Chester – Roman Visit
We took a trip up to Chester to the Dewa Centre to learn all about the Romans and their time in Britain. We were greeted by a real Roman soldier as he taught us the skills of defence and attack. We used our swords and shields and created an unbeatable ‘tortoise’ from which we could withstand flying arrows and spears and still move forwarded. We then took to the streets of Chester, marching our way through the city, just as the real Roman soldiers would have done many many years ago. What a great day we had!
History – Did a Roman Live Where I Live Now?
The answer is YES! Stoke-on-Trent was a camp for Roman soldiers as they made their way from the South of England up to the North. We know this because pottery and coins dating from Roman times have been found in our city. A pottery oven has even been found, well before the time of Josiah Wedgwood! We discovered the reason why Romans wanted to invade Britain. We had plenty of natural resources and metals, good soil and climate for farming and as an island, Britain had a natural defence. We found out who Boudicca was and the fight she put up against the invading Romans. We took part in some role play acting out scenes that helped us understand what it might have been like. We learned about how Roman’s viewed crime and the punishments that you might have endured. We build aqueducts to transport water like the Romans did and build Hadrian’s Wall with knowledge and facts. At the end of our learning, we created our own museum and invited Year 3 children into it.
English – Matilda
Our reading and writing this time has been based upon Matilda, the classic tale by Roald Dahl about a little girl with magic powers, who wants nothing more but a family that loves her and to learn. We were treated to a little acting from our teachers and could not believe how much chocolate cake Mr Finney consumed in his role as Bruce Bogtrotter! We have written descriptions from different viewpoints, practising our adjectives and adverbs to add description. We have been journalists, reporting on the events under the Miss Trunchbull and even discovered that a Chokey was to be built in our school. Of course we had to write a persuasive letter to protest and then show how we felt with our very own march. Luckily, our persuasive skills were so good that it won’t be built – phew!
Maths
Fractions and decimal fractions have been on the agenda this time around. We have impressed with our skills of ordering, finding equivalents, finding fractions of numbers and calculating fractions. There is nothing about fractions that we don’t know! As if that wasn’t enough we were introduced to decimal fractions. We can show tenths and hundredths as either a fraction or a decimal fraction and use our knowledge to order a mixed set of numbers. We can place them on a number line and use part whole models to demonstrate how they are made up. Of course, we have been practising our times table skills, as this helps us in all areas of Maths.
Science – What’s That Sound?
Science lessons certainly haven’t been quiet during this topic! We have banged tuning forks, blown into instruments, plucked guitars and drummed all in the name of Science. We know that sound is caused by vibrations that travel through the air as sound waves and we know how to change the pitch. We did this by blowing into art straws and shortening their lengths. We wondered if an explosion in London could be heard in Meir so we carried out an investigation and measured the decibels on a decibel meter. Of course we wouldn’t hear it, as volume decreases the further away we get from the sound source and the number of objects in between.
Art
In our Art lessons, we found out who Andy Warhol was and how as a pop artist, he used bright colours in his prints. We investigated different ways that we could make our own prints. Using wax crayons, pencil and oil crayons we found that we could create our own mono prints. We then learned a brand new technique to carve into linoleum so that we could create our own block prints. Check them out below.
Physical Education
We have been learning how to throw and catch a small ball. We can do it two handed and one handed and we are getting more accurate each lesson. There are lots of games that we can play if we can do this well especially rounders, which we love. We are also developing our athletic skills like running and jumping. You never know, we might end up at the Olympics!
PSHE
In PSHE we have been learning about how our choices make a difference to others and the environment. To start with, with drew on our knowledge from Year 3 to remind ourselves of the negative impact that we are having on our world. We looked at how burning fossil fuels affects global warming and the problems that we face because of this. We then discovered how buying Fairtrade products can help people and communities around the world. We also had a go at reusing plastic bags and how turning them into different products could also help other communities.
