Beech Tree Class Blog 2023-2024
Beech Tree Blog
Weekly Update-27/9/24
Mr Kyriacou (n.kyriacou) on: Beech Tree Blog
Hello everyone,
In our writing, we have continued working on features that will be included in our next piece of work that will be based around the day in the life of a Roman soldier. We have focused on using expanded noun phrases with prepositional phrases, time adverbials and using the past tense with regular and irregular verbs.
In our reading, we have continued to read The Thieves of Ostia. A crime has been committed and the children (main characters in the story) are trying to find out who has committed it. The children are really enjoying the story so far and have already made some predictions about who they think it is. We have also completed our story time book (The Hundred Mile An Hour Dog) which they really enjoyed. The class has selected our next book, which will be The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams.
This week, the children went on their Romans trip to Murton Park. They became fierce and skilled Roman soldiers, they learnt how to march, they did weapons training with swords, spears and shields, they made some beautiful oil lamps, they scared away a Celtic invader and they learnt all about how the fort was built and protected. The children were absolutely fantastic, they had good manners, they were keen and enthusiastic during every activity and they had lots of fun. We were very proud with how they represented the school. Well done!
Take care,
Mr Kyriacou :)
Weekly Update-20/9/24
Mr Kyriacou (n.kyriacou) on: Beech Tree Blog
Hello everyone,
This week, in our writing, we have started our recount unit of work which will be based around the day in the life of a Roman soldier. We have looked at a WAGOLL piece and identified all the different features that appeared within it and then we have started practising using those different features in the following lessons.
In maths, we have been looking at using number lines to 10,000, estimating on number lines to 10,000 and then rounding to 10 and 100.
In science, we have been creating classification keys as part of our grouping and classifying living things unit. The children have been so enthusiastic and came up with some excellent questions throughout the lesson (based on what they have learnt in their previous two lessons) which could help to group and classify animals.
In art, as part of our unit of work on European Art and Artists, we have been looking at Michelangelo’s work this week. As some of his work was created on ceilings, like the Sistine Chapel fresco, the children were tasked with creating a drawing based on work my Michelangelo. They did this by lying down under their tables, sticking their paper to their tables (underneath) which would act as a ceiling and drawing straight onto their paper. The children found it challenging, however, they really enjoyed it, and some beautiful pieces were created. The children were also not allowed to rub out anything, which made it extra challenging as they had to think carefully about every aspect of their sketches before putting pencil to paper.
Take care,
Mr Kyriacou :)
Weekly Update-13/9/24
Mr Kyriacou (n.kyriacou) on: Beech Tree Blog
Hello everyone,
This week, in our reading, we have read the first two chapters of our class novel (The Thieves of Ostia) and used our retrieval skills to answer a range of different comprehension questions. We have also continued to read our story time book (A Hundred Mile-Per-Hour Dog) which the children are also really enjoying.
In our writing, we have been focusing on using powerful adjectives to create expanded noun phrases, we have also been describing the physical and personality traits of Carl Fredricksen based on an image of him and a short three-minute video clip from the movie. The children have then created their character description using all the skills that we have been focusing on over the last two weeks. The children then edited their work, using purple pens, to improve the overall quality of their work. Finally, the children published their work in their neatest handwriting. They have all worked hard on these and produced some lovely character descriptions.
In maths, we have been focused on comparing and ordering 4-digit numbers and finding 1, 10, 100 and 1000 more or less than a given number. The children have been so keen and enthusiastic throughout every lesson and it’s fantastic to hear them using great mathematical vocabulary when giving explanations.
In art, we have started our unit work on European Art and Artists. Our first lesson revolved around Anselm Kiefer, who incorporates broken buildings into a lot of his work as a reflection of his experiences of growing up in the years just after WW2. The focus involved children using their observational and sketching skills to create detailed drawings of broken and abandoned buildings. The children worked hard on these and produced some lovely pieces of work.
In PSHE, our first lesson focused all around rules, why we have them and discussing a range of different rules for different places. We had some really good discussions, and we also created our own class rules as part of the lesson, which we have put into a class contract.
Take care,
Mr Kyriacou