Elm Class - Term 4

This week in science, the children carried out an investigation planned last week. They worked in pairs and in threes to create a thermal casing for a coffee cup. The aim of the investigation was to determine the material that is best for thermal insulation: sugar paper, bubble wrap, cling film, felt, foil or wool. After designing their cup casing, we measured the change of temperature over 40 minutes. The results suggested the cling film was the best thermal insulator but we considered why this may be the case, as many had predicted the wool to be the best insulator. 

Elm - Thermal Properties

 

Over the past few weeks, Elm Class have been deepening their understanding of the developments through the Tudor period - particularly those that have had an impact on our lives today. They explored the exploration under Elizabeth I; learned about William Shakespeare and his life; and then created a timeline to order the events covered throughout this topic unit.

 

In our Art session last week, the children introduced watercolour to their self-portrait sketches to bring them to life. Our sessions have been building up to this point, with the children having previously explored Hans Holbein and William Segar's royal Tudor portraits. The children then did a fantastic job of recreating a portrait of Henry VIII, before using the skills developed to sketch themselves.

Elm - Art - Self Portrait

 

This term, our text type in English is Spooky Stories. The children have enjoyed exploring various short stories, with more of a focus on those of a spookier nature! After exploring various short stories, the children were given different short stories to map out in their pairs. They created a story map that retold the story using only images or individual words (if an image was complicated), before retelling the story to the rest of their table group. The children have enjoyed reading the short stories and are looking forward to writing their own later this term.

Elm Class - Spooky Story Maps

 

Before half-term, and in our session last week, the children have been exploring the use of different formulae in Computing. They have been considering the most effective method of solving tricky calculations in tables of data, whilst also making use of the software to perform a probability test that modelled the rolling of a dice 1000 times. In our next two lessons, the children will be applying their new understanding of formula to a real-life simulation model - a cake sale.