We have been enjoying lots of outdoor learning opportunities recently:

First we worked with a partner to create an apple and sunflower seed bird feeder.

Then we found a good spot to hang it on the tree to hopefully attract some birds. 

Secondly we worked as part of a team to build an interesting den. We spoke about what skills we used such as creativity, problem solving, communication and team work.

Lastly we took our learning outside for a science challenge. We have been learning about different types of energy. We learned about heat energy and that you can measure how hot something is using a thermometer. In groups we each had a bowl of water at 50 Degrees Celsius and were challenge to use ice and cold water to cool it down to a steady 25 Degrees Celsius. It had to stay at that temperature for at  least 1 minute so we had to be careful not to add in all of the ice at once.

Some action shots from sports day!

In science, we have been exploring how magnets work. First we went around the classroom to find objects that were magnetic: 

Then we made our own magnet maze and shared them with our peers:

After that we designed and made a game that uses magnets:

We also made posters and fact files to display all the information we have learned:

Thank you to the P6 and P7 pupils who organised some exciting Red Nose Day activities for us. We had great fun!

This term we have been learning lots about our environment and the impacts of plastic pollution.

We started off our topic by going on a plastic hunt in the playground. We recorded all the different types of plastic we found like yoghurt pots, crisps packets, plastic bags, plastic bottles and more:

We then wondered how long these items would stay in the playground if  no one picked them up. This led to us learning about the word ‘biodegradable’. We predicted how long different everyday items would take to biodegrade:

We were shocked to find out that plastic takes 100s of years to completely break down! Then we chose to make a poster or fact file to show off what we had learned so far:

Next we were learning about what happens to our rubbish after it goes into the bin. We identified different items that can be recycled and sequenced what happens to them at the recycling centre.

We were also surprised to learn that if we don’t recycle items then they go to landfill. Then we chose to create a comic book strip describing what happens to glass, paper, tin or plastic:

Then we started to learn about the impact of plastic pollution on animals. We read different books and watched some videos describing how plastic ends up in the ocean. We learned that animals think the plastic is food and get sick or get tangled and trapped in different plastic objects. This made us really sad. We wanted to create some artwork and our own stories about the animals that are affected:

Lastly we went on a litter pick in the playground to help make a change:

We were learning about some Scottish artists. First we looked at the pop art style of Gillian Kyle:

Then we looked at the bright and colourful artwork of Steven Brown. We took inspiration from his work and created our own McCoos:

We also took part in different activities linked to our own interests. We could identify different places of interest on a map, we were particularly excited when we found Loch Ness and Barrhead!

We worked as a team to build the Scottish countryside out of Lego including a farm house, a vegetable patch growing lettuce, carrots and strawberries, and chose farm animals to add in also:

We showed off our measuring, cutting and weaving skills to make our own tartan:

We started off our Scotland topic learning about some Scottish mythical creatures. Our clear favourite was the Loch Ness Monster! At the construction area we built Nessie using Lego:

In writing, we have been learning to write persuasively. We worked with our shared writing partner to create a job advert for a Loch Ness monster catcher! We persuaded the reader to apply by making the job sound really interesting. Some of our ideas included: being paid in diamonds and jewels, staying in a 5 star hotel in Loch Ness with amazing views and even a bonus of eating free in any restaurant.

In outdoor learning, we are learning to identify some Scottish trees and wildlife. We went on a winter walk to collect any leaves, nuts, pine cones or  branches  that had already fallen from the trees in our playground. We used what we found to help us identify the tree using fact sheets and pictures. We then used our collected materials to create a picture:

We had the best time at our Christmas party 🎄  We played pass the parcel, Christmas corners, musical arms and many more! I think our favourite was showing off our amazing dance moves 🕺

We have been very busy scientists recently. We have been learning about solid, liquid and gas, and how substances can change between each state.
Here we are carrying out an experiment to change solid ice into liquid water using heat energy from our hands. I think the ice was pretty cold!!

We also carried out an experiment to investigate what solid substances (salt, sugar, flour, icing sugar) will dissolve in a liquid. At first, we used cold water only. We then discussed variables we thought would help the dissolving process (heat and stirring):