Tigers Class Blog
14/5/2021 Update
This week we have been continuing with our Tennis, Cricket and Recorder lessons.
We have been practising how to play more recorder songs and are preparing to be recorded next week!
In Maths we are starting to learn how to tell the time.
If you would like more help with this then go to these websites:
https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/116/telling-the-time
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=telling+time
In writing, we completed our Tales of Fear and Suspense. We are now starting our Non-Chronological Reports.
Miss Dudley-Smith showed us a picture of a famous cliff where Dragons live.
We had to design and describe the kind of Dragon that we thought lives there. We had some fantastic ideas and are going to use them to help us understand our model text: The Storm Dragon.
In Science, we have continued to experiment with toothpaste to find out how it protects our teeth.
This week our big question to investigate was: ' What makes the best toothpaste?'
We used salt, glycerine, bicarbonate of soda and water to test how much of each would make the best amount.
In small groups we tried 3 different recipes. We coloured a plastic bag in with permanent marker, left it to dry and mixed our mixtures.
We then timed how long it would take for someone to scrub of the permanent marker. We concluded that the shortest time for scrubbing made the best toothpaste mixture.
Look at this fantastic Science project by Rosie!
On Friday Morning she did a very professional presentation to the class all about what she has discovered in our Science Lessons this term!
7/5/2021 Update
We are continuing to have Tennis lessons on Tuesdays, Cricket Lessons on Thursdays and PE on Fridays. Please ensure your child has a complete PE kit on these days. While the weather is unpredictable so it is useful to bring a coat and jumper.
We are now learning our fourth note on the Recorder. Our teachers are blown away with how well we are progressing.
In our writing are completing our tales of suspense and are ready to publish. We are very excited about illustrating our stories and we can't wait to show them.
In maths we are finishing Fractions this week. We have learned how to:
- count up and down in tenths; recognise that tenths arise from dividing an object into 10 equal parts and in dividing one-digit numbers or quantities by 10
- recognise, find and write fractions of a discrete set of objects: unit fractions and non-unit fractions with small denominators
- recognise and use fractions as numbers: unit fractions and non-unit fractions with small denominators
- recognise and show, using diagrams, equivalent fractions with small denominators
- add and subtract fractions with the same denominator within one whole [for example, 5/7 + 1/7 = 6/7 ]
- compare and order unit fractions, and fractions with the same denominators
- solve problems that involve all of the above
If you would like to practise any of the fractions questions then go to:
https://whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/year-3/summer-week-3-number-fractions/
Topic Review
In our Science Lessons this week we have completed an experiment.
We wanted to test our big question:
How does toothpaste protect our teeth?
So we designed an experiment to test how toothpaste would protect an egg against vinegar.
We will post photos of our eggs once we have left them for 24 hours.
We can't wait to update you with what we learn next week.
Miss Dudley-Smith, Mrs Finch and Tigers' Class.
Summer 1
The children now have more amazing opportunities to move more. We now have Tennis lessons on Tuesdays, Cricket Lessons on Thursdays and PE on Fridays. Please ensure they have a complete PE kit on these days. While the weather is unpredictable, it is useful to bring a coat and jumper.
We have started our Recorder Lessons!
We have been given the incredible opportunity to have a weekly recorder lessons. All of the children have made incredible progress over the last two weeks and have mastered three different notes. Watch this space for about our end of term recorder recital.
Reading and Writing Review:
This term we are mastering tales of fear. We have been focusing on leaving the reader in a state of suspense.
We have looked at the model text, 'The Unusual House':
To support your children's writing development ask them to explain the story to you.
Can they recall the story?
Can they say what features the story uses to create suspense and fear?
Can they suggest how they would make the story better?
Are there any spellings that they want to use but need help with?
so
We have looked at vocabulary to help us to become more confident and purposeful writers. Some children have been adding to our vocabulary chart throughout the week so that we have a useful bank of words to use when we come to write our own stories.
We have also agreed on using these skills and features in our own writing. This list has become our 'Suspense Toolkit.'
• let the threat get closer and closer
• show the character’s feelings by reactions, e.g. she froze
• include short punchy sentences for drama
• use rhetorical questions to make the reader worried – Who had turned out the light?
• use empty words to hide the threat – something, somebody, it, a silhouette
• select powerful verbs – crept, grabbed, smothered
• use dramatic connectives – in an instant, without warning, out of the blue
When writing our own suspense stories at home, we can use this toolkit to ensure that our reader feel terrified.
We have also worked in groups this week to construct our own suspense story. Each group wrote the next part of the story. This prepares children for writing their own.
We thought it was an exceptional piece of writing until we looked back at our 'Suspense Toolkit.' We decided that we could have used more carefully selected, powerful verbs and some children thought that another rhetorical question would engage the reader more.
In Shared Reading we have also started looking at The Ice Palace - a suspense story. The children are hooked already and have been predicting what's going to happen and using this text as a good example to help them in their writing.
Maths Review:
This week we continued our Maths unit on Fractions.
If you would like to recap your learning then use these videos to help you, they are full of excellent explanations and challenging questions.
https://whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/year-3/summer-week-2-number-fractions/
The objectives that we are covering in this unit are:
- count up and down in tenths; recognise that tenths arise from dividing an object into 10 equal parts and in dividing one-digit numbers or quantities by 10
- recognise, find and write fractions of a discrete set of objects: unit fractions and non-unit fractions with small denominators
- recognise and use fractions as numbers: unit fractions and non-unit fractions with small denominators
- recognise and show, using diagrams, equivalent fractions with small denominators
- add and subtract fractions with the same denominator within one whole [for example, 5/7 + 1/7 = 6/7 ]
- compare and order unit fractions, and fractions with the same denominators
- solve problems that involve all of the above
Topic Review:
Our topic lessons are all about food and nutrition!
In Science we have focused on naming each part of the digestive system and why each part of the system is important. The children found the journey of their food very interesting.
In Geography have focused on where our food comes from. We found out about the differences between food grown in a tropical climate and a temperate climate. We found out how orange juice, puffed rice and milk are grown and make it to the breakfast table. We have also had some fantastic discussions about different types of food and why it is important to have a balanced diet. The children really enjoyed investigating our teeth and what the functions are of the different types of teeth - they were shocked to see the differences and similarities between a horses mouth and a human mouth. They should be able to now talk about the job of their incisors, canines and molars. The children were also particularly fascinated by how far some food travels before it gets to our supermarkets!
In DT and the children have been surprised at how much thought and detail goes into what the packet looks like - including the logo, colours used, typography, food symbols and labels, and even the nutritional information. We have looked at sketching the logos of famous brands and how much focus it takes to create smooth, precise lines.
We can't wait to update you with what we learn next week.
Miss Dudley-Smith, Mrs Finch and Tigers' Class.