Beech Tree Class Blog 2023-2024
Beech Tree Blog
5//6/26
Mr Kyriacou (n.kyriacou) on: Beech Tree Blog
Hello everyone,
This week, in our writing, we have started our unit of work on fact files. The children have learnt about what a fact file is, read a range of fact files, learnt about and highlighted the different features used. They have then done some research on canopic jars, which will be what the class are focusing on for their fact file. We have also focused on understanding what headings and sub-headings are used for and created a range of them which can be used when we start writing the fact file.
In reading, we have started our brand-new class novel called There’s a Pharaoh in our Bath by Jeremy Strong. The children spent a lesson making predictions about what the story would be about based on what they could see from the front cover. We then read the blurb after making their predictions and started reading the first two chapters in the following lesson. We have also done a comprehension lesson which focused on using skimming and scanning skills for retrieval and inference. The children are really enjoying the book so far and are eager to read more.
In maths, we have been focusing on time. We have focused on converting between hours, minutes and seconds, converting between analogue and 12 hour digital time, converting from 12-hour digital to 24-hour digital time and vice versa. The children have found this unit challenging but they have all been trying extremely hard and shown their resilience.
All the children have also done their multiplication tables test this week and everyone tried their very best! Well done!
The children took part in our annual sports day. They were involved in a range of different events, and all tried their absolute best. It wasn’t the best weather, and the field was quite slippy., however, the children dealt with it really well and all supported each other throughout the entire afternoon.
Take care,
Mr Kyriacou
Weekly Update-22/5/26
Mr Kyriacou (n.kyriacou) on: Beech Tree Blog
Hello everyone,
This week, in our writing, we completed the resolution and conclusion sections of our narrative story based on the athlete who got lost in the Sahra desert during an ultramarathon event. The children all knew that he survived, but the question was how he survived and who rescued him. The children really enjoyed writing these and they came up with some super ideas for how it was all resolved and how the story ended. They managed to include a whole range of features within their work as well which made them so exciting to read. After editing and publishing these pieces, we then proceeded with reading the complete story and comparing the events in the real story with the ones that the children had come up with.
In reading, we finished reading the final two chapters of The Cat Mummy. The children really enjoyed the story and wrote some lovely book reviews about it. It’s also inspired them to seek out more of Jacqueline Wilson’s works because of how much they enjoyed her style of writing. We have also finished our story time book (Astor Chimp) which the children also really enjoyed.
In maths, we finished our unit of work on money this week and have just moved onto our new unit of work on time. We have focused on years, months and weeks in the first lesson and have just moved onto hours, seconds and minutes for the following lesson.
In computing, the children used all of their knowledge and skills that they’d learnt from last week ‘s lesson, which focused on modifying code for a game, and used it to create their own games from scratch. The children had to select a background of their choice and three sprites that related to the theme of their background. They then had to programme the sprites to move around the screen at steady pace, move in a random way, make a sound when clicked, change costume and get smaller each time they are clicked. The aim of the game being to catch and click the sprites until they can’t get any smaller. For children who successfully completed the game, they were tasked with modifying their code to make the sprites move faster so it was more challenging.
In art, the children have been making clay sculptures of Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, mummification, and the afterlife. The children first made armatures so that their pieces had a solid internal structure and rough shape to work with before placing the clay on top if it. They then worked extremely hard to mould the clay, create the head of Anubis and used a variety of tools to add all the details to it. These will be left to dry and then painted when the children return to school.
Take care,
Mr Kyriacou
Weekly Update-15/5/26
Mr Kyriacou (n.kyriacou) on: Beech Tree Blog
Hello everyone,
This week, in our writing, we have started our new unit of work on narrative writing. We started by reading a portion of a real story about an athlete called Mauro Prosperi, who was taking part in an ultra-challenge marathon in the Sahara Desert. This athlete gets caught in a sandstorm, and because he chose to continue running for six hours during the storm, he completely goes off the track and gets lost. The children’s task with this piece of writing will be to write their own resolution and conclusion to the story. After reading the story, the children came up with a range of predictions with how he gets rescued (because they know that he survives) and then we have also focused on using fronted adverbials with sentences relating to the story and creating a range of similes and expanded noun phrases relating to the story as well.
In maths, we have started our new unit on money. We have been working on wiring money using decimals, converting between £ and p, comparing amounts of money and estimating money as well. It’s been great to see the children using their decimals knowledge and applying that to the work we have been doing around money.
In computing, the children have been focusing on modifying lines of code to create their own modified version of a game. This involved an underwater theme where lots of different sea creatures move around the screen, and the aim of the game is to click them (and they will make an underwater themed sound and disappear) before they go off the screen. The children absolutely loved this, and it was fantastic to see them succeed with modifying the code and then enjoying the game.
In PSHE, we have been focusing on the topic of Being My Best and the lesson was focused on making choices. The children learnt all about what a choice is, we discussed and shared the different types of choices that we have made in our lives, some easy and some difficult. We then focused in discussing the choices that adults make for children and why, the choices children can make and why, the choices that adults can make and why and choices that people are never allowed to make and why. The children really enjoyed the lesson, and we had lots of interesting discussions about it.
Take care,
Mr Kyriacou