Maths: fact families!
This week in Maths we have been learning about fact families. These are groups of number sentences that can be written for the same three numbers. We have started with addition and I have been really impressed with the children’s efforts!
We start with a part part whole model and then begin to write our number sentences. We learnt that it doesn’t matter what order the parts are added in the whole is still the same (commutative – see if your child can remember this word and what it means!). We also learnt that the whole can be placed at the front of the number sentence. Altogether, we can write 4 addition number sentences for one part part whole model.
This is all new learning for the children and I was really happy with how hard they tried as well as the learning they achieved! Well done everybody!
Help at home by talking about number sentences and practising writing some for simple equations.
Autumn 1: Week6
This week we have been reading the story We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. The children have enjoyed acting out this story and using our word of the week (squelch) to describe walking through the mud.
We have been on a grapheme hunt around school spotting different graphemes and traveling as if we were in the story.
Help at home by practicing the graphemes on this week’s phonics sheet.
Maths
We have been counting up to three objects using a variety of equipment.
Help at home by asking your child to find three of something. You could even choose three teddy bears for a picnic and select items for each of them.
Lots of the children were inspired to make kites by another child in the class who had made one. They enjoyed whizzing around the playground flying them.
The children had lots of fun developing their gross motor skills on the adevnture playground.
Thank you to everyone who managed to come to the first stay and learn session. I have attached the PowerPoint for those of you who were unable to attend.
School Trip to Lotherton Hall!
Yesterday, Year 3 and 4 visited Lotherton Hall on a school trip! This trip linked to this our science topic: grouping and classifying living things.
We began the day by exploring the Wildlife World and we saw some incredible animals! Some of your children’s particular favourites included the capybara, tapir, emus, Humboldt penguins and flamingos! It was amazing to be able to get so close and admire these fantastic animals.
Later, we were lucky enough to attend a workshop all about classifying animals. I was so impressed with all your children’s science knowledge! They explored the five groups of vertebrates:
- mammals
- reptiles
- amphibians
- fish
- birds
At the end of the workshop, each table got a replica skull to study. They looked at the teeth to decipher whether it was a herbivore or carnivore and the eye sockets to determine whether it was a predator or prey. It was fascinating!
It was a brilliant day filled with exciting and interactive learning – we’d love to go back!
Help at home: ask your children to name the different animals they saw at Wildlife World and classify them into their vertebrate group.
Live Author Event
Yesterday, Year 5 watched a live author event.
Lotherton Hall Trip!
Today, Year 3 went on their school trip to Lotherton Hall. Lotherton Hall is full of animals and history which is perfect for our Science and History learning at the moment!
The focus today was Science – animals including humans. We discussed five ways we can group animals based on their characteristics:
- mammals
- reptiles
- birds
- fish
- amphibians
We looked at x-rays and replica skulls and classified them based on what we could see. For example, some animals had a backbone and others didn’t or some had wings and others didn’t.
We explored the Wildlife World and the playgrounds (of course!) The weather was great too so we were outside for most of the time. Take a look at us exploring…
Help at home by grouping animals based on their characteristics. What do penguins and flamingos have in common?
Why not take a trip to Lotherton Hall yourselves? There are some Halloween activities on this month until early November. https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/lotherton/
Maths: column addition
This week, we’ve loved doing column addition!
We began the week with column addition without exchanging and once your children were confident with this, we moved onto column addition with exchanging.
You can exchange 10 ones for 1 ten.
You can exchange 10 tens for 1 hundred.
You can exchange 10 hundreds for 1 thousand.
I’ve been wowed by your children’s column addition this week! They’ve demonstrated some fantastic knowledge of how and why we use column addition.
Help at home by asking your children to complete the following calculations using column addition:
2910 + 5839 =
1092 + 7233 =
2649 + 7221 =
8323 + 1284 =
Me and My Community week
Our next whole school themed week, based around identity, diversity and community, will be taking place from Monday 4th November. This is the first of two themed weeks in the year. In our ‘Me and My Community’ week, children will learn about what it means to belong to a community, from family to national or even international communities. Importantly, our children will also learn to respect and celebrate different communities. A variety of events and visitors are planned to help us deliver this key aspect of our Living and Learning education.
Events and learning during the week will include looking at our own identity including belonging and self-esteem, diversity of people around us including race, age, religion and disability and children will also be getting out into the community working with local organisations and taking pride in the local area for example by litter picking.
Active travel in the community
We encourage children to get out in the community in an active way on their way to and from school, with prizes available as part of the themed week. By walking/scooting/biking to school, families will by keeping our community safer and healthier by reducing congestion at the school gate. Maybe even pick up a piece of litter on the way. Even by parking further away from school your child could then to do the final part of their journey by foot, bike or scooter. Bike and scooter storage facilities are available beside the Year 3 and 4 classrooms.
Email us (moortownoffice@spherefederation.org) a picture of your active travel, maybe by a landmark in our community on your route to school, for the chance to win one of five vouchers. Entries to be submitted by noon on Friday 8th November.
New school charity
At the end of the themed week, classes will have the chance to discuss our charity shortlist and the Junior Leadership Team will have the final vote for which charity they would like our school to support, replacing our current charity, The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
Identity day
Friday 8th November will be a non-uniform Identity Day. Children are invited to dress in clothing that represents part of their identity, for example uniform from a club they attend, a team they are part of or support or traditional dress to represent their heritage. There is no donation or contribution required for this day.
SAVE THE DATE PTA coffee morning Friday 8 November 9-10am
As part of the week, we welcome all parents and carers to an informal coffee morning to meet other members of our school community including representatives from the PTA. A whole school community Wake up Shake up will follow at 9:50am in the main playground.
Can you help?
Maybe you speak another language and you would be happy to speak to children about this or you would like to share about your own family culture and heritage. If so, please contact the office to pass on your details. Also, do you have any local community links that may support our week?
Our website continues to keep you up to date with key community events as well as our community noticeboard.
Writing – Write a recount!
In our writing lessons, we have completed our first writing unit! We’ve written a recount as a warrior arriving back home to Athens.
What is a recount?
A recount re-tells events and describes what has happened.
What makes a good recount?
- past tense
- description
- feelings
- adverbs
We did an amazing job of including all of our features. We have read back through our writing to check it makes sense and to see if we could improve it! So if you see purple pen, that’s our editing and improving.
Here’s a couple of our recounts:
Our next piece is writing is a discussion piece. Help at home by discussing two sides of an argument like: Are dogs better than cats?
Dogs are better than cats because…
Cats are better than dogs because…
Reminder: stay and learn session
Phonics Phase 2 and coffee morning –10.10.24 9-10am
Drop Down Morning
Year 5 had a drop down morning, which means a morning where they recap and revisit their knowledge from previous years. Our morning consisted of a Computing, Geography and History lesson.
In Computing, Year 5 looked at their key vocabulary from Year 3/4. Algorithm: a set of instructions or a set of rules to get something done
Decomposition: the process of breaking down a task into smaller, more manageable parts. They then had to create a code to first direct me around the classroom and then help a squirrel into a tree. (This was a worksheet task- not an actual squirrel!) To finish off this session, the children had time to go onto Scratch Jr and create their own games using repetition.
In Geography, the children had to use atlases to find the capital cities for the countries in Europe. Some children even challenged themselves do complete as many as they could without an atlas! We then focused in on looking at York and Venice and comparing the two cities. Lastly, the children had a small debate is tourism was a positive or negative thing. They came up with lots of reasons for both sides: a positive was that tourism could benefit the country’s economy but a negative was that overtourism could happen, which meant that litter or noise pollution could be an issue for the locals.
In History, we recapped our knowledge about Ancient Greece. The children firstly had an activity to match their key vocabulary with the definitions. They then went on to create a mind map about everything they could remember about the specific time period.
Year 5 showed great remembering skills (one of the 8Rs for learning).
Help at home: How many different codes can you create to help the squirrel get back to its tree?
