on our comprehension and have learned lots about compound words, using proper nouns, adverbs and prefixes.  Take a look at some of the prefixes that pupils were finding as part of a reading task and using a dictionary.

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Primary 3/4 have been practising spelling lots in class and everyone is improving! Take a look at one of the spelling games we have been using in class.

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Maths

In maths we have been focussing on addition and subtraction.  We have learned how to use lots of different methods including formal methods, like chimney sums, partitioning and using empty number lines to support us.

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All About Dr Seuss

We have been learning lots about Dr Seuss and the messages from the books he has written.  In class we have been investigating the different styles of writing Dr Seuss has used, including ‘Green Eggs and Ham’, which was written using only 50 words!  Primary 3/4 have had the opportunity to create their own mini-sagas using only 50 words.  We have also linked lots of the Dr Seuss books with anti-bullying week through the books ‘The Sneetches’ and ”Horton Hears a Who’.  Primary 3/4 have also considered the rhyming patterns from several of the books.  We have really enjoyed reading ‘Oh the Places You’ll Go’ and have written our own ambitions for the future.

Health and Wellbeing

Growth Mindsets

As part of Circle Time this term, we have been focusing on growth mindsets and the importance to having a positive attitude the learning.  The pupils have been focusing on a ‘I can do’ attitude when an activity may be tricky and considering how important it is to try your best.  We have discussed our achievements in Circle Time and how we feel proud of our work.  Primary 3/4 have been particularly focusing on the fact the making mistakes in your work is okay and that is how we learn and improve.

Road Safety

We have been revisiting the importance of road safety in class.  We have revisited the ‘Green Cross Code’, the importance of bright/reflective clothing and how to travel safely.

 

A Very Busy Term 1

Welcome to Primary 3/4R!  We have had a very busy term and we are enjoying meeting lots of new friends in the class. Take a look at our blog and see what we have been learning about so far.

Timetable

Take a look at some of the curricular areas outside of the classroom to know when an art apron, PE kit or library book is needed.

Monday – Singing with Miss Hamilton, Class PE with Mrs Russell and P4T

Tuesday – Art with Mrs Brew

Wednesday – PE with Miss Mair, Library

Thursday – PE with Miss Mair

Friday – Golden Time

 

Literacy

We have been reading ‘The World’s Worst Children’ by David Walliams in class and have thoroughly enjoyed all of the stories!  All of the stories are humorous but have also taught us lots of about the different characters and how they resolve problems along the way.

In writing, we have been creating our own stories and focussing on how we can build a detailed description to interest the reader.  We have learned lots of synonyms to make our vocabulary more exciting and thinking about interesting story openers.  The V.C.O.P superheroes (Violet Vocab, Captain Connective, Incredible Openers and Doctor Punctuation) have been used to help us think about how to uplevel our writing.

Numeracy

In maths we have been focussing on whole number and measure for the term.  We have been taking part in investigations in class and exploring the capacity of containers and the weight of objects.  Some pupils have been learning more about perimeter, different units of measure that can be used and estimating of measurement.

As part of Big Maths this year, we will be continuing to focus on our number bonds and times tables to help with our mental maths speed and accuracy.  For term 1 and 2 please see below the main ‘learn its’ that pupils should know confidently.  Please practise these at home!

Primary 3                                          Primary 4

3 + 8                                      Revision of all P3 learn its

3 + 9                                       x3 table

4 + 7

4 + 8

4 + 9

x10 table

 

Topic

This term we have learned lots about the Romans.  Take a look at some of the photographs from our newspaper toga creations, biscuit colosseums and Roman chariot junk modelling.

Here are some of the main points that pupils learned from the topic;

We learned about what the Romans wore.  (Katie)

We have learned about Roman food.  (Ciaran)

We learned how the Roman army was organised.  (George)

I have enjoyed making powerpoints for our topic.  (Hope)

I have enjoyed building the colosseum from biscuits.  (Evie B)

I have enjoyed using Roman numerals.  (Theo)

I have enjoyed everything! (Immanuel and Owen)

I have enjoyed going on the school trip the Arts Centre.  (Elizabeth)

 

 

Health and Wellbeing

For PE this term with Mrs Russell and P4T we have been focussing on developing our hockey skills and have had the opportunity to take part in a mini tournament.  With Miss Mair, the class have been building the stamina and fitness and are now participating in team game activities.

Science

Our main focus for science this term has been investigating micro-organisms and the different harmful and useful microbes there are around us.  We now know the symptoms of some common diseases caused by germs and we can explain how they are spread and discuss some methods of preventing them through good hygiene.  We also learned how yeast is a living micro-organism and found out that yeast can grow when it has the same features we need to live and grow such as water, food, air and heat.