Floating Needle Experiment

Science

Did you know you can make a compass out of a needle? 

Bluebirds did exactly that in science today, they used their investigating skill to find out which way north is, only using very simple equipment.

In small groups the children were given a bowl of water, a leaf, magnet, and a needle.

How to do the experiment:

First, fill a bowl with water.

Then rub the needle with the magnet 50 times. 

Carefully, float the leaf on the water.

Place the needle on the leaf.

Finally, watch the magic happen. 

What do you think will happen ?

It’s a simple experiment and a great way to introduce the concepts of magnetism, magnetic poles and the Earth’s magnetic field.

Understanding Harvest

RE
Bluebirds learnt all about why Christians celebrate today.  They looked at the school blog to see how Year 5 helped with the event this year by taking donations from the school to the farmhouse.  The food was given to those who needed it most.
The children made a list of all the words they could make using the letters from the word HARVEST and found quite a few linked to the theme such as eat, share, save, starve, heart and Earth.  Everyone worked together to compose a whole class acrostic poem! Excellent work everyone!

A Missing Chapter

English
At the the moment Bluebirds are reading KrindleKrax by Philip Ridley.  We have reached the part where the main character (Ruskin) has lost his only friend and now feels more alone than ever. Ruskin then blames all in Lizard Street for his friend’s death, telling each one how and what they had done to harm Corky.
After, many of the residents of Lizard Street come to see Ruskin and say how worried they were about him because he would not come out of his bedroom.  They started to share stories of how his best friend (Corky the caretaker) had received his medal for saving Lizard Street and other items that Corky had left to Ruskin.
The book talks about how Ruskin was inspired by listening to the stories and how he was going to solve the problem of KrindleKrax in the sewers and become the hero.
Bluebirds have been challenged to write the missing chapter from the book. After the children had written and drawn their plan, they each told one another what their chapter held and what would happen to poor Ruskin.

 

Exciting Science!

Science
Bluebirds have been investigating which materials can shield a magnetic field. They looked at what a magnetic field was and how it works in the world around them. They looked at a train in Japan called the Maglev Train and how the magnetic field help to propel it across country. They also learned how magnets can push or pull each other using the correct terms, repel (north to north or south to south )and attract (north to south or south to north).
They used a paper clip attached to thread and a magnet attached to the table.
Carefully they set the paper clip near the magnet but not touching it, this created their own magnetic field. Bluebirds placed different materials between the magnet and the paper clip, looking to see which one would break the magnetic field.

Champion Words

English
Bluebirds were very excited this morning when Mrs Parry asked them if they would like to wrote the next chapter of the class reader Krindlekrax.   They set to work planning what happens when the main character, who is called Ruskin, confronts the crocodile in the sewer.
The children were thinking of suitable vocabulary to describe the smell starting with words such as smelly, stinky and whiffy.  The children recalled previous adjectives they’d used when they described the monsters they had invented such as putrid and pungent.  Elias suggested FETID which was a word the class discovered back in Year 2, when they read with Mrs Parton, in guided reading.  Wow what a great memory you have Elias! Bluebirds  decided to use this as a champion word and added it to their Word Wall.

Stonehenge

History

Bluebirds were fascinated to learn all about Stonehenge this afternoon and took a virtual tour of the site.

They were amazed at both at the size and the construction of Stonehenge and how people used two types of stone.

The children were asked what they thought Stonehenge was used for when it was first built.

Here are some of their clever ideas:

Alexander R – It was built for shelter.

Yusuf – It is a timeline.

Sam – A monument for a person.

Tatenda – They made it to represent the Stone Age.

Reva – It looks like a clock to tell the time.

Charlie thought it was an animal trap of some kind.

The children then went on to discovered it was used for healing, worship and burial. It shows us that in the Stone Age, people believed in worshipping Gods including sun gods.

Enjoying Motown!

Music
Bluebirds enjoyed listening to some Motown in music lessons today.  Ain’t No Mountain High Enough proved to be the favourite song so far with the class! The children discussed the  pitch and dynamics of the song. Next the children practised copying and listening on glockenspiels before having a go at improvising.   A special well done to Karly, Maya, Jack and Jacob for some brilliant improvisation – they bravely performed in front of the rest of the class!

Compliment Postcards

PSHE
The children in Bluebirds each wrote a postcard to another child in their class letting them know how great they truly are.
Each child was given the name of another child name in secret, they then thought about the anti-bullying theme for this year, One Kind Word, and came up with their own message for their unique and fantastic classmates.
 Well Done Bluebirds you truly are amazing.