Tag: Expressive Arts

P3A Learning

This week we’re learning to tell the time. Some of us used Play Dough to create the hands of a clock to tell o’clock & half past times. Others tested each other telling quarter past & quarter to using the clock faces. Some were working on changing between analogue & digital times. We also used the laptops to test our knowledge.

This week we started learning to use questions marks. First we practiced writing them, then we had to think about question words. Next we looked at a picture and worked with a random partner to come up and write down questions about it. Lastly we became Question Mark Detectives and hunted for question marks in our reading books.

In Art we thought about the colours of leaves we see just now and then created Autumn pictures.

P3A Learning

Last week we were learning to use the element of line to draw what we see. We looked closely at a leaf and thought about the shape of it and the lines of the veins.  We then drew its outline and tried and copy where all the lines were. Next we looked at the leaf again to see what colours were needed.  We thought about light and shadow and shaded our leaf picture so it looked as close the real one as possible.

Future Oscar Winning Actors in East Calder Primary!

We have started the term with a very busy few weeks in Drama. It has been lovely working with every class and the children should be so proud of how much they have embraced their new learning opportunities in Drama, with a positive attitude and eagerness to learn. Well done everyone! Below are a few examples of some of the learning in Drama so far this term. We always start every Drama lesson with a game to get us warmed up and ready to learn.

Primary 6 pupils worked hard to create a short improvised drama using role-play cards and performing it for the class. We have been working on using a variety of facial expressions, projecting our voice and diction. We gave feedback on each performance linked to our co-created Success Criteria. 

Primary 5 have also been working on short improvised dramas using Improv cards. Well done to these two fantastic learners who presented their short drama to the class using facial expressions and voice. In Primary 5 we are working on diction to make sure we speak clearly.

We have also started exploring the features of a script and we are learning to analyse scripted language. We are also practising reading from a script and we are excited to perform for the class using the Drama techniques we have been learning.

In Primary 3, we are learning to take on roles and use facial expressions, voice and movement in role-play. We have recently been engaging in “hot seating” in characters from stories. We have also been using freeze frames to act out chapters from “I Don’t Want To” by Bel Mooney. We have been in character and have been learning to use fantastic facial expressions to show different emotions.

In Primary 1, we have been playing games to practise using our voice, actions and facial expressions. We are starting to use our learning to act out stories. We have particularly enjoyed re-telling stories using puppets.

Watch this space for more regular updates about our learning in Drama! There are definitely some future performers in our school. Well done for all your hard work so far everyone!

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

Learning in P3/2

 

We have been so busy over the last few weeks and we have been really enjoying our learning. This is a summary of some of our learning highlights which we would like to share.

 

Topic – Ancient Egypt

We are really interested in our Topic, Ancient Egypt and we have enjoyed leading our learning. We wanted to learn more about the Pyramids of Giza and we started off by following a tutorial to create picture of the pyramids. They look great and we were so focused on our learning.

We also learned more about how and why the pyramids were built. We have been reading books and watching videos in class to support our learning. One of our favourite recent learning activities was a STEAM Challenge (Science, Technologies, Engineering, Art and Mathematics.) We had to create a 3D model of the Pyramids of Giza. This was fun because we worked in partners and we chose how to create our model. Some of us used paper, some of us used construction or other strategies.

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We loved talking about our strategies and the tools we chose to use. Creativity was one of the main skills we identified as part of our Success Criteria. We also had to use great teamwork with our partner to be successful. We currently have our pyramids displayed in our classroom and we love to show them to anyone visiting our classroom.

 

Numeracy and Maths

We continue to engage in Number Talks every day to consolidate Numeracy skills and to talk about different Numeracy strategies. We also engage in Numeracy every day and one day a week, we focus on a Maths topic. At the moment, we are exploring fractions in Maths, and in Numeracy, we are learning division strategies. We are starting to understand the link between fractions and division. The following learning activities are examples of our learning from the last few weeks.

Using arrays to divide numbers and consolidate multiplication.

 

Using Numeracy Tools to make equal groups and write the algorithms in our Maths and Numeracy jotters.

 

Working in random partners and in groups to solve division calculations by making equal groups. We always share our strategies and help each other. We love talking about our learning.

 

Literacy – Writing

 

We are working vey hard in Writing. Primary 2 are moving on to writing a Procedure and Primary are continuing to work on writing explanation texts. We are still splitting into two groups for Writing at the moment due to P2 and P3 focusing on different genres. Mrs Robertson will soon work with P3 pupils, and P2 pupils will work with Miss Marra.

We are excited to share more of our writing with you. Watch this space and we will share more examples of our writing.

We recently peer-assessed our writing again to give each other feedback and identify next steps. We were very focused and used the skill “communication” to talk about our ideas and listen to others in our group.

 

Literacy – Grammar

We are learning to identify and use past and present tense verbs in Grammar. We are consolidating our learning and applying our learning in different contexts. We recently engaged in a learning activity that we loved so much, we asked to do it again! Miss Marra gave each of us a card with verb on it. Some verbs were past tense and some were present tense. We had to find the person who had the same verb as us in a different tense e.g. walk – walked. This is how we were split into random partners. We then wrote a sentence for each verb on our cards. Mrs Mitchell worked with a group, and Miss Marra supported us with our learning. Our challenge was to make up our own sentences with past and present tense verbs which we really enjoyed, especially when we made up silly sentences.


This is Blair’s past and present tense verbs with her sentences above which she created with a partner. She confidently shared her sentences with the class and could talk about how she knew which verb was past tense and which verb was written in the present tense.

 

 

Music

We look forward to our music workshop with Dave every Wednesday. We all had the opportunity to play instruments this week which was amazing! Miss Marra forgot to take photos, so we will share some photos of us playing instruments next week. We learned to make loud and quiet sounds with our instruments to tell a story.

 

Last week, we used sound and learned how music can be used to tell stories. We also took part in acting out the story to help us understand it better. Some of us were even talking about the links with Guided Reading and Reading Comprehension. This role-play activity in Music helped us to understand the story.

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

 

 

Learning in P2/1

We were lucky to be visited by Fischy Music. We had a great time in our workshop and then a concert in the afternoon. We really enjoyed dancing, singing and listening to the music played live on guitar and violin.
In art, we created a Fireworks picture. We used paints and a fork to make jagged shapes and then covered the paint in biodegradable glitter to make them sparkle like fireworks.
We discussed how to stay safe around fireworks and sparklers and learned about Guy Fawkes.


In maths, we are learning about 3D shapes. In P1 we are experimenting to see if the shapes roll, slide or stack. In P2 we are learning about the properties of 3D shapes- faces, vertices and edges.

Article 28: We have the right to an education.
Article 29: We have the right to develop our talents and abilities.

Learning inP2/1

This week has been Scots Week at East Calder. P2/1 have enjoyed listening to stories about Katie Morag. We were really surprised and excited to receive a letter from her! She was asking us to design a new tartan skirt. Her one had been ruined when she was trying to deliver the mail. We used our fine motor skills to use a ruler and created these fantastic tartans.
In music we’ve been learning to keep a steady beat by clapping and dancing along to Scottish music. This is our favourite song:

https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/songs-and-rhymes/katie-bairdie-audio

We did a brilliant job of reciting our poems in Scots and are really looking forward to hearing all the winners at our Scots school assembly next Friday.

(Article 28: We have the right to learn. Article 29: We have the right to develop our skills and abilities.)

 

P3a HWB

This week we have been learning about the well-being indicators Safe, Healthy, Active and Nurture. We discussed how we feel in different situations. We thought about how we know we are nurtured and how we are all unique. We designed back packs to show how we all look different and all like different things.

P5, P5/4 and P4 Fischy Music

We were lucky to have the opportunity to take part in a Fischy Music session last week. Everyone was so excited to see the people from Fischy Music who we have seen so many times on screen in Assemblies! We  sang songs that we know so well and we learned a few new songs too. One of the songs reminded us of the importance of friendship and the qualities that make a good friend.

We really enjoyed our learning and Miss Cameron, Miss Beattie and Miss Marra certainly spotted some future performers among us. We are looking forward to using some of the new songs we learned to support our learning in class.

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

P2/1 Learning this week

Primary 2/1 have been working hard this week.

We have taken a small break from our Romans topic and introduced a mini-topic about Pandas in response to questions the children had about the Red Pandas coming to the Five Sisters Zoo.  The children were very interested to learn that Red Pandas and Giant Pandas are not related and this made them more curious.  We made a list of what questions the children had about Pandas and then decided to watch factual videos to find our answers then make a Fact File about them.  The children also enjoyed following an artist to learn how to draw Giant Pandas.  So far we have been learning lots about Giant Pandas.

In numeracy Primary 2s are learning about money and Primary 1s are having more practise with addition.

In literacy Primary 1s are making great progress in their reading and our Primary 2s are learning about reading with fluency and expression as well as comprehension techniques.

At the start of the day before Register, the children have also enjoyed finishing off our Roman Colosseum display picture by adding Romans, gladiators and wild animals in the arena.

I hope you’ve all had a lovely weekend,

Mrs Meikle

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