P4 -7 have been extending their thinking on 2D and 3D shape following on from our observational walk in the village when we looked and discussed shapes used in building structures.
Today, the children got their architect’s hats on and designed their own structures using software on the computer. They used a range of 2D and 3D shapes as building blocks to form their structures.
Next, some translated their designs in to physical buildings by using Kapla building block materials. Other’s used trial and error in the design process.
The task helped develop team working soft skills such as negotiation, cooperation and communicating where critical thinking was at the forefront of their challenge.
P1-7 had a special treat today as we visited the set of the feature length movie, Kingslayer, being filmed on location at our local Dunskey Estate.
Mr and Mrs Orr Ewing and the film production team, Stronghold London Limited, kindly invited the pupils to join them to learn a little about how movies are made. The period film is being directed by Stuart Brennan who also stars in the movie along with Carolina Carlsson, Ryan Gage and Ellie-Rose Mackinlay.
We all met around the fire pit where we were entertained with a lively talk about life in medieval times by actor and director, Stuart Brennan. We saw replica weapons and had the opportunity to look at period costume examples. We then got to witness a sword fight and found out how each step is carefully choreographed over a long period of time to get it just right.
Next, we were invited on set, in the woods, to watch an scene being filmed. We could see the many different people who work in the industry who are required to film scenes and make film production possible. This experience helps children understand the varied career paths and options that might be available to them in the future.
It was an insightful experience which the children thoroughly enjoyed. Everyone was given a little memento of the day; a laminated shooting schedule for today’s filming signed by the stars of the film.
Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible.
P4-7 headed up to the woods in the sunshine today to gather natural materials to create symmetrical pictures. We had the challenge of finding matching items of similar size and and shape such as leaves, twigs, grasses and pine cones etc.
Back at school, we created a line of symmetry on a large sheet of paper. The children had to work in pairs using their soft skills of cooperation, idea sharing and negotiation to agree their layout theme.
They carefully selected and placed natural materials to produce symmetrical pictures with similar parts facing each other as a mirror image.
The children have been very creative in combining art with maths today. Have a look at their lovely symmetrical pictures.
P4 – 7 kicked off Maths Week by learning about how architects use maths and science in their jobs to design structures.
We looked around our classroom to identify the range of 2D and 3D shapes that were visible. Despite the drizzle, we extended our observation by going for a walk in the village to see how many other shapes we could identify. We found a wide range. The older buildings provided a greater range of shapes in their structures. We made sure to look up to spot the triangular prism shapes of roofs and the triangular structures on dorma windows.
We discussed why the square and rectangular shapes were more common on modern buildings; with their properties of tiling and tessellating easily together.
We created a tally chart of our shape spotting. We then used technology to plot a graph of our results before we analysed our data by answering a range of questions. For example; Why do you think this structure has been designed this way? How does this shape provide structural support?
Today P 4- 7 joined Elizabeth Tindal for another outdoor session in the glorious sunshine. We walked up the steps at the start of the Southern Upland Way path. As we strolled, we took time to observe the different fauna and flora that grew along the pathway.
We tasted edible leaves, which were a bit nippy on the tongue and discussed salt environment hardy species of flowers such as the pink sea campion. We learned that this plant thrives along the coastline. There were a few butterfly visitors to the flowers as we watched. As the seed pods were ready, we gathered and scattered some seeds to help the species propagate and support our insect wildlife.
Next, we recycled card with a strip of double sided tape along it. We used this to gather a collection of plant colours and textures as we walked farther along. We were careful to only pick tiny samples from each of the plants. There was a kaleidoscope of colours to choose from.
We even got to get up close and personal with an insect. Can you identify it? 😉
P4 – 7 spent the morning at our lovely, local beach today as part of our participation in the Rhins Coastal Paths Project. We were joined by Anna Johnson, Countryside Development Office and Elizabeth Tindal.
A further session with Susi Briggs, songwriter, will follow to develop our song writing skills using our session events as a stimulus.
The session began by us going on a beach forage. The children worked in pairs to bring back one object they knew something about and one thing they wanted to find out about. We found and discussed a wide variety of seaweed, crab claws, mermaid’s purses and the like. We learned that seaweed comes in three main colour groups: red, green and brown. We also discovered that some varieties are edible when freshly picked. There is even a sweet tasting one that was used in a blancmange recipe during WWII rationing.
Next, the boys and girls placed large stones on the edge of the water to see if the tide was coming in or out. Pretty quickly, our rocks were submerged showing an advancing tide. The children enjoyed a wellie wade whilst we were at it 😉
We learned how to identify male and female crabs by the banding on their outer exoskeletons. We readily found live examples of crabs on the beach to study along with anemones and whelks. The children were fascinated by the rock pool life forms.
The session then moved on to our using story stones to link together a creative and imaginative tale using the images painted on the rocks as features in our story. The children gathered a stone of their liking and decorated it with a picture using acrylic pens. These will be used in a future story telling and song writing session planned for the following week.
As a final activity, everyone gathered two more stones which we studied. We learned how many stones are formed e.g. sedimentary or volcanic. Our stone treasures were used as percussion instruments to produce a musical tune in groups. Different sounds were produced by rubbing surfaces together or tapping the stones together gently or with more pressure for volume.
It was all too quickly time to return to school for our lunch. The children thanked Anna and Elizabeth for a very informative and enjoyable outdoor learning session.
We were delighted to receive a beautiful bouquet of ‘Gryffindor’ roses and a stunning hand made card from Ava Lily and Atticus’ family this morning. These were given as a thank you for our Hogwarts event yesterday.
We are sure you will agree that Ava Lily and Atticus’ uncle, Thomas Nguyen, is indeed a very talented artist.
The message inside made us all smile. Your thoughtfulness and consideration is greatly appreciated by our wee team. It was certainly our pleasure to host the event yesterday. It was hard to tell whether the children, or the grown ups had more fun!
P 4- 7 decided to use air dry modelling clay to shape the Harry Potter Sorting Hats. We used rolling, flattening and shaping to form the hat. We then used a range of tools to imprint the face and wrinkle detail onto our creations.
When they are fully dry we will see if we want to paint and varnish them with P.V.A. glue to seal them.
To get their bodies and minds moving, the children were set a challenge of completing an observational scavenger hunt on two themes.
Luna’s Nature Spotters:
Twig
Leaf
Clover
Pebble
Dobby’s Magical Mysteries:
Sock
Pine Cone
Golden Snitch
Chocolate Frog
There were mad dashes, here there and everywhere as everyone gathered in at least one of each of the above and placed them in our sorting hoops back in school.
The spoils were then divided up equally as a a reward for their physical effort.
