All posts by Mrs Flockton

Curriculum Areas, Eco Schools, Literacy, mild, Mild literacy, Mild Numeracy, Outdoor Learning, P3 Mrs Flockton, P3 Mrs Taylor

Map Skills

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Hopefully you have spotted the task on the grid about drawing a map. Map reading and map making are both very important skills to learn. Sometimes the biggest challenge is understanding a map as surprisingly every map is different. So our first challenge is to read and understand the map we plan to use. I found a number of different maps in my house and have added these below for you to look at.

What information do they all have?

What similarities do they have?

Can you spot any major differences?

Is there anything that is unique to each or one map?

See below for some map making and map reading tasks, feel free to do more than one task. I have added some already sent into Seesaw so thank you to those pupils who have shared these.

Task 1 – Describe a journey 

Describe the journey you would normally take to a friend’s house/shop/school or favourite place from your home. If possible, pace it or walk it to help you describe it easily. You could draw it out as a map and add some noticeable buildings or points of interest to your map or you could make a fantastic leaflet or map like the examples below.

Use words such as –  

  • left/right turn 
  • First/Second junction 
  • Walk/drive/run 100m (or relevant)

 Task 2 – Using a map 

Choose 5- 8 cities or towns in Scotland and try and work out how far these are from your home. You could use Google maps, a real map or similar and record the data collected in a table.  See below for an example already posted to Seesaw.

 Answer these questions –  

  • Which city/town is closest? 
  • Which city or town is furthest away? 
  • Can you write any more questions for someone reading your table? 

 Task 3 – Online mapping activities 

Try out the games and activities on this website to learn more about maps. 

https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone 

Health and Wellbeing

Make a flag

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As part of the Scotland/Social subjects grid we have set the task of making a flag.

Think about what you already know about flags.

Why do we have them?

What do they have in common?

What do they represent?

Why are they so different? or why are some similar? Here are two sets that are very similar.

     

Flags often have special meaning. The colours and shapes are not random. They often have a specific theme or idea connected to them. Some flags have mythical creatures or stories connected to them. Each flag is different and individual to the cause or Country it stands for.

The Welsh flag is a good example.

Your task is to make a flag that represents you.

Think about the colours you want to use, will you add a connection to family or friends? Will you add in something connected to a hobby or sport you enjoy? Will you include anything special to you? or will your flag be something totally different? It’s up to you.

Here is one I made with my Home School pupil. Pink and purple are her favourite colours and her hobby is dancing. She also added four hearts to represent the members of our family. For our flag we used fabric and glued on the pieces but you can use pen and paper or anything you have access to at at home. Don’t forget to share it with your teacher.

     

Challenge levels, Curriculum Areas, Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, hot, mild, spicy, Whole School

RSPB Wild Art Activity – Mild/Spicy and Hot

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Hopefully you have spotted the RSPB activity on the grid by now. If not here is my effort to inspire you to enter. The great news for this activity is that anything goes!! There are two options in more detail below but both have the same idea to “Create a piece of art inspired by nature.” There are 3 age categories –  under 8s, 8-12, and 13 years and over.

See the link for the fine detail on entering here – https://bit.ly/2ziDH4a

If you want to create and not enter that is perfectly fine too, remember to share with your teacher any work and please ask a parent for help to enter the competition as teachers are not able to do this for you. Remember to  always check it is safe to use items around the house before you start.

Option 1 – ‘REAL LIFE’ – entries using the more traditional approach of paints, pastels, acrylics, pens or pencil.

Here is my effort inspired by some wild flowers we collected during our daily walks. For this activity I used some watercolours which take a little getting used to and some thicker paper than normal as the water can make the page soggy.

Our wild flowers collected on our walks and from our garden. We have a small flower press but this can be done using newspaper and some heavy books.

My effort of drawing some flowers, we used the time lapse function to speed it up.

The painting part, this will be revisited to blend colours and layer. It takes a little effort to get this right so maybe try on scrap paper first.

Option 2 – ‘GO WILD’  for those of you who want to ‘go wild’. To enter this category you can use non traditional items and experiment with textiles, sculpture, recycled materials or a combination of more than one to add to a collage.

Here is a wonderful collage from Finlay in P3, he shared this with me to inspire others to enter too.

Fantastic detail and different textures used.

Or for those of you that like to junk model here is another idea from another P3 (my youngest daughter) using recycled items and then painted.

I look forward to seeing some ‘Wild Art’ – good luck all.

Health and Wellbeing

Outdoor Art Weaving – Spicy (but suits all levels)

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Hopefully you have seen this activity on the grid this week.  During the sunny weather this weekend I took some time out to try this activity too. It was very relaxing (although also sometimes frustrating when the knots can undone  but I kept going). It was a nice quiet time to sit down for a change so I hope you enjoy that aspect of art too. However, a word of warning it was not as simple as it seemed and I think at times I needed two pairs of hands. So don’t forget to ask for help from an adult if needed to set up the weaving loom. Once the frame is sorted then off you go……

If you have less time available or you haven’t gathered any sticks and materials yet you might want to try an easier activity first. You can use any natural materials and present them either as a pattern, a picture of something made from materials, a specific theme or a set colour scheme. Here is one from a P3 pupil called ‘Colours of Nature’ (Thanks Jacob)

Health and Wellbeing

Make a Healthy (Home) Packed Lunch

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Hopefully you have all been helping out at home making food to eat during lockdown and you have realised that it’s important to eat well to keep you healthy. We know shopping for food has been more challenging during this time and understand that you may not have access to foods you would normally have so for the final task be as creative as possible and imagine what you would love to have.

Task 1 – Learn more about the Eatwell plate.

Although we all like a sweet treat or two at times we know this is not what we should eat every day. Have a look at the NHS information found here which shows what we should eat. You do not need to achieve this balance with every meal, but try to get the balance right over a day or even a week.

The Eatwell Guide

Task 1 – Read the information on the website above and answer the questions in the Sway.

Task 2 – Using the information from above can you design a HEALTHY packed lunch and include a portion of food from each food group? I have made one in this Sway. Have I managed to include food from each food group?

Task 3 – Can you design an imaginary sandwich? This could be your favourite sandwich or a totally made up one. For example Marshmallows and chocolate spread. (Healthy or unhealthy? Do you think your sandwich is healthy or unhealthy? Would you eat it?)

 

 

 

Challenge levels, Curriculum Areas, Eco Schools, Health and Wellbeing, hot, mild, P1 Ms Rossvoll, P2 Mr Mutch, P3 Mrs Flockton, P3 Mrs Taylor, P4 Mrs Rees, P6/5 Mr Reid, P7/6 Miss Deans, PSA, spicy

Eco Fortnight Update and BBC Bitesize Lessons

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A huge thanks to everyone for sending all their Eco work and ideas in. Each class received lots of lovely Eco posters and items of work.

Here is a great  example of a piece of work that was shared.

We also had a number of photos sent in for tracking animals during your daily walks.

I have added some here –

We have also been very lucky to have been sent some photos from our Schoolhouse neighbours, can you guess what bird has made a nest in our greenhouse?

Our reporter tells me there are 6 hungry mouths waiting to be fed.

BBC Bitesize Daily Lessons

If you have some time this week or next and want to learn more about the planet around us I have looked up the BBC Bitesize lessons to share some with you.

Schedule – BBC bitesize

This week the Geography lessons are –

P1/2/3 Oceania

P4/5 Mountains

P6/7 Rainforests

Next week –

P1/2/3 South America

P4/5 Weather/Climate

P6/7 Fossil Fuels

If you watch them leave a comment to let everyone know if they were interesting or not. So far the lessons have been really interesting and some have guest presenters.  You can find them on catch up once aired so don’t feel you have to stick to the timings.

 

 

Eco Schools, Food technology, Health and Wellbeing, Hot Literacy, P3 Mrs Flockton, P4 Mrs Rees, P6/5 Mr Reid, P7/6 Miss Deans, Spicy Literacy

Meat Free Meal

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Following on from Mrs Taylor’s lovely recipe I hope some of you have managed to think about the idea of a meat free meal.

I’m sure many families have meat free meals at various points without realising it – for example Macaroni Cheese or even a salad. Those of you that are vegetarian or vegan will be doing this daily.

The idea of ‘Meat free Monday’  is a interesting debate as it opens up some good questions about whether or not it is good for the environment. (It doesn’t have to be on a Monday you do this)

Have a look at the website and read some of the ideas, some of you might need some adult support  –

http://ypte.org.uk/factsheets/meat-free-mondays/introduction#section

Task 1 – Write a short report sharing your view on Meat Free Monday.  You may have to research the website and note down some ideas before you start a report.

Remember to include your feelings and thoughts. Is your report for or against Meat Free Monday?

These questions may help –

  • Do you think Meat Free Monday will make a difference to climate change?
  • Do you think it will affect farming? Would this affect farming in our area?
  • Do you think it will improve health?
  • Do you agree with the information on the website?

Task 2 – Design a menu or recipe sharing your Meat Free meal. Did you make it?

Feel free to try one task or maybe some of you will manage both.

Remember to comment on here or share with your teacher we would love to see your ideas.

 

Health and Wellbeing, hot, Literacy, mild, Outdoor Learning, spicy, Spicy Literacy

Be a Wildlife Detective

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Hopefully you have read the Spicy task on the grid about tracking animals. I know my children have been more vigilant during our walks and spotted nature changing around. We have also been lucky to spot lots of wild animals so I know some of you will be interested to identify what we see. Choose 1 or more tasks below for your home learning.

Sometimes the animals are well hidden or run away at the sign of any humans so we have to look closely for evidence. Here is some evidence we have found in our local woodlands.

Task 1 – Can you guess what we spotted?

Here are some hints –

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/02/animal-tracks-id-kids/

Task 2 – Find some prints

Sometimes the animals leave tracks behind and this resource from the RSPB is very interesting, it shows the actual size of animal prints you might find.

animaltracks_tcm9-133380

Look closely on your next walk  for animal tracks and take a photo or draw an image of what the print looks like, estimate the size so you can compare it with others. Has anyone been lucky and spotted any footprints?

If you have been like us and not spotted any tracks this resource might might help you spot some other animals that like to hide away.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/globalassets/downloads/wildchallenge/activity-sheets/english/770-0214-18-19-wild-challenge_nature-detective_ss.pdf

Draw a picture or write a short report on your animal findings, can you accurately identify the animal? How did you do this?

Task 3 – Make an animal tracker

If you want to take this activity further you could try making an animal tracker to see if anything visits your garden. See the link below.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/fun-and-learning/for-families/family-wild-challenge/activities/tracks-and-signs/?channel=paidsearch&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-OzysqON6QIVRNTeCh3lJAX3EAMYASAAEgK2ZPD_BwE

Good luck detectives, remember to share any photos or work with your teacher or leave me a comment below with your guesses for Task 1.

Curriculum Areas, Health and Wellbeing, Literacy, Numeracy

New Learning Grids for Monday 4th May – Friday 15th May

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Drum roll…

It’s ECO FORTNIGHT at Methlick School. For the next two weeks we will have a focus on all things ECO related.

We hope you are all managing to find some routine and familiarity with the blog and grid activities and we love seeing all your hard work. Thank you for sharing it all and keep working hard.

4th May Literacy

4th May Numeracy

4th May HWB

Remember we all believe that having a growth mindset is very important so the activities are organised into levels.

Mild 

Spicy

and Hot!

Where will you start?

Let’s try many attempts, leap into the learning pit and learn from our mistakes to achieve GREAT things!

The teachers will be sharing their attempts!

Keep checking the blog and please leave COMMENTS  and send your work to your teacher via email/Seesaw or add to your Sway so we can stay connected.

Thank you.

Mrs Fraser and the teachers!

Health and Wellbeing

Eco Challenge from Eco Group and Mrs Flockton 29th April

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This challenge may need some resources and time but it can be based around any theme. Read on to find out….

I have added it now so that people can gather items and be ready for the closing dates if you wish to enter.

Task – Both of these websites have Gardening competitions to design a shoebox or small garden at home. ‘One Seed Forward’ are the local group who we get our free seed potatoes from and Keep Scotland Beautiful is a National resource who run the Eco Schools award. Both tasks are similar but the Keep Scotland Beautiful one is more strict with items used so it may be possible to enter both with one entry but please read the guidelines.

One Seed Forward Local Shoebox Garden Competition

http://oneseedforward.co.uk/

Last years winner was a pupil from Methlick for this competition (See web post)  Here is her winning garden.

 

Keep Scotland Beautiful Pop-up garden from Home Competition 2020

https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/sustainable-development-education/food-and-the-environment/pocket-garden/pop-up-pocket-gardens-at-home/

Here are some examples from previous years.

Let us know if you have managed any gardening activities big or small. We know a few of you have been busy helping in the garden doing various things and good luck if you enter either of these competitions. Comment to let me know if you do or you think you might.

Best wishes Mrs Flockton and the Eco group.