Year 2 have been testing and recording how different materials change. We used a range of objects, identified what they were made from and tested to see if they could bend, twist, squash, stretch and/or rip.
This half term in Science, we are learning about everyday materials. Y2L created Material Munchers for six everyday materials; wood, paper, plastic, glass, cardboard and metal. The munchers were very hungry so we had to identify and classify lots of different images and objects to feed them to the correct munchers.
For our science topic, we visited the Waste and Recycle Centre in Wrekenton. We found out about the importance of recycling as well as exploring examples of solids, liquids and gases founf there. Did you know you should dispose of batteries in proper battery bins, not your general waste bin?
We were so lucky to have astronomers from Kielder Observatory in school to do work with us about space.
Egg landers – we had to design and make an ‘egg-lander’, imagining the eggs were astronauts who needed to return to Earth safely from space. Could we help them land safely?
Investigating light – we looked at different colours of light, wore special glasses which showed us different colours of light, and used a thermal camera to see infrared radiation which is invisible to the human eye. Finally, we made bracelets with UV beads, which will change colour when exposed to UV rays from the sun.
Space rocks – we looked at real space rocks, which are billions of years old! These rocks fell to Earth as meteorites. We even looked at pieces of the moon and Mars.
Planets – we learnt lots of facts about the planets in our solar system and discussed their distance from each other and from the sun, making a human version of the solar system with inflatable planets.
All the leaves are falling down,
falling down,
falling down,
All the leaves are falling down…because it’s Autumn.
The children have been bringing lots of different Autumn objects to Nursery. They have created a wonderful Autumn sensory table and enjoyed talking about what they can see and feel. We even added a pumpkin grown in our own Nursery garden!
Year 3 visited the Great North Museum in Newcastle. We got to explore our ‘Rocks’ topic through their fantastic exhibits.
People often think rocks are boring but they don’t realise how amazing they are! Most rocks have been around for millions of years and seen so many things. Some rocks may have even once been a piece of mud on a dinosaurs foot! Isn’t that fascinating?
We investigated lots of different rocks and had to decide if they were metamorphic, sedimentary or igneous. Then we explored the museum looking at the amazing fossils and minerals they have there!
In Science, Year 2 have been learning about the importance of personal hygiene. We discussed different things we do to stay clean and what might happen if we don’t keep ourselves clean. We had lots of fun completing a variety of investigations to help our understanding.
Investigation 1 – The importance of looking after our teeth.
We used egg shells (as our teeth) and placed them into different drinks (cola, diet cola, water and fresh orange). We are going to observe how the egg shells change over the next week and see which drink has damaged the eggs the most.
Investigation 2 – The importance of washing our hands before eating or making food.
Using three slices of bread, we first put a slice into a bag without touching, we then had one child, with clean hands, place a slice into another bag and finally, all of the children passed the bread around before it went into the bag. We will observe the changes made to the bread.
Investigation 3 – The spreading of germs.
One child was given some glitter in their hands then they shook hands with other children. All children shook hands with each other and placed them around the room (e.g. touched the table or the handle). We were able to observe how fast the glitter (germs) were able to spread around the room.
Today Reception had a visit from the School Nurses. The children were taught how to stay healthy by washing their hands and brushing their teeth.
This term we are finding out about animals including humans and looking at systems within our bodies. Last week we looked at the circulatory system, this week we explored hearts. We used lambs’ hearts and worked together to safely investigate them. It was really interesting and we found lots of things that surprised us:
” I didn’t expect the heart to be so heavy.”
” The walls are really thick and squishy, there’s not much space in the chambers!”
“I like that I can put my finger in one of the blood vessels and see which chamber it comes out into.”
In our geography topic, Comparing Whitby and South Shields, we’ve been thinking about features found at the coast. We’ve also been discussing if they are physical or human features. We visited Marsden Beach and had a great time with Sandra and Laura from Tides of Change, who told us all about the features found there. We also discussed the impact of littering on coastal habitats. We’ve been learning a lot about the human impact on habitats in our science lessons.
