Highmoor week commencing 21 January

Date: 25th Jan 2019 @ 12:44pm

Welcome to another week in Highmoor!

In maths this week the year 3s have been adding 3 digit numbers together using the expanded addition method. They later moved on to subtracting numbers by counting up on an empty numberline. We checked our subtraction sums by using addition. Year 4 have been using column addition to add 3 or 4 numbers together and then moved on to expanded subtraction. We thought about whether this method or counting up on a numberline is more efficient. 

In Art over the last 3 weeks we have been looking at and thinking about different types of greeting card designs. Having already made printing blocks out of cardboard we got busy printing our own designs. The challenge was to print an abstract image using four colours.We had to remember the process we had gone through from the order of colour used to the orientation of our printing block. After that we had to go into production and repeat our designs .There was a lot to think about but gradually by overlaying the colours one step at a time we created some stunning designs. We have evaluated our work and thought about how we can improve it.

On Monday and Tuesday in Literacy we looked at poems and how the use of metaphors brings poetry to life. In the photographs attached you can see some of the children freeze framing lines from a poem called Cat Shots! We wrote our own poems using metaphors. We have also been looking at how we structure our writing. We have recapped what paragraphs are and how to use them.

Later in the week we moved on to sentence structure. We have been writing compound and complex sentences using coordinating and subordinating conjunctions. We played a game where children had to come into the room and listen to either a main clause or a subordinate clause. One made sense and could stand alone as a simple sentence - the main clause and the other did not. Subordinate clauses rely on the main clauses for meaning. We learnt the acronym I SAW A WABUB to help us remember some subordinating conjunctions.

We made some brilliant models showing the layers of the earth in Geography. 

In PSHE, we had to work as a team to complete 5 puzzles. The catch was that we were only allowed to give pieces, not take. We learned that we can be more successful by giving and it is more positive than putting ourselves first. 

We are changing the way we test and teach times tables in Highmoor. The children will now spend half an hour a week focussing on times tables. They will continue to do a times table test on Sumdog as they have been with a focus purely on the times tables facts. They will then spend the rest of the half hour practising the tables that they are focussing on. This includes related facts - ie division questions and looking at arrays and other questions which show a deeper understanding of what 6x5 = 30 actually means! Times tables are also practised during maths lessons as starter activities or sometimes as the main focus of the lesson. Knowing our times tables is a really key mathematical skill. Any time you can spend at home practising will be beneficial. Your children will be tested on a 2 week rolling timetable so for example on week 1 they may be tested on a Monday, week 2 on a Thursday and then this pattern will repeat. It will be on different days depending on which ERIC group your child is in. I will let them know on Monday next week when their days are and they can write it in their diaries.

Please do come and chat to Mrs Claridge or Miss Tillotson if you want further clarification on this. Or indeed if you want to chat about anything. We are always around at the start and end of the day and are always happy to chat about any concerns you might have.