Author: Scott Grason-Taylor

It has been another brilliant week in Leaders class.

On Monday, the children enjoyed a history drama day, focussed on how punishment has changed over time. The children demonstrated their learning from the day by performing for the whole school to finish the day. On Tuesday, the Leaders made links to the previous day’s learning when they learned about how punishments were decided during the Anglo-Saxon time period. The children learned about the different courts, trials by ordeal and oath-bearers.

This week in English, we have continued to shared write an argument, considering if palm oil should be banned. The writing produced has been amazing and I am looking forward to seeing how the children apply their skills to their independent writing about plastic next week.

In RE, the Leaders have been thinking about the events that led to Jesus’ death. There were some incredibly thoughtful responses during this lesson. Next week, we will be considering why Jesus died and what this means to Christians.

In science, the children have continued to learn about life cycles. This week, the children focussed on amphibians, with a specific focus on frogs. The work produced was brilliant.

On Thursday, the final rehearsals took place before the Leaders class band takes to the stage at the Eskdale Festival on Monday. The children have worked incredibly hard and I am looking forward to seeing them perform together on stage.

To finish the week, Leaders tackled a longer pieces of text in French. The children were able to use cognates to understand the text, which was about our new French topic, the Olympics. The enthusiasm and understanding demonstrated was brilliant to see. 

Have a brilliant weekend. 

What a busy start to the new half-term Leaders have had!

In English, the children have been working incredibly hard on our new unit – balanced arguments. To start the unit, Leaders explored the features of a balanced argument before applying these features to their own writing. To do this, the children began by researching reasons for and against banning plastic, with brilliant discussions happening as a result of what was found out. This week, as a class, we have began our shared writing, considering if palm oil should be banned. Once this is complete, the children will then independently apply the skills that they have gained throughout the unit to their own independent piece about plastic.

In maths, the children have been busy working with decimals, with a focus on calculating equivalent fractions and decimals this week. 

In history,  Leaders learned about the changing role of police throughout history as part of our crime and punishment unit. They explored a text and retrieved the key dates from it to establish a timeline to mark the changes and key events. They found out that the first police force, which was established in 1829, wore top hats and carried truncheons. We were very lucky that a Leader had brought in her great great granddad’s truncheon, which the children enjoyed exploring. The children also explored a police whistle. We found out that the police did not start using these until later in the 1800s.

In DT, the children have been considering bridge designs in preparation for designing their own bridges. They learned about beam, arch, truss and suspension bridges and considered tension and compression. I am looking forward to seeing where this learning leads the children’s designs.

To finish the week, it was brilliant to celebrate all things books for World Book Day. The children looked fantastic and the day was enjoyed by all.

Have a wonderful weekend!