Ash 2019 2020

ASH CLASS 2020/2021

Please scroll down to see the fantastic learning in Ash class

2019/2020

Ash Class

Spring Term 2020

Please scroll down to see what Ash class have been upto.

Over the last week, we have completed a fantastic Art project & used it as a vehicle for writing in English.  The children have been learning about the Mayans and in Ash class we have really enjoyed learning about the different gods that they believed in.  As part of our Art project we researched Mayan masks, designed a mask for our Mayan god & then created it using cardboard before finally adding a splash of colour.  A big thankyou to Mrs Aitken for coming in to help with the painting.

In English, the children then thought about the Mayan god that they had created a mask for and wrote an information text about their god.  Both the writing and the masks are fantastic.  Have a look at the pictures below.   

There was excitement buzzing around Ash class on Thursday 16th January as we got fully immersed in learning about 'The Ancient Maya'.  We experienced the rainforest, the ruins at Tikal and Chichen Itza and dived into a Cenotes when we got to wear the virtual reality headsets - it really brought the learning we have done so far to life. 

The children also learnt about how the Maya made their clothes and they all had a go at weaving.  In the afternoon, we learnt our nahual name and how the Mayan calendar worked. As well as this, we also got to dress up as a Mayan and explored a variety of amazing artefacts, which included using a magnifying glass to look closely at the codex. 

Finally to end a spectacular day, we had a naming ceremony in the hall and learnt about the offerings the Mayans gave to the gods they worship.

Here are some things the children said throughout the day:

"Mrs Shoukry, this is awesome!" 

"I do like my History!"

"Wow, Mrs Shoukry I can see the monkeys in the rainforest!"

"I don't want to go home, I want to stay and learn more."

Have a look below at some of the pictures from the 'Mayan Day'.

                 Autumn 2 2019/2020

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This half-term we are going to be enjoying 'Clockwork' by Philip Pullman - both our reading and writing will be based around this fantastic book.  We have already explored the character of Dr Kalmenius  and gathered lots of fantastic new vocabulary for our Magpie board.  Over the next few weeks, we will look at characterisation and setting descriptions.

On Monday 11th November, we thought about all those who lost their lives fighting to keep our country safe and we thought about those service men and women who are still working hard today.  As part of Remembrance, the children completed an art project.  We looked at the artist Wassily Kandinsky and focused on his 'concentric circles'.  We linked the art to 'Remembrance Day' and the children imitated Kandinsky's circles and experimented with different tints and tones of red using powder paints.  They then chose their favourite tints and tones for their final poppy in the style of Kandinksy.  The children's work is on display in school and looks fantastic.  

The children's topic this half-term has been Ancient Egypt.  They have shown great enthusiasm throughout the learning especially when it came to learning about mummification and their beliefs in the afterlife. 

We looked at farming in Ancient Egypt and the 'Gift of the Nile'.  During the lesson, the children became the teachers and within their group put together a poster of information on a certain area of farming before teaching it to the rest of the class.  They then chose how to present their learning - there were some great informative posters!  

2018/2019

Ash Class

Scroll down to see all that we have been doing in Ash class

Happy New Year!  I hope you all enjoyed a lovely break with friends and family over the festive period.  

This half term is an extremely exciting half-term as the children put on their inventing hats as part of our topic.  Our topic is 'Bright Sparks!'. The children will be learning all about electricity so that they can invent and make their own electrical game ready to play with their parents at our maths café.  Watch out for more information and pictures as our learning unfolds and the sparks of our creative imaginations fly.

This week, the children have started their new English topic which is based on the animation 'Wing It' which is all about an inventor called Sherman.  He spends hours in his workshop planning and trying to create a flying machine but he keeps failing until one evening some aliens visit and give him a helping hand.  The next day, he wakes up with a fantastic idea and gets to work straight away. So far the children have looked at different pictures from the story and used the clues to make inferences and predictions about what they think might happen.  I have put the animation below so that the children can share the story with you at home as they thoroughly enjoyed it when we watched it together today. 

In English, we are linking our learning to our topic on Ancient Greece and we are studying a Greek myth.  The children explored a poem which described the Minotaur.  Once we had identified the different poetic techniques used to describe the character such as similes, metaphors and adjectives the children chose their own mythical creature and created their own poetry.  Have a read below at some of the poems. 

On Wednesday afternoon, we kick started our topic with a Greek Banquet for our WOW afternoon.  The children tasted and evaluated different Greek foods some of which they thought were delicious and others which caused funny faces to be pulled.  Our topic for this half-term is 'Groovy Greeks' and we will be looking at how buildings have been influenced by ancient Greek architecture.  

What a FANTASTIC start to the new school year we have had in Ash class.  The children have settled in incredibly well.  

On Monday, we kick started our topic 'Rockin' around the world' by thinking about the questions - What is underneath our feet?  Lots of children said mud or soil so we then thought about what makes soil.  In groups the children got a container and filled it with soil and water, shook it and watch it separate into different layers.  From there we observed, using magnifying glasses, and found that we saw lots of different things - dead leaves, bits of roots, small broken bits of twigs, pebbles and sand.  Have a look below at the scientists in action. 

Ash Class

Summer Term

For the second half of the summer term we have been learning all about the 'Battle of Britain'.  All of Key Stage Two were involved in the play 'We'll meet again' which gave them a real insight into life during the war for children.  On Friday 13th July we finished off our topic with a WOW out that was truly amazing - a trip to the air tattoo show.  The flying displays were spectacular and we got to see the planes that were flown during the Battle of Britain.  We were also lucky enough to see the red arrows take to the skies.  We explored the Techno Zone which was full of lots of fun hands on STEM activities for the children.  Take a look at some of the moments captured throughout the day.

In Ash class, we have be learning about living things for the first part of the Summer term.  We have been Scientists and looked at the 7 life processes of living things, the different groups of animals - mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, amphibians, vertebrates and invertebrates and we have used our knowledge of their characteristics to classify and group different animals.

This week, we have been using our artistic flare to end our topic.  At the beginning of the week, the children looked at the work of Georgia O'Keefe, an American artist who painted pictures of flowers.  We took to the great outdoors and selected a flower to sketch, we observed closely and drew the flower and then used our shading techniques to show the different light & dark areas on the petals.  Following this we then looked again at Georgia's work and the colours, tints and tones that she used in her paintings.  Using powder paints, the children experimented with different colours and finally chose the tints & tones for their final piece of artwork. Have a look at the children in action.  I have been blown away by the quality of art from everyone.  

Spring Term

What shall we do in the last Maths lesson before Easter - A MATHS THEMED EASTER EGG HUNT!  The children had great fun today solving fraction problems as part of their Easter Hunt.  With a map of the school and bundles of enthusiasm, the children raced around the school grounds finding the eggs.  In each egg there was a maths problem related to fractions which has been our maths topic recently.  I was so impressed with how the children applied their knowledge of fractions to solve the problems.

It has been an energetic afternoon in Key Stage Two today!  In P.E we have been learning how to play Dodgeball.  Within the sequence of learning we have focused on developing key skills which are used in the game such as dodging, catching and throwing.  Today, the whole of Key Stage Two took part in a tournament in the hall.  Below are some of the pictures of the children in action - everyone showed fantastic team spirit and brilliant sportsmanship.

Welcome back to Ash Class!

Spring Term

What a brilliant first Wednesday back after the half-term break.  Thank you to all the parents who came to the KS2 maths café today.  The bread making and tasting went down a storm.  It was fantastic to see the children playing the Roman Numeral games and activities with their parents.  The atmosphere and buzz in the classroom was lovely.

Roman Mosaics

We have had a fantastic last week before half-term.  During our topic sessions, we have researched, designed and made our own mosaic tiles.  Have a look at the pictures below to see the children in action and the final products.

Welcome to Ash Class 2017-2018!

Autumn 2nd Half

We have kick started our new topic for the second half of the Autumn Term with an amazing trip to the 'Black Country Living Museum'.  The topic is called 'Overground, Underground' and the children will be learning about the natural resources that are found underground in our local area and the Black Country. They will think about the past and learn about the mining of those natural resources and how this impacted the industries in our local area as well as thinking about today and how natural resources are used.

The children got a real feel for the life of a miner during the Victorian times at the Black Country Living Museum as we put our hard hats on and went down into a coal mine.  Through all the passageways there were figures explaining what people used to do down in the mines and how the coal was taken up to the surface and distributed.  Once we were out of the mine, we saw how the coal was used to make the fire to melt the iron so that nails and chains could be made.  We were lucky enough to have live demonstrations.

Have a look at some of the pictures to see how fantastic our WOW day really was and keep an eye out for the brilliant recounts that the children have written about the trip.

As part of our topic we have studied the work of the artist L. S Lowry.  The children looked at the colours that he used in his paintings and we experimented with making different colours by mixing using the primary colours. We used black and white paint to create different shades and tones.  Once the children had looked at colour mixing, they moved on to plan and create their own piece of art work inspired by Lowry.  Our work was based on his painting 'Yachts'. 

Autumn Term

What an exciting few weeks back we have had.  In topic, we have been learning all about the digestive system which was kick started with a digestive system demonstration on our WOW afternoon.  Once we had learnt about all the different parts, the children then worked in groups and created a 3D model of the digestive system.  We've also had fun learning about teeth and the different types of teeth we have in our mouths and their functions.  The children have used mirrors to have a look at their teeth and then using plastercine they made a model of the teeth in their mouths.  Take a look at some of the fab learning that has been going on!

We have had a fabulous Friday 13th October.  We were lucky enough to have an artist visit who taught us how to draw Wallace from 'Wallace and Gromit'.  We learnt about using dots to help us draw and thought about using our fingers to help us measure so that we could make our picture symmetrical. Everyone had success and more importantly every showed a fantastic attitude - we definitely developed our growth mindset by persevering, learning from the mistakes we made and realising to do a good job, that we are proud of, might take some time and effort.  Take a look below at the children's success with Art.