Christmas Penguins

This afternoon 3V, have been getting into the Christmas spirit by making our contributions towards the decorations for the school Christmas Tree.  Every year, Mrs Manion chooses a theme for the tree and each class uses their creative skills to make and contribute different ornaments for the tree.  This year, the theme is Penguins!  We really enjoyed making our colourful cardboard penguins, and can't wait to see them on the Christmas Tree in a couple of weeks' time.  We made plenty, so each child will also be bringing one home too!

We also managed to complete our Christmas cards, although these will be staying under wraps until they are ready to be brought home nearer the big day!

Chocolate Rocks!

In 3V this half term, we are learning all about rocks and soils.  We have been looking at the three different ways in which rocks are formed.

Igneous rocks are formed deep underground, where the temperature is extremely hot.  Pockets of magma (molten rock) form under the earth's surface.  When these cool and solidify, igneous rock is formed.

Sedimentary rock usually forms under the sea.  Layers of dust and grit become compacted over many thousands of years, eventually solidifying to create sedimentary rock.

Metamorphic rock is created when heat and pressure affect an existing rock to such an extent that its structure changes, creating a new type of rock.

We recreated these different processes using a very popular ingredient... chocolate!  

First, we broke a bar of delicious chocolate into pieces.  Mrs Greaves took it away to melt it carefully in the microwave.   This would be our igneous rock! 

Meanwhile, we layered several different chocolates, coco-pops and sweets in a baking dish.  These represented our sedimentary rock.  After the melted chocolate had been cooled and crumbled in (representing the erosion process that takes place over hundreds of years), it was taken away again to be heated in the oven.  The heat from the oven represented the metamorphic process.  

Once the dish was cool enough to handle safely, it was brought back into the classroom, where we looked at the changes that had occurred to our chocolate rock.

Finally, Mrs Vaqueiro broke the chocolate rock into bite-sized pieces for us to enjoy!

French - Les Numeros

Now that the children are in Year 3, they have started to have weekly French lessons.  This week, they have been learning to say, read and write the numbers 0-10 in French.  They first practised pronouncing the vocabulary, and then played a matching pairs game in their table groups, before completing some French reading and writing challenges in their books.

English - The Firework Maker's Daughter

This morning we have been exploring the cover and blurb on our new class book: The Firework Maker's Daughter, by Philip Pullman. 

We have been looking closely at the details on the cover and using our inference skills to make suggestions about the book.  I was SO impressed by some of the children's ideas - they spotted so many clues and gave brilliant reasons for their suggestions.  We had a really valuable class discussion and now can't wait to get started on the book itself!

Here are some of the children's ideas...

Attendance Award - Extra Playtime!

Last week, 3V won the school attendance award.  This means they earnt an extra playtime!  We took the opportunity to enjoy the autumn sunshine on Friday afternoon and have fun on the adventure playground.

RE - The Story of Rama and Sita

We learnt a little about the basics of the Hindu faith with particular  reference to Diwali. 

First of all, we had a class discussion about celebrations, and thought about all the ways in which we celebrate important events in the year.  Most of the children in the class celebrate birthdays and Christmas, and shared their experiences of decorating their homes, getting together with friends and family, and enjoying special foods and gifts.

We then watched a BBC clip about a Hindu family celebrating Diwali.  The children spotted similarities between the Diwali celebrations and Christian celebrations.  The children knew that the Nativity story is central to Christmas, and we therefore read the story of Rama and Sita, which is  central to Diwali. 

The children then watched a traditional puppet show of the Rama and Sita story, before acting out the story for themselves in small groups using paper cut outs.

English Work - w/b Monday 14th November 2022

For our English work over the next few weeks, we will be studying 'The Firework Maker's Daughter' by Philip Pullman.

You can listen to an audiobook version of the first chapter here.

This week, we will be focusing on reading comprehension skills - using the context of an unknown word to try and glean its meaning.  We will also be practising using dictionaries again to check the meanings of unknown words.  We will also look at some of the ways authors like Philip Pullman use figurative language to make their writing more exciting and engaging for the reader, and we will practise using some of these devices in our own writing to describe a firework display.

To help your child at home, you could:

1. Discuss the word of the week, illuminating, and try to use it in a sentence;

2. Practise using a dictionary to look up words.  Focus on the first and second letters of the word to work out where to find it in the dictionary.

3. Think about the colours, shapes and sounds that fireworks make.  How could we describe them?

Any work that is completed at home can be used to support your child's work in school.

Many thanks,

Mrs Vaqueiro