Term 2 is the term for building our fitness. On Tuesdays we will be working out with our Latin dancing and on Fridays we will be working our way around our fitness stations. Today we had the following stations:
skipping
shuttle runs
ball catch
step ups
speed bounce
squats
In small groups you rotated around each station and completed each task for one minute. Some were much easier to do than others. As the weeks progress we will increase the time at each station to build up your fitness.
Most groups worked very well together and those groups that had a few niggles will need to work hard to sort them out. Tasks like these require all group members to work well together and you may need to compromise at times: very good life skills to learn.
Today Lucy L was in charge of music, Chloe S was our time keeper and Kieran was our photographer. Here are some of the many photographs he took today.
This morning we finally managed to finish our Badminton topic in P.E. with a smashing doubles tournament. You chose a partner and we played 2.5 minute games in a knock out competition. While your peers watched on they had three people to assess looking for correct handgrip, serving, different types of shots (short, long and smash), communication with partner and movement around the court.
You need to plan and prepare a talk on a subject of your choice. This talk should last between 2-3 minutes and you must be prepared to deliver it on Tuesday 22nd November. You may use props and/or visual aids but you must not make a Powerpoint with lots of writing . You may include photographs in a Powerpoint but this a talk you are delivering to the class (not reading from the slides). You will be given one hour in class to begin your research and then the further preparation and rehearsal is up to you!
Hints and Tips
Choose a topic which you are confident about – it is your choice so make sure you will have enough to talk about for 2-3 minutes.
Know your purpose – why did you choose this subject? Will it be interesting for your peers?
Know your audience – you may need to use technical or topical words but you are talking to your peers so make sure you explain it well.
Do research and make notes your topic – it should be clear you are explaining the subject in your own words.
Use humour and anecdotes – win your audience by making them laugh.
Please use the success criteria below to help you shape and rehearse your talk. This is what you will be assessed on.
Success Criteria:
Eye contact: the speaker should look at their audience (everyone) from time to time. Check to see they are listening to you.
Body language: try to stand still and look confident. No fidgeting about or staring at the floor. Use your hands to ‘talk’ but don’t overuse them.
Tone and pace of voice: try to use a clear voice which should naturally rise and fall when you are talking. No mumbling, whispering or speaking too fast.
Fluency: Try to talk for the full time without pausing or using fillers such as saying eh, ummmm.
Length of talk: you should rehearse and time your talk to ensure it is between 2-3 minutes.
Organisation of content: the information should be organised in a way that it makes sense and flows.
Use of notes/cue cards: headings and key points can be noted to aid memory and act as a prompt without the speaker reading the whole talk. You may not need to use notes but if you do, you should only be glancing at them, not reading directly from them.
Easy to understand and holds the audience’s attention: the information given should be easily understood by the audience. Even if the speaker is an expert on their subject, they should remember to explain it really clearly. If the audience doesn’t understand they will lose interest.
Use of visual aids: visual aids such as photographs, items of clothing or equipment related to the talk, can enhance a talk by keeping the audience’s attention and interest. For example, if the talk was about a favourite hobby and the child played golf, the visual aid might be a golf ball and club. If you have a prop, use it! Don’t pass it around while you are talking because people will stop paying attention to you.
Clear introduction, middle and ending: a clear introduction will tell the audience what the talk is about and it should ‘hook’ the audience. Try to avoid ‘I am going to talk about about…’ or ‘My solo talk will be about…’. It may also let the audience know why you have chosen the subject. The middle of your talk is the ‘meat’ of your talk and should contain interesting facts to keep the listeners attention. A conclusion is important to let the listener know that the talk is finished. It is a good chance to summarise the key points and thank the audience for listening.
Remember to complete each task to the best of your ability. Please let me know if you are struggling with any task or need advice, as soon as possible. Try not to get stressed or upset about homework – it really isn’t worth it! Ask your parent/carer to write a note if you are unable to attempt any task. Thank you.
Language
Reading – Please see below for the pages you have to read. We will no longer be completing any Book Detectives jobs at home. The only reading homework you have, is to read!
Blue
Orange
Purple
Red
Yellow
Green
Born Lucky and Other Tales of the Past
Code Breakers
OR
Ghostly
OR
Dangers of the Deep
Own Choice of novel
Huge and Hungry
OR
Zoooooom!
Call 999!
Auntie Madge and Other Aliens
Whole book by Friday 4th
Whole book by Monday 31st
Whole book by Friday 4th
Whole book by Monday 31st
Whole book by Monday 31st
Whole book by Friday 4th
Personal Reading Challenge – Throughout the year, please read extra texts on top of the class novels. Record what you have read and complete the tasks on the Personal Reading Challenge sheet.
Purple Reading Group – You should be reading a book that you can finish in two weeks. If you are unable to finish it, it is either too hard or you are not enjoying it. But YOU chose it, so it is up to you to do something about it. Remember you should be choosing a book that is suitable for your reading ability – not too easy and not too hard! If you would like to check the reading age of your book, type the title into the search facility at http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/ I will be checking the books you have chosen to check they are suitable for your reading ability.
Spelling – Unit/List 4 – Please complete Unit/List 4 in your Spelling Homework jotter for Friday 4th November. Please practise your spelling words on Spelling City (not compulsory).
Solo Talk – plan and prepare a 2-3 minute talk on a subject of your choice forTuesday 22nd November. Click here for the criteria and hints and tips.
Yesterday morning, P7 pupils mixed up to make two different Japanese foods. Some pupils made vegetarian sushi and the others made Hina-Arare. The sushi rice was already prepared because it has to cool down before being used to make the sushi rolls. We watched a video to show us how to prepare it. Cook the rice then add a mixture of rice vinegar with sugar and salt to season it. We then watched a video to show us how to make the sushi rolls.
One group had to chop and prepare the vegetables for the sushi. We used carrot batons. Then the cucumber and peppers were julienned (cut into short, thin strips) and deseeded and spring onions were cut into long thin strips.
We placed the nori (dried, flattened seaweed) on sushi mats. After moistening our hands with water, we covered the nori with a thin layer of sushi rice. This was a sticky job but quite fun. In pairs we discussed which vegetables we would like to put in our sushi rolls. We carefully lined up the ingredients.
Now the tricky part…We used the sushi mats to help us roll the sushi. We had to make sure it was really tight and of course be careful not to roll the mat inside the sushi! Everyone managed to make great looking sushi rolls. We had to wait for the Hina-Arare to chill before tasting our creations.
Next Tuesday, we will be making two different traditional Japanese delicacies. We will not reveal the exact recipes but we would like to double check that there are no allergies to certain ingredients:
rice vinegar
sugar
white chocolate
salt
creamed cheese
sushi rice
nori (dried seaweed)
cucumber
carrot
puffed rice (Rainbow Drops)
yellow peppers
spring onions
soy sauce
Let us know A.S.A.P. if there are any issues with the above ingredients. Please bring an apron or an oversized t-shirt for hygiene reasons.
On Friday afternoon we were honoured to have Mr Harrison come in to teach us a few Karate moves. He brought one of his karate students, Gillen with him. He explained that he has been learning the art of Karate for 30 years and is a black belt. He has competed all around the world including Russia and Japan. Karate means ’empty hands’ and Karate-Do means ‘the way of empty hands’. He explained that Karate began in the island of Okinawa when attackers took away the islanders weapons, so they had to use only their bare hands and feet to break through the defences.
Mr Harrison taught us that when practising Karate you should be calm and quiet to allow you to fully focus on yourself and your movements. At some points you could hear a pin drop – well done! Before practising blocks with a partner you have to bow and say ‘Osu’ (pronounced ‘oss’). We also had to opportunity to practise our punches and kicks using pads held by Mr Harrison and Gillen.
The final treat was a sight to behold! Gillen broke a piece of wood using only his elbow! Before hitting the board he focussed his thoughts and became very quiet and calm. It all happened very quickly and we were very impressed. A huge thank you to Mr Harrison and Gillen for taking the time to work with us and teach us a few moves.
We have been continuing with our Daily Mile (or Daily Jog as it is for some in our class) most days. We have been very lucky with the weather however as we do live in Scotland, the chances are this will change very soon. Please ensure you have a jacket with you as we will still be venturing outside even if it is cold and wet.
Our dodgeball sessions in P.E. are well under way and I have to say how much I am enjoying watching our teams play against one another.
After great discussion, each team chose a name: The Dodgems and The Wrecking Balls. Before we begin each week we have a team tactics talk where the children consider how they played the week before. They discuss changes that could be made to they way they play as a team and how to use these changes during their next games.
Here are a few action shots from yesterday’s games.
Today we had our second badminton session and once again, great fun was had be all.
First we warmed up with a light jog and a few games of name tig (everyone’s favourite by all accounts). Next we worked on our control by bouncing the shuttlecock as many time as we could off the racket without dropping it. We had a 12 and an impressive 17!
We broke into two teams to see how many points each team could gain by trying to aim the shuttlecock directly into a hoop. A little more practice is needed on this one next week.
Finally we ended by practicing our forehand and backhand shots across the gym hall to our partners. We had some fantastic volleying going on. I think it may be time to get the nets out. Well done Primary 5!
Here are a few photographs from this afternoon’s session.
You all experience a wide range of emotions and feelings on a daily basis but often when asked how you feel you will say “Fine” or “Good” or “Happy” or “Sad”. Sometimes you might be feeling exactly this way, however why use a boring word when there are a lot more exciting words to express how you feel. These wow words or phrases can also be used in your writing.
Today you worked in pairs to find the definition of a variety of ‘feelings’ words and then took photos of each other expressing that emotion.
The Skill for Learning you were developing was:
Application – I can apply my knowledge of language and use my face and body to express an emotion.
The Skill for Life you were developing was:
Literacy – I can use a dictionary to find the definition of a word.
You took lots of photos and then had to edit your choices by deleting unwanted photos. Here are the final results:
