January 31, 2023 – East Calder Primary School Blog

P3B Numeracy

We are learning to divide numbers and make equal groups. We use counters to share equally and then we write the division calculation. We have been working with a partner to practise dividing by 2 and 3. We have been taking part in whole class learning activities and stations. We love sharing our strategies and we have learned some new vocabulary to add to our Numeracy and Maths Working Wall. Tyler should be proud of himself as he used the word “equal” when talking about his division strategy. We added this word to our wall to remind us that is an important word that can help us with division.

We have also been working hard to practise skip counting. We are learning to understand the link between multiplication and division. We use the ipads on a regular basis in class and we love using them to support our learning in Numeracy. One of our favourite games is “Whack a Mole” where we can practise skip counting. We can also alter the settings so we can challenge ourselves by skip counting in different numbers.

This group of amazing learners demonstrated great teamwork skills as they completed a five times table pencil task. They listen to each other’s strategies and they were able to confidently share the tools and strategies that helped them.

We take part in Number Talks daily where we engage in lots of learning activities to talk about numbers and share our strategies. We recently took part in “String Questions” to practise addition strategies.

“To work out 5 + 25, I added 5 + 5 which equals 10. Then I added another 10 to make 20. Then I added another 5 to make 25.” Finlay

“To work out 25 + 15, I started adding 25 + 5 = 30. Then I did 30 + 10 = 40. So 25 + 15 = 40.” Sophie B

Article 12: We have the right to be heard.

Article 28: We have the right to learn.

P3B Literacy

We are learning to write an explanation text. We have been working hard to explore the features of an explanation text and this week, we created our own. We used our “magic box” to choose a random partner and we wrote our first explanation text on the desks. We love writing on the desks with white board pens.

We explored “why a police officer’s job is important.” We worked together as a class to create each section of our explanation text and we wrote our sentences with connectives and the correct punctuation. We also took pictures of our writing and displayed them on the smart board to help us talk about our learning. We are excited to plan and write a new explanation text in our Literacy jotters next week.

Article 13: We have the right to find out things and share what we think with others.

We take part in Guided Reading on a regular basis throughout the week in P3B. Sometimes, we work with Miss Marra in our Reading group and we take part in “Echo Reading” or “Choral Reading.” We also identify words in a text and ask and answer questions about the book. We also love taking part in Paired Reading with a partner. This helps us to develop our independence and support each other with reading. We read our reading book; however, we sometimes choose a book of our choice too.

Article 29: We have the right to develop our talents and abilities.

Victorian Artefacts Handling Session P6

We were fortunate enough to have a visit from West Lothian Museum services this week. Linking with our current Social Studies context we enjoyed a morning of Victorian artefacts! The class were allowed to handle a lot of the items and were amazed to see how things have progressed since Victorian times,even though we have the Victorians to thank for some of the amazing inventions that we use today. They were completely flummoxed by the toasting fork and carpet beater,the latter of which they thought could be to put pizzas in an oven! This was a great springboard for our Victorian context as it led to discussions about Vitorian inventions,housing and lifestyle to name but a few. We will be linking this learning to our current Literacy theme of creating a recount,the ability to retell and evaluate an experience. The Museum Service have kindly agreed to attend our Sharing the Learning in March so come along and see if you can identify the purpose of our Victorian artefacts,remember your child is now an expert!