Our trip to the Gordon Brown Centre

On Tuesday 26th March, Year 3 & 4 went on an exciting trip to The Gordon Brown Centre. This trip was part of our 'Exceptional Explorers' topic so we got to pretend that we were marooned on a desert island. Our day was split into three main sections where we had to learn and apply new survival skills.

Part 1: Shelter building

Our group leader demonstrated how to stack wood against a tree to create a safe, dry space to shelter from the rain. We then had a go at making our own shelters in small teams. After we had made our own den, the group leader made it rain (squirted us with water) to check how effective our shelter was.

Part 2 : Orienteering

In order to survive you need to find your bearings as quickly as you can. We were challenged to find certain points on a map as quickly as we could. This was a great opportunity for us to practise our teamwork skills.

Part 3: Fire building and cooking

Our final activity was very important. We had to learn how to build a fire from scratch and also how to ensure that it was suitable for cooking. Our group leader taught us what to look for in the woods and then demonstrated how to build a fire frame with a door.

Guided Reading: Shackleton’s Journey

We have been reading Shackleton’s Journey by William Grill. This is a beautiful book all about the polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his exploration of Antarctica. Although this book is a picture book, it is a non-fiction book all about Shackleton and his crew’s epic adventure.

We have enjoyed pretending we were members of the crew and discussing whether we would have gone on the adventure based on an advert about the expedition.

_{Topic: Exceptional Explorers}

_{Year 3 & 4 have thoroughly enjoyed their topic about explorers. We have found out about so many different people. Our favourites include: Sir Ernest Shackleton, Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Francis Drake, Christopher Columbus, Amelia Earhart and Neil Armstrong.}

_{We have enjoyed researching these people and presenting our fantastic homework to the class.}

Maths - Counting in multiples

In our Maths lessons we have been using a counting stick to practise our times tables. We have been practising counting forwards and backwards in different multiples.

Eg. The 3 times table : 3,6,9,12,15 etc.

Guided Reading

We have been studying this book in our Guided Reading lessons. Each page contains information about a famous woman who made an impact on the world.

Some of the women featured include: Anne Frank, Mary Seacole, Emmeline Pankhurst and Rosa Parks.

Follow this link to watch a video clip about Rosa Parks which was featured on Doctor Who:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUn7mU7OUqU

_{Computing: Smoking Car Scratch project}

_{Lots of exciting things have been happening in our Computing sessions this term. We were very excited to be the first children in the school to try out our brand new bee-bots. We got to practise programming the bee-bots and then checked to see if our instructions had worked. This was fun!}

_{We have created our first project using Scratch.}

_{We have also learnt new words such as algorithm, debug and decompose.}

_{Although our main project this term has been Scratch, we have also had the opportunity to use laptops and ipads to research famous women. As part of our English topic, we found out about women such as Amelia Earhart, Anne Frank, Sacagawea, Mary Anning and Sally Ride.}

Key vocabulary:

algorithm

debug

decompose

_{PSHE: Compliment Clouds}

_{As part of Behaviour Week, Year 3 & 4 have created Compliment Clouds. We talked about what a compliment is and about how it makes you feel. Each child created their own cloud and asked their classmates to write different coloured compliment strips about them. We have proudly displayed our work on the wall outside our classroom.}

_{PE: Teamwork}

_{This term we have been focussing on teamwork in our Tuesday P.E lessons.}

_{We have been practising our hockey skills and are now at the stage where we can play in a match.}

_{These are the steps we have followed...}

_{1. Controlling the stick and the ball around a course}

_{2. Passing the ball to a partner}

_{3. Attacking, defending and working in small groups}

_{4. Shooting for the goal}

_{5. Mini matches}

Maths - Angle roads

Our favourite maths lesson so far this year has been about angles.  We discovered a challenge all about Christopher Columbus. We really enjoyed this lesson because our teachers let us draw all over the tables in pen we got to explore angles in a fun and memorable way!

Key vocabulary:

Acute

Obtuse

Right angle

Equal to

Larger than

Smaller than