Roman Army Discussion and Debate

This afternoon in 3V the children have been researching different aspects of life in the Roman Army.  Why was the Roman Army so successful in conquering other lands?  What made Army discipline so brutal - and why would anyone choose to join the Roman Army in the first place?

Once they had conducted some research of their own, the children were presented with a selection of 'perks' enjoyed by Roman soldiers, which they used for a 'diamond nine' discussion activity.  The children had to organise the different statements into priority order, and then compare their choices to those of their partners, being ready to discuss and defend their ideas.  This kind of activity really gets the children thinking - as there are no set 'right' or 'wrong' answers - and helps them to articulate their ideas verbally.

As you can see, opinions differed about the priority order of the various benefits involved in being a Roman soldier.

Literacy work - w/b Monday 31st January 2022

For our literacy lessons over the next two weeks, we will be building on our historical studies of the Roman period, this time by researching all about the life of a Roman soldier.  We will be finding out about different uniforms, battle formations and discipline in Roman Army life, as well as learning about the day-to-day grind involved in being a Roman recruit.  We will also explore the reasons for the undeniable success of the Roman Army, which was able to conquer so many different civilisations and countries.

To help your child at home, you could:

1. Find out about life in the Roman Army.  What made army life such a tempting prospect for young men in Roman times?

2. Practise using the word of the week, cantankerous.

For our Big Writing, which we will complete on Friday 11th February, we will be putting ourselves in the shoes (or sandals!) of a Roman soldier, in order to write a letter home describing our daily routine.  You could also therefore review with your child the key features of a letter, as this will help them to structure their writing appropriately.

Any work that we complete at home can be used to support our class work.

Many thanks.

Mrs Vaqueiro

Further Forest School Frolics

3V had their second (and sadly final) afternoon's Forest School activities today.  Everyone had a fantastic time playing hide and seek among the trees, before enjoying some toasted marshmallow s'mores around the campfire.

Thanks to Robbie, the Forest School leader, and Mrs Wood, for enabling the children to have such a brilliant time enjoying the Great Outdoors!

Poetry Please

In a few weeks' time, 3V will be taking part in the annual 'Poscars' poetry recital competition with the rest of Key Stage 2.  Our chosen poem this year is 'Mr Shadow's Shoes' by Paul Cookson - a humorous poem originally inspired by a rather scary teacher!

We have begun practising our performance in class so that we will be word perfect on the day.  Children have been given a paper copy of the poem so that they can practise at home, and a copy is also attached to this blog post.  It would be really helpful if you could support your child with learning the words.  We have also been focusing on changing the pace and pitch of our voices so as to make the performance more exciting for the audience.

Many thanks for your support as always.

Mrs Vaqueiro

Money Matters

In 3V this week we have been learning all about money.  The children have been getting to know the values of all the British coins and notes, and practising adding and taking away different amounts.

This morning, we had a practical lesson: first, the children practised finding different ways to make 10p using the coins available.  Then, they role played a shop game, finding the correct coins to provide the exact payment for different combinations of goods.  Once they were confident in finding the exact amounts, they progressed to giving and checking change for overpayments.

It was great fun, but also helped the children to master a valuable skill for life.