Welcome back to the P7a blog! We hope you enjoy reading about what we have be exploring with Mr Atkinson in his Learning Journeys.

Recently we finished the Learning Journey,  STAT Wars. This project challenged P7a to reflect on their own carbon footprints. In teams, the pupils have been applying their Meta-Skills of communicating, collaborating, critical thinking and leading whilst researching a specific problem related to CO2 which was identified when they completed their carbon calculator on Excel. The groups have been investigating different sources to help them make notes and have turned some of their recorded information into graphs. Using the graphs, the teams have produced detailed Google Slides with accompanying Adobe Express infographic posters summarising their expert knowledge of their carbon footprint focus. I was incredibly impressed with the confident delivery of the presentations to the rest of the class! Finally the groups drafted a persuasive letter to the East Renfrewshire Environment Department explaining their findings and requesting for action to be taken to resolve some of these issues. Afterwards, we discussed how data can be misleading at times and why it is important to carefully analyse information to ensure it is accurate.

P7a have just started their own personal projects for the final term which will involve exploring an area of interest with their group. First they recorded all of the Meta-Skills they have learned over the last two years and devised ways utilise them to complete their project. They have also been discussing and reflecting on all the Experiences and Outcomes they have been taught whilst at Crookfur and deciding which ones could link to their interests. At the end of this, the groups will be asked to select a method to showcase their personal project and  I am very much looking forward to seeing what each team produces!

We created films to promote healthy lifestyles. We researched on the iPads then used iMovie to film and edit.

We have started a film study of Howl’s Moving  Castle. We went to the woodland and found natural objects. Inspired by the film’s art style we created a characters and backgrounds focussing on details and textures.

Last week we visited Newton Mearns Baptist Church to take part in some Easter activities and learn why Easter is important to Christians. The children really enjoyed the visit and the volunteers and staff at the church commented on how well they had listened and taken part.

We have continued learning about WWII. This week we looked at Jewish life and how it changed under the Nazis. We learnt about a girl called Vera and her journey as part of the Kindertransport.

We have been creating art work inspired by the blitz. We used paint and blending skills to create a background, added details like smoke and then created silhouettes to finish the pictures.

Check out our World Book Day scenes:

This week we explored probability and conducted some experiments.

This week we visited P3 to tell our religious stories that the class have worked on retelling. Some people made puppet shows and others interactive picture books. The class worked really hard on their stories and the P3s loved hearing them.

Hi P7a readers, I wanted to update you on what we have been doing in our most recent Learning Journey since my last entry.

As part of our Countryside versus Concrete Jungle Learning Journey we revisited parts of plants and what they require to survive. Once having been explained how fertilisers affect the development of plants the pupils then researched different types organic and inorganic fertilisers. The class then created farming maps of Scotland and made a key to label arable, dairy and mixed farming areas.  We have also partnered with the University of Glasgow and taken part in their educational programme Sci-Seedlets. In this project we did a science experiment to test and compare how maize seeds grow when given water or salty water. This was to check whether sea water would make a good alternative option to watering plants as droughts are increasing in parts of the world. We observed the growth progress of the plants over a couple of weeks and at the end of the experiment we took them out the soil to study. The pupils noticed that the roots were smaller in the salt water container and concluded that salt water could be used to feed plants but their growth would be delayed. P7A have also investigated how land is used and visited the National Museum of Rural Life.  Whilst at the museum the pupils learned about how farming technology has evolved over the years, how maths is used to run a farm and even had a chance to ride a tractor! Inspired from this trip, the pupils have been looking at local maps and commenting on how the area around the school has changed due to the construction of commercial, residential and recreational buildings and with the development of transport links. They also used Venn diagrams to compare the differences between a Scottish clan settlement with a modern day town.  P7A then evaluated sources of differing opinions on how land should be used which involved identifying the purpose, main ideas and highlighting the supporting evidence. Equipped with this information the pupils were then challenged to collaborate in groups and create arguments on their chosen stance about whether Rouken Glen Park should be replaced with homes or not.