Rock, Paper, Scissors: Human vs Micro:bit

In our Creativity Hour, Primary 1-3 took their coding skills to the next level by programming the Micro:bit to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. Building on what we’ve learned previously, this activity was slightly more advanced as we had to use variables to create this game. We used Micro:bit Classroom – this is a digital classroom where we can connect iPads to manage and guide children through the coding sessions. This allowed us to follow a tutorial together and provide support through each step to make sure we could manage the task effectively.

We coded the Micro:bit to generate a random number (1-3) whenever it was shaken and the number would represent either rock, paper or scissors. We then programmed the Micro:bit to display an icon for each choice which introduced the idea of variables.

It was exciting to see the children test their creations, shaking their Micro:bits and watching the results appear on the screen. Once we had a functioning game, the children went around the class, challenging their friends and teachers with the Micro:bit – we wanted to find out who would win, Humans or the Micro:bit! By the end of the session, the children had a working game and a better understanding of using variables in code!

Exploring Rhyming Words and Synonyms

This week, Primary 1-3 looked closer at the language in The Ugly Five by Julia Donaldson, with Primary 1-2 focusing on how authors use rhyme to create fun and engaging stories. The lesson began with an opportunity for the children to share their prior knowledge through discussion about what they already knew about rhyming words. Together, we revisited the story, carefully analysing the text to identify rhyming pairs; some rhyming words that we found were “spotty” and “grotty”, “see” and “tree”, and “pink” and “stink”. They worked collaboratively by sharing ideas and supporting each other to uncover the rhymes within the text.

During this time, Primary 3 focused on developing a new skill: using an online thesaurus to find synonyms. The children enjoyed this task, as it allowed them to discover new words they hadn’t encountered before. Using an extract from the book, they selected specific words and found 2-3 synonyms for each one. This activity helped them build their vocabulary and improve their research skills, as they practiced navigating a digital resource.

Here is some examples of what they found:

Robert Burns inspired Art work

After learning about Robert Burns this week and choosing our favourite poem to recite, we created pastel drawings from the images we could see in our head. We used the ‘Picture it’ strategy to help understand our poems and engage more with the Scot’s dialect. The finished pictures were all fantastic images which illuminate Burn’s poetry in our class and help with comprehension. Afterwards we chose our favourite Scottish word to look up and add to our display.

Outdoor learning in P5-P7

Today we went outside to try a few Mindfulness activities. Mindfulness is a critical self-regulation strategy for people of all ages. It can help us feel calm, focused, and in control. We worked together to communicate our feelings and collaborate with each other. We also had a successful singing workshop this morning in from Voice Rocks!

First Week Back in P1-3

Despite the snowy weather, we’ve had a wonderful first week back in Primary 1-3. The class has been hard at work on a book study which has combined reading, creativity and hands-on learning. Our book study is focused on the book, ‘The Ugly Five’ by Julia Donaldson which explores five animals in the African savannah who are often called “ugly” by others.

After reading the book and making predictions on Wednesday, we explored the animals in the book in more detail and created fun character descriptions. We began by looking at real-life images of each animal using iPads, then we looked through the story to create our own descriptions which can be seen below. This activity helped us better understand the story and sparked our imaginations.

Our curiosity about the animals in the story and their environment led us to design and build our own habitats. Using a variety of materials such as LEGO and building blocks, we created models of environments such as a rainforest, a polar habitat, a garden and a city. We learned about the varying needs of animals and plants within different habitats, which then led to a discussion about the unique needs of the animals and how their habitats help them survive.

Building to withstand Artic habitats.
A house in a city that is built to support people.
A doghouse that includes a grass area and a place to sleep.
Rainforest habitat with a small river and different plants.

Creating Games with Micro:bits!

On Friday, we continued to explore coding through Micro:bits during Creativity Hour and had an exciting time putting our skills to use! We learned how to programme the Micro:bits to function as dice – by shaking the device, a random number would appear on the screen! Once we completed this, we used our Micro:bit to create our own games.

Some of us incorporated the Micro:bit dice into board games we had in the class such as Connect 4. In this game, the children would shake the device to generate a number, which determined the number of tokens they could use to play for that round. Others, made up fun challenges where the dice decided different movements. It was a great way to combine problem-solving and teamwork while learning more about technology and coding.

Christmas Dinner

Last week, the children enjoyed a fantastic Christmas dinner at school. The lunch hall was set up for the occasion with a beautifully decorated Christmas tree and some festive touches on the tables – sparkly table cloths, Christmas themed placemats and some Christmas crackers. The children had a great time enjoying a delicious festive meal with yummy turkey, steak pie and some pasta. But of course, no Christmas dinner would be complete without some ice cream for dessert! After the meal, the children settled in to watch a Christmas movie, Santa Clause 3, and then enjoyed some games in the gym hall.

It was lovely to see the children enjoying an amazing day, full of good food, lots of fun and plenty of Christmas spirit. Everyone left feeling happy and excited for Christmas!

Hands-On Learning: Numeracy

This term, the children have been working on solving addition and subtraction tasks using concrete materials like counters, blocks, Numicon and more. These hands-on tools help the children visualise and understand the concepts in a more concrete way before moving onto pictorial and abstract problems.

By physically moving objects, the children can “see” the math which makes it easier to grasp how numbers can be combined or separated. Concrete materials build confidence, deepen understanding and make learning more engaging. The children were working on using Numicon to make number pairs and visually represent how numbers can be made up of different pairs – in this example, the children were making all the different number pairs to make 6.

Here, the children were using base 10 blocks to represent the jumping strategy in addition; they would use the blocks to represent jumps of 10 or 1 to solve 2 digit + 2 digit sums and missing number problems. The children have managed to transfer this understanding into subtraction tasks too!

The children have enjoyed the hands-on approach in numeracy and feel more confident in their numeracy skills! We will continue using concrete materials in all our learning to help boost our skills and confidence!

Adult Learning Sessions

Over a week ago, we hosted an engaging adult learning session at the school which was designed to help parents support their children at home with their learning. The session focused on practical tips and strategies for making math a natural part of everyday life whilst boosting confidence and fostering a positive math mindset.

The session highlighted various ways which children’s learning in numeracy can be extended at home. Strategies which we saw and found useful were through playing/creating games such as Kerplunk, LEGO board games and more. This helped the children with their counting, number recognition and subitising, and the children had fun doing so! This was an engaging session which was very helpful for those that attended – scan the QR below to find out more information about these sessions! Thank you to everyone who attended and together, we can help make math a positive experience for the children.

Report a Glow concern
Cookie policy  Privacy policy