Bluebirds were very excited to begin their new topic about Ancient Egyptians this afternoon. The class soon got to work using atlases to discover where in the world Egypt is in relation to the UK and then located the countries and seas of Africa.

Mrs Parry asked the children what they already knew about Egyptians.

Jacob – They had mummies.
Seth – They wrapped the body in bandages. They had lots of different Gods.
Dewha – They built pyramids.
Dylan – They may have had traps inside the pyramids to protect treasure.
Lexi – The River Nile is the longest river in the world.

Bluebirds learnt that counties are smaller areas within the UK, containing lots of towns and villages. They are the top level of local government and look after education, libraries, transport, waste management, social care, fire and public safety. Bluebirds used a map to find out which county Birmingham is in (West Midlands) and then locate neighbouring counties.

Bluebirds have been learning all about the uses of rivers and the impact man has upon them.

Rivers are used for fishing, farming, transport and tourism. Here are the positive and negative reasons we thought of…

After learning so much about rivers and completing additional research on the internet, Bluebirds have been busy writing a non-chronological report in their Topic lesson this week! They were also able to draw on their knowledge of the River Nile from when they learnt all about Egyptians in Year 3.

Bluebirds used Google maps and Ordnance Survey maps to find the route of the River Rea. They discovered the source of the river is at Waseley Hills and realised that rivers always run from higher to lower ground. We looked at the difference in maps as we found Cannon Hill Park which is where some of the children have seen the river as it is culvertised in many areas. We also used a key to find what the symbols on the OS map represented. The children enjoyed seeing the map and then comparing this to the satellite photos on Google maps. The river is 14 miles long.

Bluebirds have began their new topic, learning about the rivers and seas in the UK and worldwide.

Some children knew some facts already. They realised they had already learnt lots about the River Nile whilst studying their topic on Ancient Egyptians. Some children could name a few UK rivers and many knew where the River Thames was. Kerris knew a river runs through Cannon Hill Park. Mrs Parry explained this was the River Rea and its source is at the Waseley Hills. Mrs Parry told Bluebirds about another local river that the class had crossed over on their trip to Sarehole Mill, when they studied The Stone Age. This is the River Cole!

The children used atlases to locate the seas surrounding the UK and some of the main rivers in the UK. Carefully, the children used the maps to find out which sea the river flowed into.

Well done Year 3!

Bluebirds found out what a county was today and then used a UK map to find some counties, making a key for each one. They learned that a county is the top level of local government who controls the local area and services within it, such as education, transport, policing, fire safety, social care, libraries and waste management. We also found the UK on our globe and found out which countries make up the United Kingdom and their respective capital cities.

Taya – The capital of England is London. I’ve been to Cardiff before.
Moharnab – I’ve visited Edinburgh and the castle when I lived in Scotland.
Nyeema – Birmingham is in the West Midlands

Today we have learnt that the source of a river is where the river starts and the mouth of a river is where the river ends. We made a river by pouring water down a steep slope and watching the streams join together to make a larger stream of water.

We used maps to find 10 rivers in the UK. We worked out where they start and where they end.