Welcome to Dahls Class

Our second Activity Week of Spring Term was all about Volcanoes and Earthquakes and had a focus on the subjects of art, design technology, history, geography.

Intent - to effectively write for a purpose.

Implementation - to produce a set of instructions related to Topic theme practical models. We collaboratively created a paper mache diorama of a volcano and built marshmallow buildings to test on unstable surfaces. We also produced earthquake survival guides.

Impact - pupils produced detailed instructions. They developed their teamwork skills by buildings models together collaboratively.

Spring Activity Week Plan - Natural Disasters

Monday:

On Monday we watched survival clips relating to real life natural disasters. The children made notes and researched key survival tips for surviving deadly earthquakes. They began writing their own survival guides.

Tuesday:

On Tuesday, we finished writing our survival guides. We even practiced the DROP, COVER and HOLD technique.

We all went into the hall and started to gather resources in our small teams. We required: newspaper, cardboard, bottle, masking tape, PVA glue, water and a paint brush. As a team, we carefully glued paper strip by strip on layer on layer to shape our paper mache volcano.

Wednesday:

On Wednesday, we spent the morning in our weekly French and PE lessons, but we could not wait to get back to our work.

In the afternoon, we began writing our instructions.

Thursday:

On Thursday, we finished writing our instructions on how to make paper mache volcanoes.

In the afternoon, we began decorating and painting our model volcanoes. The children thoroughly enjoyed this activity. They worked together to create realistic working models.

Friday:

On Friday, we explored how structures need to be built to withstand earthquakes. We used cocktail sticks and marshmallows to construct our structures and then placed them on jelly to simulate the trembling ground. We evaluated our designs and had another go at modifying them.

We also erupted our volcanoes!

Summary of the week

We created a detailed set of instructions on how to create a paper mache volcano, incorporating grammar which has been taught throughout the year. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed creating an eruption in their hand made volcanoes which then supported pupils writing creatively.