Science: Blog items
Date: 29th Nov 2022 @ 1:22pm
In Science, Year 3 have been investigating what fossils are and how they were formed. We completed a carousel of activities to expand our knowledge. We used secondary sources to gather and present information, used magnifying glasses to examine fossils specimens and even made our own fossils!
Year 4 - Digestive System Model
Date: 29th Nov 2022 @ 10:58am
This week we used our knowledge of the digestive system to create a model. First, we looked at the start of the digestive system (the mouth). We broke up crackers with our hands then chewed one for a minute. The chewed crackers was broken down much more and had less starch in because of an enzyme called amylase in our saliva. This aids digestion. Then we use tights to model our intestine, a food bag to model our stomach, a cup to model our rectum and a hole in the cup to model the anus. We mixed up food and drink in the 'stomach' and churned it with our hands. Then we pushed the food through the 'intestine'. We could see all the liquid seeping out of the tights (this is the nutrients and water being absorbed into the body). After the food had passed through the intestines, it was stored in the 'rectum' before leaving the 'body' through the 'anus'.
Year 1 Waterproof or Absorbent
Date: 25th Nov 2022 @ 7:27pm
Today we helped Ted solve an emergency! Firstly, we learnt two new key words, waterproof and absorbent.
‘Waterproof means it keeps out water’
‘Absorbent means it can soak up liquid’
We also discussed and found out about Charles Macintosh, who was best known for his invention of a method for making waterproof clothing.
‘He put the rubber and chemicals on fabric to make it waterproof’
We then used what we know about materials, their properties and our new vocabulary to solve Ted’s emergency. We discussed how we were going to make it a fair test, by using the same amount of water and the same amount of time. We then worked in small groups to complete our experiment. In these groups we made our predictions, before following our method.
Year 2's Eggcellent Eggsperiment
Date: 24th Nov 2022 @ 8:56pm
This week, as part of our everyday materials unit we conducted an eggciting experiment to find out which material would protect an egg best. Firstly, we decided how we could test it and discussed to ensure it is a fair test we would have to drop each egg from the same height. After we agreed we would drop it 1 metre and made our predictions of what we thought would happen we let the smashing begin. We tested a range of materials including: felt, newspaper, plastic tub, tin foil, bubble wrap and cotton wool. Some cracked slightly, some completely smashed and others nothing at all happened because the material protected it so well. We all had a smashing afternoon!
Date: 18th Nov 2022 @ 4:23pm
This half term, Year Two are exploring the use of everyday materials and this week we conducted an experiment to test the strength of paper and cardboard. We also tested whether the amount of layers each material had altered how strong it was. We found that cardboard is much stronger than paper but the more layers you add, the stronger each material became.
Date: 16th Nov 2022 @ 10:49am
Nursery have been exloring Autumn this week. We have talked about all the signs that it is Autumn including colourful leaves, conkers and acorns on the ground and the weather getting a bit cooler. The children have loved looking at Autumn objects with a maginifying glass and talking about what they could see. We also made some great leaf people - everyone looked different! To help us develop our subitising skills, we picked a card with 1,2, or 3 dots on and then had to add the same number of leaves to a tree and for our fine motor muscles the chilren put loom bands on pinecones and used tweezers to move conkers in to a bowl.
Date: 15th Nov 2022 @ 9:11pm
In our science lesson this week, created a scale replica of our solar system. We found the distances of the planets from the sun in Astronomical unit (AU), and converted this to meters. 1 AU is the distance from Earth to the Sun, so on our model Earth was 1 meter from the Sun. As you can see the rocky planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are relatively close together, whereas the gas giants are further apart.
Year 3- Investiagting Igneous Rocks
Date: 14th Nov 2022 @ 2:24pm
In this lesson we worked scientifically to plan an investigation surrounding the crystal size in Igneous rocks. We identified that we were going to change the temperature, we had three containers that had ice, cotton wool and air in. We will observe over the next 24 hours and see if our predictions were correct.
Reception Willow Class visit Salisbury Woods
Date: 13th Nov 2022 @ 5:04pm
This week Willow class went on a woodland walk to Salisbury Woods, to look for signs of Autumn.
The children had such a great time collecting the leaves that have fallen off the trees, observing all the different Autumn colours and looking out for woodland animals.
We managed to collect lots of leaves in different coloures, shapes and sizes and were also very lucky to spot some squirrels running through the tree tops.
Everyone had such a good time and we will use our leaves to make Autumn pictures and leaf rattles aswell as writing about what we saw in the woods.
Take a look at some of the things we got up to down in the woods!
"The leave change colour in Autumn" Lana-Rose.
"Some of the animals are going to hibernate in the winter" Kristian
"The temperature is colder in Autumn" Kaziimir
Reception- If you go down to the woods today...
Date: 10th Nov 2022 @ 5:40pm
This week Holly class went on a woodland walk to Salisbury Woods, next to the golf course and the hospital, to look for signs of Autumn.
The children had such a great time collecting the leaves that have fallen off the trees, observing all the different Autumn colours and looking out for woodland animals too.
We manage to collect lots of leaves in different coloures, shapes and sizes and were also very lucky to spot a squirrel running through the tree tops. Also, on the ground, there were mushrooms growing, however, we did not touch them as they might be poisonous!
Everyone had such a good time and we will use our leaves to make Autumn pictures and leaf rattles aswell as writing about what we saw in the woods.
Take a look at some of the things we got up to down in the woods!
"The leaves are on the floor- they have fallen off the tree" Sheraa.
" In Autumn the leaves die and fall to the ground" Lennox.
"The leaves are orange, red, brown and yellow" Harper.
" In Autumn the weather is colder" Alfie
Date: 10th Nov 2022 @ 9:16am
In Science this week, we demonstrated how metamorphic rocks are made by using chocolate! We started off with white and milk chocolate. We then cut it into small pieces to demonstrate erosion. This made sediments which we then applied pressure to and squashed together to make a sedimentary rock. Once we had formed this rock, we applied heat to the rock and then allowed it to cool. This made a metamorphic rock. At the end of the lesson, we cut our rocks open and discovered the different colours and layers in our rocks.
Date: 7th Nov 2022 @ 9:27pm
Over the last few months, our aspiring young gardners have been meeting each week, after school, to prepare the school grounds for Winter and planting bulbs ready for Spring.
Mrs McAllister and her young gardners have been clearing away the dead flowers fron summer, recycling the seeds from the sunflower heads in our Nursery garden and planting Spring bulbs across school.
Now most of the jobs have been done for the year, we look forward to meeting with Gardening Club again in Spring.
Year 4 Teeth Observation RESULTS!
Date: 7th Nov 2022 @ 2:36pm
The results are in!!
The coke and orange juice caused the worst staining. If this was our teeth they would have gone through our enamel and caused decay. Even though, diet coke is low sugar it still caused a stain. This could be because of the dark colour it is. Today, we also spoke about the importance of brushing our teeth twice a day. We know what eating a balanced diet means, but it is important to brush away the foods and drinks we eat at the end of the day and before the day starts. We need to clean bacteria etc away so it doesn't stain our teeth or cause cavities or decaying. When we have finished brushing our teeth, we shouldn't rinse with water because the toothpaste won't then stay on our teeth to continue protecting them.
Year 4 Science Observation Set Up
Date: 4th Nov 2022 @ 11:48am
Today we set up a Science observation ready for our lesson on Monday. We used eggs to act like our teeth (the shell acting like the enamel of our teeth). We poured milk, orange juice, coffee, diet coke, water and full fat coke into cups with the eggs instead. We are going to leave them over the weekend and see what changes there are on Monday in our Science lesson. Check back on Monday for the results!
Date: 20th Oct 2022 @ 7:21am
Yesterday, Year Two enjoyed using the Now Press Play equipment to explore different habitats and the animals that live there especially thinking carefully about how these animals are adapted to survive in their natural habitat. We pretended we were aliens in a spaceship that crash landed on planet Earth and had to find a suitable habitat for the aliens to come and live. Whilst we were unsuccessful finding somewhere for the aliens to live we did manage to explore a variety of habitats which we have been learning about in Science. Firstly, we took a swim in the ocean and had to morph into sharks to survive with gills and fins. Next, we went to an incredibly cold place called Antarctica where we had to grow feathers and huddle together like penguins to keep oursevles warm. Then, we left Antarctica and found a jungle surrounded by tall trees and monkey's who we swung around with for a while before taking a journey to the hot desert where we met a camel. It was here we had to adapt and get a hump to store water and change our feet so they were wide to walk on the hot sand. It was great fun and helped consolidate the learning we have been doing in Science this half term.
Year 2's Final Forest School Fun
Date: 17th Oct 2022 @ 2:50pm
This week Forest School enjoyed their final forest school session with Jenna and Michelle. This week, we thought about ways to survive if we got stranded in the cold on a mountain and used the parachute as our shelter thinking about the warmth it provided. We also thought about the 3 things we need for a fire- air, fuel and heat and some of us used the tools to practise lighting a fire so we could toast marshmellows. We have had a wonderful three weeks in forest school and look forward to our final three sessions in the summer.
Date: 17th Oct 2022 @ 7:48am
In Science we started to look at magnets. We discovered that magnets have a north and south pole. We spent some time exploring whcih attract and which repel each other. We then went on to investigate what materials were magnetic. We learnt that metal objects were magnetic but this did not include aluminium, copper or gold! We then went on to plan an investegation for next week answering the question 'Which magnet is the strongest?'
Date: 13th Oct 2022 @ 8:52pm
Today in Science we learned all about refraction, which is the slowing down of light as it passes through denser materials. To see this in action, we used a glass full of water and dropped a pencil crayon in the glass. We observed that the pencil crayon looked broken and distorted due to refraction occuring. We also learned that refraction can make objects appear to turn in the opposite direction. We foudn this out by placing an arrow behind the glass ad moving it slowly horizontally. We saw that the arrow appeared to change direction.
Date: 13th Oct 2022 @ 12:37pm
Today we had our Now Press Play Experience which was lots of active listening and learning fun! We went on an adventure with Squidge from an alien planet, who was learning all about Solids, Liquids and Gases. We begame particles and moved through different states including water to water vapour, liquid to solid chocolate. It has helped to consolidate our science learning from this term, whilst also getting us up and moving with a little bit of acting!
Date: 5th Oct 2022 @ 4:40pm
Year 6 continued their 'Light' unit this week by investigating shadows. The children were given some key questions to investigate and several different pieces of equipment. They were asked to investigate how shadows are created, what created the shape of the shadow, how a shadow can be made larger or smalller and what type of material created the darkest shadow.
Year 2's First Forest School Fun!
Date: 29th Sep 2022 @ 3:39pm
Today, Year Two enjoyed their first Forest School session with Jenna and Michelle who had planned some fun activities for us. We began the session by completing some tasks for the Gruffalo finding things that lived in trees, near flowers and under logs linking our learning from yesterday to the fun. Then Michelle kindly read us the story of the Gruffalo and we were experts and could join in with parts of the story! Lastly, we were tasked with the mission of creating a nest for a bird of our choosing, thinking carefully about where we were going to place the nest and the materials we used. We had lots of fun linking our Science learning of living things and their habitats to our forest school fun and cannot wait for our next two sessions.
Year 2 Exploring Microhabitats
Date: 29th Sep 2022 @ 7:58am
Today we explored different types of microhabitat. Once we had learnt what a microhabitat was, we went into the forest school area to search for microhabitats and hunted for minibeasts. We explored a range of microhabitats including under logs, in the soil, leaf piles, rocks and grass. When we found minibeasts we got very excited! Once we returned inside, we discussed how different minibeasts prefer different habitats and came up with adjectives to describe the habitats.
Date: 26th Sep 2022 @ 7:29pm
Today in Science we focussed on our sense of taste. We learnt about the different parts of our mouth and what these are used for. We also learnt new vocabulary to describe how things taste. We then tasted a range of foods, using these new key words to explain what we could taste and to enable us to categorize them.
Date: 26th Sep 2022 @ 4:58pm
In this week's science lesson, pupils in Hawthorn and Rowan continue to learn about the properties of different materials. Pupils carried out an experiment using water as a solvent, to find out which materials were soluble and which were insoluble. We also noticed that the soluble substances were edible.
We also melted and solidfied white chocolate, dark chocolate and milk chocolate by heating and cooling it. We obseved that it it was still the same substance after these changes in state - they were reversible changes. The chocolate looked and tasted the same too!
Year 3- Why do our hands warm up when we rub them together?
Date: 22nd Sep 2022 @ 7:57am
In Science we explore the question 'Why do our hands warm up when we rub them together?' In order to answer this question we carried out a range of activities, exploring friction. We used balloons to create friction, we watched videos, we identified how forces and friction is used in sports and finally we investigated the difference in rubbing our hands when we used rubber gloves. We discovered that friction is created when two surfaces rub together.
