Exploring seasides in the past

This week in expedition, we have been looking at what seasides used to be like in the past. We’ve explored lots of photographs and pictures and talked about what we could see in each one that tells us about the past. Then we looked at a mix of photographs and pictures and tried to work out which were old and which were new using the clues in the pictures and our own experiences. We found out that not all black and white photographs are old! Next week, when we have been on our trip, we will begin to compare seasides in the past and seasides now after we have all experienced the beach!

Introducing ‘take away’

Today in maths, Crew MW have looked at what happens when we take away from a number. We did lots of practising with our tens frames and counters, and we worked out that when we take away, the number gets smaller! We started by making a number that Miss Welburn had given us on our tens frames, then taking away the amount that Miss Welburn said. We were all really good at using our subitising and number bond facts to say how many were left!

Next, we practised choosing our own numbers and making these using our treasure! Then our partners closed their eyes and we stole some of the treasure! Our partner had to work out how much of the treasure had been stolen using our number bonds facts.

Earth Day – Seed Bombs

To celebrate Earth Day, we spent time in our XP Outdoors crew session making seed bombs!

We used flour, wildflower seeds, compost and water and mixed them altogether to create a mixture. We then took this mixture and rolled it into golf-sized balls and put them aside to dry. Once they are dry we will take some home but also plant some in our outdoor area at school. Seed bombs simply need to be dropped into soil and nature will do the rest. Over time they will turn into beautiful wildflowers!

Crew MW – Maths

We have been looking at adding more during maths. We started by acting out a ‘first, then, now’ story about a bus ride. Each time the bus stopped more people got on, we worked out how many we started off with at first, then we added either 1 or 2 people at a time, and finally worked out how many there were now.

We then used ten frames to represent a number using one colour of counters. Miss McGlone then told us how many more counters to add (in a different colour). We used the counters (both colours) to work out how many there were altogether.

St George’s Day Celebrations

Yesterday, we spent our afternoon celebrating St George’s Day in Crew MW! We begun the day by learning about who St George was and what he did to earn a special day in England. Some of us then decided that we wanted to make a shield just like St George had while we were in provision. We got to work cutting the shapes out of the cardboard (although this bit was tricky and we needed some help), and then decorated our shields using tissue paper, pompoms, coloured pencils and feathers.

At lunch time, we had a special picnic to celebrate! It was delicious!

In the afternoon, we chose to make fearsome dragons like the one St George defeated! We followed the steps to cut out the different pieces, then joined them all together to create our scary dragons!

Crew MW – PE

In PE this week, we have been looking at fireworks and how they move. We listened to a sound clip of fireworks exploding and said that they make big shapes in the sky as well as being sparkly and loud.

We created movements for the words ‘bang, crackle and fizz’ and listened carefully for Miss McGlone to shout these words as we moved to a piece of firework music around the hall. Every time we heard a different word, we had to change the action to match the word.

We then created a group movement piece to represent a firework. We started by standing close together as a group wiggling our fingers to show the firework fizzing and cracking as it shoots into the sky. We then turn around and spread out, standing with our feet apart and arms stretched out to show the firework exploding!

Crew MW – Maths

In maths we have been discussing 2D and 3D shapes. We talked about the difference and how 2D shapes are flat, and 3D shapes are solid. We were introduced to the names of some 3D shapes and tried really hard to remember what they were!

We then worked as a group to sort out a selection of shapes into 2D shapes and 3D shapes. Some of us showed a great level of understanding by explaining the reasons why they had chosen whether a shape was 2D or 3D.

Crew MW – Maths

In maths we have been looking at odd and even numbers. We looked at how even numbers would always show pairs, and each part would have a matching partner. However, odd numbers did not have a matching partner for every part, meaning there was an odd one on its own.

We then tried to guess whether the numicon piece in the mystery bag was an odd or an even number by feeling whether it had a completely flat top meaning that it was an even number as every part had a matching partner or whether it had a bump on the top meaning that it was an odd number as not every part had a matching partner.

Hooking in to expedition!

Crew MW have spent the morning hooking into their new expedition – ‘What happens where the sea meets the shore?’ The day started with us finding a basket in our classroom…

‘It’s a basket!’ – Hilaryanna

‘A picnic basket!’ – Harlow

Before we had a peep inside the basket, we thought about what you might find inside a picnic basket. These were our ideas: food, a blanket to sit on, sandwiches, bananas, healthy food like fruit and veg and a drink.

But it wasn’t picnic food that we found in the basket…It was items for the seaside! After exploring what we would take to the beach with us on our trip in a few weeks, we talked about what a beach was like. Some of us were a little unsure, so we decided to make a beach in the classroom! We had sand, water in the paddling pool, buckets, spades, shells, fish and nets…it was so much fun paddling in the water and catching the fish with our nets. We loved exploring the sand too and adding water to it to see what it would be like when the tide came in!