Both Primary 7 classes performed the poem ‘A Dug, A Dug’ by Bill Keys at the Tartan Assembly. They were absolutely fabulous and had a great response from the audience.
Well done to everyone!
Category Archives: Literacy
Debating at East Renfrewshire Headquarters
The children of Primary 7 were invited by Provost Carmichael to hold a debate in the council chambers on Monday 10th October.
The pupils took on different roles. Some were councillors, some were members of the media and others were members of the public sitting in the gallery.
The motion that: “All children living in East Renfrewshire and in fulltime education should have free access to sports facilities in East Renfrewshire ” generated a lively debate and Councillor Robertson helped us to keep the debate moving.
At the end of the debate Provost Carmichael held a vote which was very close with the motion being defeated by 18 votes to 17 votes. We had a brilliant time and managed to use many of the persuasive literacy techniques that we have been developing in class.
Well done, everyone!
Mindmaps
We used the mindmapping technique to make notes about the services provided by East Renfrewshire Council. We enjoyed using different colours and also adding some visuals. Here are some of the finished examples.
Mandarin
We have been learning Mandarin based on our previous lessons
Our main focus has been Mandarin characters we have been able to create our own Mandarin characters for example fire + mountain = volcano
and one person + another one = following. We recently went down to P2 and P4 and showed our presentations about mandarin.
I enjoyed one symbol + another symbol = another symbol
Ryan
I enjoyed showing off our mandarin skills to P2 and P4
Codi
There once was a皇帝 go-wan who lived near the大山Dàshān near 山shān the was a 森林Sēnlín and in森林Sēnlín there was a熊貓Xióngmāo the had a best-friend his friend was a 人Rén their favourite food is白饭 mi
and Zhú竹.One night when the 亮Yuèliàng was shining really bright the皇帝 go-wan got lost in the森林 Sēnlín
BY Codi, EmmaB, Olivia, Sophie
One day I went to a big大Dà zoo. In the zoo I saw an animal. It was big (da) and it was white白色Báisè and 黑色Hēisè 。 I asked my沉默Chénmò.What is that? My Chénmò said it was a panda( Shumao). It was eating竹
竹Zhú.It began to climb up a 绿色的树Lǜsè de shù .
by Julia, Racheal, Amy, EmmaF,Breanne
We utilised our ICT skills to create animations based on our short stories.
We will be able to use these skills in the future to help us communicate with Chinese people and in some jobs being bilingual is an asset.
Diary of a Victorian Child
In Primary 6 we are learning how to write a diary recount. We watched a variety of videos about Victorian children and the difficult jobs they had to do. We took notes to help us support and structure our writing.
In order to create a successful recount we had to write using:
- First person
- Past tense
- Include self reflections
- Write in character
- Use the correct format
- Proper sentences
We also enhanced our writing by using Victorian vocabulary for example:
Pea soupers- fog
Daddles- hands
Door knockers- beard
Collie shangles- quarrel/fight
Chukkaboo- friends
My recount was successful because I used first person, past tense and imagery to describe what my character was feeling.
Adam
My recount was successful because I got into character and included feeling sentences
Emma B
I was successful because I now know what it would be like to be a Victorian child.
Codi Leigh
We will use these writing techniques to enhance our writing.
This research and writing process made us realise how different life was for children during the Victorian period and makes us realize how lucky we are. We are very happy that laws were put in place to improve everyones life and health and wellbeing ( we wouldn’t be writing a recount if we were in Victorian times instead we would be in the mines , factories or the workhouse.)
October 24th 1865
Dear Diary
I live in a small flat in Glasgow. I live with my family. I have nine brothers and five sisters. My name is Tobi, I am 10 years old and we are very poor. I have to work to help my family.
My job is working in the coal mines and it is a very hard job. Everyday I wake up 3 o clock in the morning and walk to work which starts at 4 o’clock. I get paid only 5 shillings a day which isn’t a lot. My master’s name is John Stevens and he is a horrible bully. I am a putter which means you have to push heavy trucks of coal in the mines. It is very hard working in the mines. once I feel asleep in the mines and got caught by the master. I did not mean to but because it was so dark it just happened. The master whipped me until I bled. Another time I ate my lunch in the mines and again I got caught. This time I got whipped even more. My lunch was only a slice of bread. I hate my master. He has a huge door knocker which is as dark as demons.
Being a putter is such a hard job for a nine year old like me. I am sad and angry and I get scared in the mines being all alone I want a better education and that’s were school comes in handy. I am getting more lonely and depressed. Now when I get up for work my back feels like it is going to break and I need something to help me get up in the morning. I have scratches all over my body and I feel like I am dying. My mum died two days ago and I am distraught about the death. My brothers and sisters tried to help her but it was too late she was only 39 years old when she died. I want to be free of this pain.
Yours faithfully
Tobi
By Lewis
Tartan Day-29th January 2016
Tomorrow our school will be celebrating Robert Burns day by hosting a Tartan Day and a Celebrating Scotland Assembly.
We have been learning My Hoggie by Robert Burns and also a Scottish song called Sands O’ the Shore.
We all had to learn two stanzas each, Scots language and how to perform using expression. We have been learning how to perform the poem using rhythm also.
Spelling Bee
In class we have been focusing on our spelling and taking part in a class Spelling Bee Challenge. We have been practising our spelling words in lots of different ways and trying to apply spelling rules in our writing. Throughout the term we have been getting points for interesting and ambitious sentences, class challenges and for completing our homework tasks to a high standard.
Well Done Emma F who was crowned our Spelling Bee champion.
Emma always tries to write interesting sentences and we have used her sentences during our class writing challenges. By practising our spelling regularly we will be able to apply this to our writing.
Novel Study- Setting
In class we have been reading the Nowhere Emporium by Ross Mackenzie which is set in Glasgow. We have been analysing techniques writers use to create interesting characters and settings. Ross Mackenzie uses alliteration, similes and metaphors to bring his mysterious setting to life. We successfully used alliteration and metaphors to describe the Scottish Parliament building and Adam & Christopher confidently performed them during our National Poetry Day assembly. We will be using similes and metaphors to create mysterious settings and characters within our writing.
There we stood at the base of the beautiful sight,
While the shimmering sum shone on our delight
Then we swooped into the big black site
As fast as a swift kite
We weaved through the dark damp stone cold corridors
We felt like we were in a tomb
We were surely coming to our doom.
Extract from Light & Dark by Adam
The sunlight was as bright and hot as the Sahara desert
We stood before the big bold building and its deep dark shadow
We entered the colossus structure like a cheetah on a chase
Extract from the Elements of the Parliament by Christopher
We created silhouette pictures of the Nowhere Emporium based on the description within the book. We used dark paper and bright tissue to help us create a mysterious setting.
I chose a pink background and the black building because it looks exciting and a bit scary Bille Joe
MP Visit
Our local MP Kirsten Oswald, who represents East Renfrewshire Council, visited our class on Wednesday the 23rd of September.
First we wrote a formal letter to Mrs Oswald inviting her to visit the class. We used persuasive and formal language within our letters.
Next we created open ended questions to ask Mrs Oswald to help us learn more information about her role as an MP.
Mrs Oswald informed us about the history of the Scottish Parliament and told us about the election process. We then asked Mrs Oswald our questions whilst we took notes.
Using our notes and the key information we created a 3 paragraph personal profile.
We will be able to apply these skills in our future working life.
Throughout the visit we ensured that we showed Mrs Oswald respect and that we are responsible for our learning.
