21^st October 2022                                             Primary 6W Blog

Literacy

In literacy we have been learning how to make notes and then use them to create new texts.  We carried out independent research on either Moscow or St Petersburg and created notes using subheadings. We then used these notes to produce colourful leaflets to encourage people to visit these Russian cities.  This week we have started a new topic looking at how to write our own narratives.  We read a story about a boy called Tom who was evacuated to the countryside during World War 2.  We highlighted vocabulary, figurative language and excellent openers that we thought we might use in our own story which we then worked hard to create.

Numeracy

In numeracy we have completed our topic on patterns where we were investigating famous patterns such as Fibonacci and Pascall’s Triangle.  This week we have started our new topic on decimal numbers.  We have been learning to understand what a decimal is, how to find them on a number-line and how to order them.  Next week we will be learning how to round decimal numbers, using our knowledge of rounding whole numbers.

Others

In science we have been investigating reversible and irreversible reactions.  We experimented by separating rice and paperclips using a magnet, separating flour and peas using a sieve, separating salt and water by evaporation, melting chocolate to make Krispie cakes and mixing vinegar and baking powder.

We have also continued to learn about sources of energy by creating and experimenting with our own circuits. We made clowns with light up noses.

We had a visit from West Lothian Ranger Services this week.  They were talking to us about the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.  They explained how we can keep ourselves and others’ safe whilst exploring the outdoors.  They also had a variety of activities for us to do that helped us remember how to use the Code correctly.

We participated in a live Harvest lesson led by the National Farmers Union.  In this lesson they were showing us how carrots go from seed to fork.  Inspired by the lesson, we decided to make our own carrot soup in the afternoon.  Some people even tried dipping carrots in chocolate to see if it tasted nice – it was a mixed result.

During STEAM week we were learning to reuse and recycle plastics.  We heard information about how long it takes a plastic bag to decompose and then created our own “fashion accessories” using recycled plastic bags.

It certainly has been a busy few weeks in P6W. Here are some of the things we have been working on in class.

Maths and Numeracy

In numeracy we have been investigating different patterns and sequences using numbers.  We have been learning how to identify the pattern rule and then how to continue the pattern independently.  Next week we will be investigating famous number patterns including square numbers, triangular numbers, Fibonacci Sequence and Pascal’s Triangle.

In Maths we have been learning how to read and interpret timetables.  We have also been investigating different strategies to help us calculate time durations.

Literacy

In literacy we have been taking part in the Bathgate Hills Writing Competition.  We watched films about the history and stories of the Bathgate Hills and then created our own fictional short story.  Most people in our class took inspiration from the legendary “Silver Man” myth and wrote an imagined alien landing story. In reading we have been developing skills in answering inferential and evaluative questions linked to text we are reading. For class novel we are reading “The Boy who Biked the World” which is a fictional story about a boy who is currently cycling through Africa on the first leg of his adventure.  We are learning lots of interesting facts about Africa.

Other

This week we have been working on Miss Craig’s Autumn Challenge.  For the challenge we had to design and create a themed Scarecrow inspired by a selection of random clothes provided.  In our bag we found a Loch Ness Monster Hat so that’s what we decided to base our scarecrow on.  Katie produced the winning design and we hope that she likes our finished scarecrow.

In preparation for Languages Week we have been learning some of the sign language to accompany the song “True Colours.”  It is very tricky but we are hoping to be more confident by the time the P7 are ready to film us next week.

In science we have been learning about buoyancy. We have learned what buoyancy means and been investigating why big things like cruise ships float even-though they are so big and heavy.  We learned that this was linked to density and mass.  We carried out our own buoyancy experiments in class by predicting what items would float or sink and then testing our hypothesis. Finally, we tried to build our own floating, tin foil ships and had a competition to see which one could hold the most cubes/ counters.