Author: Miss Shaw

This week we have all enjoyed being back at school after a lovely holiday. We  have learned how to analyse characters in a text. We did this by watching characters in a video and looking at their manner, appearance, actions, reactions and interactions with other characters. Towards the end of the week we had to use what we had learned to create our own character. They had to be a pirate but we could decide if they were good or bad!

In maths the Dragon Mages have been developing our knowledge of different shapes and patterns through tiling. we know shapes with straight edges are the best to tile with. The Potion Masters have been developing our skills in division with remainders and carrying. Some of us are still finding this a little tricky and we need some more practice. The Star Lords have been learning to tell the time to the nearest minute. We have also found this a wee bit tricky but we think we are getting the hang of it now.

We have started an exciting technology topic about bridges. We have learned there are 4 different types of bridges: a hanging bridge, a cantilever bridge, a beam bridge and an arch bridge. We have been set the challenge to build our own model of a bridge that has to eb strong enough for a toy car to go over. We are limited to £100 to spend at Miss Shaw’s Building Supplies. It’s rather difficult not to spend it all at once. We are finding it very interesting though.

Maths:

The Star Lords have been learning about degrees between compass points. We had to follow directions using language like ” 135 degrees anti-clockwise” and then saying which direction you would then be facing on the compass.

The potion masters developed their skills in addition and subtraction with a lot of exchanges with 3 digit numbers. Some of us need a little more practice with this before moving on.

The Dragon MAges continued to develop their skills with matching analogue and digital clocks by playing a game of bingo! It was a lot of fun. We also revised how to add and subtract using Tens and Units.

In language we had to continue a story in the same style as the author. It was about two brothers playing the Tasting Game and eventually they had a fight. We had to write from the point of view of the big brother who had just played a trick on his little brother by feeding him mustard!

We continued our plants science topic by carrying out an investigation to find out the direction that water travels in a plant. We have also learned the differnt parts of the flower and their functions. We are finding this very interesting and fun!

In language this week we were developing our skills in creating and answering questions. We had to create Right There questions using our guided readers. We had to use “who, what where or when” at the start of our questions to help us. We also had to make sure we were using the correct punctuation. We have also been reading texts and then answering some tricky Think and search questions. We had to read between the lines and use clues like a detective.

Maths:

Star Lords have met the angles family this week. There are acute angles, right angles, obtuse angles and reflex angles. We were also measuring using a protractor. This was pretty hard because we had to be so accurate!

The Dragon Mages have continued our skills with number and problem solving with Miss Shaw this week. We have also been learning to tell quarter to and quarter past times and matching the digital and analogue times. We still need a tiny bit more practice with this.

The potion masters were revising all their multiplication tables and developing their skills in multiplying 2 digit numbers by a single digit. We also revised fractions with Mrs Nisbet. A few of us were a wee bit rusty but we remembered it all by the end.

We started our new science topic on plants. We made a model of a flowering plant including the stem, the leaves, the flower and the roots. They look lovely!

Maths:

Star Lords have been continued developing their skills in calculating area and perimeter by solving different problems. We also had a wee reminder on how to create symmetrical shapes. Thankfully we all remembered!

Dragon Mages have been working hard to develop their problem solving skills with Miss Shaw. We were concentrating on finding lots of different ways to solve the problems such as counting up, counting down, using tens and units or using our fingers.  We have to then explain how we have solved the problem and we are all getting much better at it.

Potion Masters continued to develop their skills with using a calendar. This time we had to answer question by reading calendars. Some of us are still finding this a little bit tricky, but we will continue to practice through homework.

In language we all attempted to write a scary story. We had to include our feelings, use our senses to describe in order to help the reader get a picture in their mind. We also learned what suspense is and tried to include that in our writing too.

In R.E. we have been learning about Shabbat which is the Jewish day of rest.  Traditionaly the family come together before the sun has set and they light a candle that you keep lit until it burns out. The family share a meal together and say a prayer.

Maths:

The Star Lords have been learning how to calculate the perimeter of shapes. We have also learned how to calculate the area of squares and rectangles using the formula A=lxb. We have found this a little bit tricky and will need a some more practice next week.

The Potion Masters have been learning about calanders, what they look like and how we use them. We have even started making our own! We have had a good week in maths this week.

The Dragon Mages have been learning about time. We reminded ourselves how to tell o’clock and half past times. We have also been practising our problem solving skills with Miss Shaw. We are not allowed to write out a calculation and we have to find a different way to work them out. We are really enjoying the challenge.

During language we analysed scary stories and looked for interesting words to use in our own writing. We found that scary stories include character’s thoughts and feelings and  use a variety of adjectives. We will need to remember to include this in our own stories next week.

We also began to read with Primary 7. We had to read to each other and then we were to complete different activities to show our understanding. Some of our favourite activities were story tig, drawing our favourite character, drawing the setting and making questions for each other to answer. We also found some new and interesting words in these books too!

In art we have been practising our painting skills. We had to use different shades of the same colour to make our background. We then added a fence in the foreground and a tree and a house in the middle ground. We have really enjoyed creating our pictures and hope you are looking forward to seeing them on parents night!