Happy New Year!

We hope you have all had a lovely Christmas break and we are looking forward to seeing all the children back in school. Please see the gallery for our topic web and optional home learning grid for this term.

In term 3, Badgers class are swimming on Tuesday mornings (for 6 weeks) and they have an outdoor PE lesson on Thursday afternoons (Netball). Please bring gloves for our outdoor lesson while the weather is so cold.

Term 3 

Week 4

English - This week in English we have been focusing on using paragraphs correctly and how to use fronted adverbials in disussion texts. We looked at using adverbials to show the order of ideas, e.g. firstly, secondly, finally and using adverbials to show the other side of the argument, e.g. on the other hand, however, although etc. 

Maths - We have started to learn about area this week, which is the total space taken up by a 2d surface or shape of an object. 

We are still continuing to focus on our times table recall - keep up the practise!

Art - This week we learnt how to draw a landscape with perspective, by using the horizon line and the vanishing point. 

Computing - We have started a unit on programming this term, using the software 'FMSLogo'. We learnt some basic commands that enabled us to move the pen forwards, backwards and turn left and right. We experimented with different commands to see which shapes we could create. 

Week 3

English - This week in English we have identified the different features of a discussion in our model text and we have explored how to use the conjunctions: however, although and despite. Can your child use these in a sentence?

Maths - We have been learning the compact written method for short multiplication this week. It's been a good opportunity to practise our times table recall! Can your child explain the method to you?

Topic - This week we have been learning about the journey of a river and how they are formed. We learnt that the source is the place where the river begins and that as the river flows through the land, they change shape and size due to erosion. The wide part of the river near the sea is called an estuary. The mouth of the river is where the tide meets the river's stream. Next week we are going to look more closely at the River Thames. 

Art - We have been learning about how to use perspective in our landscape pictures. We explored how to use the horizon line and vanishing point to create a 3d landscape. 

Science

We have been exploring how sound waves travel differently through air and solids and using this to explain how string telephones work. Lots of excellent observations by Badgers including noticing the sound was more muffled; the looser the string, the quieter the sound and the shorter the string, the louder the sound.

Poetry by Heart

We have begun learning our poems for this competition-Badgers have brought their chosen poem home-please help them to practise at home if possible and we will be having more sessions learning in class too-they are very inspired by it!

Week 2

English - This week we have been looking closely at our model text. We have created a story map to help us remember the text, explored some of the vocabulary and 'boxed up' the text, which helps us understand what each paragraph should contain.

Maths - This week we have been multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100. When we multiply, the digits move to the left once for 10 and twice for 100. When we divide, the digits move to the right. 

We were really impressed with how much progress some of the children made with their times table recall this week - keep it up!

Topic - In topic this week, we have been learning about human and physical features. A human feature is something that has been created by humans (such as buildings, roads ect.), whereas a physical feature is something natural (such as rivers, mountains etc.) We explored the physical and human features in Oxford and considered why these made Oxford a desirable place for people to settle in the past and present.

Art - In art this term, we are learning about painting and landscapes. This week, we learnt about tints (adding white to a colour) and shades (adding black to a colour). We also explored different ways to use the paintbrush to achieve different effects. Have a look in our gallery for some photos!

Week 1

English - We have started our new writing unit, which is discussion texts. During this, we will be learning how to present a balanced argument, discussing both sides fairly, then giving our own opinion at the end. For our 'cold' task, we wrote a balanced argument about whether children should do online learning if we have a snow day (no such luck yet!). What do you think?

Maths - This week we have been learning about factors. A factor is one of two or more numbers that divides into a number without a remainder. For example, 10 is a factor of 30 since 30 divided by 10 is 3. However, 10 is not a factor of 27 because 27 divided by 10 is 2 with a remainder of 7. We are also learning the relevant vocabulary: factor X factor = product. We have also learnt the term 'commutative'. Multiplication is commutative because you can change the order of the numbers and still get the same answer (same as addition). 

Topic - In topic this term we are doing a local study of Oxford. For our first lesson, we looked at the difference between a continent, country and county. Can your child explain the difference to you?

Times table challenge - To help motivate the children to learn their times tables, we are doing a weekly multiplication challenge. This will focus on how many new facts they have learnt and increasing the speed of their recall. Any support you can give your child to help them learn these will be much appreciated! 

Term 2

Roman Day!

Badgers class had a brilliant Roman day – everyone looked great in their costumes! We had a debate about whether Boudicca was a villain or hero, made Roman honey biscuits and got to look at real Roman artefacts, where we tried to work out what they were and who would have used them. We really enjoyed sharing our learning with our families and showing them some army formations with the Roman shields we had made in DT. Have a look in the gallery for some photos!

Week 4 

English - This week we studied our innovated newspaper report, based on Boudicca's rebellion against the Romans. We also discussed how to create a headline that will grab the readers' attention and including the 5 W's (who, what, when, where, why) in the opening paragraph. 
 

Maths - This week we have been exploring the relationship between the 3, 6 and 9 times tables. How does knowing the 3 times table help you with the 6 and 9 times tables? Remember to keep practising at home! 
 

Pantomine - Badgers class really enjoyed our annual pantomime, 'Dick Whittington' at the Oxford Playhouse. There was lots of singing and dancing and audience participation! 
 

Art - We made our own Roman inspired mosaics. Have a look in the gallery for some photos. 

Week 3

English – This week we've been focusing on some of the grammatical features of a newspaper report. We have learnt about subordinating conjunctions, using direct quotes, writing in a formal tone and using the past tense. 

Maths – We've been busy starting our assessments in maths this week! We have started to look at the 9 times table, in relation to the 3 and 6 times table. How does knowing your 3 times table help you with the 6 and 9 times table?

Oracy - Badgers class have been really enjoying their 'Talk Tuesday' oracy sessions. Each week we have a different question to discuss. We are currently focusing on 3 areas of a discussion: instigating, building on and challenging other people's points. This week our question was: If you had 24hrs to travel to either the past or future, where would you go and why? 

Week 2

English – We've been looking closely at the structure and features of a newspaper article. We have written our toolkit of features, which includes: headline, the 5 W's in the opening paragraph (who, what, when, where and why), witness quotes, conjunctions, third person, formal tone and past tense. Remember to bring in any good examples of newspaper articles if you have any at home.

Maths – This week we've been looking at fact families and bar models in relation to multiplication and division. For example:

6 x 4 = 24

4 x 6 = 24

24 ÷ 6 = 4

24 ÷ 4 = 6

We are focusing on the 3 and 6 times table at the moment. Remember to keep practising these at home!

Topic – This week we learnt about Boudicca's rebellion in 60 AD. The Iceni tribe rebelled against the Romans as they tried to take over their land after Boudicca's husband's death. They took advantage of the Roman legions being in North Wales and they set to overthrow Roman rule. Although they didn't succeed, they did destroy the town of Colchester and then went onto ransack London and St. Albans. We discussed both Boudicca's and the Roman's point of view. Were the Iceni tribe right to rebel?

Week 1

A great week back to school!

English-Badgers are starting to study newspaper reports this term-please bring in any good examples of news articles that the children might like to share in class. We are learning a model text all about the Roman invasion of Britain and focussing on the features of newspaper reports.

Maths- Over the next couple of weeks we are working on multiplication facts and how to apply these to problem solving. Keep practising the quick recall of these facts...we have a challenge coming this term to help the children learn them!

Remembrance-Well done Badgers on being part of the School Remembrance assembly and sharing a poignant poem written by a teenager for the Festival of Remembrance. Thank you Hector, Issy, Amelia and Anna for reading it so beautifully.

Term 1

Week 2

Coding session 

We had a great session today, using 'MakeCode Arcade'. Firstly, we learnt how to create our own sprite and set a background for a game. We then learnt how to make the code to control our sprite and we experimented with some of the variables. See our gallery for some photos. 

Science

We started exploring 'States of Matter' this week. Badgers enjoyed exploring solids, liquids and gases to classify them accurately. There were lots of good questions and observations: "What state are bubbles?" (Rufus), "is corn flour and water a solid or liquid?" (Maria). We will have to do some investigating further next week...

Music

Badgers had their first lesson with Mrs Andrews-they loved playing Beat Master, trying to work out who had started the beat in different ways-some Badgers had eagle eyes and were very speedy!

PE-Rugby

We FINALLY managed to fit our rugby lesson in between the showers! Excellent running, passing and team work-it was great to see lots of skill progression in just one lesson!

Nest

We enjoyed making (and tasting!) apple crumble this week in the Nest, being careful with using the knife to cut apples up, and mixing oats and flour to make a crunchy topping. See the class gallery for some photos!

Week 3

Another great week Badgers!

English-Badgers have practised using fronted adverbials, expanded noun phrases and sentences of three to create vivid descriptions for a reader-watch this space next week for some examples!
Science-WOW! We learned all about Ooblek this week and how it behaves like both a liquid and a solid- ask the children all about it!

K-Nex

Badgers have started to experiment with how K-Nex can be a brilliant learning tool. Check out our initial trials in the gallery...

Week 4

A very busy week in Badgers! 

Day of languages

Some wonderful engaging learning across the different languages studied. We were really impressed with the pronunciation in Spanish and enthusiasm to have a go! Enjoy the greetings fortune tellers they bring home.

Maths

Badgers developed discussion skills in maths this week, explaining to each other the errors they can see in ordering 4 digit numbers...ask your badger to explain the mistake in this ascending order:

2352     3215    452    5216     6127

English

Some powerful descriptive language used in our setting writing in a metropolis... see some examples in our gallery.

Art

In art we have been learning about the architect and designer from Spain, Antoni Gaudi. His designs were inspired by the beauty of nature and he pioneered a special mosaic technique called Trencar, which is still used today. 

Week 5

Maths 

This week we have been learning to round to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000, using a helium balloon! Ask your child if they can explain how using a helium balloon can help with rounding numbers.

English

We have been writing our own opening to a warning/journey story. It has three parts: opening, character and build-up. Can your child tell you their story?

Topic

This week, we have learnt about what daily life in ancient Rome was like. We looked at their technology, hygiene, life as a child, houses and food. Did you know they used urine to wash their clothes!?

Science

Great exploration of changes of state this week! We examined and explored the terms MELTING, FREEZING, EVAPORATING and CONDENSING. Can the children explain to you about these processes and the temperatures that water freezes and boils? Could they try freezing some different liquids-what happens?

Week 6

Maths

This week, we have recapped the compact written method for addition, including exchanges. We've discussed different strategies to mentally add single digits together, such as applying our number bonds to 10 and using our double/near double number facts. Can your child explain the written method to you using the question below:

4568 + 3266

English

We are really enjoying our new unit on Limericks! After reading lots of different examples, we identified the features. We looked at how many syllables each line contained and the rhyming pattern. Can your child explain the features to you?

We also learnt and performed a limerick to the class. Can your child still remember it?

Topic 

This week, we learnt about the rise of the Roman Empire and the geographical spread of the Roman influence. We discussed why the Romans wanted more land and why they were successful at achieving this.

Week 7 

English 

We've been examining the features and themes of Limerick poems this week. We really enjoyed exploring rhymes and finding our own rhyming words. We are now planning and writing our own Limericks - we can't wait to share them with you!

Maths 

This week we have been learning the compact written method for subtraction with exchanging. Can your child explain the method to you using these questions:

7629 - 3472        8427 - 5236

Topic

Last week we learnt about the geographical spread of the Roman Empire. This week, we focused on how the Romans invaded Britain. Did you know it took three attempts for them to succussfully invade Britain?

Computing

We have been exploring if we can trust everything we read online. How do we now if a story is true? These are some of the questions we considered to help us: