Ice Balls

Miss Ash brought in some ice balls and we worked in groups to make careful observations of what happened to them throughout the day.

Introduction to forces

Our science topic this half-term is 'Forces'. We had a ball of modelling clay and we used pushes and pulls to change its shape. We twisted, stretched, squashed, pinched, rolled and flattened the clay. When we twisted we could feel one hand pushing and the other pulling. 
Then we drew circus acrobats on card. Using the clay we made a curved base so the acrobats could be flipped over but would flip upright by themselves. 
We explored how to make cars speed up, slow down and change direction. These photos show us working, exploring, discussing and testing.
Introduction to forces on PhotoPeach

Which glue sticks the best?

We have been learning about buildings. The bricks are 'glued' together with cement. In school we use different types of glue. We did an investigation to find out whether all glues have the same ability to stick. 
First, we stuck 4 buttons onto card. We used PVA, glue gun, UHU stick and a 'homemade' glue, which was a paste of flour mixed with water. When the four glues were dry we held our card upside down to see if any buttons would fall off.  
At first they didn't but the next day some of the buttons did fall off. We all got different results but with one thing in common - none of the buttons stuck with glue from the glue gun fell off!
Also, one glue really surprised us. Do you know which one?

Ice Balls

Our Science topic this half-term is all about changing materials. This week we explored ice. Miss Ash filled balloons with water and then put them in her freezer. Overnight the water froze solid and became ice. In class we cut off the balloons and inside we found beautiful ice balls.

We worked in groups to groups to observe and discuss what we noticed about the ice. There were different patterns, the outside was smooth and they felt cold and slippery to the touch. We sprinkled salt on our ice balls and we could hear cracking sounds. The ice melted quicker in the places where we had sprinkled the salt and when the salty water dribbled down the sides it cut a path in the ice which made the sides rough with ridges and valleys.

The next day the ice balls had completely melted and we did some shared writing based on our experience. Miss Ash collected all our ideas from the brainstorm on a big sheet of paper. Then we took turns to suggest ideas from the brainstorm to include in our shared piece of writing. We made it into this poem.

an ice dragon’s egg

glowing like a giant marble

fragile glass

streaked with bright rivers of colour

cracks tell us it’s hatching

imagine skating on its smooth surface

explosive patterns burst inside

an ice egg

from a frozen world

Electricity

In our science lessons we have been learning about electricity. Last week we learnt about the dangers of electricity and now we are learning how to build an electrical circuit. We all managed to light the bulb and some of us were able to include a switch in our circuits. Our next task is to light up Rudolf's nose. Watch this space for photos...
Here they are!

Photos of our floating and sinking investigation

We finished our Forces topic in Science with an investigation into whether objects float or sink. We worked really well in our groups to take turns, to listen to each other and to avoid flooding the classroom. 

Bikes in School!

Today we brought our bikes and scooters into school. While we were in our French lesson, Miss Ash and Mrs Greenland went outside and drew a road system with chalk onto the playground. There were T-junctions, zebra crossings and roundabouts. They put out lots of road signs to help us find our way and stay safe. After French, we all went into the playground and worked in groups taking it in turns to sketch our bikes, to carry out a bike-check and to ride around on the roads. We learnt loads about road signs, about the details on our bikes (we had to look very carefully as we sketched) and about how to ride safely and confidently. But most importantly, we had wonderful fun!

Bike day -IPC Transport Topic on PhotoPeach