YEAR 3
What strategy should we use to solve takeaways or subtraction equations? Should we use a vertical method or should we use a horizontal one? Which is quicker? Which is more efficient? These were the questions that arose this week in Maths. Some of the children discovered that manipulating numbers in their heads (using place value and partitioning) was much quicker than following rules and using vertical algorithms. Ellie was super excited to tell everyone “I finished 8 using the old method and doubled that number using the new way!”
“We had fun learning about litres and millilitres today,” said Jarek. “The quiz nearly tricked me but I realised that the markings were sometimes 1 ml and then it changed to 2 mls and even to 10millilitres.”
Heads were down and brains were buzzing as the children began writing their profiles based on the book we have been reading in English. First they had to do a little research to get some ‘Fast Facts’ and then they began writing their personal report. We will share them once they are published.
Well done year 3 on another fun week of learning!
YEAR 4
During English lessons, this week, we continued reading ‘The Spiderwick Chronicles’. In chapter 2, we were intrigued to read about the Grace children discovering a ‘nest’ with strange objects in one of the walls of the old house. We don’t think that the scratching Jared heard was made by a squirrel and can’t wait to discover what kind of critter it is.
In Mathematics, using our knowledge of place-value, we added and subtracted multiples of 10 and 100 from 4-digit. We also did three exercises, involving addition, subtraction and multiplication, to show how quickly we could perform these operations, using number facts. Challenging, but we succeeded!
In Science, exploring ‘States of Matter’, we discovered that a soda machine is used to make soda water to drink by adding carbon dioxide from a pressurised cylinder to water. This is called carbonating water. By adding different syrups, we can make our own soda drinks. Amazing!
In our Topic lessons, we learnt that William, the Conqueror, changed England forever: Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest lived-in castle in the world, was built; the feudal system was introduced in England; and the Normans gave over 10,000 words to the English language, such as mason, painter, tailor, merchant, mutton, beef, veal, pork, bacon, venison. Astonishing!
In our PSHE lesson, we watched a videoclip, titled ‘The Boy and the Starfish’, featuring a little boy who teaches a man a very important lesson about life by casting beach-stranded starfish back into the sea. We may not be able to save the world, but we can make a small difference in the world around us by being kind and helpful; by recycling and reusing; by saving energy! There are so many opportunities for us to make a difference!
YEAR 5
It was a great week for the Year 5's at EIS West. The students settled into the routine with their new class teacher quite comfortably. It was with pleasure that I witnessed the students quietly engage in their schoolwork, but what delighted me most was the eagerness with which they participated in class discussions. We covered the interesting topic of Eastern Europe in Geography, and learning about each student's native country and traditions turned out to be great fun. The book we are reading during our English Lessons is called "Oranges in No Man's land", and we were amazed at the difficulties a child of our age had to endure during the war in Lebanon.During Maths we learnt about Angles, and the students loved to name and construct angles of different sizes.Our PSHE lessons during the next few weeks will revolve around accepting people from all backgrounds in our International Community. We kicked off by discussing our own uniqueness, as well as how we differ from other people.
