All posts by Mrs Sjoberg

Block Play

Look at our fantastic block play models from the year so far. The pupils block play has been progressing all term.  Pupils are now really motivated to build at height, to make patterns with loose parts and to create stories around their buildings.

So many meta-skills are observed in block play in P2A, communicating, focusing, collaborating, initiative, critical thinking to name a few.  Pupils are beginning to link their play to the meta-skills themselves here are some pupil quote from today:

‘We made a castle, with a pool and a rainbow bridge for diving in. Me and my friends were being focusing Fergus a – we couldn’t figure out how to balance the bridge then we moved some blocks and it worked!’

Data Handling: Nocturnal Animals

Our topic learning has been about nocturnal animals, today we sorted data about nocturnal animals into tally charts. We could remember this from P1 and we’re using the words ‘tally, total, heading, data, information’ – we were using our communicating cate meta-skill asking each other questions to gather data, giving instructions to support each other.  We then used our tally chart data and put it into a bar graph which was new learning. We were able to answer questions about each others bar graph. Next, we will create our own surveys to ask our peers.

Lego Marble Runs – STEM

P2A were using their communication and critical thinking meta-skills to plan and build marble runs with a partner. They evolved quickly and included: mazes, dead ends, slides, flumes, tunnels, bridges.

We have been focusing on communicating as a group. Learning to use eye contact, turn take and share ideas. Our weekly STEM challenges are great for practising these skills.

Pupil Voice: ‘Look this is a false end so then you have to go back and through the tunnel to get to the end.’
‘We were using our communication Cate meta-skill by sharing our ideas with each other and he used eye contact when speaking to me!’

Outdoor Learning – Positional Language

Primary 2 we’re using their knowledge of positional language words (on, under, next to, to the left) in the wildlife area. We took turns suggesting positional language and had to show it with our bodies.
We were using our focusing meta-skills to focus our attention to show positional language using the natural resources.
Pupil voice ‘Look I am on a tree!’ ‘I am on the right of the wall.’ ‘I am under the branch.’
‘look I am on the puddle but only for like a second and then I am in it!’
Our next steps are to use our positional language knowledge to instruct others where to go by writing directions.

Reading Detectives

We were using our ‘Collaborating Cora’ meta-skill today, working as a group to take turns within a group to complete a task.
We used our reading books and became detectives today we were looking for:

– Common words, words which include diagraphs and words including the letter ‘t’.

Pupil Voice:

‘I found ‘are’ on page 4 if you look next to the word Dad you will see it.’
‘My group found lots of ‘oa’ diagraph words ‘toad, load goat!’

Outdoor Learning

We spent a lovely afternoon at the stoney beach our favourite place. Our intended learning was to revisit road safety, beach risky play particularly rock climbing and the sea depth.

We found some interesting treasures and we enjoyed a windy beach explore. Pupils were using descriptive words to describe rocks and shell patterns.

Pupil voice

‘I think being outside makes me in a happy mood’

‘This rock is stripy but in a circle kind of stripe’

’I found two fossils can you believe it, I know what kind of creature is in here!’

‘The sea is wild waves today, I wonder if the poor fish feel sea sick!’

‘I found a cave and when I put my hand on, I felt a creature inside it!’

Continue reading Outdoor Learning

IDL through Play

A lovely example of children taking their learning into their play. After our topic lesson learning about the Lerwick Town Hall yesterday. I noticed today learners had applied their knowledge of the shapes and structure of the Town Hall and they used the loose parts, magnetic tiles and wooden dolls do recreate the Town Hall. As we spoke learners shared the following knowledge and understanding that they had learned from our topic lesson the day before:

‘Look this is where the clock tower is and it rings every hour and half past!’
‘here is where you can get married with the stain window glass’

Learners asked for this to go in the class block play floor book. They also shared that they were using their collaboration meta skills.

STEM – IDL Town Hall Models

Our topic is Lerwick, pupils asked to learn about the buildings in Lerwick. Today we spoke about the Town Hall, its uses and how/when it was build and made models using pasta and playdoh. We were focusing on the meta-skill of collaborating and added our learning to our IDL working wall. Pupil comments:

‘if we make a square then it will make it stronger when we add walls’

‘you hold this part and I will hold this side and she can get the roof on, the roof is a triangle!’

‘My parents got married at the town hall upstairs!’

Meta-skill Link – listening to and valuing other people’s opinions and developing language of collaborative learning.