The following resources and information will help you support your child with maths and numeracy concepts.
Category Archives: Curriculum Areas
Dinosaurs
Today, as part of our new IDL Topic, Primary 2 went to the National Museum of Scotland to learn about Dinosaurs.
We began by learning about the work of a Paleontologist, and we heard how they uncover clues which help them to learn new things about different types of dinosaurs. We looked at some of the different shapes and patterns of fossils and heard how they were formed a very long time ago. We soon spotted some of these shapes and patterns on the floor beneath our feet, so we went on our own little fossil hunt!
In smaller groups, we settled down to explore some dinosaur related items. We learnt that some dinosaurs were huge, but others were really quite small. Some dinosaurs were herbivores and others were carnivores.
There were replicas of different dinosaur parts for us to handle and to make clever guesses about what they were, and what they could tell us about the dinosaur they belonged to. We carefully handled the spike from the end of a tail, a thumb, a jawbone and even some dinosaur poo! We all managed to stand together on an enormous dinosaur footprint too.
P1 Learning Sways
Please find below the QR Codes and website links to P1’s Learning Sways in Literacy and Language, Maths and Numeracy and IDL.
These will be updated regularly throughout the year/term.
Language and Literacy Sway Link: http://bit.ly/2gXzBVT
Numeracy and Maths Sway Link: http://bit.ly/2wV7Y3J
Toy Story IDL Sway Link: http://bit.ly/2wVGYB6
Exciting Lessons in Mid Calder 2017-18 by Miss Brolls
Bonjour,
This year I am excited to be teaching Health and Well-being, Art and Design and French subjects across the school and in Term 1 we will have different areas of focus across early, first and second levels.
In HWB we are looking at the overarching themes of personal well-being and thinking about who we are and what are our special skills and unique abilities. In doing this we will develop confidence in speaking and listening during Circletime and role play. We are learning to talk about our emotions and how these make us feel and behave. This has tied in with our Art and Design and our self-portraits in charcoal and other portraits when we looked closely at ourselves. Thereafter we will discuss friendships asking questions such as what makes a good friend and how we can help others and show acts of kindness. When we are talking about social health we will be looking at what we are good at and how we can develop our self-esteem and confidence in the class and into the community. Overall we will be thinking about the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
In Art and Design we are going to focus on Drawing and Painting this term. We are learning to use different drawing tools to encourage pupils to draw people accurately. At the early stage this may be a few details but into the second level these portraits are increasingly accurate with many details and correct proportions. We will also look at Picasso’s abstract portraits and his use of colour. We will look at modern Scottish artists such as Joan Eardley, Paolozzi and the Scottish Colourists but also classical artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer. P6 will go on a visit for the day on the 12th of September to Jupiter Sculpture parkland and participate in a workshop based on Andy Goldsworthy. See http://www.ipadartroom.com/andy-goldsworthy-inspired-lesson/ for ideas to extend knowledge about the artist and other Land Artists. In looking at colour we will start by experimenting with primary colours (red, blue and yellow) and then colour mixing, making many tones or tints of a colour using white. By first level the children will explore colour wheels and onto using colour to reflect mood and then the use of texture in colour. If we have any artist parents willing to come in to help work with children and/or talk about what they do that would be much appreciated. Art will be taught by the Class Teachers in P2, P5C and P7. PLEASE ENSURE YOUR CHILD HAS A PAINTING TOGS TO PROTECT THEIR SCHOOL UNIFORMS ESPECIALLY AS WE START TO EXPLORE PAINT AND INKS!
In French the P1s will listen to songs and play games and gradually build up their vocabulary and what they can say. They will learn about Paris and France and differences in school life and breakfast. We will start with Greetings and Classroom Talk. Further up the school we will start at First Level with an extended vocabulary of greetings and talk in class and try to use the language we have learnt in class everyday talk. The full vocabulary for First Level Greetings and Classroom Talk will follow in another blog post. I shall also add useful language apps and websites but the bbc Primary Languages website is a good starting point for now to listen to how the French sounds. Theo brought in some Tin-tin comics and we shared this classic French comic strip books in class. Again, any native French speakers who can come in to help would be made very welcome.
Au revoir,
Miss Brolls, NCCT 2017/18
Loch Insh Parent Information Evening
Mid Calder Primary Wins National Award for Excellence in Digital Teaching and Learning
Wednesday 6th September – Mid Calder Primary and Nursery School have gained national ‘Digital School’ status for excellence in digital technology in teaching and learning.
The Digital Schools Award recognises the dedication and innovation shown by Mid Calder Primary in areas of leadership and vision, digital technology for learning and teaching, school culture, professional development and resources and infrastructure.
22 primary schools from cities and towns across Scotland were recognised for their work on digital technology in the classroom at a special presentation ceremony.
Recognised by Education Scotland and supported by HP, Microsoft and Intel, the award is designed to encourage and recognise schools that make the best use of digital technology in the classroom.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, said: “This programme positively impacts upon pupils’ motivation to learn as well as recognising achievement by teachers and schools in advancing the integration of technology in the classroom. I commend all the primary schools receiving their digital schools award on their great achievement.”
Depute Head Teacher, Sarah Burton, of Mid Calder Primary, West Lothian said: “The Digital Schools programme offered our school a supportive structure to evaluate our digital learning journey and where we needed to go.”
“It has also enabled our Technical Troopers pupil group, to take on a valuable leadership opportunity within our school. We are very proud of how digital learning is embedded in our school from nursery to primary 7, and this award was a chance to celebrate this work and share with others.”
Mid Calder Primary in West Lothian is now among 43 Scottish primary schools from across Scotland that are recognised for excellence in digital teaching and learning
Life in P5a
All of the children have got off to a great start over the past few weeks and have settled well into the routines of P5. We have been building our class community and getting to know each other a bit better. One of the first things that we had to do was decide on what theme we wanted for our class charter and we all decided on a ‘cinema’ theme, I think you will agree that it turned out fantastically, we then had to decide on what the most important children’s rights were that we wanted to respect within our classroom, not only did we discuss what ones were relevant within our classroom but we also spoke about what we could do within our class to respect these rights. We have all signed out class contract and can’t wait for a happy and successful year in P5a.
In our class we also have our ‘Class Shout Out Wall’ where if someone feels that somebody is doing a fabulous job or if someone has helped you, we can write a compliment on a post it and place it on someones ‘face’…….. It’s ok we got everyone to draw a self portrait for the wall so no-one will be coming home covered in post-its! The wall seems to be covered in post-its on a daily basis as we have such a great class where everyone is kind and helps each other.
We are all looking forward to the next year in P5a.
Miss Anderson & P5a
P6 Class Charter and Blogging
Primary 6 have been very busy over the last couple of weeks. We have spent a lot of time creating a class charter and we have also learned how to write a blog post. Here is Leah’s post all about our charter. Please comment to let us know what you think.
https://sway.com/uk76bSsBqryB6jc8?ref=Link
Over the year, various pupils from the class will have a chance to contribute to the P6 blog and keep you all updated on what we are learning.
Every Child is an Artist
Picasso thought that every child was an artist and this week P4 have chosen mixed media to draw abstract portraits. EXA 1.02a
They created images of family members and even dogs and unicorns.
We talked about how these were abstract and not real. Some children added a lot of lines in their drawings and others placed the facial features in different places than the norm. Colour was also used abstractly with unusual and interesting colour choices.
ALL of P4 are artists!
P2 Class Charter
Primary 2 have been very busy over the last 2 weeks, working together to plan and create our Class Charter. We took part in lots of discussions with partners, and in small groups to share our ideas about what we wanted to include. We considered how we could include some aspects of the Rights of A Child as well as our School Values. Finally, after enjoying one of the Elmer stories by David McKee, we decided on a theme to display our ideas.
Hopefully, as we continue our journey through Primary 2, our Charter will help us, and remind us how to work together to ensure our classroom is a safe, happy and productive place to be.
