Exciting earthquakes!

In our lesson, we used our prior knowledge about tectonic plates and began to deepen our thinking around what they could cause. We discussed how the movement of tectonic plates can cause earthquakes. There are three different tectonic plate boundaries where earthquakes occur: convergent, divergent and conservative. We then demonstrated our newfound knowledge in an experiment. We used crackers and cream to show how the tectonic plates move at the different boundaries. At the divergent plate boundary, the tectonic plates move apart. At a convergent plate boundary, the plates move together and the denser oceanic plate subducts under the lighter continental plate. Finally, at a conservative plate boundary, tectonic plates slide past each other. Friction happens and pressure builds up which is released as an earthquake. We showed these using the crackers and cream!

What is the crust made of?

In our second Hook week lesson, we explored what the crust of the earth is made up of. We learned that the crust is made of 5 different layers which are called the organic material, topsoil, subsoil, parent material and bedrock. Children matched each layer to their description after we’d watched some videos to help us understand about what each of the layers were made of.

Magnificent Magna

On Tuesday, we were able to explore science at Magna. This was extremely interactive and allowed children to experience lots of new things. We completed a workshop where we could investigate different types of rocks before creating a volcanic eruption. Then we built up the volcano using play dough which helped us understand the different layers. When we had finished, we took a sample just like a scientist so we could see how scientists study volcanoes and how they know how many times they’ve erupted. There was lots of walking so lots of tired legs when we returned to the coach. A great trip out to help us learn.

Composition of the Earth

To kick start Hook week, we started learning about the composition of the Earth. We learned that Earth is made of layers called the crust, the mantle and the core. We then learned about what each layer is like before completing our own learning to demonstrate what we had learned.

Tectonic plates!

Today, we dived deeper into the layers of the earth and focused on the crust. We discovered that the crust is broken up into smaller pieces called tectonic plates. These tectonic plates are constantly moving but they move very slowly. We discussed how these plates used to be one and this was called Pangea but over around 350 million years it has moved and become what we know today. The 7 major tectonic plates are Pacific Plate, North American Plate, Eurasian Plate, African Plate, Antarctic Plate, Indo-Australian Plate, and South American Plate. 

Layers of the Earth

Today, we used soft clay to show the different layers of the earth. We used the different colours to represent the different layers. The yellow represented the inner core, the orange represented the outer core, the red represented the mantle and the blue and green represented the crust. We were amazed when we cut them in half to see the sections.

Exploring soil in MT

We continued our expeditionary learning by exploring soil and the layer it belongs to. We looked at what makes up soil, the different layers of soil, how it is formed and why it is important. We then tested our knowledge in a matching activity where we worked collaboratively in mini crews. Again our exit ticket allowed us to showcase our knowledge. We wrote a paragraph to describe the layers of soil thinking about what they are made up of and important facts that others should know about each layer. Some great work in Crew MT.

Geography in MI

Hook week has began in MT where we have become geographers! Today we have learnt about the composition of the earth and have loved every minute! We explored new vocabulary including the crust, the mantle, the outer core and the inner core. There was lots of great reading opportunities in todays lesson where we explored the different layers. We played fastest finger first which we all enjoyed. We then applied our knowledge to our exit ticket creating a paragraph of writing to explain all of the layers of the earth.

Practising our map reading skills

To hook into our new expedition we used our map reading skills to complete a task around the school grounds. At each checkpoint there was a word which together formed a sentence. This sentences was a clue about our new Summer Term expedition.

Huge shoutout to Penelope, Aaliyah and Lily-Marie who were the first group to unscramble the sentence. Great work girls!

What can we find in the ocean?

Today, we introduced our Case Study 2 text – Commotion in the Ocean! We made our predictions and talked about what we could see on the front cover, before reading the story and learning all about the different animals that live in the ocean. Once we had read the story, we thought about some of the different creatures and animals we had seen and wether we would find them at the seaside in England, or if they live in the oceans around the world.