3RA

On Thursday we had a creative writing enrichment day! In small groups we got given an animal and we had to create everything about the animal, such as name, favourite food etc.

Then we designed the habitat for the animal using various mediums and after lunch we wrote out creative stories based on all of this!

On Wednesday we visited the Tower of London. We were able to see the famous Ravens, they were very big! We explored the White Tower and saw all the armor that past King and Queens wore.

After lunch, we headed to the Superbloom and slid down this massive slide! It was so fun. Everyone was so exhausted by the end of the day.

We have had such an interesting week this week!

Firstly, in Science we have been exploring shadows and why shadows are formed. Using torches, we shone the light on different opaque, translucent and transparent objects to compare the difference in shadows. Opaque objects have clearer shadows as no light is able to go through, it is fully blocked.

Further on in the week, we created 3D shapes in Maths using tooth picks and blue-tac. We had to really think carefully about the number of edges and vertices in order for this to be successful.

This week in Art, we explored artists who used uses sketching and various line marks to draw landscape art! 

Here's how they turned out! 

We started our new science topic this this half term- light! 

We explored how we can see objects and how reflective objects can be. Inside a dark box were various objects and we used a torch to identify them. We then discussed which object was the most reflective and why that was.

We have had such a fun week this week!

The theme for this year is growth. On Monday we started our class competition about who could grow the best cress! Hopefully after the weekend we will see it sprouting up.

We grew our own slime to see whos would stretch the furthest, however this did not go to plan, showing how unpredictable science experiments can be!

Furthermore, we looked at the growth of germs by placing lots of stickers on everyone’s jumpers. This shows how quick and easy it is for germs to spread in our everyday lives. Definitely need to wash our hands more!

We finished the week by creating a spinning DT plate to show the different stages of a caterpillar lifecyle.

In science this week we were exploring different types of seed dispersal. This is so seeds have space to grow and are not too close together. We acted out water, wind, explosive and animal seed dispersal. See if you can guess which is which from the photos!

Have a fun and safe half term, and see you all soon for the countdown to summer!

Today we went on a walk to explore our local area, looking at how it has changed over time. We compared it to a map from the 1890s and saw a lot of greenery had been changed into houses and roads. It was fun to get out of the classroom and explore in the glorious sunshine. Next lesson we will write about our findings and compare the two maps we used.

Since Easter we have been growing our own sunflowers. As you can see, some of them have really grown and we are excited to see the flower start to blossom. Once we are finished with them in science, we will plant them in our garden on the playground to keep.

Today we began our new DT project of creating our own cushion. We practised cross stitching on a piece of felt, which was very tricky and fiddly! However, practice makes perfect and in a few weeks time we will be pros!

We started our science topic this week all about plants. To understand the functions of a flower, we dissected tulips allowing us to become flower detectives. 

Also, we planted sunflower seeds so hopefully over this next half term we have some beautiful sunflowers growing! Definitely come back for regular sunflower updates! 

‘After weeks of making our volcanoes we finally got to erupt them! This morning we painted them brown with red to represent the lava, having green for the grass. Then this afternoon, we used vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to create the explosions! They were really cool and demonstrated how the lava flows out the creators. Was even more fun when it decided to start snowing whilst we were outside! 

Miss Alexander, Mrs Hodder & Miss Whiley wish you all a happy Easter and hope everyone stays safe!’

This week we have had such an exciting day!

In the afternoon, we immersed ourselves in a historical experience, where we got to act out and participate in a story about Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius erupting as well as the earthquakes it caused. Each having headphones, the story was played to us and we went inside and outside the classroom to bring it to life!

After completing this, we created earthquake survival posters, informing you what to do if an earthquake hits!

So now if Quarry Hill is ever struck by an earthquake, we are prepared!

Continuing with our soil investigation, today we measured how permeable each of the soils were.

Using filter paper, a funnel and beaker, the soil went into the filter and the water was poured into the soil. After 5 minutes we measured how  much water had gone through the soil, to then see how permeable it would be.

Sand was the most permeable and therefore demonstrates that the water would get to the root of the flower quickly.

Next week we are going to start looking at fossils!

This week we began our DT project of making volcanoes!

We got an empty plastic bottle and stuck it in the center of the cardboard to represent the vent of the volcano. Using newspaper and paper, we scrunched up balls to make the base and width of the volcano.

To solidify it together, newspaper strips were dipped into paper mache. It got very messy!

Eventually we will erupt them!

In science we are starting to look at soils and what they consist of. The soil is broken down into layers of bedrock, parent material, sub soil, top soil and organic material.

We made edible soil so we could understand how each layer was built on top of each other, and even got to eat it!

We started our new narrative in English – The Stone Age Boy. We used musical instruments to represents different part of the story. There was a scene where a bear attacked the boy so we had to all play our instruments loud to represent the bear attacking! Once finished, Miss Alexander read the story and we played our parts.

It was really memorable and allowed us to remember more of the story.

On Thursday we had our Stone Age enrichment day. In the morning we took part in an archaeological dig, where we found pottery remains, weapons and human skeletons! We then headed into the classroom and made our own pottery, using clay. We learnt all about how people lived throughout the Iron Age and explored different methods for food making.

The afternoon was super fun! We had our warrior workshop where outside we had a go at firing sling shots and had mini sword battles against each other! We learnt so much 😊

On Wednesday, we continued being Petrologists and categorised all our rock samples into the three types of rock. We experimented different ways, including scratching them to see how hard or soft they were. 

It was very interesting to explore our different rocks! 

In Science today we were exploring the three different types of rocks – sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. Using starburst, we experimented to see how these rocks are formed.

Sedimentary rocks are formed by layers pressuring on top of each other, so we places 3 starburst on top and squashed them as much as we could!

Igneous rocks are formed by magma from volcanoes cooling down, so we heated them in the microwave to let them melt and then had them cool down.

Metamorphic rocks are formed by heat and pressure, so we melted them in the microwave and then squashed them down!

It was very fun, and something you can do at home!

We have started our new history topic this week ‘Stone Age to Iron Age’.

We became mini historians and used artefacts and evidence to discover how ‘Otzi the Iceman’ lived! It was very interesting as we found out he had to use the skins of animals to keep warm!

A festive time in Year 3 this week as we had our Christmas Party - playing musical statues, musical bumps, Pass the parcel and pin the nose on Rudolph! We also made party hats to wear.

So much food to eat!

Everyone worked really hard this term, and have earnt a well deserved break. Have the best holidays and see you in January!

In science today, we were investigating the strengths of magnets in different ways. We explored how many paper clips the magnet could hold – which was 81! Also, at what length away the paper clip was to the magnet until it attracted together.

In Geography we have been comparing the weather between England and Nairobi. The children created a weather report to explain the differences in the two!

On Friday we designed our own Kenyan masks and drew them on polystyrene. Next week we are going to print them on our painted paper!  

This week in Geography we revived a letter from a girl in Kenya, telling us all about her day at school!
We wrote our own letters back, telling her about ours!

We enjoyed making Spanish meatballs when our visitor from roots for food came in!

We even got to try it!

We have started our new English topic based on the story 'Grace and Family', which links to our Geography topic, exploring Kenya.

The children have enjoyed being immersed in the story and are excited to innovate it into their own version!

In History, we have been exploring the pyramids and looking at how and why they were built. We even made our own pyramids and wrote our facts on them, which are now on the working wall!

This week we have started reading Jack and the Beanstalk and the children have enjoyed coming up with actions to tell the story. In History, we have started our topic of Ancient Egypt, learning about the importance of the River Nile. It has been a great start to the year!