We have had another very busy month in P6c at St Cadoc’s!
In Maths, we have been developing our understanding across a broad range of skills. We have been completing ‘Number Talks’ sessions in class, during which we are given various calculations to solve. After some thinking time, we are encouraged to share different strategies for reaching the answer. This helps us to learn many different ways to tackle a problem, as well as giving us more confidence in our own abilities as we are achieving success! Our Cubes group have been focusing on calculating the area of increasingly complex 2D shapes, including right-angled triangles and composite shapes (made up of more than one 2D shape). The Spheres have been practising solving problems related to weight and volume, and have practised estimating and measuring weight and volume of different objects. Our Pyramids have been gaining confidence and accuracy when performing the four key mathematical processes – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division – and have begun using these skills in context when solving increasingly complex problems.
We all enjoyed the opportunity to use a range of STEAM skills when designing and building kites to be flown on some of the very windy days we’ve been having. We worked collaboratively throughout the creative process, selecting appropriate materials, then constructing, testing and adapting the finished product to make it suitable.
We are continuing to make good progress through our class novel – ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’. Each week, we have been completing comprehension tasks to show our understanding of the plot. Through reading about the characters’ experiences, we are gaining an increasing understanding of how it would feel to be forced to move to another country, where you do not speak the language or know many people. Given the current situation in Ukraine, it has made us think about people who could be potentially be displaced by this conflict and others. We prayed for all those affected by war, that peace may be reached and that no harm come to innocent civilians.
Elsewhere in Literacy & English, we have been practising the skill of ‘inferring’, ie making meaning from the text. This means using evidence from the text to answer increasingly complex questions for which the answer is not immediately obvious. In writing, we have been creating texts in lots of different genres. We channelled journalistic skills when finding and using information from a range of sources to create our own newspaper articles about the extreme weather. We created headlines that gave the reader an indication of the article’s contents and included factually accurate, relevant information about Storms Eunice, Dudley and Franklin.
At the end of the month, we began looking forward to the season of Lent. We understand that this is an important time for Christians to reflect on the sacrifices Jesus made when he spent forty days and forty nights alone in the desert. We know that Lent is a good time to reflect on our own lives and to make positive changes. Some of us decided that we would like to try giving up one or two of our favourite things, such as chocolate, for the season of Lent. Others decided that they would like to do something extra instead, such as helping out more often at home, or being kinder to others. We look forward to developing a further understanding of the Christian period of Lent, as well as other parts of Jesus’ Easter story throughout the month of March.
We have continued working collaboratively in groups to create different structures using KAPLA blocks. We have used these when celebrating Chinese New Year and World Book Day, as well as when learning about traditional Ancient Greek architecture. We are becoming more skilled and confident when making decisions co-operatively and have begun creating increasingly challenging structures.
In celebration of Shrove Tuesday this week, we practised accurately weighing and measuring ingredients using a range of instruments when making pancakes in class. This is a great way for us to apply our knowledge and understanding of Numeracy and Mathematics in a real life context. We can’t wait to practise this when helping in the kitchen at home!
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P6c and Miss O’Hara
