Hello to all the P6A blog readers, it’s Mr Atkinson here! As you will know this year I am doing NCCT for P6A with a focus on developing Crookfurs Enquiry Based Learning approach so I wanted to give you an update of what we have been doing.

Building on our knowledge from the P5 Learning Journeys, the class have explored  what can be constructed on land and investigated the pros and cons. They also applied their curiosity by finding out the impact the different land uses have on the environment. Equipped with this information, the pupils utilised their Meta-Skills of collaborating and communicating to prepare for their debates on this issue. I was highly impressed with their thorough research and well-structured arguments resulting in some compelling points being made. In groups the pupils have begun to write persuasive letters to the council about why habitats and wildlife should be protected.

Another busy week in P6a 

K’Nex

“This week we made K’Nex cubes and triangles. We learnt that triangles are really important when you are doing K’Nex because they help keep things stable.” This will support us when building various models.

Writing

“We were doing writing with Miss Lamb on Thursday, focussing on imaginative writing. We got inspiration from a movie called ‘A Night at the Museum’ and were pretending that we were a night guard in a museum.” We used our knowledge and understanding of VCOP (Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers and Punctuation) to support and development our writing skills.

Maths

We were introduced to a resource called “Cuisenaire Rods” and were tasked with finding ways in which they could support and enhance our understanding of different maths concepts. We discovered we could use them for addition, subtraction, measurement, fractions and multiplication and division. 

What a busy start to the year it has been already! Here’s a glimpse of  what we’ve been upto.

Our Class Charter

Working independently, in pairs and small groups, we sorted, categorised and listed what we believe are the most important rights, linking them to the wellbeing indicators from GIRFEC.  We then created and voted for 6 promises, that we as a class will hold ourselves to throughout the year.

K’Nex Challenge

Our K’nex challenge this week was to create a tent structure, working in pairs, developing our collaboration and critical thinking. Each tent was different and unique, showcasing our creativity.

Place Value Art

Taking inspiration from Pier Mondrian, we created abstract art by using our knowledge of place value. After completing the art work on the tables, we calculated the total value of each material used; hundreds, tens and unit blocks. We then challenged our classmates to see if they could correctly identify and write the correct value.