Friday 16th May

In 3 Morpurgo this week, we have continued to be inspired by Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. We have designed and described our own new characters who will visit the famous Wonka Factory when we write our own chapters next week. We used powerful expanded noun phrases and creatively gave the characters personality traits to match their names. 

As scientists, we made some surprising observations linked to our UV experiment. We discovered, in areas where there was no black paper blocking the light, the coloured paper was visibly lighter and had faded. This reinforced how harmful the UV rays from the sun are and the importance of wearing sun cream to protect our skin. We continued learning about light by exploring shadows. We had lots of fun casting shadows on the playground, using our bodies and learnt how shadows are formed. There was some great team work on display to make fictional creatures, including Mr Tumnus from Narnia, giraffes and monsters with multiple arms and legs. 

As historians, we have learnt about the key events from the Mayan civilisation. We sequenced events and created a timeline using BC and AD to accurately place the events in chronological order.   

We also produced some stunning artwork linked to VE day last week. We were inspired by the artist Edwin La Dell, who painted a street party scene celebrating VE day. After having our own VE day picnic lunch, we used water colours to paint our own celebrations. The children thought carefully about using different brushstrokes to create depth and texture.  

 

Friday 9th May

This week, as writers, we have designed and described our own chocolate bars for Mr Willy Wonka to make the Wonka factory. We used powerful descriptive phrases to make them sound appealing and appetising. We also made sure they had a magical power, just like the sweets in the book. We had some incredibly creative and thoughtful ideas like making them allergy-proof, having edible wrappers and everlasting. We wrote letters to Mr Wonka persuading him to make them in his factory. 

As mathematicians, we have learnt to use grouping to divide and will begin learning the short, bus stop method next week. As scientists, we have continued to explore light and this week focussed on the Sun, understanding it is our biggest light source. We learnt about the harmful effects of UV light and made safety posters to remind others of how to stay safe in the Sun. We also set up an investigation, exploring the effects of UV light on coloured paper. We have placed our experiments in a window and will observe the effects of UV light over the next few weeks. 

As athletes, we have continued to enjoy learning how to play cricket. This week we focussed on our batting and fielding skills. We learnt it was very important to keep our eyes on the ball to ensure we could strike it accurately. 

I have been very impressed this week with the level of exceptional homework. It has been lovely to see the children so engaged and completing tasks linked to the Mayans. The temples, headdresses, chocolate baking, information posters and jewellery have all been remarkable. I look forward to seeing what will be produced next!

 

Friday 2nd May

As scientists this week, in 3 Morpurgo, we have started a new unit on Light. Our lesson this week enabled us to explore the school site looking for light sources. We have discovered that without light sources, we wouldn't be able to see because everything would be dark. As historians, this week, we have continued to learn about the Mayan Civilisation and made freeze-frames imagining we were some of the first explorers to have discovered Mesoamerica, along with Christopher Columbus. We generated historical questions, in the hope we find out some of the answers during our next few history lessons.