Category Archives: Maths & Numeracy
Creativity and Learning with our Loose Parts
Exploration and Discovery Outdoors
“OUTDOOR PLAY is among the greatest gifts we can give our children; and healthy, adventurous and curious children are among the greatest gifts we can give our communities.”
STEM Workshops in Primary 6 & 7
Today, Primary 6 and 7 had a great opportunity to hear from some experts working in STEM careers. Michael from Jacobs engineering and Daniel and Rob from GE Power spoke to the pupils all about their jobs and backgrounds in STEM. Also, pupils took part in two activities to put into practice some of the concepts they had been learning about. Daniel and Rob demonstrated how to create circuits using a battery pack, led lights and play doh! Michael led a session in creating bridges using everyday materials such as paper, blu tack and sellotape.
Many thanks to our visitors and well done to P6 and P7 for enthusiastically taking part in the workshops.
Primary 6 visit to West Lothian College
On Tuesday, Primary 6 had a great visit to West Lothian College. We were there to take part in three different activities linking to STEM and the World of Work. In the engineering department, pupils had the chance to see different workshops that students use to learn new skills and complete projects. They then took part in some tasks involving problem solving skills. In the hair and beauty department, pupils learned how to use various products as part of a hand massage. They also learned and practised some new hairdressing techniques.
We all really enjoyed our time there and it gave us a good insight into the work of a college student and how these skills link to jobs for the future.
Digital Learning Week in P3
To celebrate National Digital Learning Week, Primary 3 have used a range of digital technologies to enhance their learning across the curriculum.
In maths, we have been taking part in the UK National Sumdog Contest to develop our mental maths skills, as well as using Purple Mash and Table Mountain to help us to learn our times tables. In literacy, we have been looking at the genre of Science Fiction, and we used Puppet Pals 2 to bring some our stories to life. We also completed a ‘Space Race’ quiz using QR codes. We had to follow clues to locate QR codes hidden around the school, then use our skimming and scanning skills to to answer space questions using the links.
As part of our IDL context, NASA Juniors: Mission X, Primary 7 led a Virtual Reality session using their own devices. They rocketed us up into space, allowing us to explore the International Space Station, take a closer look behind the scenes of the Moon Landing, and explore a space museum. One of the Primary 7 Technical Troopers then helped us to use the Glow tool, Forms, to create our own space themed quiz. We posted these onto our Yammer page and completed each other’s quizzes.
We love using digital tools to enhance our learning in lots of different ways and Primary 3 feel like they have become ‘Digital Divas’ this year 🙂
Evie: “When I was young, I never used to use technology but then I discovered how good it was when I got my own iPad. Now I like using Yammer on the iPad and computer because I like commenting about what the teachers and people have posted.”
Rose: “I like using digital technologies because it is fun and it helps your learning.”
Sam: “I like playing games on the iPads and using paint on the netbooks. It makes learning fun.”
Primary 4 enjoy Digital Learning Week and National Numeracy Day!
On National Numeracy Day, Primary 4 enjoyed using digital learning to support their work in Maths. As part of our Nasa Missions, the boys and girls had to collect data from children across the school about day and night time. Using digital technology each Nasa home team used their data to create a pie chart on the netbooks. Have a look at their fantastic pie charts:
During Digital Learning Week, the boys and girls have enjoyed several activities. In particular, they loved creating sun and moon fact files using Microsoft Word. After identifying the features of a fact file and conducting research using netbooks, the children then put their notes together to create their final fact files. They enjoyed setting up tables, adding pictures, changing fonts and laying out their fact file in an attractive way.
The Technical Troopers also came to visit Primary 4 this week. They took a mini lesson where they showed the boys and girls how to create a SWAY document about their chosen theme. The Technical Troopers did a fantastic job and were very helpful and patient. Have a look:
STEM workshops
Primary 6 and 7 had a real treat this morning when they were visited by four parents working within STEM careers. The pupils had the chance to take part in two workshops, learning about different jobs through a variety of presentations and activities. It was great to see the pupils learning about the world of work and engaging with issues they had little previous experience of. I’m sure many were inspired to keep learning about STEM subjects and build on the skills they have already developed. As discussed with one of our visiting parents, pupils are preparing for jobs that perhaps do not even exist yet! The world of work is constantly changing and developing. Thank you to all those involved in making the event happen and well done P6 and P7 for listening well and engaging with the workshops.
P1 Term 4 Learning Sways
The Nursery Bake Off!
The boys and girls have been taking part in bake off sessions in the nursery. So far they have made crispie cakes, scones, top hats and shortbread. They have enjoyed learning how chocolate melts, how to measure ingredients, the feeling and smells they experience while baking. We have all enjoyed this learning experience…including the staff! Keep watching for more bake off updates.
