We measured the height of everyone in the class then compared our heights with Flat Stanley. Most of us were taller than Flat Stanley. Flat Stanley is 122cm tall. We drew around Isla C as she is the same height as Flat Stanley. We turned Isla’s outline into Flat Stanley. We made a painting of Archie who is the same height as Flat Stanley, one of Aaron L, who is shorter than Flat Stanley and one of Carrie, who is taller than Flat Stanley.
WELCOME TO PRIMARY 3.2!!!!
We have now been in Primary 3 for 2 weeks and have all settled in nicely. We have started reading Flat Stanley, and so far we found out he got flattened by a bulletin board. He’s enjoying being flat because he can slide under doors and because he was flat he fitted through a grating to fetch his mother’s ring that had fallen down the drain. He was also able to visit relatives in California as he got posted there in an envelope.
We made outfits for our own Flat Stanley to wear to California.
In maths, we have been learning to measure in metres and we are going to be measuring in centimetres too. We all measured our height and compared ourselves to the height of Flat Stanley who is 122cm tall.
These are some of the things we have enjoyed so far –
Melody – Learning about Flat Stanley.
Hamish – Not having homework.
Callen – Learning about Flat Stanley and painting our rocks.
Megan – I enjoyed reading.
Remi – Reading Flat Stanley and doing Brain Buzz.
Space
Primary 2 have been learning all about Space. We learned some facts about each of the planets and tried to come up with different ways to remember the order of the planets. After that we learned that the Earth rotates and revolves around the Sun and this is why we have day and night. We took a visit to the Glasgow Science Centre and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the Planetarium. During ICT we have been creating our own space PowerPoints and lots of us have been sharing our learning at home! In Art we learned all about Peter Thorpe’s abstract space art and we decided to create some of our own. In Literacy we researched Neil Armstrong and wrote a newspaper article about the moon landing.
We were creating space pictures. We looked at pictures of Peter Thorpe’s artwork and then we used pastels to create our own. Ben
We were learning about abstract art. We used bold colours like black and red together. We thought about hot and cold colours. This helped us to add more detail.
We got a space book to look for planet words. We put the words on cards and used them to spell the planet words. Archie
The Earth rotates and revolves around the Sun. It takes 365 days for the Earth to revolve around the Sun. Megan
It takes 24 hours for the Earth to rotate. If we are facing the Sun then we get light and it is day. If we are facing away from the Sun then it is night. Melody
We went outside and we had to find a partner and one of us had to be the Earth and the other person was the Sun. We had to rotate and revolve around the Sun. If Miss Watson shouted daytime we had to face our partner (the Sun) and if she shouted nighttime then we had to face the other way. Callen
Numeracy: Addition and Subtraction
In numeracy we have been revising and addition and subtraction. We have also been working really hard to use our mental math strategies to answer a range of questions. During play, we have been using lots of different materials to help us to subtract accurately.
‘We didn’t use number lines we worked on trying to figure it out in our heads. I put the big number in my head and counted down with my fingers.’ Samuel
‘We were working on number families. We could only use three numbers. If I was using six and four that would equal ten. You can make four calculations with a number family.’ Melody
‘We did calculations by building a lego tower and taking some away and then we wrote the answer. We used dabbers to make dots and then we crossed out the ones that we were taking away.’ Bella
STEM Week
For STEM week Primary 2.2 were set a challenge of designing and building a tower that birds could sit their nests on. We started off by thinking of lots of different designs and looking at some photographs of strong structures. Then we discussed which designs we thought would work the best and why. After that we worked in teams to have a go at building some of the models.
‘The top of our tower was perfect for a nest because it was a long rectangle. Our group used Megan’s idea which looked like a house. We tried to build the roof but it was too tricky because it kept collapsing. Next time I would add things on the side to help make it more secure.’ Hamish
‘Ours went quite well but some parts were hard. Everyone had good moments and bad moments. Our good moment was at the start when we built the base of the tower. Our bad moment was at the end when the top started falling but we managed to fix it.’ Leo
‘My group chose Callen’s idea but it didn’t really turn out anything like it. We added extra bits and we added on a base instead. Then we added on some flags. I liked it because it was very sturdy.’ Annabelle
‘We were trying to make the Eiffel tower. We couldn’t make the cuboid at the top because the straws weren’t the same length so we couldn’t adjust it and the top was too heavy for the rest of the structure. The base was the right size so it worked well.’ Isla
‘Our groups was a bit small so I think the giraffes would have been able to reach it. Next time I would make a cuboid shape to help make it a bit stronger and taller.’ Melody
Afterwards we discussed what other materials we could have used to build our towers. The next day we decided to try again using a new idea, marshmallows and spaghetti. This took cooperation and lots of patience. These models were a little bit messier but far tastier!
‘We started with big marshmallows but they kept falling down because they were too heavy. Then we got some wee marshmallows which were lighter. We put the big ones at the bottom to make it steady and we used the small ones at the top.’ Kobe
Reading for enjoyment in Primary 2
Primary 2 were very excited to have a visit from local author and illustrator Graeme Watson. We looked at two of his stories before having a go at drawing some of the characters. The wicked witch Fredina Freakly was quite tricky to draw but we had some fabulous results!
‘It was so funny listening to his stories.’ Megan
‘We read a book about a witch and a cat. The cat drank some of the potion and kept changing into different animals. We had a go at making our own funny animal.’ Melody
‘Every time the cat burped it turned into a different thing.’ Isla
‘We drew a witch and a cat. My witch had a very long lip.’ Indi
Potato Planting with Mr Strang
Primary 2.2 were delighted to have a visit from a local farmer Mr Strang who helped us to plant potatoes in our outdoor area. He showed us what the potatoes looked like before they were planted and explained all the things that they would need to help them grow. Then we got the chance to go outside and work collaboratively to plant the potatoes. We listened carefully for the instructions on how to look after them and now we are going to water them daily to help them grow. We look forward to seeing the results!
‘We had to put lots of compost in the tub. We took turns to put the compost in.’ Melody
‘We put holes in the compost to put the potatoes in. We had to hold them by the potato and not the stem to plant them because the stem could fall off.’ Aaron L
‘The stem tries to go up to the top and they grow a little flower on top.’ Indi
‘Potatoes need sunlight to grow.’ William
‘If you put in too much water then it will go out the holes in the bottom of the tub.’ Leo
‘It needs one watering can once a day and it needs food.’ Carrie
3D objects in Numeracy
In Numeracy we have been learning to name different 3D objects as well as describing them using the appropriate vocabulary. We have constructed lots of different 3D objects and counted how many faces, edges and vertices they have.
‘We had balls and sticks to make different 3D objects. I made a square based pyramid.’ Logan
‘We had an area where you could build a cube out of playdough. I liked making the cube.’ Kobe
‘There was playdough and sticks and I made a pyramid, cube and cuboid. I helped other people to make some 3D objects too.’ Isla M
‘A square is flat and a cube is not.’ Isla M
‘I made a sphere with the playdough.’ Amy
Fairy tales with a twist
In Literacy we had a go at writing our own fairy tales. Before we started, we read the story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. We worked together to think of ways that we could rewrite the story of the three little pigs but with a twist. We thought that we might change the characters, the setting or even the weather in the story. After we had thought of some different ideas, we worked in pairs to plan our story and to think of some adjectives to describe the characters. Then we had a go at writing our new version. Afterwards, we worked in small groups to share our stories and to check that we had met our success criteria. We loved reading our stories aloud and getting feedback from our friends.
‘We walked around the room and when Miss Watson shouted stop we had to find a partner and share some of our ideas.’ Isla C
‘You want to write a fairy tale that you like and that other people like. You can do a mixed up story using ideas of what other people like.’ Leo
‘We thought about other stories people liked and then mixed it up a bit.’ Remi
‘We changed the characters like the three little pigs were bad. We changed the big bad wolf into a good wolf.’ Carrie
‘We used a word mat to help us think of ideas for our fairy tale and so that we could look at it and add any words when writing our fairy tales.’ Melody
‘We made sure that we had finger spaces, full stops and capital letters.’ Megan
‘We use punctuation in our fairy tale.’ Bella
We are innovative inventors
Primary 2.2 worked extremely hard on their innovative inventors projects and were able to come up with some fabulous inventions to help the environment. We thoroughly enjoyed hearing all the different ideas and giving two stars and a wish to each of our peers. Thank you to all who helped to create our amazing designs!
‘Looking after the environment is a really special thing that we all have to do.’ – Samuel
‘Some of us used fairtrade products in our designs. It’s always good if you see fairtrade because then you know the farmers are getting a fair price.’ – Callum
‘We thought about ideas to help animals and to recycle materials. My litter beach buggy has grabbers to pick up litter so the animals don’t chew or choke on our litter’ – Melody
