STEP 4 MATHS

 Maths Week

Children in classes from 2nd to 6th made math's games for math's week this year. On Friday everyone explained their games and all children got a chance to play each game, the variety and selection of games made by children was fantastic!! 

Using Math's Skills and Knowledge in Baking:

Children in Ms Beecher's class love baking!!  Before the Easter Holidays this year while learning about birds in Science they made chocolate nests and even put eggs into them. The ingredients were measured using 2 different weighing scales and when the  nests were complete each pupil had to count to see how many eggs they could fit.

Maths Trails

Mrs Doheny organizes Math's Trails for the school every year and this year was no different. Everyone really enjoyed their math's trails. It was great to see everyone trying to problem solve together and finding everything on their trail with each others help. It was a team effort in every class. Thank you Mrs Doheny for coordinating our math's trails again!!!

STEP 3 Engineering

 Investigate and develop an understanding of how everyday items work:

 3rd class 

STEM Activity: Pushes and Pulls, Forces, Making things Move. - Link to Engineer's Week

Strands: Energy and Forces 

Strand Unit: Forces 

Content of Lessons/Learning Activities:  

The children will be enabled to:   

explore how objects may be moved by pushing and pulling by twisting and stretching by machines (e.g. rollers, wheels, pulleys) design and make a machine that moves by pushing/pulling.  

We revised Magnetism - with a powerpoint to revise how the magnet attracts and repels. Next we  looked at other Forces. We watched a powerpoint, during a live online lesson that included a video that showed different Pushes and Pulls. The children had to identify everyday items that move because they are pushed or pulled. We discussed how different objects moved, example a buggy, a boat, bells in a church, a sled and the forces that moved them.

Activity: 

The children had to design and build something that involves pushes/pulls.

Textbook reference: Earthlink p86/87, gave a few different options to design and make. 

I also attached an idea for making a magnetic powered car and suggested that they could come up with their own idea to design and make themselves.  The object had to involve some element of pushing/pulling, in order to make it move. 

Differentiation: Each child worked to their own ability - some children made a lego car that moved with a push from a hand, other children made a magnetic car, others used different methods to make an object move. 

The children shared their creations on a live online class and were able to demonstrate how they moved. 

Design and Make Activities 

While working from home 5th and 6th class were asked to design a wind powered car, here is an example of the fantastic work done on this project!

STEP 2 TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

Using ICT for Tessellation activities in 3rd class 

In Third Class, we have been learning about how shapes tesselate. We watched a video on the interactive whiteboard describing what tessellation means, using real life examples. We then had some hands on experience of manipulating shapes, in our groups,  to see if they would tesselate. As part of the School Math's Trail, the children had to find examples of tessellation inside and outside the school. For homework, the children played a game online, that required them to choose different shapes and rotate them until they could tesselate. We also had a go at this game in the classroom, on the interactive whiteboard.

It was great fun!

https://www.nctm.org/Classroom-Resources/Illuminations/Interactives/Tessellation-Creator/

 

Safer Internet Day

This year we were all doing our school work from home for Safer Internet Day but that didn't stop us from marking the day. Every class in the school took part in Safer Internet activities with their teachers. Children in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th class had an online workshop with Ger Brick from InetSafetyTalk which everyone really enjoyed. Ger gave us lots of practical tips for how to stay safe on the internet and how to be responsible when we are online. The parents in our school were also invited to an Internet Safety Information Talk with Ger Brick in the evening, We got lots of positive feedback from this event, All children receive their safer Internet Day wrist bands when they returned to school. 

Scratch

Ms McCole takes children in groups every Wednesday for Scratch, everyone who takes part really enjoys this and we are delighted with the progress everyone has made in coding.