Category Archives: Technologies

Anytime Anywhere Learning, English & Literacy, Primary 5, Reading IDL 2016, Technologies

Reading in P5A

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We are learning to visualise characters, settings and actions by reading the text closely.

  • I can use my imagination to form pictures in my mind.
  • I can select the key language the author uses to help me to create pictures and can justify my thinking.
  • I can use my own experiences to make connections.

This week in reading we were learning about the skill of visualisation. We started by visualising people in the school and our partner had to guess who we were talking about from our clues.

Next we listened to chapter 7 of George’s Marvellous Medicine and we had to made notes oh how the author visualised characters, setting and actions. Now we will use this knowledge to help us create a piece of writing.

As part of Scottish Book week we have been running different events:

Novel Natters 

Primary 4 and 5 invited our Nanas, Papas and relatives of the older generation into school and we read a piece of our own writing linked to our IDL context for learning, George’s Marvellous Medicine. We had been asked to use our prediction skills to write chapter 7 of the book, using clues from the text and our knowledge of the author’s style to help us to make a realistic continuation of the story. Our Grandparents gave us ‘Nana’s Notions and Papa’s Praise’ feedback.

Book Week Afternoon

On Tuesday afternoon in P4 and P5 we had the choice of 2 different reading activities:

  • Creating a story using apps on the iPad
  • drama
  • reading games
  • using Purple Mash to create an animation

Miss Burton’s group created an animation of a book they had read. Click below to view some of the animations.

https://www.purplemash.com/?~c3c9MjMxNDMx Freiah

https://www.purplemash.com/?~c3c9MjMxNTg1 Freya and Niamh

https://www.purplemash.com/?~c3c9MjMxNDU3 Joel and Sorley

https://www.purplemash.com/?~c3c9MjMxNzAx Maya

https://www.purplemash.com/?~c3c9MjMxNzEw  Theo

https://www.purplemash.com/?~c3c9MjMxNzIw Saskia

https://www.purplemash.com/?~c3c9MjMxNzI4 Matthew C

https://www.purplemash.com/?~c3c9MjMxNzM5  Oliver

Reading in an Unusual Place

As part of Book Week we have asked pupils to tweet or bring in a photo of them reading in an usual place.

Anytime Anywhere Learning, Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3, Primary 5, Primary 7, Pupil Council, School Improvement Plan, Technologies

School Improvement Plan: Pupil Version

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At our Pupil Council Meeting this week we looked at the School Improvement Plan and what this would look like, sound like and feel like in our school. The pupils worked together in small groups to use OneNote to collaborate together using the one document, with the other pupils supporting the younger ones.

Here is a copy of our School Improvement Plan in a child friendly version: pupil-version-sip-16-17

Anytime Anywhere Learning, Events, Primary 5, Technologies

YamJam

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This year, Primary 5B have been using Yammer to share their learning through their IDL contexts, George’s Marvellous Medicine and the Romans. We use Yammer to access useful websites, contribute our thoughts and ideas and to share new facts we have learned.

Today, we took part in a live YamJam session where we had the opportunity to ask questions about Yammer to some of the administrators of the Glow Yammer Network. We asked some thoughtful questions, and were able to answer other people’s questions as well.

Anytime Anywhere Learning, School News, Technologies

Education Scotland Case Study

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Education Scotland visited our school to ask pupils and staff about digital learning in our school. They created a video which you can watch by clicking here. Well done to our Technical Troopers for explaining our journey.

“Education should prepare young people for jobs that do not yet exist, using technologies that have not yet been invented, to solve problems of which we are not yet aware.” Richard Riley

In Mid Calder Primary School, we share this vision and we believe that in providing learners with a rich range of learning experiences in the digital and physical world we are developing a range of skills, knowledge and attributes to enable them to be confident and competent in the world of learning, life and work.

West Lothian’s investment in infrastructure has provided us with the flexibility of an Anytime Anywhere Learning (AAL) wireless network which allows connectivity for school and personal devices alike. This has enabled learners to be partners in their learning, offering a range of personalisation and choice opportunities whilst promoting Health and Wellbeing through the recognising of their rights and responsibilities.

Through our case study we hope you recognise the positive impact embedding digital technologies into the life and ethos of our school has had on our school community.

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Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 5, Technologies

Buddying up for Purple Mash

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As P1-P7 have access to Purple Mash to support their learning, P5B buddied up with P2/1 today to show them how to use this fantastic resource. The Primary 5s showed their buddy how to login, how to play some of the games, how to access the different tools and how to watch videos linked to the games they were playing.

Purple Mash will be used to support learning in school, but can also be accessed at home where the children can complete activities set by their class teacher or just explore the games and tools themselves. They can access this account at home by using the log in provided in their homework diary/book.

To access Purple Mash, go to:
https://www.purplemash.com/sch/midcalder-EH53

Nursery, Technologies, Uncategorized

The building has started!

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There has been lots of excitement in the nursery this week as the diggers arrived on site to start building our new nursery! The children enjoyed watching through the fence, chatting to the builders and even getting some building materials from them for our garden. The inside of the nursery now has a building site, site office and canteen for the workers and the children outside have been building with mud and bricks. We have talked about how to build safely and learned more about how to make the strongest structures.

It is going to be an exciting few months watching the changes, as they build our new place to play and learn.

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Health & Wellbeing, Nursery, Technologies

Pizza Delivery!

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The nursery children have spent the last two weeks creating Pizza World! We have taken orders, written menus, made pizzas at the craft table, made deliveries, we have had cheese and tomato, pepperoni, ham and pineapple and much, much more! Pizza World got a new manager in the afternoon and he had to deal with complaints about noise and occasionally had to get his team to tidy up the shop!!! After all the hard work, creativity, sharing, communicating and lots of smiles, the children got the opportunity to make their own pizzas. With the help of 2 parents they prepared the area, washed their hands, spread the tomato base and added their topping. After 10 minutes in the oven the pizzas looked, tasted and smelled delicious!

Well done boys and girls!

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Achievements, Anytime Anywhere Learning, Events, Nursery, Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3, Primary 5, Primary 7, Technologies

Class of 2016

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Every year West Lothian Council holds a ‘Class of …’ so Head Teachers can share interesting and new practice and they can find out about what’s new in education. On Friday Mrs McKenzie was invited along to Class of 2016 to share how we use ICT to support our learning and teaching at Mid Calder Primary. You can view the video below.

Interdisciplinary Learning, Primary 2, Sciences, STEM 2016, Technologies

The Great Deserted Island STEM Challenge Four

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LI. We are learning to apply and develop our skills and knowledge of linear measurement, force and motion, simple levers and scientific processes

SC. We can plan, design and create to device that can launch an item at least 30 centimetres.

SC. We can chunk the challenge independently and describe the problem.

SC. We will identify and plan how to achieve 3 points for the planning and design aspect of the rubic.

SC. We can share our ideas and identify the best ones and say why.

SC. We will test and discuss what happened, what worked and what we would do differently next time.

Last week P2 Sir Harley Houndstooth III asked us to make a catapult to protect him from pirates who are trying to land on the island. We used lolly pop sticks, elastic bands and bottle tops to make our own catapults. We used marshmallows to fire from the catapults and some went really far! We measured the length our catapults could fire the marshmallows using metre sticks. We all worked really well on this challenge Ben said that he felt he had achieved something because he had worked well with others to design and build the catapult independently.

Our next challenge is our final challenge. Will Sir Harley escape from the island?

We will keep you posted on how we get on in the next challenge!

P2.