January 2023
After a hopefully well-rested break the pupils have settled straight back into their routine.
Literacy
In Literacy, we have been learning how to identify the main idea of a text along with learning about key details and summarising. The pupils have had the chance to take on the role of the author and create a blurb being careful to summarise the story and include key details all without spoiling it for their audience. They have also been looking at how you can use this to help share information when you are tight on words and need to include only the most specific information such as within leaflets.
"I really liked making the cover and the blurb, it was really fun because we got to read it and got to actually interact with it." Noor
"I really liked doing the blurb because I felt we could go as creative as we wanted but in the same way keep it as we were supposed to and we got to share it with our friends." Finlay McE
"I really like the novel study because it is the first big book we have got to read and it is starting of very good." Charlotte
"It is really intriguing as you want to keep reading more and more because you want to know what happens next." Murray
Numeracy
The pupils have all been working hard on learning and practising their times tables and now daily we complete our 5-minute frenzy. This is a task where they have five minutes to complete 100 times tables questions. No matter how confident the pupils were with their times tables they have all seen improvement in their scores and hopefully with continued practise this continues!
One of our groups has been working on coordinates and grid points. They have been able to not only find a point on a grid but record their own points. We have had discussions and looked at examples of how we use coordinates in real life with maps and why they are important.
Some of our pupils have been learning about decimal fractions, they have been learning about converting them from and to fractions and developing their understanding of what they represent. We have looked at real-life context with this using decimal fractions when carrying out questions to do with money and length.
Another group of pupils have been exploring weight within maths and learning how to accurately read scales. They can confidently read scales and convert between common units of measurement going from grams to kilograms and back. The pupils have been able to solve a range of problems relating to weight and have made sure they had written down the correct unit of measurement.
"I really like 5 minute frenzys because after the summer holidays they got a little more challenging and I have enjoyed it." Adam
"I really like the 5 minute frenzys because it is a good exercise for my brain and my maths and you get a good feeling when you improve your score and can look back at what you got before." Jonathan
"I think the maths is quite tricky but I get there because I work hard and try my best." Cameron
PE
The pupils have been developing their confidence in gymnastics. They have been working hard to learn how to control their movements and how to hold a balance pose. The pupils have enjoyed some of our warm-up games where they have had to work with a partner to move around the gym hall and then together hold a balance when the whistle blows. They have begun to work on different rolls making sure they have the technique correct. We have covered forward rolls, pencil rolls and teddy bear rolls. We have also started working on jumps and they have all done very well to ensure that they are landing correctly, bending their knees and landing on two feet.
"The balances were very tricky but I got to improve my balances." Sarah
"PE is fun because we can play games and we can try new balances which makes it fun and we can learn other stuff too." Ethan
Tartan Assembly
The pupils have been working hard to learn the Jeely Piece song they will be performing for our Tartan assembly this week along with the Primary 4s and 5s. The song has definitely been stuck in all of our heads recently! We also have a group of pupils who have volunteered to read the Robert Burns poem A Red, Red Rose. They have been working hard to learn it by heart and will be able to share this with the whole school next week!
"When I have been learning my verse of the poem it was tricky but it felt good to be able to express it to the rest of the class and it was good because we got to read it out in a group and we got to interact with each other in a different way than when we are doing our work." Finlay McE
"The poem was tricky at first but when there is another person doing it with you it is a lot easier because there is someone to do it with and you are not by yourself. " Murray
"I really like singing because it is a good way to express yourself and to show your feelings and I like practising with my friends in the class." Jonathan
"I'm really excited for the Tartan assembly but I am a little nervous to read the poem in front of a lot of people. Also I like learning the song because it is quite catchy and I like learning the poem too." Charlotte
"It was very easy then it got a little harder because we had to sing it without the words and the music would be quiet. I feel better about it now." Ethan
"I think the song was good and I'm feeling a little nervous because a lot of people will be there but I want to do my best. The poem will be lovely." Cameron
"I'm feeling pretty nervous because you need to sing the song and read the poem in front of the school and that requires a lot of confidence. I am looking forward to it but I'm still nervous." Adam
Sustainability
We have started our sustainability topic and have been learning how climate change is affecting the planet. The pupils have been researching the different ways pollution and other factors are impacting the environment along with suggestions and ideas for ways we can change some of our habits to help the planet. We have had discussions focusing on what we can do as individuals daily and the small changes we can make.
"I like learning about climate change because it has been informational about the planet so we can learn more about what we can do to save it and different things." Finlay McE
"I like learning about sustainability because you learn about stuff you haven't learnt before like climate change because you never knew how you were affecting the world before." Ethan
