Category Archives: Interdisciplinary Learning

Events, Interdisciplinary Learning, Primary 3

An out of this world week in Primary 3!

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On Tuesday 2nd May, we had a very exciting visit from Cosmos Planetarium, a state of the art, 360° theatre experience. We were transported on a journey through our solar system and beyond – from flying through Saturn’s rings to diving into Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, to search it’s vast ocean for signs of life. We learned about the first moon landing, as well as what life might be like on the moon in future and were able to share our knowledge of Neil Armstrong from the biographies we wrote about his life and experiences. We also took a virtual tour of the International Space Station and learned more about what life would be like in space. To continue this learning when we got back to class, we got to try astronaut food. Some of us loved it, others…not so much.

After that, Steven Gray from Cosmos Planetarium, who is also a STEM ambassador, led us in a rocket making challenge. You can check out what we got up to in this amazing video made by Rose and Zoe:

To top it all off, Primary 3 shared all of our learning through our IDL context, NASA Juniors: Mission X with our parents/carers, families and friends in our assembly. We also blasted our audience back in time to meet Neil Armstrong and some other famous astronauts from throughout history. So fasten your seat belts, check the oxygen levels and prepare for lift off….

Interdisciplinary Learning

European Travels in P6

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Primary 6 have been hard at work and have had lots of fun creating their own travel show videos about various European countries. In small groups, the pupils picked a European country of their choice to research and present in the form of a travel show. They have learned many interesting facts about their country including topics such as:

–         Flags

–         Landmarks

–         Geography

–         Language

–         Dance

–         Food

– Currency

They have also had think carefully about the style of presentation, including appropriate tone and expression, and their audience. Alongside this, the technical challenge of producing a edited video with images and voice overs has made this an enjoyable and engaging challenge!

We shall be viewing the finished videos over the next couple of days and peer assessing them, giving relevant feedback.

 

 

 

Anytime Anywhere Learning, Expressive Arts, Outside of School, Technologies

Snow Day Antics and Building Ideas

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Move over George Clark and your Amazing Spaces TV programme. I hope some of you took up the Igloo Challenge. Did you manage to make a roof? How did you build it? How could you make it better next time? I know some people made an igloo that could fit ten people inside. How big would that need to be? What questions would you ask an Innuit about their igloo-building skills? What other small shelters are there in warm countries? There are great design ideas on the Tiny House/Homes website and in Scotland some people build huts in woods that can be very inventive so look at the Reforesting Scotland 1000 Huts Movement. How would you design a great den/hut?

I hope you are working on using French every day. In class we are using French colours and in P5-7 Spanish too. Use Google translate or YouTube to find ways to practise these – rouge, orange, jaune, vert, bleu, rose, noir, blanc.

Finally, I hope some of you tried to help others that may have found it difficult to get to the shops for milk and bread. For some people who are HOUSEBOUND this is a problem that faces them every day and not just a Snow Day.

Interdisciplinary Learning, Maths & Numeracy, Primary 3

Roman Mosaics in Primary 3

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We are learning about Roman mosaics

  • I can observe and discuss the different colours, patterns, shapes and symmetry found in Roman tiling/mosaics
  • I can create my own tiling/mosaic design in the style of the Romans
  • I can include symmetry in my design.

Primary 3 have started their new IDL context, The Rotten Romans, and this week we have been focusing on life in Roman times. We learned about how rich Romans often decorated their homes in mosaics as a sign of wealth. We explored the colours, patterns and shapes they used, as well as how they were created.

We then used digital tools, 2D shapes and squared paper to explore and create our own mosaics. In our maths lesson this week, we have been learning about lines of symmetry and symmetrical patterns. We applied our learning when we were creating our mosaics, making symmetrical patterns in the style of the Romans.

We also applied our knowledge of mosaics and symmetry in writing and spelling this week. In a spelling task, we were challenged to find lines of symmetry in letters and then write words and sentences using only symmetrical letters. In writing, we have been learning how to write a diary entry of a day in the life of a Roman and, if we decided to be a rich Roman, we talked about our beautiful mosaics and making our slaves sand them down until they were smooth for us. We are really enjoying learning about the Rotten Romans.

Interdisciplinary Learning, Primary 3

Dynamic Designs in P3

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We are learning to design a vehicle

Success Criteria:
Using what I know, I can include features that will suit different climates and landscapes
I can create a neat and detailed drawing of my vehicle
I can label each part and effectively describe why it has been included
I can use a ruler and my space effectively

Great news! Primary 3 have been working extremely hard to help Gamba the giraffe to get back home to Africa, and we finally received the postcard we have been waiting for to let us know that he made it! He also set us one final challenge- to design a vehicle that he could have used to travel across all of the different landscapes he discovered on his journey. We had to use all of our research to create a design, thinking carefully about all of the climates and living things that Gamba met along the way.

We think Gamba will be very impressed with our designs. We included lots of features that demonstrated our knowledge of the different landscapes, climates and living things we have been learning about. Lots of us also included thoughtful things to make Gamba more comfortable on his travels.

We have been keeping a track of Gamba’s journey on our world map in the classroom and we are very proud that all of our hard work helped him to get back home.

Internet Safety, Primary 3, Safer Internet Day 2018

Safer Internet Day in P3

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To mark Safer Internet Day 2018, Primary 3 took part in lots of activities to help us understand why we should stay safe online. First, we looked at different emojis and suggested adjectives to describe each one. Then we were given a range of different internet themed scenarios and had to stand beside the emoji that represented how we would feel in that situation, sharing why we had chosen that emoji with each other. Next, we looked at different images and had to sort them into ‘safe’ and ‘not safe.’ We quickly discovered that all of the items can be safe, including digital tools, if we use them sensibly and responsibly.

We love using the internet in Primary 3, so we learned about our ‘digital footprint’ and how important it is to make sure we use it in a positive way. For the #ItStartsWithUs campaign, we made a pledge of something kind that we could do to make the internet a better place. We also took part in a Skype session where we learned top tips from 6 different schools from across Scotland.

English & Literacy, Interdisciplinary Learning, Primary 3, Technologies, Uncategorized

An Avalanche of Arctic Advice

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We are learning about the Arctic
I can describe the climate of the Arctic
I can describe the living things found in the Arctic
I understand how the climate and the landscape affects the living things

This week, a special delivery arrived for Primary 3. We used our skills of prediction to guess what was inside the box, using the clues on the wrapping to help us to make a realistic prediction. That is how we met Gamba the Giraffe. Gamba was lost and needed our help to find his way home. First of all, we had to use our research skills to find out where Gamba came from. We used iPads and netbooks to discover that we needed to help him get back to Africa, then we sent him on his way.

However, we soon heard back from Gamba to let us know that he hadn’t quite made it back home. He asked for our help to find out about this strange land that he had arrived in. He needed to know about the climate, landscape and living things that he might see in, what we quickly discovered was, the Arctic. Again, we used our research skills to find out new information, using key words to help us find out the facts quickly and easily.

We then used our Glow accounts to email Gamba to tell him what we had found out and give him advice about what to do next. We learned how to add a recipient, include a subject heading and how to layout an email.

We can’t wait to hear back from Gamba to see if he manages to get back home…

Book Week Scotland 2017, English & Literacy, Primary 2, Uncategorized

Book Week in P2

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Last week the children in Primary 2  were very excited to receive their Read, Write,  Count bags as part of  the Book Week Scotland event.

First, Primary 5 children were welcomed into the classroom to  present the bags to the younger boys and girls. They explored the contents of the bag together, and spent a little time choosing and reading one of the books.

We were then joined by family and friends later in the afternoon, and had lots of fun playing some of the suggested number games using the resources in the bag, as well as completing some of the tasks related to the book ‘Mr Tiger Goes Wild’ by Peter Brown.

At the end of the afternoon we listened to author Kes Gray read his story of Quick Quack Quentin which was the other book in our Read, Write, Count bag. There was lots of fun and laughter as we worked out what our names would sound like if the letter A was missing!

Kes Gray is one of our favourite authors in Primary 2, so please ask us about some of the other books we have read that were also written by him.

Thank you to everyone to came to visit. We hope you enjoyed exploring the Read, Write, Count bags as much as we did.

Book Week Scotland 2017, English & Literacy, Primary 1

P1W’s Book Bag Gifting

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Last Thursday, we invited our P7 buddies to our class to gift our book bag’s as part of Book Week. Our P7 buddies enjoyed reading the stories with the children and showing P1 what they had been given in their book bag.

We also invited our relatives and friends to our class on Thursday afternoon, to participate in activities related to the three picture books included in our book bag (Gorilla Loves Vanilla, Little Owl’s Egg and The Fourth Bonniest Baby in Dundee) and gain ideas of how to use this fantastic resource at home.

 

We were all very excited to receive our book bags and share them with our families and friends. Thank you to everyone who was able to visit P1W!