Hi P5b  readers, I wanted to update you on what we have been doing in our Learning Journeys since our last entry.

I am delighted to share that the pupils produced wonderful models and sculptures illustrating the issue of marine littering and their efforts were recognised with Keep Scotland Beautiful awarding the class with participation certificates.

Now that we have finished exploring the META Skills of Communicating and Collaborating, P5b are currently enjoying the Wildlife Conservation Learning Journey! First the children revisited food chains by exploring the school grounds to identify an example of one. They then created a diagram of what they had found and we discussed some related terminology such as producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumers, ecosystems and decomposers. They have also started to apply this knowledge by using Google Sheets to create digital food webs.  The class has learned that not all energy is transferred to the next stage in the food chain and they completed some calculations to determine how much is lost. P5b were fascinated with discovering which creatures are extinct or endangered and made some insightful comments as to why some physical features help animals to thrive and survive. After this, the children then started to categorise them into carnivores, herbivores and omnivores which led to interesting debates and some surprises. To mark Earth Day everyone created their own upcycled and sustainable plant pots using plastic bottles that were kindly donated. Each pupil decorated them with patterns or themes, went on to plant a sunflower into the pots and have now taken them home. Making the most of this wonderful weather, the class explored the concept of conservation and then went to the woodland to create shelters. During this, the groups had to ensure there designs met the basic needs to their specific creatures.

Mr Atkinson