Y2L visited Beamish to help us learn about the lives of a coal miner and their families. We enjoyed going into the mine, visiting the miner’s cottages and having a Victorian lesson in school!
This week we have been learning about the importance of Remembrance day and why we celebrate it. We all created beautiful artwork that was displayed in the hall for everybody to see. After our special assembly, we held a 2 minute silence to honour and respect the memory of the all the men, women and animals who helped fight for our country.
In history, we have learned about the Anglo-Saxons and when they lived in Britain. The Anglo-Saxons settled in Britain after the Romans left. We learned about how the Anglo-Saxons finally conquered Britain after attempting to for many years. We also learned about the different roles in Anglo-Saxon society. We know that there were kings, thanes, churls and slaves. One of our favourite lessons was about the punishments for committing different crimes!
On our trip to Jarrow Hall, we learned about a famous battle between the Anglo-Saxon and the Vikings called the Battle of Brunanburh. They would put their shields together to make a wall so they wouldn’t get stabbed or killed. We loved taking part in the battle re-enactment!
We also learnt about their religious beliefs and how they changed over time. Anglo-Saxons were pagans and, eventually, many of them converted to Christianity.
Around the world Black History is celebrated during Black History Month. This is a time set aside each year to celebrate the achievements of black men and women in the past and today.
We know that all people should be treated equally but sadly, this isn’t always the case, and many groups of people around the world still suffer as a result of discrimination. Thankfully, there are some amazing people who have done incredible things to fight for equality. Over the past few weeks, each year group has been learning about a different inspirational person.
Today we all joined together in assembly to share who we have been learning about.
Take a look below at what each year group has been learning!
Year 5 have completed a lot of work recently on Greek myths, particularly looking at Herakles and his twelve labours.
Each class was tasked with acting out one of Herakles’ labours. All groups worked together to produce a fantastic… and very dramatic performance!
Props were used and character’s lines were created by the children.
Y6 have learned all about Nelson Mandela during Black History Week and wrote biographies about this key figure.
Nelson Mandela was a politician and an activist and he was a key figure in ending ‘apartheid’ (where there were laws to keep Black and White people separated) in South Africa.
The children learned all about Nelson’s beliefs that everyone should be treated equally and we discussed our own viewpoints on this and how we too think everyone should be treat equally.
We also learned about how Nelson went from being imprisoned for 27 years for campaigning and protesting for equal rights to becoming South Africa’s first Black president.
A special visitor called Rachel visited Year 3 to transport us back to what life was like in the Stone Age times. We learned how to light a fire using flint and a fire steel, just like they would have thousands of years ago. Back then, the hunter gathers had to source their own food, we handled lots of different tools and thought about how they would have been used. After that we made ancient bannock bread and cooked it over our open fire. It was delicious!
A hunter gather had to move around as the seasons changed to ensure they had food to eat, so our final task was to work in teams to create our own nomadic shelter. We had so much fun!
This half term children in Y6 are learning all about crime and punishment and how it has changed over time, from the Roman era to today.
Last week we were so excited to have a visitor from Newcastle Castle.
We learned even more about crime and punishment, focusing closely on the Vikings. We got to dress up and take part in role play, acting out a case in court with a judge and jury. We were even lucky enough to handle some real artefacts and weapons used in punishments for crimes.
“The workshop was so interesting and I found it really fun to act out scenes” – Maizie W
“The artefacts were interesting to look at and touch and I was shocked at how they were used. The punishments were so unfair and brutal back then” – Ella G
Our History topic this half-term is the Ancient Greeks. We are so lucky that we have been able to loan a ‘Box of Delight’ with lots of Ancient Greek artefacts. We looked at different artefacts and discussed with our groups what we thought each artefact was. Then, we annotated our ideas and inferences around the objects on the tables.
We were so excited when Miss Whitehead told us she had a special delivery from a local museum, it was filled with artefacts from Prehistory! We investigated the different artefacts in groups, thinking about what it could be, what it is made from and which period of prehistory we think it came from. We made some amazing deductions and used everything we have been learning to come up with ideas. At the end of the lesson, Miss Whitehead taught us all about the artefacts, the one that surprised us the most was the fragment of a mammoth bone! We wondered why it was so smelly.
