Shang Dynasty Workshop

Years 5 and 6 have had fantastic morning in their Shang Dynasty Workshop. 
Katie, who was their instructor, first tested the knowledge that they had learned during their first few weeks of the project. She then set them freeze frame tasks representing the Hierarchy system. This was then used within a quiz, to see how good their listening had been to the new facts given.

The children then worked in small groups, building their freeze frames into actions, then adding sounds and words to portray their scene. The final stage was a performance to bring the timeline of events together across the dynasty. Superb acting skills were shown by all. 

To launch their new project ‘Stargazers’, a planetarium visited school. The children were shown images of the solar system and the order of the planets. They also showed their own knowledge of the planets through discussion of the size, distance and planet composition. They listened closely as details were given about the moons, dwarf planets and constellations seen within our Solar System. Space travel was discussed to give the children a good understanding of why other planets were inhospitable. 

The children will draw upon knowledge learned during this launch event, at different times during this term, and use this to help embed understanding of the facts on the Knowledge Organiser.

Year 5/6 are working in Unity while holding their BHF Dodgeball Tournament. Remembering the 5 rules- dodge, duck, dip, dive and DODGE!! to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.  Each team has come up with their team name, slogan and entrance music. All the children showed great teamwork and sportsmanship, encouraging and supporting whichever team was playing. Sponsorship amounts are starting to come in and the big total will be revealed in assembly.  

Year 5 & 6 joined together to complete a day of activities, fully immersing themselves in their new project Blood Heart.

Following a carousel of activities the children worked scientifically to understand the human circulatory system. They learned where different organs were positioned within the body and how the heart had to send oxygenated blood to these and muscles too. 
Another of the activities involved handling a sheep’s heart: taking part in a dissection and looking internally to identify the different chambers of the heart. Discussions were had to show understanding of how the heart and lungs work together to oxygenate the blood and the direction that blood passes through these chambers. 

The final activity in the carousel was to work artistically and create a 3D model of a human heart: showing the veins and arteries.