Chestnut Class Blog

Chestnut class have had a very productive week back. In science, the children conducted their own flower experiment by working in groups to decide which variable they would like to remove from the 5 elements a plants need to survive, and deciding on the most suitable place to position it within the classroom. The children are looking forward to seeing how it affects the flowers’ growth. In Art, we have been beginning to sketch our final piece for our ‘beautiful botanical’ unit. The final piece involves choosing their favourite fruit to sketch from different angles as well as thinking about what it looks like when it’s cut open. The adults in the class were super impressed with the focus and determination. In PSHE, we finished our unit on relationships by thinking about who is important to us and why. The children were tasked to think about how they can show gratitude to those we care about.

Chestnut class thoroughly enjoyed their trip to cattle country last week. It was amazing to see the smiles on their faces and them working together as a team. The adults in the class were impressed with how they represented the school, showing all of the pride values. One of the Cattle Country members of staff even commented saying ‘this is the best-behaved class I have ever seen’ whilst we were waiting to enter the soft play barn. Well done Chestnut class, we are very proud of you.
This week in maths we are continuing to focus on learning the time, although it has been tricky the class are showing lots of perseverance and determination whilst in English, we have been writing setting and character descriptions based on the clip ‘Dream giver’. We have also been predicting what will happen next. The children are excited to find out what happens next in the clip.

Chestnut class have had a busy start to the week. In English we have been preparing to write our own stories based on ‘Jim and the beanstalk’ by Raymond Briggs. Today, we focused on the setting and Mrs M-P was impressed with our ideas. In Maths we started our unit on time, starting with roman numerals. In computing the children made animations using iMotion linked to our topic The romans. In DT, we have been looking at the best structures for our greenhouses by using sweets and cocktail sticks to explore how to make the strongest structure. It was so much fun! ‘

Chestnut class have been showing lots of determination and focus today especially in English as the children have been writing their independent diary entries based on the story ‘Jim and the beanstalk’. In Maths, we have been continuing to learn about finding fractions of amounts, specifically focusing on at non-unit fractions today. In R.E, we have been thinking about what qualities Jesus would want in a disciple whilst in outdoor learning Jennie talked to the class about the importance of ‘No Mow May’. The children then undertook two activities including making a ‘No Mow May’ tile as well as exploring our outdoor spaces for food for butterflies. We are looking forward to the week, especially celebrating the coronation on Friday afternoon.

Chestnut class have had a very busy first day back. In Guided Reading, we used retrieval and inference to draw a picture about the section of the text and deduced what the title of the text could be. In English we read our new focus book ‘Jim and the beanstalk’ by Raymond Briggs and described the two main characters. The adults were impressed with some of the adjectives we used to describe Jim and the Giant. This afternoon, we designed pots for our sunflower seeds to be planted in and designed our own book marks called ‘hapa zome’. We have had a fantastic start to the term and are looking forward to all the other exciting things that will be happening.

I would firstly like to congratulate Chestnut class on their class assembly on Monday. All the adults in the class were super impressed with how you all used your courage to stand up in front of an audience and talk about what we have been learning as well as perform ‘Please Mrs Butler’ by Allan Ahlberg and ‘The Tunnel’ by Anthony Browne. Well done!

On Monday, Chestnut class also loved watching the string quartet alongside the rest of the school. They were amazed by how many different sounds string instruments could make. In outdoor learning today, we looked for signs of Spring, whilst in English we are preparing to write our own independent Newspaper reports. We are all looking forward to our final swimming lesson tomorrow.

Chestnut class have been showing lots of determination this week during English as they have been writing their own narrative based on the story ‘The Lion and the Mouse’ by Jerry Pinkney. The adults were super impressed with their focus. In Science, we have been observing the effects of magnetism by placing magnets in different positions under a piece of card and sprinkling iron filing over to see what would happen. The children were amazed with the results (see photos). Chestnut class have also enjoyed taking part in outdoor learning where they created their own animal crafts and in the sport taster sessions which included: football golf, fencing, commercial dance and cheerleading. Wow, what a busy week we’ve had so far.

This week in Chestnut class we have been busy preparing to write a non-chronological report on volcanoes during our geography lessons. We have been showing lots of determination to consider the best way to present our reports. In English, we are writing a story based on the lion and the mouse by Jerry Pinkney. The children have been trying really hard to order the story and learn the features of a narrative. The children continue to show lots of determination during swimming sessions and have loved making food webs during outdoor learning.

Chestnut class have continued to show lots of determination during their swimming lesson this week. The adults are so proud of how much progress they are making. In outdoor learning, we went on a gratitude hunt whilst in geography, we have been exploring volcanoes by labels their parts, identifying the different types and the different volcano statuses. In maths we are continuing to learn multiplication using distributive law and in English we have been working really hard writing our independent shape poems. We can’t wait for them to go on display.

Wow! What a busy first week Chestnut class have had on the first week back after half term. In Science, we have been learning about magnets, exploring the north and south poles. The children were captivated by how they repel and attract. In maths, we have started our multiplication and division unit and in English we are writing shapes poems based on nature. In outdoor learning this week, the children went on a scavenger hunt and also dissected owl pallets; to their amazement they found lots of tiny vole and mice bones (see the pictures). During world book day, the children thoroughly enjoyed going to the library, loaning a book out and spending time reading with their parents.

The last week of this term has been a busy one for Chestnut class, we have been busy writing our setting descriptions based on a forest from the book ‘The Tunnel’ by Anthony Browne. In Maths, we had a test on all the units we covered this term; the adults in the class are super proud of our determination and perseverance we showed. In Design and Technology (DT), we have been each creating a cam mechanism, it was really fun but we needed to show lots of teamwork, determination and patience and in outdoor learning we made bug hotels for the insects to live in. We filled them with leaves and bamboo sticks. We were very happy with the end result.

This week Chestnut class have been very busy using the data we collected in last week’s science experiment to create a graph of the results. We have also been determined to continue to learn how to subtract using column subtraction. The adults are super proud with how well they are doing. In English we have started a new unit of setting descriptions, where we have been finding the features in a model text. In outdoor learning today with Jennie, we discussed the difference between invertebrate and vertebrate then went on a bug hunt. It was so much fun! The children found many insects such as worms, spiders, slugs and centipedes.

Chestnut class have been working really hard on column subtraction this week. It has been really tricky learning how to exchange. The adults in the class are very proud of the determination we are showing. We have also been learning about how fossils are made in geography and we are looking forward to writing an explanation text on it next week in our independent books. In outdoor learning this week, we have been role-playing animals and nature this week. We pretended to be squirrels hiding nuts and seeds so no other animal would find or steal them. We also acted out being sycamore leaves twirling around in the wind and dispersing our seeds so we can grow in the spring. It was great fun.

Chestnut class have been very creative in art this term; we have been learning about ammonites. The last couple of weeks we been researching, sketching, sculpting and then painting our very own fossils. Today, we have been reflecting on our creations, thinking about what went well and what we’d like to improve on. In English, we have started our new unit based on the book ‘The Tunnel’ by Anthony Browne. We have been thinking about the characters personalities as well as how their feeling towards each other change throughout the book in order to write a piece of dialogue. In outdoor learning this week, Jennie taught us how to make two different kinds of bird feeders using apples and lard. We also learnt about many different species of birds that live in the UK. We had a fabulous time! ‘

This week Chestnut class have been preparing to write their own character descriptions of the wolf in our focus book ‘Wolves’ by Emily Gravett. We have been exploring powerful adjectives that we can use when writing expanded noun phrases. On Monday, we concluded our fraction unit and have begun addition using a written format. We have been thinking about the value of each number when adding two 3-digit numbers together and gaining confidence each lesson! Whilst in outdoor learning we have been learning about the different types of nest birds and squirrels make and deciding which one we wanted to re-create. We had such fun exploring the different natural materials that wildlife use when making their homes.

Chestnut class have had a brilliant start to the new term. In English, we are reading the book ‘Wolves’ my Emily Gravett to help us write a character description. We have been identifying which parts of the book are fact and which parts are fiction and have also been expressing our opinion on the characters in the book. In Maths, we have been learning to order and compare fractions using pictorial images to help us understand, whilst in outdoor learning today the children made their own composts. They gathered sticks, leaves, dug up mud with a folk and even searched for a worm or 2. Chestnut class thoroughly enjoyed this session, even if they did get rather muddy

Chestnut class are continuing to get in the Christmas spirit this week by preparing to write a story on the video clip ‘Mog’s Christmas calamity’. We have been thinking about the order of each event in the clip and interpreting the feelings and actions of Mog the cat. In geography we have been learning about the 4 layers of our planet, exploring how hot each layer is and what each layer is made up of. In outdoor learning we were also getting into the festive spirit as Jennie taught us how to make wreaths using willow branches and a range of leaves and plants. The children had great fun learning this new skill.

We have had a great start to the week in Chestnut class. In English, we have been getting into the Christmas spirit by coming up with ideas on the best way to get a glimpse of Santa on Christmas eve using the book ‘How to Catch Santa’ by Jean Reagan as a stimulus. The children have had great fun thinking of the wildest yet effective way to catch him. In maths, we have just begun our subtraction unit where we have been using our knowledge of number facts to help us work the calculation out. Meanwhile in outdoor learning, we have been learning about how trees grow as well as having the opportunity to plant our very own. We have placed them in the window of our classroom and we look forward to watching them grow as the year progresses.

This week in Chestnut class we have been continuing to learn the story ‘The Dragon Machine’ by Helen Ward in preparation for writing our own versions of the story next week. In maths, we are learning our 4 times tables. In Science, we have been using our knowledge of the bones in the human body to understand the importance of our joints. We even tried to have a drink of water without bending our elbow or wrist- it was impossible. Today in our outdoor learning with Jenny, we have been learning about native animals including the badger, fox and squirrel. We explored the outdoor area looking for clues that they have left behind, such as bones, footprints and half eaten or scratched nuts.

Chestnut class has thoroughly enjoyed labelling and learning about the bones in a human body this week. In maths, the children are learning the 3 times tables whilst in English they are finishing writing up their diaries as George from the Dragon Machine by Helen Ward.

Chestnut Class have had Willow this week. He has been helping to us learn about diary entries based on the story of the Dragon Machine. In maths, we are continuing to learn about properties of shape with a focus on 3D shapes. In our outdoor learning session, we learnt about the different species of bees and planted some bulbs so that when the bees come out of hibernation, they have something to eat.

Chestnut class have been busy this week in Science undertaking an experiment on different items of foods including nuts, crackers, chocolate and rice cakes to see which has the highest level of fat in them. We have also doing some outdoor learning where the children worked in groups to make Mandelas (see in pictures). In english we have just finishing writing our own free verse poem whilst in maths we continue to explore the property of shapes.

Chestnut class have been really busy since our last post. In English, we have been planning, writing and editing our own instruction text on ‘How to be a good leader’, In maths we have been naming and exploring angles. We have also had lots of fun sculpting god and goddesses out of clay (see pictures). Today in outdoor learning, we gathered some leaves and did some leaf rubbing (see pictures). We are looking forward the fun and learning heading our way for the rest of this week.

Chestnut class had a wonderful time during our outdoor learning yesterday. We were learning about the different types of trees including birch, oak, chestnut and sycamore then discovering which they could find in the playground. We also used the leaves of the trees we found to make crowns. We are looking forward to next week with Jennie.’