A truly inspiring topic for us this time round! In this unit we became Geographers and found out about the different climates and biomes around the world.
Love of Reading – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
We loved this book! The story of Charlie and his adventures in Willy Wonka’s factory inspired us to write stories about the Oompa Loompas and how they ended up working in Willy’s famous factory. We then wrote even more stories about how a circus ringmaster ventured to an island, hoping to find acts for his circus back home. We also found out about plans to build a pickled onion factory on our very own playing field – we were outraged and wrote letters to persuade the factory owner to change his mind. Luckily, after staging a protest we won the battle – phew! We then wrote some Clerihew poems and performed them. Take a look below.
Maths
We spent a lot of time understanding fractions this term. We explored different ways of making a whole using a number of different fractions – we even created an allotment dividing the whole into a variety of equal parts. We looked at equivalent fractions, added and subtracted them and found fractions of a whole number, solving problems along the way. We have been so impressed with our mathematicians this year!
We have enjoyed learning about units of measurement too. We studied how to read scales before we created potions using our knowledge of capacity and measured the weight of objects around the classroom.
Science
Let there be light! In this unit we studied different light sources from fireflies to the sun and investigated transparent, translucent, opaque and reflective materials. We invented our own sunglasses because we now know that light from the sun can damage our eyes and discovered how to tell the time using the shadow of the sun. We did this by creating our very own sundials. We investigated why shadows are longer in the morning and evening and why they are shorter at midday.
It has been a busy time in Science as we also discovered what plants need to grow. We dissected a flowering plant, looking closely at the stamen, stigma, style and petals, whilst at the same time discovered how important roots are to a plant. We investigated the different conditions that plants need in order to stay strong and healthy.
Enriching Education
What is the Climate Like in our World? We started our topic looking at which climate zone Stoke-on-Trent is in and which biomes we might find nearby before venturing off around the world to discover the range of zones and biomes that are found in our world. We even discovered that there is a Stoke in New Zealand and that it even has similar weather conditions even though it is on the other side of the planet! The weather this Spring certainly helped us understand the wide range of temperatures and conditions that we are currently facing and that the climate in our world is certainly changing. We were so inspired by the work being carried out at Down to Earth Derby that we designed our own reforestation of a local unused area. We found out that if we take an abandoned area and encourage plant growth then we can draw down the Carbon in our atmosphere so that the climate in our world can return to normal. We were that inspired that in English we wrote letters to Jaime at DTE, David Attenborough and the Local Council, telling them of our proposals. We can’t wait to see if we get a reply!
Art
Vincent Van Gogh inspired during this unit. We looked at his many pieces of art work, deciding upon our favourites and discovered why he painted so many pictures of sunflowers. The answer of course was so that he could try out different techniques developing his artistic skills. So we developed ours! We even combined different art media to produce our own works of art.
Educational Visit – Cadbury’s World
As we have been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, what better place to visit than an actual chocolate factory! We were stunned to find our how chocolate starts it journey growing on trees! We followed the journey from pod to chocolate bar and were treated to a HUGE supply of chocolate afterwards! We also found out about the climate that is needed in order for the cacao tree to grow and produce its pods and the biome that it is found in, which links in nicely to our Geography topic.
