Category Archives: Visible Learning

Making lifeboats in DT

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After learning that the character Samson, from our class novel, Samson’s Titanic Journey, fell into the icy water of the Atlantic Ocean after the Titanic crashed into an iceberg, we decided to create lifeboats to rescue him. We needed to make a boat that could move in water and float, so first we researched different types of boats and how they moved. We learnt that some boats use sails, some use oars and some use propellers. We explored how to create propeller using elastic bands. Then we thought about what we could use to make the boat. We realised that cardboard is not waterproof because it would get soggy and break / sink. This led us to think about how we could make the cardboard base waterproof by covering it with a waterproof material. Then we planned our boats with our partners. thinking about whether to use tin foil or tape to make the boat waterproof. Next we decided what we would use to make a barrier around the edge of the boat to stop Samson falling off.

Once we had our plans we worked as team ant to collaborate with our partners and create the boat. Here are some photos of us hard at work!

Stormy Seas Dance

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To launch our new topic all about Life Savers, we learnt about the courageous actions of a young woman called Grace Darling. In 1838, she spotted a ship that had crashed on the rocks near the lighthouse where she lived with her parents. We discovered that she set out in a tiny boat with her father in the raging storm to rescue the survivors.

We watched videos of the ocean and then used to dance to respond, thinking about how we could move our bodies in different ways to represent the waves and movement of the water. We started off as a calm sea and then changed our movement to reflect the dramatic waves and lightening of a stormy sea.

Next we worked in groups as Team Ant, collaborating and imitating each other’s moves, to create a lighthouse with rocks and flashing lights. Then we used dance to represent our learning about Grace Darling and her daring rescue.

Finally we put the different parts of our dance together as a whole class.

Making 17th century houses

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As part of our topic, the Great Fire of London, we designed and have started to make our own 17th century houses. To start with we looked at lots of pictures of houses from London from before the fire, discussing the materials that they were built from. Then we drew a picture of our designs, thinking about what we would use to create each part.

To creat3 our houses we first watched the teacher model the technique and then imitated this ourselves, helping each other and sharing tips. First we created roofs and the used papier-mâché to strengthen the boxes and create a more textured surface. We got very messy, ripping pieces of newspaper and applying them to the box with a mixture of PVA glue and water.

Next, once the boxes had dried, we painted them with a base coat of white. Next week we will paint on brown beams and add doors and windows.

    Year 1’s bonfire

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    On Friday, despite the rain, 1HM went outside to the fire pit to have our own mini bonfire. Not put off by the soggy start, we were able to observe how the fire moved, using some of the verbs that we had generated in our English lesson to describe the movement of the flames and smoke: such as drifting, flickering and dancing. We thought about the materials which were burning to create the fire – wood and paper, and discussed how they were flammable. We had all written our own messages on pieces of paper in the morning which started with the same opener ‘I can’t …’ finishing the sentence with something that we are currently finding difficult to do (such as doing up our top button or counting to 100). Then we burnt the pieces of paper to show how these sentences were not true. If we persevere like tough tortoise, it is only that we cannot do something yet, and soon we will overcome that challenge.

    We also looked at what happened when the paper and wood burned – it was destroyed and gone forever, leading us to think about what happened to the houses during the Great Fire of London.

    We belong to ACE!

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    Over the last 2 weeks we have been exploring our school value – belonging.

    First we considered the different things we belonged to. We thought about how we belonged to our families, group of friends, different clubs, our school and our class. We then discussed what helped us to feel like we belong at Allerton. One of those things was belonging to one of the four houses: Turnberry, Birkdale, Wentworth, Sunningdale.

    In our PE lesson we joined with our house members to take part in some team games. We had to really develop our colllaberation skills, thinking about how we could work like team ant to complete each challenge. We needed to listen to each other and imitate others actions, realising that when you belong to a group, good communication is key.