Oak Class, Blog 3, 2022-2023

Literacy

This term’s lessons were built around the book The Firework Maker’s Daughter, which we will continue to read next term. The class have enjoyed meeting the characters in the book and discussing their personalities. The story led us to learn about fireworks, their history and the ingredients used to make modern day firework displays, not so different from when they were invented in China many centuries ago. The class learnt how different chemicals are used to give colour – copper, barium , strontium and sodium – and created their own firework recipes, giving step by step instructions, using the imperative form of verbs and relevant time conjunctions.

The class also learnt poetry this term, two poems by Christina Rossetti, ‘Who has Seen the Wind’ and ‘Hurt No Living Thing’ as well as ‘February’ by E N Bodecker. The class were able to recite these beautiful poems by heart and write them out, too.

Mount Merapi, Indonesia

French

Beginners group with Joanna

We have been very busy this term in French class. The students have been learning new verbs such as avoir (to have) et étre (to be) au présent as well as learning about ‘les déterminants’ (determiners), those little words that are placed in front of the noun and that determine whether or not the noun is masculin/féminin ou pluriel (ex: le, la, les, un, une, des, mon, ma, mes, ce, cet, cette, ces). They have also learned a poem and presented it very successfully (videos hereunder). Since we are living in France, ‘pays de la gastronomie’, we have also had the opportunity to celebrate La Galette des Rois & La Chandeleur by baking galettes and making crêpes with the two other French classes.

Intermediate group with Christine

These first two months of the year were much the same as the two previous ones in the organisation of lessons. Vega and Sophie take part in the calendar activity, the oral presentations of the older ones, and in the debrief of the weekend each Monday morning. After that, Vega and Sophie each have specific work according to their level. Each of them is developing their French reading and writing skills at their own pace. Two special events took place this term; in January, we prepared the traditional « galette des rois » for the feast of Epiphany, and in February we prepared « crêpes » for Pancake Day. The class really enjoyed this baking time, as well as spending time with the other students from all classes.

Advanced group with Marie

Cette troisième période a été bien chargée au niveau des apprentissages. Les élèves ont continué d’intégrer les notions de français:

en grammaire: phrase simple/phrase complexe, voix active/voix passive, les compléments de verbes (cod, coi)

en conjugaison: le passé simple, le passé composé, le participe passé/l’infinitif

en orthographe: les sons g/j, s/ss/c, k/q/c, le pluriel des noms et des adjectifs

en mémorisation: 2 poésies ont été apprises et récitées

en littérature: choix d’un livre de lecture puis étude de différents passages du livre, le genre poétique et versification, lectures silencieuses

2 évaluations ont eu lieu pendant cette 3ème période.

French IMYC with Marie

Durant ce terme, les élèves ont continué à étudier les explorateurs. Ils ont d’abord fait des recherches sur un des célèbres personnages (Zheng Hu, Christophe Colomb, Magellan, Bartoleme Diaz, Jacques Cartier, Marco Polo, Vasco de Gama ) et puis ils ont élaboré des affiches par groupe de 2 ou 3 enfants.

Ensuite, ils ont construit un des 3 objets utilisés par ces grands explorateurs

– le groupe des caravelles

– le groupe des globes

– le groupe des boussoles

Ils ont appris et chanté 2 chansons: Les petits souliers de Guy Béart et Aux Champs Elysées de Joe Dassin

Geography

This term Oak learnt about the structure of the Earth and about volcanoes and earthquakes. The class learnt that the Earth has four main components:  the crust, the mantle, the outer core and the inner core  and that each layer has a unique chemical composition and physical state and can have a dramatic effect on life on Earth’s surface. The class learnt about the theories of Continental Drift and plate tectonics as well as the Ring of Fire, a path along the Pacific Ocean characterised by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.

Pacific Ring of Fire

History

During this term, our Oaks looked at life in ancient Egypt, exploring many different topics. They looked at the way in which ancient Egyptians settled around the Nile and built temples and pyramids. They also looked at the Egyptian religion, exploring the different gods and goddesses that were worshipped. They also worked on the Egyptian alphabet, learning how to write their own names with hieroglyphs.

Science

Oak class enjoyed learning about metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary rocks and their properties.  They had the opportunity to make an experiment about rocks’ permeability and test their hardness. They examined a set of rocks and named the most common, based on traits and criteria. They identified and displayed the rock cycle and classified rocks as natural and human made.

ICT

Oak students explored the concept of variables in programming through games in Scratch. They have to find out what variables are and relate them to real-world examples of values that can be set and changed. Then they use variables to create a simulation of a scoreboard. They created games and storyboards and applied their knowledge of variables and design to improve their games in Scratch.

Mathematics

Calculating, measuring and understanding shapes:

Oak students worked on measuring and drawing simple 2D shapes and then converting them into compound shapes. Students practised identifying the main properties of 3D shapes and looked for various 2D shapes present in them. Young Oaks then drew polygons and classified them by identifying their properties, including their line of symmetry. Students worked on visualising 3-D objects from 2-D drawings, made nets of common solids and measured their volume. To deepen our knowledge of 3D shapes, we experimented with cubes/pyramids and cones/cylinders and solved practical volume problems. We filled them with water and found out that the volume of a cone is 1/3 of the volume of a cylinder where the base and height is the same in both shapes.

In Statistics we solved comparison, sum and difference problems using information presented in bar charts, pictograms, tables and line graphs.

Design and Technology

As part of our collaborative project with Birch and Walnut Classes (and some Cedars came to help), we worked on designing our very own Compost Bin that we will be using next term. Linking our topics in Design & Technology and Mathematics, the children accurately measured the angles, calculated the distance between the planks of wood and used properties of 2D and 3D shapes on their designing journey. Oaks realised the importance of measuring angles and clearly saw that measurements have to be accurate in order for the different parts to fit together correctly.

So there we were,
Cutting and drilling.
Measuring, thinking
Worked well as a team and were quite willing.

We will grow our own veg,
That are very organic.
Will get our hands dirty,
But will wash them, don’t panic.

Compost bin creation,
We have conjured together.
Nothing could stop us,
Even cold weather.

Greenhouse effect
we have discussed in science.
Picked up quite a lot of new things
And self reliance.

Wormery we built,
For our best friends worms.
Amazing things they do,
We hope everyone knows.

Raised beds, greenhouse
And wormery construction.
Enthusiasm was pumping,
Like a volcanic eruption.

Still a long way to go
But we will manage.
Automated watering system, birdfeeders and scarecrow creature.
Hey mum, do you know how to use a drill?
Just look at this, I will teach ya.

Green Garden Project just started,
But we are already delighted.
If you would like to come and help,
Don’t hesitate to come forward, you are invited.

Art

Over the course of this term, the Oak class looked at the Pointillist movement, exploring the work of painters like Georges Seurat and Georges Lemmen. Each Oak student focused on a different type of landscape – real or imaginary – and represented it through the use of Pointillism. Our Oaks mainly used paint and learnt how to create different gradients of colours, focusing on the way light may impact the choice of the colouring effects that they want to create.

Drama Workshops

During this term, our Oaks worked enthusiastically on improvisation, learning how to create short scenes based on different given scenarios. The Oak class learnt how to make use of different elements – voice, face expressions and body language – when improvising a short performance. Oak students continued to work in small groups, learning how to work with everyone in the class and creating a supportive and positive environment for performances. 

Creative Writing Workshops

Over the course of this term, the Oak class looked at the editing process, learning how to modify the drafts of their stories and to develop the final version of their texts. The Oak students learnt how to modify their own texts, adding details or changing the way they have expressed a certain idea. The students enjoyed the writing and editing process and understood the importance of going back to their drafts before finalising them. By the end of the term, our Oaks had created their own book of fairy tales!

Global perspectives

Our Oaks researched about the prevention of food waste. The students have been very engaged, using personal and local perspectives when exploring the cause and consequences of food waste. While researching, the students made meaningful reflections, looking at the way food waste may happen and drawing interesting conclusions. The result of their research – that grouped very practical ways to prevent food waste at personal and local level – has been creatively presented in a very colourful poster.

Oak Class, Blog 2, Term 2 2022/2023

English

Oak focused on the presentation of information. The class looked at various non-fiction texts, observing how they are structured, from contents pages through to the index, with information ordered logically and by topic.

Each member of the class then chose an animal to research, separating information under subheadings such as diet, habitat and behaviour.

Each then made an oral presentation to the class. 

French

Beginners Group with Joanna

The theme for this term linked to our daily workbook (Zig Zag 2) is La Maison (the house). We have studied new vocabulary linked to objects (lampe/lit/bibliothèque/armoire/bureau) that are found in the house as well as the different rooms in a house (grenier/cave/salon/salle à manger etc.). The students all individually presented a drawing of their own bedrooms and the objects/furniture they have, they all did a really good job. We also continue to work on our French verbs (this term spelling tests on les verbes en ER au présent). Throughout the term we learned songs in French for the Christmas show and the students sang them all beautifully on the 10th of December at the Théâtre de Bailly.

Intermediate Group with Christine

During this period from November to December, Vega and Sophie continued to take part in the calendar activity with the rest of the group, by asking and answering questions linked to it, and getting to learn how to tell the time.

After that they went on working on their own program. For one of the girls, this included mastering the basics of reading and writing in French, and for the other, the program was about improving her knowledge in writing, vocabulary and French grammar through exercises but also written materials (books, articles, recipes, letters…). Both girls also get to sometimes leave their work aside to listen the older children doing a presentation on a specific topic or simply hear them talk about his/her weekend which is one of our Mondays’ routines. They actively took part in these oral activities by asking questions or speaking about their own weekend.

Advanced Group with Marie

Pendant cette deuxième période, les élèves ont continué à approfondir les notions de français:

en grammaire: les différentes fonctions de l’adjectif qualificatif (épithète/attribut du sujet), le complément du nom, phrases simples/complexes.

en conjugaison: l’imparfait, accord sujet/verbe

en orthographe: le féminin des noms, utilisation du dictionnaire, accord sujet/verbe, les synonymes/antonymes.

en mémorisation: 1 poésie a été apprise et récitée.

en littérature: choix d’un livre de lecture puis rendu de la fiche en lien avec le livre, 3 lectures silencieuses

2 évaluations ont eu lieu durant le 2ème terme.

French IMYC with Marie

Cette période a été consacrée aux grands explorateurs ainsi qu’aux répétitions pour le spectacle de Noël.

“Douce nuit”

Spanish

During this term the children discovered the vocabulary of the family by playing the ”Memo” as well as a little discovery of Hispanic Christmas.

Mathematics

We learnt about different triangles, their names and main properties. We also identified acute, obtuse, reflex and right angles and then tried to measure them with the protractor. We then worked on finding the perimeter and area of simple 2D and compound shapes.  We practiced measuring in centimeters and meters and then used our findings to calculate the area and perimeter. We now know that in order to find the perimeter of the shape, we need to walk around the shape or add all the sides. So if you need a new fence in your garden, you know whom to ask! And for the area we need to multiply the measurements of two sides or count how many CM2 or M2 are there altogether.

Science

Oak class went through an amazing exploring journey this term, they could explore how solids can be mixed and how it is often possible to then separate them again. Students learned when solids do not dissolve or react with the water they can be separated by filtering, which is similar to sieving. 

Oak students could make a successful investigation and decide ways to classify reversible/irreversible changes and discuss everyday instances of dissolving e.g. sugar in drinks, washing powder in the washing machine etc.

They compared and grouped materials together according to whether they are solid, liquid or gases. And observed some changes when affected by temperature. Oak class were introduced to evaporation and condensation changes in the water cycle associated to the rate of evaporation with temperature.

History

Over the course of this term the Oak class built a miniature Iron Age hunters’ house, using clay and natural materials collected from the forest. The class also started to look at the Ancient Egyptian Civilisation, focusing on the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt and building a timeline of the most relevant events of Ancient Egyptian history. 

Geography

This term Oak learned about the different biomes around the world – ecosystems characterised by the plants and animals that live there as well as the climate, vegetation and rainfall. They discovered how animals and plants in these diverse regions have adapted to the climactic conditions in which they live in order to survive.

Design and Technology

Birch, Walnut , Oak , Elm and Cedar collaborative Christmas decorations and costume design project.

ART

Our Oak worked on the designing, drawing, and painting of the backdrops for the Christmas show. They let themselves being inspired by the stories brought on stage and they designed big and colorful backdrops texturising paint in different ways.

Global Perspectives

During this term, our Oaks looked at national and global perspectives, exploring what is means to live in other countries. Students picked a country of their choice and carried out independent research on that the subject, looking at important monuments, traditions, and typical food. Students worked on a poster, showing the findings of their research. 

Drama Workshops

Over the course of term, our Oaks worked on drama techniques like freeze frames and miming. They practiced these techniques, working on the role that body language and face expressions have in both scenarios.  Students worked also on the use of the voice, learning how to project it when talking to an audience. Oak students used freeze frames and mimes to bring on stage two stories for the schools’ Christmas show: “The Tomten” and “Babushka”.

Creative Writing Workshops

During this term our Oaks worked on fairy tales. Students explored the features of the genre, looking at different mentor texts, like Cinderella, The Beauty and the Beast and The Three Billy-Goat Gruff. After having gotten inspired by mentor texts, students worked on the structure of their fairy tale’s plot, creating a story board that included the opening, the build-up, the problem, the resolution, and the ending. 

Christmas Celebration

Oak Class Blog 5, 2021-2022

English

In this term’s book When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, the young girl Anna flees Berlin with her brother and parents in 1933 when Hitler is elected Chancellor, and the family begin a new life as refugees, initially in Switzerland, only to move to Paris and then England.

French

Mathematics

In Geometry Oaks drew polygons and classified them by identifying their properties, including their line of symmetry. We worked on visualising 3-D objects from 2-D drawings; made nets of common solids and measured their volume. We also experimented with cubes/pyramids and cones/cylinders and solved practical volume problems. We filled them with sugar and found out that the volume of a square based pyramid is 1/3 of the volume of a cube where the base and height is the same in both shapes. We also worked on plotting and identifying co-ordinates while Translating, Rotating 2D shapes and clearly remember the success criteria for these movements. Oaks also solved problems with angles at a point and angles at a point on a straight line We continued measuring angles with the increased accuracy and now can do it confidently to one degree. Linked to our ‘Young Entrepreneur’ project, we solved various percentage, price and quantity word problems.

Young Entrepreneurs Project – Business project

A business is more than just a product or a service. Behind every item that we buy, every service that we use, there is a story. Running a business involves many skills – creativity, leadership, team work, communication, budgeting, planning, design, customer-awareness and many more. During this unit, children learnt these vital business skills, as they embarked on their business journey. The children were encouraged to take risks, be independent and realise that the hard work that goes into planning and setting up a business pays off.

The children engaged in team activities to create their business plan, research the market, practice pricing and budgeting and design logos and slogans. Four teams created their own stylish leaflets and implement strategies to increase their profit.

We do not learn from experience … we learn from reflecting on experience. – John Dewey

Like all serious business people, Elm and Oak Young Entrepreneurs met to reflect upon the performance of their respective business projects at the Summer Fete. Their ‘project retrospectives’ were a moment to think about:

· What they had planned to do

· What actually happened

· Why it happened

· What they would do next time

· What they learnt

· How they can improve

Ginormous THANK YOU to all our customers for supporting our business venture ! We would not have been able to do it without you!

Trip to Accrocamp St.Germain en Laye

Oak and Elm visited Parc Accrocamp, a tree climbing adventure park located in the forest around Saint Germain-en-Laye.

This event took place to celebrate the achievements of our Young Entrepreneurs who, as you know, recently devised, planned, acquired bank loans for and ran businesses, the proceeds of which have covered the cost of this well-deserved class activity.

The tree climbing activities will see the children discovered a variety of courses, including rope bridges, zip lines and scramble nets, high up in the trees (safely secured in harnesses, of course).

Science

This term, Oak class learnt about living things and their habitats. They learnt how to describe living things as well as how they can be classified based on similarities and differences. The class also were asked to give reasons for classifying plants and animals based on specific characteristics. Oak Class also learnt about the body and its functions. We looked closely are the different organs of the body, identifying and naming the main parts of the human circulatory system

History

This term was all about World War II and as well as learning about the war itself the focus was about how and why it happened. Our research led us back to the outcome of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles.

Oak learnt about the punishing terms of the treaty that were intended to crush Germany but in doing so sparked a nationalist backlash that unleashed Hitler. They learnt about the attitudes and goals of the main parties responsible for imposing the terms: France, the U.S. and Britain.

Oak learnt about the outbreak of WW2 and the German occupation of Europe. To reverse German expansion the allies needed a presence in Europe and the beaches of Normandy were chosen as the entry point. Both Oak and Elm classes learnt about Operation Overlord and took a trip to Normandy to see for themselves some key sites of the D-Day landings, with a visit to Omaha Beach, the Pointe du Hoc and the American Cemetery. They also visited the Overlord Museum, dedicated to the memory of this key event in WW2 and full of fascinating military equipment and memorabilia.

Geography

The focus in Geography was Glaciers, when they formed, where in the world they are found, and the marks these ‘rivers of ice’ have left on the landscape.

The class learned:

  • The stages of glacial formation
  • Key features associated with glacial landscapes
  • To explain how glaciers form using geographical vocabulary and diagrams.

ICT

This closing term, Oaks did a fantastic job on Trinket (which is a visual learning platform to Python coding and programming) and discovered Tina which is a turtle that is controlled by code. By changing the code (signs, numbers, words..) the students get a different outcome each time on the right of the screen, also depending on the theme and its different functions and commands, where they could see the immediate results of their work.

Some of the challenges they solved were:

  • Make different shapes by changing the code
  • By using input function and variable Tina could ask them different questions to create a database
  • Adding colors to text
  • Made circles of different sizes and colours
  • By going forward, backward, left and right
  • By giving instructions to Tina to solve Math problems and simple questions

Students were not afraid of trying out new things, even if this was completely new to most of them. This platform gave them the opportunity to correct their mistakes and even being okay when making them. They must be proud of their work. Here are some examples of what they accomplished:

Spanish

This end-of-school-year term, Oaks developed their Spanish skills by learning about descriptions of our town or city and identifying the different places they could find around the area they live in, they worked on basic vocabulary words, identifying sounds, writing down sentences and talking to their partners about their ideas.

As summer quickly approached, students were interested about sports and its similar names in Spanish compared to the names in English, besides practicing the basic vocabulary related to it, they were able to identify the words in an audio and wrote sentences about the Sports they prefer and their friends’ preferences as well.

By the end of term they made a Power Point presentation about Spanish-speaking countries and their most important facts, landmarks and traditions. Buen trabajo Oaks!

Sports day

Enjoy your summer, Oaks!

All the very best from Mrs. Harrington, Christine, Joanna, Cecilia, Lucia, Mr. H and Mr. Kralka

Oak Class, Term 4, 2021- 2022

English

This term Oak worked hard on their language skills, with a particular emphasis on vocabulary and reading comprehension. The class also enjoyed reading and analysing character descriptions, the highlight of which was Roald Dahl’s outrageous Miss Trunchbull, contrasted with the sweet and gentle Miss Honey. The class also read descriptions of Jo from Bleak House, and of the distinctive features of Harry Potter. Oak then wrote their own character descriptions, some based on real people and others entirely imaginary.

The class also wrote instruction texts, giving simple clear instructions, using the imperative tense.

They also honed their presentation skills with a weekly show and tell.

French