Crew Godley – Nature Ambassadors

The whole of Crew Godley were absolutely fantastic during our recent presentation with Mr Sprakes. Every single pupil rose to the occasion and demonstrated just how much effort and dedication they had put into their learning. They showed real courage when reading aloud, supporting one another and taking pride in sharing their ideas, even when it felt challenging.

They spoke with growing confidence and clarity, articulating their thoughts in a way that truly engaged their audience. What stood out most was their ability to explain, in thoughtful detail, how they developed the quad area. They didn’t just describe what they had done – they explained the reasoning behind their choices, showing a deep understanding of how to create and sustain a biodiverse environment.

It was clear that they had developed not only their knowledge but also crew and communication skills throughout the project. Watching them present with such enthusiasm, ownership, and pride was a genuinely special moment. I was absolutely bursting with pride at everything they have achieved.

Air Resistance in Action

Today, Crew Godley have been exploring air resistance in a hands-on way! We began by planning our investigation, thinking carefully about the controlled elements (things we kept the same) and the variable elements (things we changed) to make it a fair test. We started by dropping paperclips attached to parachutes to see how the parachute slows their fall. Once we understood the basics, we took on the challenge of protecting eggs from breaking! We discovered that parachutes with larger surface areas slowed the eggs’ descent more effectively, keeping them safe on impact.

Exploring Forces

Crew Godley have been exploring air resistance and motion using frisbees! We planned the investigation by deciding what variables to change, like the angle and speed of the throw, and what to keep the same, so our tests were fair. By experimenting with different throwing techniques, we observed how the shape and orientation of the frisbee affects how far and smoothly it flies. This helped us understand how air resistance and forces work in real life, all while having lots of fun outdoors! We can’t wait to apply this to our learning tomorrow.

Exploring Gravity

Today, Crew Godley explored gravity, researching the famous scientist Isaac Newton, who helped us understand gravity. He discovered that gravity is a force that pulls objects towards the Earth. Gravity is always working, even though we cannot see it. We also explored the work of Galileo Galilei. His most famous observation was that two objects of the same size but slightly different mass (how much “stuff” they are made of) hit the ground at the same time, as far as he could tell, if they are dropped from the same height. This happens because the acceleration due to gravity is the same for both objects.

To test this idea, we carried out our own experiments. We dropped bottles at the same time and carefully observed what happened. The children noticed that they hit the ground together!

We then explored forces in active ways:

  • Running downhill to feel the pull of gravity.
  • Observing how gravity pulls us back down.
  • Dropping objects at the same time to see how they fall.
  • Identifying pushes and pulls in everyday movements.

Crew Godley blast off to the Moon!

Crew Godley blasted off into Case Study 2, Mission Apollo 11 – What made the Moon landing so special? We explored exciting space vocabulary connected to the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing, discovering that lunar means relating to the Moon, learned that a module is a self-contained unit of a spacecraft, and understood how gravity is the force that pulls objects toward each other. We talked about descent, the careful movement downward to land the spacecraft, and learned that Tranquility was the name of the calm and peaceful landing site. To bring our learning to life, we created detailed sensory maps of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, imagining what the astronauts might have seen, heard, and felt as they made history.

Changing States Experiment

Today we conducted an experiment to see what would happen to chocolate when we applied heat.

We put 3 pieces of chocolate in a metal bowl inside a bowl filled with hot water.

To begin with the chocolate was solid.

We timed in 1 minute intervals and observed and recorded what happened to the chocolate.

After 4 minutes the chocolate was completely melted and was a liquid.

We put the chocolate back in the fridge for half an hour to see if it would change state again.

After 30 minutes it was a solid again!