This week we continued to hear more of the natural disaster solo talks. Pupils presented to the class on some of the following:

• This tsunami linked to the explosion of the Krakatau volcano
• 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
• 2010 Haiti Earthquake
• 1976 Tangshan earthquake
• And some of last weeks disaster

This week in Maths two groups were using protractors for the first time. Both groups had to identify a range of different angles including, obtuse, straight line, reflex, right angle and acute. Following this they then had to measure and draw their own angles. Next time the groups will calculate composite angles which will also test their addition skills.

Isaac Newton have continued to learn more about their information handling topic. This week they independently conducted surveys in class, recorded their findings and then created their own graphs. Next time they will be using Excel to generate bar graphs and line graphs.

In Literacy we have been writing winter themed poems using the techniques of rhyming and ABAB. First we watched several clips of wintry settings and then we had to note key features related to the five senses based on the videos. After that, we used dictionaries to help us generate more words that might be useful when structuring our poems.

In Social/Scottish dancing we learnt the Canadian Barn dance and the Strip the Willow dance in preparation for our Ceilidh during the Christmas party next week. We really enjoyed these dances as they were lively and challenging!

We also continued learning more about our Life Cycles science topic this week. We investigated different habitats and learnt how altering the food chain can affect animal populations. Next we found out what an ecosystem is and how a food web can show multiple food chains. Finally, working in partners, we used the Chromebooks to help research and create our own food webs using Excel. Whilst doing this task we discovered the importance of keys and colour coding information in the food webs as it makes it easier to identify trends.

Mr Atkinson’s Comment

Excellent work everyone with their solo talk! I really enjoyed reading your winter themed poems, next term we will investigate other poetry related techniques. Remember next week is the Christmas party! There will be three Scottish/Social dances, several games and a break for some food and drinks.