P3/4

Welcome to our class page! We aim to update this page each term to showcase our learning, celebrate progress and share highlights from the classroom.

Term 1

The class started off the term well by taking time to get to know the class routines and expectations, helping everyone feel settled and confident. Together, the pupils created our classroom charter, agreeing on the values and behaviours that will help to build a positive and supportive learning experience for everyone.

Building on this, the pupils learned about the six principles of nurture and explored what they look like in our classroom. The pupils came up with great ideas for how to show kindness, understanding and respect to each other so that our class is a place where everyone feels valued and ready to learn.

This term, we focused on our first meta-skill of the month, collaborating. The class took part in an online assembly to learn more about how working together, listening carefully and valuing ideas is important for achieving shared goals. As part of this, the kids worked together to create a “human orchestra” and they were really pleased with their end result! This was a great activity for showing how cooperation, communication and teamwork are so important for creating something successful together.

Also, the class were fully engaged in their topic this term, Invaders, where they learned about groups such as the Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons and the Romans. The pupils enjoyed discovering how these groups lived, why they came to Britain and the impact they had on history. We were lucky enough to go on a trip to the National Museum of Scotland to take part in a hands-on Roman workshop. The trip was great and gave the children the opportunity to explore real artefacts and deepen their understanding on life in Roman times.

Here is the Term 1 class connect to tell you a little bit more about the learning for the block.

Term 2

Every week the children have the opportunity to take part in the Garden Gang with Shona from Edible Estates. Pupils enjoys hands-on learning at the school farm with Shona and are able to take responsibility for helping to look after and maintain the plants and vegetables there. Attending the Garden Gang is always a highlight of the week for the class and something which they look forward to continuing! Here are some pictures to highlight the skills they have been learning.

The children really enjoyed the festive activities this term as well. We had a great festive party day, where the pupils really showed off their dancing skills and had fun playing games!

Here is the class connect for the term to give you more information about the learning for the block.

Term 3

The class had a busy start to the new term, with the Primary 4 pupils starting a block of swimming lessons and the whole class getting to go to Wester Hailes High School for weekly rugby coaching! The pupils thoroughly enjoyed these activities and were able to further develop their teamwork and communication skills, as well as their agility and confidence within these specific sports.

This term, P3/4 pupils have been learning about their city, Edinburgh, and the community around them. As part of this topic, the children explored their local area by going on a community walk. They also had the chance to speak to some of the people in the area who work and help the community, such as About Youth and Edible Estates, and found out about how they support young people and care for the local environment.

The class have learned a lot about Edinburgh’s history, including looking at it landmarks and thinking about how the city has changed. As part of this, the pupils created their own Edinburgh skyline artwork, trying to include well-known landmarks into their art. Using oil pastels, the children explored how to blend warm colours to create a sunset background before adding the dark silhouette of the city’s skyline. This activity allowed pupils to develop their creativity while practising different art techniques such as blending and layering colours. To tie into our learning within writing, the class also wrote some wonderful setting descriptions to go with their final piece of art. The class worked super hard on all of these and should be very pleased with their results!

During our learning about Edinburgh, the class showed a particular interest in Edinburgh Castle. So, to explore this further, the pupils used a range of different building materials to design and create castles of their own. While building, they used their meta-skills of creativity and adapting by thinking carefully about how to solve problems and change their designs as they went along. It was great to see pupils using their imagination and working together to bring their castle ideas to life!

As part of their learning about Edinburgh, the class learned about the three bridges that cross the Firth of Forth and discussed why they are important for travel and transport. The children were really interested in how the bridges were designed and why they looked so different. This sparked an interesting design challenge, with the pupils designing and building bridges of their own using a range of materials.

To link this with their maths learning, each group was given a budget and the materials had different costs. The groups had to plan carefully by deciding how to spend their money while still creating a bridge that was stable, strong and could hold the weight of toy cars. This activity was a lot of fun and produced some great problem-solving, teamwork, and creative thinking from the pupils as adapted their designs while building!

Here is the class connect for this block, with further information regarding the Numeracy, Literacy and Health and Wellbeing learning for the term.