Week ending 25th November 2022

Here is a brief overview of our week in Sycamore class!

English​
In English, we have been using drama and role play to think about fairy tale characters, especially the villains.  This continues our work with the fantastic book 'Inside the Villains'.  In the next stage of this teaching sequence, we will be replanning the story of Hansel and Gretal with a twist.  What if Hansel and Gretal were actually the villains of the story, and the witch was actually just a poor little old lady they terrorised????!!!

Life Skills
This week in Life Skills we have been learning about assertive behaviours: what are they, how to be assertive and we made posters to show our thoughts. 

Geography
As you know, our Geography learning is focusing on 'population'. This week we looked at population pyramids, what they are and what information they show us. Our case study country was Qatar and it showed us that the population in Qatar is predominately male. The main reason for this, was because of the large number of migrant workers working there. 

Computing
We were using Tinkercad again this week to design a model of a pencil holder.  To do this, the children had to combine 3d shapes and use ' holes'.  The children also had to make the object to a given size using the measuring tools in the programme.

Science
Continuing our unit on sustainability, the children were learning about fossil fuels and combustion this week.  They learnt that fossil fuels were natural resources that can be burnt to produce energy.  However they also learnt that combustion(burning)produces carbon dioxide which is a greenhouse gas and a pollutant which is bad for the environment.  Next week, we will learn more about sustainability when we visit the Energy from Waste centre in Plymouth. 

Maths
We have continued learning about fractions. We have been comparing, simplifying, adding and subtracting. Our maths homework this week reinforces strategies used to compare fractions with different denominators. 

PE
In P.E. with Coach Edwards we have continued with unihoc, practising drills and playing small games. We enjoyed swimming again and the children are making great progress. 

French
We continued talking and writing about our opinions of food in our French lessons. We are able to say which foods we love, like or detest and in some cases give reasons. We also used French dictionaries to spot words that sound similar in English (cognates) but actually mean something different. Did you know the French word 'eclair' actually means 'a flash of lightening' rather than something you eat?

Have a great weekend and we will see you all on Monday!
Thank you,
Mrs Ware and Miss ruby