Mistakes are beautiful
As part of our mindset month, we looked at making different patterns. This lesson focused on the trying multiple solutions. It reinforced the importance of trying different approaches.
Read, Write, Count bags – one
On Friday Primary 2 were introduced to the Read, Write, Count bag which we will be taking home at the end of the November.
The Primary 2 bag includes
- How Many Trees? by Barroux
- Rocketmole by Matt Carr
- Story cubes with characters, places, and objects to inspire writing and storytelling
- A notebook and writing pencil
- Shape Shuffle card game with Talk It Out/Act It Out prompts on the reverse side
- An activity booklet for parents including information and inspiration for using the items at home
We listened to the story and created a storyboard to show the beginning, middle and end.
As part of Scottish Book week we will be exploring other ways to use the resource bag.
How many trees?
Primary 2 have explored the playground looking at the trees around us. Inspired by the book ‘How Many Trees?’, the pupils explored the playground searching for different shapes of leaves. Then then used a leaf Id to identify the surrounding trees based on the shape of the leaves.
If you’d like to do this at home you can find the leaf id sheet here.
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/03/tree-id-kids/
After this Primary 2 discussed the impact of winter on the local wildlife. We then made bird feeders mixing lard or coconut oil with bird seeds and cereals.
In class we then found out about St. Francis of Assisi and his love of nature. We remembered Pope Francis call for Care for our common home and recognised the importance of caring and providing for the animals in our world both local and worldwide.
P2B are outdoors every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
STEM lesson
Mrs Reid gave Primary 2 a challenge to help Rapunzel escape the tower.
Pupils had to work within a group to find a solution. They had a variety of materials to use and they had to evaluate the best solutions.
Activities like this really require a growth mindset as sometimes the first strategy doesn’t work and they have to find another solution.
There was great conversation in the class about the benefits and limits of the materials.
Throwing skills
Over the last few weeks we have been practising throwing and catching skills.
PE will remain outdoors and continues to be every Wednesday and Friday.
Outdoor Classroom Day
Primary 2b had a great day outside.
First they completed a sound scavenger hunt with Mrs Stevens.
Then they went out with Miss McKay. First we listened to a mini beast poem and discussed what mini beasts we might find in our playground.
Others built dens. They used a range of materials and practised skills such as tying knots.
Pupils also had time to watch for shapes in the clouds but it was more like one big grey cloud then lots of different shapes.
In the afternoon Primary 2 create posters encouraging others to look after the playground by putting litter in the bin.
Dyslexia Awareness Week
This week is Dyslexia Awareness week. We found out that dyslexia impacts 1 in 10 people.
We will also receive blue ribbons to show awareness.
For more information visit https://www.dyslexiascotland.org.uk/
Maths Week Scotland
Last week was Maths Week Scotland and Primary 2 had great fun exploring different mathematic concepts.
We used Bee bots to develop our vocabulary of movement and direction. The Beebots also encourage early coding skills.
We also explored tessellation and explored how shapes could fit together. We used the 3D shapes to create our own freestanding structures and discussed the features of different free day shapes.
We also took part in an outdoor number hunt using a map of the school to find the locations.
We also continued to work on using the chromebooks independently.
As part of the whole school homework, Primary 2 produced awesome maths at home photographs.
Build a bridge
Build a bridge task
Primary 2b were given the challenge of constructing a bridge collaboratively using play dough and pasta.
They had to consider the uses of both materials and the best way to use them. Through exploring they were able to find ways to make the structure freestanding. Then they discussed different techniques and shapes.
As you can see our final designs are excellent!
Planting
During assembly Mr Hutcheson spoke about the meaning of nurture.
Inspired by this Primary 2 planted flowers which we will be growing in the classroom over the next few weeks. We will be learning how to look after plants and what they need. In RE we have been looking at the natural beauty in the world around us and growing our beautiful flowers will help us to remember this.
