Linnet 

The adults who work in Linnet Class are Ilka and Val

Science

In science we have been learning about materials and their different properties. We were able to understand the process of turning solvents and solutes into mixtures as well as different ways of separating mixtures such as evaporation and decanting. We have investigated the permeability of materials as well as their rigidity, flexibility and elasticity. As scientists, we have been conducting practical experiments as a class which has allowed us to make predictions, conduct fair tests and analyse our results. We have been adding everything we've learnt to our knowledge maps. Our favourite experiment was related to investigating reversible and irreversible change. We mixed together warm milk and vinegar to try and create casein plastic which was used from the early 1900s until about 1945 to create buttons, beads and many other things. Unfortunately, our experiment did not produce the results we predicted however we know that as scientists, some of the best learning is done when things don’t go as planned.

Maths 

Maths is definitely our favourite subject and we always enjoy learning new techniques and concepts that challenge our thinking. We have been learning about the importance of using inverse to check our answers especially when tackling a two step word problem which can get tricky. Sometimes we even make our own 2 or multi-step word problems to test each other. When learning about line graphs, we tracked the weather in our local area for a week and saw that, unfortunately, the weather was getting colder. We used multilink cubes to understand why prime numbers are prime numbers.  We worked with our partners to try and create cubes with 16 - 25 multilink cubes and found that cube numbers are the only numbers that can create actual cubes! We also learned about square numbers and that ‘ the power of’ shows the number of times to use that number in a multiplication. Our favourite challenge is the ‘countdown’ challenges which require us to use our mathematical knowledge to make a particular number using the digits given. It can be a fun competition to see who solves it the fastest.

English

We have been reading a book called 'The Girl who stole an elephant’ in English and reading. It is a fictional book based in Sri Lanka about a girl who steals from the queen to save her friend. Things don’t turn out as she plans and she ends up on a mind blowing adventure with her friends, all running away from the King’s men as fugitives. The characters are faced with many tough decisions and moral dilemmas. We thought about these in depth and presented our views to the class whilst doing a conscience alley and having debates about characters motives and actions. In one of the chapters, the main character breaks into a house to steal a box. We enjoyed re-telling this chapter in our own words and used some of the techniques used by the author such as short sentences, to create tension and suspense. We also enjoyed learning about all the delicious Sri Lankan food through the story and used this to create mouth watering descriptions in our own work. 

The Victorians

We have also been exploring  life in the Victorian times. We have learned about Queen Victoria and her reign during the British Empire. It was fascinating to learn about how different lives were for children during Victorian time. Victorian Day showed us how much has changed since then. As soon as we arrived into school, dressed as Victorian children,  we were transported back in time. We experienced what the day was like for Victorian children going to school  and  working.