We are taking responsibility and ownership for a lot of our learning by carrying out experiments, using Ipads to research and working in pairs and as part of a team.
Science - Investigating Sound
We began learning about sound by researching some important facts using our Ipads. Then we carried out different experiments at 3 stations. We worked as a team and learned about how you can 'see' sound, how it vibrates, how to change the pitch of sound and we guessed sounds of different items in boxes.
History - The Maya People
Most children had not heard of the Maya people who lived in Central America from 2600BC. They were very intelligent people and they recorded the movements of the sun, the moon and planets on astronomical charts. They made accurate calendars and predicted the solar eclipse of 1999! Most Mayans could solve mathematical problems.They were excellent farmers and grew maize, beans and avocado! The Mayans developed a writing system similar to hieroglyphics. For leisure and entertainment, they played a game with a rubber ball.
The children worked in pairs or groups of 3 an used specific websites to research 2/3 topics each. Projects were presented to the class and it was an enjoyable learning experience for all.
In drama, children took turns using improvisation techniques to role-play a day in the life of a Mayan.
Geography and Science
We learned about how soil is formed and carried out an experiment to investigate the drainage of different soil types.
Firstly, we took 'got our hands dirty' by investigating different soil samples; texture, insects found in it, dryness/moistness. Then each group took turns carrying out our drainage experiment. It was a fair test as each group had the same amount of soil, water and time.