Category Archives: Interdisciplinary Learning

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.

Primary 5, STEM 2016

Super spacecraft

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P.5/4 have finished our making our space craft. Now, they are exploring our class solar system! There has been lots of interesting learning taking place:

  • Investigating the components of a spacecraft.
  • Exploring how best to use the materials available to build a spacecraft.
  • Working with others to give constructive feedback and making improvements based on this.
  • Discussing useful innovations to make our spacecraft ‘products of the future’.

See our photos below!

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Interdisciplinary Learning, Maths & Numeracy, Primary 1

Symmetry in P1

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LI

We are learning to recognise and create a symmetrical pattern

SC

I can identify a symmetrical pattern

I can make a pattern that is symmetrical

This week we have been learning about symmetry.

We first noticed symmetry when we were observing our butterflies.

We looked especially carefully at the position of the different shapes and colours on each wing. There was something really interesting about their wings. Perhaps you can ask us to describe what we saw!

We discovered this was called symmetry.

We decided to investigate  further!

First, we looked for examples of symmetry around us. We found quite a few!

Next, we explored interactive games and activities to help us learn even more.

Finally, we created our own symmetrical patterns using bricks, pegs, pattern blocks and shapes.

We worked very hard and created some fantastic designs.

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Primary 5, STEM 2016

3, 2, 1… lift off!

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P.5/4 have been enjoying designing and creating their own space craft over the last week or so. During the parents’ open morning we started our designs based on what we had already found out about space craft and these success criteria:

  • I can include the following features of a space craft in my design:
    • Rockets to provide the thrust needed for launching into space.
    • A fuel tank.
    • Compartments to carry astronauts and their equipment.

Currently, we are creating our space craft out of all kinds of ‘junk’ that would otherwise just be recycled e.g. drinks bottles, cereal boxes, plastic tubs etc.

Watch this space for photos of our completed creations!

Interdisciplinary Learning, Primary 1, Sciences, STEM 2016, Uncategorized

Bye, Bye Butterflies!

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LI

We are learning to recognise and describe the stages of the Butterfly Life Cycle

SC

 I can describe the changes I see using appropriate vocabulary

I can sequence pictures and create a diagram to show the Life Cycle of a butterfly

The last two weeks  have been very exciting in Primary 1. We have watched very carefully as our tiny, wriggly caterpillars have grown, formed chrysalises and eventually turned  into beautiful butterflies.

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Last week we took the butterflies outside and released them in the garden.

Perhaps you will be lucky enough to see them as they fly around Mid Calder!

 

 

Interdisciplinary Learning, Primary 2, STEM 2016

The Great Deserted Island STEM Challenge Three

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The Great Deserted Island STEM Challenge Three

LI. We are learning to apply our knowledge of linear and weight measurement, buoyancy and scientific processes.

LI. We can plan, design and create a water tight container that can float.

LI. We can describe the problem what we wanted to happen and to share our ideas.

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

This week P2 Sir Harley Houndstooth III asked us to make a waterproof bottle or container that he could put a message in so that it wouldn’t get wet in water. We all came up with different designs in our groups and then decided which design we would use. We had 45 minutes to make and test our designs. Each design had to be water proof so that the message wouldn’t get wet and had to stay floating for 30 seconds. We are happy to report that all of our designs floated! In this challenge we were able to apply lots of the team work skills that we had learnt about from the previous challenge such as: good cooperation, team working skills and good listening skills.

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

P2.

Interdisciplinary Learning, Primary 5, STEM 2016, Technologies

Mission 5 ready for lift off…

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Learning Intention:

We are learning how to design a space craft of the future.

We are learning how to use a range of materials to create a space craft of the future.

Success Criteria:

I can work as part of a team to create a labelled design of a space craft of the future

I can work as part of a team to create a model of a space craft of the future

 A successful model will:

  • Show an awareness of scale
  • Be well constructed using a variety of materials
  • Use appropriate colours

 

Mission 5 landed in Primary 5 last week, and we are happy to announce that it is ready for launch. We were challenged to design and create a space craft of the future. We began by watching two videos to help us to understand more about space crafts and how they operate.

A History of Space Shuttles

How Rockets Work

After a little research, we discussed the idea of scale and technological developments and how we could incorporate these into our designs. We decided to draw our designs out on whiteboards before beginning our final diagram so that we could experiment and be creative.

When we were happy with our final sketches, we transferred this onto our design briefs, labeling each component and their function.

Next, we got to work on building our space crafts using recycled materials. We presented our finished products to the class, justifying our choices and explaining how we constructed our rockets.

Who knows, maybe one of our designs could end up being used by NASA! Watch this space…

 

Anytime Anywhere Learning, Community, Events, Maths & Numeracy, Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3, Primary 5, Primary 7, Sciences, STEM 2016, Technologies

STEM Open Morning

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This  morning, MCPS opened its doors to parents, carers and friends in order for pupils to exhibit their learning through our STEM (Sciences, Technologies, Engineering ad Mathematics) contexts for learning. This included:

P1: The Garden

P2-3: The Great Deserted Island

P4-5: Project Planetarium

P6-7: CSI

Our guests spent time in their children’s classes taking part in a wide range of activities including; designing space crafts of the future, information sessions, demonstrations, Science investigations and lots more.

We also used this time to ask parents for their input into our Curriculum Rationale, the the results of which will be shared soon.

Thank you to everyone who came along to support the event.