Welcome to Sycamore class 2021-2022

Welcome to Sycamore class. Our teacher is Mr Davies, and our teaching assistant is Mrs Stockley.

Over the year we will use this page to capture snapshots of our learning, progress and experience.

Please feel free to get in touch  if you have any queries. 

Keep checking our page to see all the exciting things we do in school!

Our PE days for Term 3 will be on Wednesday (Street Dance) and Friday (Tag Rugby).

Please can children come to school in their PE kits for these days (please see our Parent Information Document for further details on PE kit)

Gardening sessions take place on Thursday afternoons and Forest School sessions are on Friday mornings

Children will be informed when the class has a slot for gardening, and an email from the office will be sent to parents notifying the day of the Forest School and information about wet weather clothing.

If the event of self-isolating or further lockdown

In the event of your child needing to self isolate, please use the homework links above that your child can access for a range of subjects. In the event of our class bubble isolating or a school closure lockdown, we will be using Teams online. Your child will need their username and password to access Teams

Sycamore's Smart Awards

Generic Timetables

Term 3 - This term our project is Majestic Mayans

Term 2  This Term our project is Out of This World

Sycamore Class were brimming with enthusiasm as they began their new project "Out of this World"

Using their expert research skills, they discovered fascinating facts about each of the planets in the Solar System.

English

By following the class generated S2S, the class presented their knowledge about the Solar System in the form of a poster.

Science

In our Science , we explored the different theories that people had about the Earth as to whether it was flat or spherical.

We read different theories and categorised them with a partner.

History

Using skills of chroronology, the children placed events on a timeline.

They then expanded their knowledge of space exploration by using their research skills

Jack was so enthused by our new project, that he challenged himself to make a space station at home.

Even though he had no instructions, he invented them himself. to make his creation.

 After 5 long hours, his results were rewarded with this magnificent and spectacular model.

Well done Jack.

Project Homework 1

Sycamore were asked to complete 2 little mini projects to support their learning on the Solar System.

They produced the most amazing and varied results, from  posters and power points to cakes, lego builds and models.

They used their presentation skills to show case their learning to the class.

Project 2

Art

Over the course of the term we will be applying our knowledge to create our own images of the different planets.

This will also test out our knowledge in the different art mediums as we are going to have to apply the skills we are learning at the start of each session to our own version.

We started by exploring and practicing the different techniques we could use.

• Cross hatching – this involved drawing a series of parallel lines and then drawing another series of parallel lines going in another direction on top of the first set of lines. This is a great way to create shading in drawing.
• Varying pressure – this encourages the children to use the pencils in different ways by pressing the pencil lightly on the page moving to pressing the pencil hard on the page.  
• Layering / back and forth stroke – this encourages the children to colour in one direction and then colour over the top of the original colour (in either a different colour or the same colour) in the opposite direction.
• Stippling – this skill is made up of a range of marks made with the tip of the pencil. It involves placing lots of tiny dots on your paper. The dots can be close together, far apart of anywhere in between.
• Hatching – this is where the children draw a series of parallel lines that all go in the same direction. The lines can be close together or far apart – the pencil is lifted from the paper after each line and then placed down again to create a new line. 
• Scumbling – this involves making continuous circular marks on your paper, without lifting your pencil. It is a good way to fill in different areas with lots of colour.

We started by looking at the medium of coloured pencils to help us recreate the planet Jupiter

PE

This term, Sycamore have been enjoying hockey and netball in their PE sessions

In hockey. they are practicing the following;-

• techniques for a block tackle 
• defensive positions in a game
• dribbling and shooting
• passing to a team member
• identifying and marking an opponent
• keeping possession as a team
• working as a team co operatively to defend and attack

On our Netball sessions we have been working on developing the following skills:-

• practicing and recapping on different passes (shoulder, chest, bounce and over head, one and two handed)
• playing as an attacking and defending team
• communicating with team mates when moving into a space
• developing different dodging techniques 
• practicing pivoting and applying it in a game
• working co operatively as a team

Forest School

On Friday 3rd December 2021, Sycamore enjoyed a wonderful session in the Forest

The children enjoyed conjuring up their magic spells in the spell kitchen.

Great fun was had discovering what treasures could be found in the new digging zone, as well as having the opportunity to plant Winter Aconites.

Having found funghi during their last visit to the Forest in Term 1, the children were pleased to spot more; peach jelly ear, dead man's fingers and sulphur caps.

Fiona also explained how crucial fungus is for the vital existence of our woodlands.

She gave everyone a wooden disc with a gold thistle stamped on it, to remind them of all the planting that we are doing to 'give back' to the woodlands and to encourage more growth and ensure woodlands are in existence forever

Gardening

On Thursday 24th November, Sycamore had their gardening session.

They had a tour of the allotment and the fruit garden and were on a mission to discover and explore what was still growing, despite the cold weather.

Although not to everyone's liking, the children tasted sage and sorrell, and ran their hands through lavender and rosemary, inhaling the beautiful aromatic smell of each.

Searching carefully , they identified baby leeks and curly kale growing in the beds. 

The fruit garden was looking a little bare but Jenny reassured the children that the raspberry and gooseberry bushes would bear fruit in the Summer months.

Remembrance

On Thursday 11th November , the children marked Remembrance in school assembly when some Year 6 children shared some beautiful and poignant poems.

The children in Sycamore explored the famous poem In Flanders Field, discussing together the meaning of the words and the overall message .

They then practiced their expert handwriting skills by presenting the poem.

RE

On Thursday 4th November,  Diwali was celebrated all around the world.

Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights.

The children were reminded of the famous story of Rama and Sita and how on their return to their kingdom, they were guided by little lights.

Reflecting on the question What does the festival of Diwali mean? they recorded their thoughts and explored how Hindus celebrate.

PSHE

In our PSHE lessons, Sycamore class have been exploring the implications of having money and are investigating the following:-

• understanding what influences people's decisions about money
• exploring different ways to pay for things and the choices people have about this
• investigating people's different attitudes towards saving and spending money
• understanding financial risks

Term 1 - This term our projects are Take One Picture and Hamlet

Take One Picture

Sycamore class have had a super week enjoying their Take One Picture Project based on Claude Monet's painting 'Dusk in Venice'

Sycamore thought about 'First Impressions' and generated lots of fabulous questions that they wanted to research :-

• is the painting in an art gallery?
• what is the name of the painting?
• How big is the real painting?
• Who and what inspired the artist?
• Was art always the artist's passion?
• When was it painted?
• Is the artist still alive?
• How long did it take the artist to paint it?
• What style did the artist use/
• Did the artist paint during the day or night?

Popping with lots of questions, they used expert research skills to explore facts about his life, his inspiration for his art work and the techniques he used. Lots of interesting facts were discovered including; he had lots of  famous friends  such as Degas, Manet and Renoir, and that he mainly painted outside. Using light, he often created the same picture in different colours depending on the time of day as well as the Seasons.

For this reason, he often had to work quickly. 

Having found out amazing facts about Claude Monet, the children were keen to experiment with different art techniques in their sketch books, including stippling, scrumbling and hatching. 

The children were fascinated to learn that Monet and his friends created an art movement known as Impressionism, and that all the artists used the same criteria for their work. These included:

- They never used black

- They used different light 

- They mainly worked outdoors

- They worked against time

- They would used layer of paints

Feeling confident, they couldn't wait to apply their skills to their own recreation of the painting.

Finally, the children used powerful verbs, adjectives and adverbs to create imaginative sentences to capture the magic of the painting

"Above the majestic sparkling sea, the birds were flying gracefully home while the sun was happily setting" (Freya)

"The reflective water rippled and stretched quietly for as far as the the eye could see" (Lily)

"The shadowy castle sits calmly above the sparkling rocky water" (Julia)

"The colourful sunset was a silky blanket over the rippling sea" (Leila)

"While a big castle was breaking, the sea waves were rippling angrily across the harbour" (Stan)

"The sky sat calmly over me as I watched the silky white clouds float by" (Sam)

"The sprawling dark town is quietly reflecting on the rippling sea" (Evie)

"As the two mysterious dark ships left silently, they were eaten by the sunset" (Ben)

Hamlet

English

The children have really excelled themselves whilst studying this term's project of Hamlet.

To begin with, they used drawings to search for clues about the characters

By reading the play as a class, and by using their inference skills, the children have explored the character of Hamlet and investigated the question as to whether he should or shouldn't avenge the death of his father

They then learnt how to use disagreeing and agreeing conjunctions to offer different points of view when writing their discussion texts.

The children worked collaboratively to create S2S and used these as a framework for writing their discussion texts.

These steps included:

• Title
• Introduction -  to explain what the discussion is about
• Paragraphs to show each side of the discussion
• Conclusion to summarise and make a decision
• 5 W sentence openers
• Written in the 1st person
• Punctuation including capital letters . , ?! ()
• Sequencing conjunctions such as firstly, conclusion
• Agreeing and disagreeing conjunctions
• Written in the present tense
• Written in the 1st person

Following on from the question of whether Hamlet would avenge the death of his father, the children were eager to see what course of action he would take next and were keen to read more of the story.

They discovered that as well as Hamlet having a plan, King Claudius, his evil uncle also had a plan of his own.

The children then decided to use their drama skills to sequence and summarise the events, and to consolidate their understanding of the text. 

The children then explored the difference between open and closed questions and thought of some examples to ask the following characters in a Question Time session

• Hamlet
• King Claudius
• Gertrude
• Ophelia

Using their open and closed questions, the children were very keen to hold a Question Time session, whereby they could interview each character.

History

In our history lessons, the children first began my using their research skills to explore key events in William Shakespeare's life

They represented this information by placing it in chronological order on a timeline.

The children then investigated the symbolism of the Tudor Rose

They researched the events of the famous Battle of Bosworth between the Houses of Lancaster and York.

They found out that the Lancaster house was led by the cunning King Richard 111 and that his soldiers wore the Red Rose.

During the battle, King Richard was outwitted and was eventually killed.

Henry Tudor became King Henry V11 and by marrying Elizabeth of York, he joined the two houses together. 

The new symbol then became known as the Tudor Rose

Geography

The children discussed where the play Hamlet was set and discovered that it was Denmark.

By using a variety of resources, such as atlases and the internet, they explored the location of physical and human characteristics. 

They decided the label the following on a map of Denmark:-

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​major cities and towns
• rivers and lakes
• seas and oceans

The children decided that they wanted to use their research skills to find out some interesting facts about Denmark.

Firstly, they brainstormed categories to research and came up with the following:-

• food
• clothes
• currency
• climate
• history
• traditions
• celebrations and holidaysa
• flag
• capital
• towns and cities
•  

They used S2S for Research when using the internet

• type accurately and use appropriate language
• Use relevant websites
• choose relevant information
• understand information
• use your own words
• use bullet points

They then explored S2S for making a poster

• add colour
• clear layout
• pictures
• different fonts
• short and snappy title
• big bold title
• neat handwriting
• use fairy lines to draw
• use a ruler
• accurate spelling

Using their S2S and the information they collated from their research, they produced some wonderful posters

Art

During the class Art lessons, the children have focused on the Tudor Rose.

First;, they used their observation and sketching skills to draw the Rose.

They paid close attention to detail and shading.

The children were then excited to recreate the Tudor Rose from clay

They very much enjoyed painting them carefully

Science

This term Sycamore Class are investigating forces.

They identified that a force is a push or a pull and included:

• water resistance
• gravity
• reaction force
• buoyancy
• air resistance
• driving force 
• magnestism

They then distinguished the difference between

 MASS - 'a measure of the amount of stuff inside an object' and measured in grams and kilograms

WEIGHT - 'a measure of the strength of gravity acting on an object' and measured in Newtons

The children had great fun completing an experiment to investigate the force of gravity by measuring the weight and mass of different objects. 

The children wanted to investigate Friction and the effect it could have on a moving object.

They thought of a question to investigate:

I want to investigate which  surface will make a toy car travel the furthest distance

Then they decided what surface to test and decided on the following:-

• bark
• carpet
• rubber (Mole Hill)
• Grass
• Gym mat
• Concrete (playground)
• Hall
• Track
• Astro Turf

The children carefully measured the distance the car travelled once it left the slide. They repeated the investigation 3 times.

They discovered that the car travelled the furthest on the hall floor and the shortest distance on the grass.

They understood the importance of Friction and how it could be helpful in slowing a vehicle down.

PE -Gymnastics

This term, Sycamore have been really enjoying their gymnastics lessons with a focus on symmetry and balance

They have worked on

• completing a four element sequence containing actions at different heights and speeds
• exploring symmetry to balance and travel
• exploring asymmetrical balances and travels
• working together to perform counter balances and trust exercises
• applying compositional ideas to counter balances

Forest School

On Friday 8th October 2021. Sycamore enjoyed their turn in Forest School.

Fiona started the session by reading a poem and asked the children to reflect on the importance of the message.

Then she finished the session with the acrostic poem about Conkers.

Sycamore class are so excited as Fiona says she is also going to give the class a couple of conkers and pots so we can start growing our own horse chestnut trees.

Great excitement was had as a frog was found.

Leila & Liv made sausage & mash followed by chocolate cake at the mud kitchen.

Stan was on the  hunt for conkers.

All the children enjoyed lots of den building.

Haruki used his engineering skills when stabilising a wonky bridge

Lisa practiced her gymnastics skills

Ashley explored different sound making

Children used reference books to help them identify different species of bugs and spiders, as well as spotting different funghi.

Music - Guitars

Sycamore were very excited to begin to learn a new instrument at the beginning of the first term.

They have each been given a guitar and with the skill and experience of the teacher Mrs Hogan, they have already mastered 3 notes and are confidently playing as an ensemble.