In maths, we consolidated telling the time to the nearest 5 minutes before we moved on to telling the time to the minute. We used the clocks to show the time. We started with showing the minutes past the hour and then moved on to minutes to the hour. We found minutes to tricker, but we persevered and managed to do this by the end of the lesson!
Today, we carried on with our acrylic art pieces. We added more lava to our volcano, added the lava plume and the volcanic ash cloud above the volcano. We persevered with this as adding the cloud was quite tricky! We stippled the paint onto our artwork and then used a sponge to blend it out. We are really enjoying seeing the picture develop as we continue to add more detail!
Today we moved onto exploring acrylic paint. This was a real contract to the water colours we had used yesterday. We explored the techniques needed and practised how we paint using this type of medium. We learnt that building layers is important when using acrylic paint and how it adds to texture.
From here we started our first draft of our art work. We used a video clip to help support the steps needed. First of all we used our knowledge on sketching to build the shape of our volcanoes. Then we started to add our paint, using the techniques we had explored earlier in the day. We built the paint up in layers, adding more texture. We used both acrylic paint and acrylic pens. We are really looking forward to finishing our piece tomorrow where we will add more layers along with a smokey effect for the sky.
Today we recapped the skills and techniques needed when using water colours along with the complimentary colours that go together and also show contrast. We recapped our artist Andy Warhol before using a video clip to recreate our own piece of art work in the style of Andy Warhol. We used sketching techniques we had previously used to help us create our art work. We then applied water colours to our drawing using complimentary colours, always thinking about Andy’s style and what he wants from his art work. We then took part in a gallery walk where we admired the art work of our peers. We then gave some critique to our partners work. We explained what we liked about their piece then gave wonders on how they could improve their piece in their second draft. We have really enjoyed using water colours and are excited to compare to acrylic paints tomorrow.
Today, Crew Hamill began their first lesson for Case Study 2 – Geography. We became geographers by looking in detail at maps, identifying what they are, why they are used and what they help with. We also looked in detail at the different symbols that can be found on a map and what they mean. We worked in pairs to match up the symbols to their meaning. Once we had more of an understanding on this, we worked in pairs to identify the symbols on a map of our local area, identifying schools, buildings, dual carriageways, water, railways and more.
Today we began our art case study 🙂 First we were introduced to our new artist Andy Warhol. First we looked at a variety of images giving notices on what we could see and the medium being used. From here we were introduced to the pieces of art work we would be creating for our final product, we were all super excited! We then built background knowledge on Andy Warhol, watching a variety of clips. We noted facts on our white boards then build anchor charts in mini crews. From here we explored a range of Andy’s art work, giving praises, notices and wonders. We loved seeing the colours that Andy used in his art work, we loved the colours that complimented each other but also how they gave a strong contract.
Our second art lesson allowed us to practise using water colours where we refined the skills we already had. We experimented with building up water colours then applying to a volcano picture that we sketched. We will then compare and contrast this with acrylic paint, this is the other medium we will use through our art case study. We are all excited for more art lessons this week 🙂
In expedition, we investigate how water travels around the world. We found out that the continuous movement of water around the Earth is called the water cycle. The four main stages of the water cycle are: evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection. We set up an experiment to see how the water cycle works. We cant wait to see if evaporation and condensation happens!
Crew Hamill had a more practical lesson today to help consolidate their understanding of 24 hour clocks. We were ensuring we had a clear understanding of how to convert 12 hour time into 24 hour time by taking part in a carousel of activities.
On Tuesday, Crew McGlone welcomed illustrator Liz Million to our school to support us with drawing skills that we can use within our final product creation – a bookmark including children’s drawings of traditional tales characters.
Liz talked to us about her job as an illustrator, told us lots of stories from her childhood and how she decided she wanted to become an illustrator. She then began to show us many examples of artwork she could create just by simply using lots of different shapes. She showed us how easy it was to create the wolf, Little Red Riding Hood and Grandma’s cat, before then doing a step-by-step draw along to create a troll from Billy Goats Gruff!
We listened so well to each of Liz’s instructions and our final pieces were absolutely fantastic! We cannot wait to put our new skills intro practise when we come to do our final product illustrations. Thank you SO much Liz for coming in and working with us, we are very lucky! We will be sending you a bookmark to showcase our fantastic drawings!
Crew Hamill and Crew Wilkinson were visited by an ex-miner who came to share his detailed experiences of working within the British coal mines. He shared moments of joy and camaraderie with his workers and stories of tragedy when accidents occurred. We were engrossed in his experiences and through this process, we developed a deeper understanding of how more modern mines operated and what a day in the life of a miner was like. Afterwards, the children had many prepared questions to ask to ensure that we got the most from the experience and allowed us to embed our understanding.
You can listen to the interview if you follow this QR code.
