Curriculum News

Autumn 1 2023, Year 3 School Trip

On Wednesday 11^th October, Year 3 visited the Norwich Cathedral and participated in their Sacred Science programme of study. We explored different aspects of Science and learnt all about the history of why the cathedral was constructed. We re-capped our geographical learning with compass points and absorbed the magnificence of the cathedral as a historic building.

As part of our current Science unit: Forces, we explored how effective the force of gravity was in the construction of the cathedral during William the Conqueror’s reign. We used the medieval mason’s template to re-create an archway. We worked together beautifully to create our arches, we displayed determination, resilience and perseverance which enabled us to be successful medieval stonemasons.

As part of our upcoming Science unit: Light, we also explored Opaque, Translucent and Transparent materials. We discussed how our bodies block the sun, causing shadows.

We examined the effect of stained glass on light. Exploring the translucent qualities that create the vibrant colours of the cathedral windows. We compared the stained glass windows with the clear glass of the modern section of the cathedral and observed that it was transparent.

We all had the opportunity to create our own stained glass window, with opaque and translucent materials. We explored depth of colour and during the process we explored the effect of light on our own creations. The work was amazing and we are creating a year group display of them.

After learning so much new information, including that the cathedral has its own cat: Budge, we left at the end of the day able to talk about our fabulous experience.

Pupil quotes about the day:

“I loved going to the cathedral because we learned more about Forces which is our Science topic.” Emmy-Mae

“I liked making the stained glass windows because they were really colourful. It showed us how the stained glass is translucent.” Anni and Alice.

“I loved being in such an old building and knowing people still go to pray today.”

“I really liked learning about how the windows tell a story.” Kendra

“I liked learning about gravity because I didn’t know what it was.” Elliott

Year 3

This half term we have been learning about Forces and Magnets. The children started their learning by classifying whether objects were magnetic or non magnetic. Using bar magnets the children observed what happened when the same poles on two magnets were placed together and when different poles were placed together. We learned the vocabulary attract and repel to describe what happened. Using a selection of magnets the children carried out an experiment to see which magnet was the strongest. We made a prediction at the start and after displaying the results on a bar graph we decided whether our predictions were correct.

We then moved on to learning about push and pull forces, the children acted out a force for the class to guess which they were!

Our final experiment saw the children deciding which material had the greatest friction. Discussions were had to decide how to make the experiment a fair test. Our recent trip to Norwich Cathedral was the perfect way to introduce our next topic – Light! 

Year 4

In Science, our topic has been States of Matter, the children have been very enthusiastic about the experiments and particularly enjoyed melting different solids (even if it did make some of them hungry). They have enjoyed demonstrating their understanding of how solids, liquids and gasses move and how they can change state when heated or cooled. We ended the topic by exploring the water cycle and the children loved learning the water cycle rap and even making up their own dance moves!

Year 5

During Autumn 1, Year 5 have been studying the topic of Space.  

We began this topic by working in groups to sort evidence cards into groups. We decided whether then card supported the idea that the Earth was spherical or that the Earth was flat. We then summarised our findings as a class. 

Year 5 then moved on to look at the movement of Earth and other planets in relation to the sun. We conducted our own shadow investigation demonstrating the spinning of the Earth. We carried out an observation over time and made predictions about how we thought our shadow may change over the day. Once an hour over the school day we went out to the playground and observed how our shadows have changed by drawing around them using chalk. We then discussed our findings at the end of the day and linked them to the use of sun dials.  

From our knowledge gained from the shadows experience in the following lesson we could begin to explain day and night. We used globes and torchers to recreate the day and night effect.  

Year 5 have also looked at the movement of the moon and created their own research page using tablets. Finally we found out about Galileo and his work on pendulums before making our own pendulums and writing up our findings. 

Year 6

We started year 6 by learning about animals, including humans. We learnt about the circulatory and digestive systems and carried out an investigation into how exercise affects our heart rate. We found that after 2 minutes continuous exercise our heart rates speeds up to help oxygen reach our organs more quickly. We also learnt about how to live a healthy lifestyle, including diet and exercise. Over the course of a week, we did regular exercise each morning to see if this helped us to be more alert during our lessons. Most of us found that we did find it easier to concentrate in our morning lessons after five minute jog or continuous exercise.