Think about the story mountain that we have been using in class to help with structuring a story.

Watch ‘The Black Hole’ by clicking on this link and scrolling down to find ‘The Black Hole’.

Think about the following questions:

• What is normality?
• How does the story build up?
• Is there a turning point in the story?
• What is the climax or problem in this story?

Write an ending to the story and post it in the comments for Tuesday 8th November.

We carried out a creeeeepy science experiment today (it was 31st October after all). If you want to try it at home all you have to do is follow these easy steps.

Steps

Step 1: Put 80ml of water in a mixing bowl

Step 2: Gradually add 100g of cornflour (do not mix)

Step 3: Leave to sit for 5 minutes

Step 4: Punch the mixture

Step 5: Try to lift the mixture up and make a ball

What happens

When you run your fingers through it, it acts like a liquid. But when you punch it, it becomes hard and behaves like a solid. (If it doesn’t, try adding some more cornflour.)

How and why

The cornflour particles are suspended in the water, so it flows like a liquid. But when you apply a force to it, the particles lock together, acting like a solid. As soon as the force stops, the slime goes back to being runny.

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By P7A

We have been learning about the Moon!

Read the comments to see what we have learned so far!

Research the fair trade products and materials available to buy on the internet. In your groups, decide which products would be suitable for us to use in our business.

• What products and materials are available?
• What will we do with the products/materials?
• Will we be able to make profit?
• How much will we need of the product and the materials to make it?
• Will our stock keep well?
• Will our product be something people want to buy?
• How much will the materials or product cost?
• How long will it take to make?
• Will it suit a wide market?
• What sort of budget will we have?
• Are there any events/seasonal occasions coming up that will support our product?

This is P7A’s story mountain. We have been looking at writer’s craft and the different stages of the structure of a story so we were introduced to the story mountain. The story mountain has five stages, the opening, the build – up, the climax/problem, the resolution and the ending. There is also the option of adding a turning point which changes the reader’s opinion about something, you can put the turning point anywhere in your story but it normally goes between the build – up and the climax or the climax and the resolution.

We have worked  hard to create our story mountain and we are finding it very helpful when writing our stories.

By Rory, Luke and Carys

Think about what we have been learning this week.

• What have you done well?
• What surprised you?
• What did you find difficult?
• What one thing would you choose to do again?
• What are the important things you have learned this week?
• What can we take forward to work on next week?

Choose how you want to present your response. A blog post? Padlet? Powerpoint? Prezi? Sway? Something new?

We have had an amazing Anderson Shelter in our role play corner for our WW2 topic. We wanted to make something equally as fun for our new Fair Trade topic. We came up with some ideas of what it could be and have decided on a work room for our new business. We think it should begin as a normal work room but can be transformed to a super Fair Trade work room as we learn more about Fair Trade.

We have been looking at the link between fair trade and human rights. We wanted to research how Fair Trade works and why it is important. We found out some shocking facts that will make us think about the products we buy in the shops.

• More than 4500 products are Fair Trade. We are not always buying these products.
• Some workers on unfair cocoa plantations are forced to work 12-18 hours a day and their only break is for sleep.
• Fair Trade farmers receive fair income for their work and better working conditions.
• Most cocoa plantations are in the Ivory Coast.
• Slaves working on unfair cocoa plantations can be beaten and hurt if they try to escape.
• 15000 children between the ages of 8-12 were working on cocoa plantations in the Ivory Coast.
• The first US protocol to protect cocoa farmers was put into place on the 30th November 2001 but it did not last as there were too many loopholes.
• A cocoa worker on an unfair trade farm gets 1% of how much the bar is sold for.
• Children end up being sold to cocoa plantations to help the family make money. Children can be sold for as little as $1. Some children are trafficked for work.
• In Pakistan children as young as 5 are forced to work for 11 hours a day.
• 43% of the world’s cocoa plantation are in the Ivory Coast and use underpaid workers, children or slaves.
• Fair Trade products are not just limited to food. Footballs can also be Fair Trade. Fair Trade cotton allows for clothes to be Fair Trade.

THE ROCKETEER

We have been using  story mountains to help us structure story writing.

Watch this short film clip– you need to SCROLL DOWN THE PAGE to find it, it’s called ‘The Rocketeer’.

 Now answer the following questions:

Are you ‘hooked in’ at the start? Why? Why not?

What problem does the main character have?

How is the problem resolved?

What clues do you get about the main character’s personality?

Reply to this post with your answers by next Tuesday please.

• What have you learned?
• What’s been tricky? Why?
• What did you get stuck on this week?
• How did you get unstuck?
• What are you hoping to do in class next week? Why?

Decide with your partner how you want to share your answers. Will you use a Sway? PowerPoint? Padlet? Blog post?

Reply to this post with a link to what you produce!