Expanded noun phrases
In our recent writing sessions, the children have been adding description to their sentences using expanded noun phrases.
An expanded noun phrase adds more detail to the noun by adding one or more adjectives. An adjective is a word that describes a noun.
We will be using these expanded noun phrases in our stories about the Great Fire of London.
Times Table Rock Stars!
Watch this video below to see the progress that Y3 have made with their times tables from when they were in Y2 back in January.
The lighter the colour of the box, the faster that particular times table fact has been answered. A white box indicates a times table that has not been attempted at that time.
There has been some amazing improvement in Y3 and we must keep going to get even better!
Now you’ve watched it, click at the start and then at the end to quickly see their entire progress!
Synonyms and Antonyms!
This week in Y3, we have been up-levelling our vocabulary using synonyms of words we commonly use to describe things.
We also found antonyms for these words, too.
As we’re preparing to write a setting description, the children made a bank of all the best, and relevant, pieces of vocabulary they found.
Here it is:
We used the iPads and thesauruses in order to up-level our vocab. The original words are displayed at the top with the synonyms below.
Ask your child if they can tell you what synonyms and antonyms are!
Shapes
The children have taken part in lots of activities to learn about different shapes and their properties. They have learnt the names of basic 2D shapes and looked at the differences between them.
Being able to physically see the difference between a shape with three sides and one with five helps with number sense.
Why not go on a shape hunt at home? Where can they see circles, triangles, squares and rectangles?
Don’t forget to send photos to moortowneyfs@spherefederation.org
History: pyramids
Why did the Ancient Egyptians build pyramids? Y6 know!
After researching some cool facts (check them out below), we made and decorated our pyramids with our information and even some hieroglyphics.
One of our History words is the Rosetta Stone.
Albie said, “The Rosetta Stone was found in a fort near Rosetta, Egypt. It has three different languages on it: cursive Egyptian, Greek and hieroglyphics. Scholars knew Greek and cursive Egyptian so they used it to work out what the hieroglyphics meant.”
Rayn said, “It’s now located in the British museum and it was found by a soldier!”
Leo said, “It was found by a captain called Pierre in 1799 and in 1801 it was transported to the British museum. In 1802, they managed to find out what the hieroglyphics meant!”
Safiya-Mishal said, “I found this task easy and hard. Finding facts was easy but when we came to actually sticking the pyramid together, mine kept falling apart but I had help from Yusayrah!”
Hifza shared, “I found it challenging because you had to fold every part carefully and use the glue to put it together. Finding out the facts was interesting because there was lots of things I hadn’t learnt before.”
Maths: fractions
This week, we’ve started a new topic of tricky fractions!
I’ve been so impressed with how we’ve learnt to find equivalents, add and subtract and convert mixed numbers to improper fractions and back again.
Take 2 and 1/3 for example:
Yusayrah said, “First, you multiply the whole number by the denominator. 2 wholes x 3 = 6 or 6/3 (six thirds). Next, you add the extra 1/3 to give you a total of 7 thirds because the denominator always stays the same. The answer would be 7/3.”
Challenge your child to do the opposite of this and explain how to convert an improper fraction such as 7/4 (seven quarters) to a mixed number!
Battle of the Bands
With one day left of the battle to decide who is the current best class at times tables, here’s how the scores are shaping up!
The excitement in the air has been palpable! Both classes have definitely improved their timings with these last two days alone!
Take a look at these rockers at the top of the leaderboard!
We’re excited to find out who has nabbed the top spot tomorrow in assembly!
Tennis
In their PE lessons, Year 1 have enjoyed learning some of the basics of the game tennis. Each lesson has slowly introduced skills required to play a game of tennis. The children have learnt how to hold a racquet securely, how to maintain control of the ball and have developed timings for when the racquet connects with the ball.
Fire Art
What a busy few days Year 1 have had!
On Monday, we continued with our history themed topic and we spent some time looking closely at the colours of the Great Fire against the night time sky. Could we recreate it?
Using marbling inks, the class chose appropriate colours to represent the fire. Patterns were formed by floating the ink colours on the surface of some water. Then, the children used a thin stick to swirl and merge the colours. Finally, paper was laid on top and the colours were absorbed.
Once dry, the houses were created and placed against the background.
The results are simply stunning!
Times Table Rock Stars!
Watch this video showing the class progress in Times Table Rock Stars from Y3 to Y4. You can view your own child’s progress when they login. There’s some amazing improvements!