Author: Miss Hunter

Here is some of the things we will be doing next week. (I have included some harder (optional) spelling words in the Weekly Update that is emailed out.

What a brilliant afternoon we had for our Learner-Led Event!

It was lovely to welcome so many parents and family members into P3/4 and give the bairns the chance to share some of the learning we have been doing during our Ancient Egypt topic.

And, of course, we didn’t just let our visitors sit back and watch… everyone had to get stuck in!

There was plenty of Egyptian-themed madness around the room! Families were busy:

Making Egyptian jewellery using pasta
Building pyramids from spaghetti and marshmallows – with varying levels of structural success!
Becoming archaeologists and carefully digging chocolate chips out of cookies
Creating pictures to add to our River Nile display
Turning parents and family members into mummies using bandages – some were wrapped rather more enthusiastically than others!

It was wonderful to see the bairns taking the lead, explaining the activities and sharing what they have learned over the past few weeks. There was lots of teamwork, creativity, problem-solving and, most importantly, plenty of smiles and laughter.

A huge thank you to everyone who came along and fully embraced the activities – including those who willingly allowed themselves to be completely wrapped up as mummies! You were all fantastic sports and helped make the afternoon such a lovely way to finish off our Ancient Egypt topic.

We hope you had as much fun as we did!

 

Here’s a little peek at what we have coming up in P3/4 next week!

We’ll be starting our new Big Question, “What makes our local area unique?” (Our Amazing Environment), as we begin exploring the wonderful place we call home.

Alongside this, we’ll have lots of learning happening across literacy and numeracy, with The Storm Whale inspiring our Drawing Club adventures.

Have a look at the picture to see what else we’ll be getting up to!

This week, our Big Question has been “How were the pyramids built?” and we have been very busy trying to solve one of Ancient Egypt’s biggest mysteries!

We learned that the pyramids were built thousands of years ago, long before cranes, diggers or any of the machinery we would use today. The bairns were amazed to discover just how enormous some of the stone blocks were and how many people would have been needed to move, lift and position them.

We explored some of the different ideas historians and archaeologists have about how the Egyptians managed such an incredible task. We looked at different types of ramps that may have been used to move the huge stones… but the big question is, which style of ramp did they actually use? Straight ramps? Zig-zag ramps? Ramps that wrapped around the pyramid? We discovered that there are still questions about exactly how it was done!

We also thought about the teamwork involved. Building a pyramid needed far more than just builders. There would have been stone cutters, hauliers, skilled craftspeople, planners, surveyors and people supplying food and water to keep the workers going. It really helped us understand what an enormous team effort pyramid building must have been.

Of course, we couldn’t learn about building pyramids without having a go ourselves! First, we experimented with blocks, thinking carefully about strong foundations, balance and how the shape of a pyramid helps it stay standing.

Then came our STEM challenge… building pyramids using spaghetti and marshmallows!

There was lots of problem-solving, redesigning, teamwork and some very impressive structures. We quickly discovered that building upwards isn’t quite as easy as it looks and that a strong base makes a huge difference.

Miss Hunter may, however, have slightly regretted the marshmallow part of the challenge once the classroom floor became somewhat sticky…

A brilliant afternoon of building, investigating and discovering just how clever those Ancient Egyptian builders really were! 🌿

 

What a busy week we have had exploring pharaohs and all things Ancient Egypt.

We started the week by turning ourselves into pharaohs. The bairns learned all about why pharaohs were so important in Ancient Egypt and discovered some of the many jobs and responsibilities they had. There was definitely some very convincing royalty in P3/4!

Later in the week, we held our very own Ancient Egyptian Royal Council. The bairns were each given different roles and then faced a selection of problems that they had to discuss together. Their challenge was to come to a decision that would keep as many people as possible happy… which they quickly discovered is not an easy task! There were some brilliant discussions, lots of different opinions and some fantastic problem-solving along the way.

Some of the bairns also got the chance to paint the Ancient Egyptian pottery they made last week, adding colour and finishing touches to their creations.

We finished with a STEM challenge where the bairns had to design and build a tomb fit for a pharaoh. Some went for very grand and impressive designs, while others thought carefully about how they could protect the pharaoh’s treasure from would-be tomb robbers! There were traps, secret entrances and lots of clever ideas!

A very busy week with lots of creativity, teamwork, problem-solving and fantastic learning. Ancient Egypt continues to be a firm favourite in P3/4!

Here is a little overview of what we will be getting up to in P3/4 next week!

We have another busy week ahead with lots of learning across literacy, numeracy and our Big Question. We will also be enjoying our final week exploring Ancient Egypt before we move on to our next topic.

And, of course, we are very excited for our Learner Led Event on Friday 11th September! The bairns are looking forward to sharing some of their learning with you and getting you involved in a few Ancient Egyptian activities too!

As part of our Big Question learning, we have been finding out about some of the different jobs people had in Ancient Egypt. This week, we focused on the important work of potters… and, of course, we had to have a go ourselves!

We talked about how pottery wasn’t just made to look nice; it had to be useful too. The bairns had to think about what their pot might have been used for in Ancient Egypt, perhaps to  collect and carry water, store food or help with cooking.

Then it was time to get our hands messy!  Using clay, the bairns shaped their pots by hand, using pinching techniques to carefully form them. Once they were happy with the shape, they used different tools to add their own patterns and details.

It certainly wasn’t as easy as it looked! There was lots of concentration, patience and a few pots that needed a little reshaping along the way, but everyone kept going and did a fantastic job. I was really impressed with the care and creativity they showed.

Our Ancient Egyptian pots are now having a well-earned rest while they dry… and next week the bairns wll get the chance to paint and decorate their creations.

Another lovely bit of hands-on learning in Primary 3/4, although I think we may have discovered that being an Ancient Egyptian potter was harder work than we first thought! (And not sure Miss Hunter will attempt clay on a Friday afternoon… special thanks goes to Val, our wonderful cleaner!)

This week, we have been combining our Big Question learning about Ancient Egypt with our writing.

We have been learning about what everyday life was like for people living in Ancient Egypt, but there was also a little extra challenge involved!

The bairns were given different sentences containing information about Ancient Egyptian life. Their job was to read each one carefully and choose just two or three key words to write down. They then had to use only those key words to help them create a new sentence in their own words.

This is a brand-new skill for us, so I suggested that everyone aim to create at least three sentences … and they certainly didn’t disappoint!

I was so impressed with how well they took on the challenge. There was lots of careful thinking about which words were actually important, as well as some fantastic discussion about how we could use those words to create our own sentences rather than simply copying the original.

For our first go at this, they did a brilliant job — and some were so determined that three sentences definitely wasn’t enough! 😊

A lovely piece of learning that brought together our Ancient Egypt topic, note-taking and writing skills all at once.

We had a very busy (and very dog-themed!) International Dog Day in Primary 3/4, with lots of different activities throughout the day. The bairns worked so hard and did a fantastic job!

We started with some dog-themed maths challenges, and they certainly weren’t easy! The children really rose to the challenge, showing lots of determination and great problem-solving skills. It turns out that four paws are also very handy when you’re practising your 4 times table!

Next, we got creative with a dog drawing challenge. I was so impressed with the results… we definitely have a very creative bunch in Primary 3/4! There were so many brilliant drawings, each with their own little personalities.

We then moved on to our literacy learning, where we practised note-taking and identifying key words from information. The bairns then used their notes to create facts in their own words and they did not disappoint! It was lovely to see them beginning to understand that good note-taking is about picking out the important information rather than trying to copy everything.

Finally, we brought all of our learning together to create some fantastic dog fact posters. The finished results were brilliant and really showed just how much learning had taken place throughout the day.

A busy but great day with lots of maths, literacy, creativity and, of course, DOGS!

Well done, Primary 3/4… you were paw-some!