All posts by Mr Renshaw

The Legend of Spud Murphy

P.5/4 have just finished reading ‘The Legend of Spud Murphy’ by Eoin Colfer. This is a very funny story with interesting characters. It is full of twists and has an important theme running through it about enjoying reading. There have been lots of learning opportunities throughout the four weeks we have been studying it, such as:

  • Discussing and writing about the characters’ attitudes towards books and reading.
  • Exploring the relationships between the main characters and how they change throughout the book.
  • Writing an email in the role of Will (the main character) to one of his friends.
  • Describing the librarian, Spud Murphy, using interesting vocabulary and evidence from the text.
  • Writing an informal letter from Will to his granny about his experiences at the library.

Here are some questions that you could discuss at home about the book. Maybe chatting about it will make you want to read it too!

  • Who was your favourite character and why?
  • Was there anything that surprised you about the plot?
  • Would you recommend this book to a friend and why/why not?

the legend of spud murphy

Road Rangers

The Junior Road Safety Officers have been learning about how to keep safe on the roads.

 

These are some of their top tips. Could you follow them when you’re next out and about?

 

– Never cross a road at a corner. (Caitlin N, P6)

– Be careful when the paths and roads are slippy. (Joe S, P1A & Caitlin S, P4 )

– Get off your bike when crossing the road. (Callum W, P7)

– Wear bright clothing and hi viz when riding on your bike. (Ryan C, P5)

– Always look both ways when crossing the road. (Josh M, P5/4)

– Never cross the road when there are two cars parked next to you because you can’t see when cars are coming past. (Charlie S, P6 & Daniel M, P1B)

– Listen, look and learn. (Freiah T & Gemma B, P3)

– Try to cross at a zebra crossing or traffic lights. (Ellis M, P7/6)

– Never run across a road. (Logan U, P7/6)

– Try to cross at a lollipop man. (James L, P5)

– If you’re not sure whether it’s safe to cross, ask an adult. (Jamie R, P7)

 

‘Be aware, be safe!’ (Logan U, P7/6)

 

How do you keep safe on the roads? Leave your comments below if you have any ideas!

P.5/4 Scots Poetry

P.5/4 are busy learning some Scots poems at the moment. To help you to do this at home, click on the links below to download them. There are three for the P5s to read and three for the P4s. Everyone should choose one that they would like to learn.

To show that you are Winter Ready and can access the school blog in case of a school closure, please comment below with which poem you are going to learn!

Primary 4 Scots Poems

Primary 5 Scots Poems

P.5/4’s Spectacular and Super Settings

Over the last couple of weeks P.5/4 have been studying the novel ‘Storm’ by Kevin Crossley-Holland. Here is what we have learned this week.

Learning intention: We are learning to understand how authors use settings to create different feelings or moods.

Success Criteria: I can draw the setting from ‘Storm’ using evidence from the text.

I can use interesting and ambitious vocabulary to describe the marsh.

 

Firstly, we practised finding evidence in the text to support our ideas.

Then, we looked for information about the setting in the text.

Next, we chose whether to draw our setting in winter or summer. We then spent time drawing whilst looking back at the text to help us.

Finally, we wrote WOW words to describe our setting and then up-levelled these using a thesaurus.

 

“I thought it was really fun because I enjoy drawing.” (Lewis)

“I enjoyed reading the story because I like looking at the illustrator’s pictures of the setting.” (Erin)

“I really liked how the author described the ghost and the marsh.” (Owen)

“I found it fun working in pairs when we used a thesaurus.” (Eloise)

 

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P5/4’s Confectionery Creations

Inspired by Roald Dahl’s book ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, P5/4 have been inventing their own confectionery products.

Learning intention – We are learning to use our market research create our own confectionery product.

Success Criteria – A successful product will reflect the findings of our market research.

A successful product name will be catchy and memorable.

Firstly, we created our own market research questionnaires about the choices that other children in the school make about confectionery (e.g. Are you allergic to anything? What colour of packaging would you prefer? Do you like chocolate/sweets?). We sent these questionnaires to Miss Sherlow’s class and they answered them for us.

Next, we studied the responses carefully and collected information from the questionnaires. We used this to invent our own confectionery product.

Soon we will be designing logos and packaging for our products.

Fraser: ‘This is a fun and exciting task!’

Freya: ‘I am excited about the challenge.’

Ryan: ‘I think the challenges will be fun and I am looking forward to building my skills from P4.’

Mhari: ‘I enjoyed coming up with a product name.’

Lewis: ‘We used the research to figure out what we were going to do.’

Natalie: ‘I enjoyed making the questionnaire because we got to create lots of questions to help us make our product.’

P5/4 Rainforest Animal Art

Learning Intention – We are learning to create accurate images. (EXA 2-04a)

Success Criteria – I can carefully observe a photograph to create detailed images.

We searched for photographs on the internet of our chosen rainforest animals. Then we drew an outline of our animal onto black paper using black oil pastels. Next, we introduced some colour using chalk pastels. After that, we drew in a background for our image.

“I’ve never worked with chalk pastels before. It was ok but I didn’t like the feel of them!” (Cade)

“I’d not heard of oil pastels before but I enjoyed using them.” (Freya)

“I enjoyed researching on the netbooks with a partner and getting my hands messy!” (Kirsty)

“I enjoyed sharing ideas with my partner to help each other do a good job.” (Niamh)

 

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P5/4 Rainforest Animal Fact Files

P5/4 have been researching about animals that live in the rainforest. They have then been using their findings to create fact files. They have found out a huge amount of interesting information about their chosen animals.

Learning intention: We are learning to create a fact file.

Success criteria: I can use my notes to help me create my fact file.

Success criteria: I can use the correct format and layout.

Here are some examples of the learning that took place:

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We are looking forward to finding out lots more about the rainforest in the coming weeks!