This week, year 5 have used a selection of bedsheets to create their own landforms, which they then used as a basis to investigate human land use. The children used the contours of the land to add a river, forests and pastures, before discussing collaboratively how these might affect human settlements. The pupils recognized the importance of providing human settlements with a water supply, vegetation, building materials, space for livestock and a means of defense. Super work 5RS!
What a wonderful we had during our visit to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park! To immerse our children fully into our expedition ‘What a Wonderful World’, we visited many amazing breads of animals from all around the world! Particular favourites of 3HJ were the red pandas, sea lions and of course the polar bears. The absolute highlight however was the parading leopard who seem to enjoy his time with us and put on a great show. Lots of happy memories were made today and the children were a credit to NJS! 😊
Last week, year 6 explored human and physical features of the geographical landscape and identified features in their local environment around Norton and Askern that could be classified into each category. They then explored how the physical features of the landscape influence the human features, such as roads running alongside rivers rather than creating bridges and tunnels that may incur increased costs.
Building on their knowledge of geographical features, 6CC began studying settlements and investigating how physical features (rivers, woods, mountains etc) affect human settlements. In mini crews, each crew designed their own unique landform using classroom equipment and a sheet – most opted to include a mountain or hill region in their design.
With each successive stage of the challenge, groups added a forest, a river, human settlements, livestock/crops and a road, whilst thinking carefully about where to position each individual aspect and what they may need.
At the end of the challenge, a spokesperson/ spokespeople were nominated to present their design to their peers where they explained why they positioned features in specific places before receiving praise for their ideas and wonders to provoke further thinking regarding some of their design choices. Great effort, Crew! 👍
Today, Years 3 and 4 ventured off on an adventure to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park! In line with our expedition ‘What a Wonderful World’, we explored lots of the different wildlife from all around the world! 4TE (pictured above standing by the fence, not on the grass!) had a super time looking at all the different creatures; we saw tigers, polar bears, wallabies, monkeys, and meerkats! It was a fantastic day and really put into perspective for everyone as to why we need to look after our planet, and protect our furry (and sometimes not so…) friends!
After taking part in a gallery walk of photographs taken from the local area, our year 5 geographers were able to distinguish clearly between human and physical features and explain how the latter has influenced the former. They are then going to build on this learning next week by creating a model land form and using the physical features of the land to inform their human settlements and land use. Super work year 5!
Rocking Rainforest
6CC finished their immersive rainforest display this week, giving the full effect of a dense and diverse environment. All the children worked in groups to collectively create a bright canopy layer for our class animal: the Glaucous Maccaw.
Feeling hot! Hot! Hot!
Diving into the canopy, year 6 have begun exploring the equator and the tropics and how they provide the optimum conditions for growing rainforests. Wednesday featured a research lesson where 6CC learned about the accelerated water cycle of the tropics and the role they play in hydrating the Earth’s rainforests.
This week, during expedition lessons, we have been discovering how human features in our town of Doncaster have changed over time. We identified key areas such as sports facilities, entertainment and education and compared pictures from the 1990s to now. We discovered that many have developed over time to accommodate a rise in population, popularity and ease of accessibility. The vocabulary produced by the children was pronominal and it was great to see them so excited about their hometown!
3LG have started the new year off with a bang!
As immersion into our new topic, over the last week 3LG have been creating lots of beautiful artwork. This has included making ripped paper collages of the Earth, Mandy Barker style artwork and papier mache polar bears.
The children put lots of time and care into their creations, and the wonderful artwork now makes up the start of our display. It was great to see 3LG so excited for our new topic and already asking themselves what they can do to help save the planet.
Welcome back everyone! We hope you had a lovely Christmas and New Year’s! This week, 4TE have been getting right back into action by becoming extremely creative immersing themselves with our new expedition, ‘What a Wonderful World’. Our eventual goal will be to answer the question of ‘Why should we protect our beautiful planet’.
In order to immerse ourselves, we have been creating Arctic-themed crafts, and learning a little bit about the Arctic, climate change and global warming. Here are some of our crafts we have been creating!
As we begin our spring expedition, the children have been transported into the depths of the Amazon rainforest as they start to explore our guiding question: ‘Why should we help our planet survive?‘ During hook week, the pupils were first immersed in the wonder of the Amazon, from the rainforest layers to the biodiversity of the species that reside there. To celebrate this, our class designed and created an incredible door display, complete with indigenous species from the rainforest canopy. As the week has progressed, the children have gradually been introduced to the issue of deforestation and have produced some thought-provoking news reports to highlight different perspectives on the subject.
