Sunday, 7 April 2013

Dosbarth Coala Summer Term 2013




Hello everyone, I hope you have had a relaxing but fun Easter and have not eaten too many Easter eggs ! I hope you have all recharged you batteries and are ready to start our last term together.  It is going to be a long one, 14 weeks in total!

Our topic for this term is 'Land Ahoy'. This project has a design and technology focus and teaches children about a range of mechanisms and forces and compares Cardiff Bay now and then. In the Innovate Stage children apply their skills and understanding by designing and making their own boat to rescue the cargo from a sinking ship. Here is a brief overview of what we will be doing:


Language, Literacy and Communication Skills

*  Wanted/Missing posters for pirates.
*  Listen to and re-tell stories and poems about the sea, including traditional folk and fairy stories from Wales and other countries.
*  Read reports and accounts of seashore rescues – in the locality or other areas.
*  Pupils research and complete their own class book on the different types of boats that exist past and present.
*  Role-play on the theme of boats/sea rescue/pirates.
* Outdoor Role Play Area – visit a tourist information centre to plan their visit around Cardiff Bay.
*  Pupils read non-chronological reports and discuss their features.
*  Pupils write their own non-chronological reports about boats.
*  Letter Writing describing the boat they have created.
*  Hot seating characters from stories.
*  Interview a ‘ship’s Captain’ (real or imaginary!) to talk about their work.
*  Drama – Freeze frames of particular scenes from stories.
*  Learn strategies for planning their own narrative stories on a theme of boats or rescue.


Mathematical Development
* Block graphs and pictographs.
Negative numbers and temperatures.
Division
Capacity.

Physical Development
*Orienteering Skills.


Creative Development

* Measure, mark and cut different boat shapes from a range of materials.



* Learn skills of joining, gluing, folding and assembling a range of materials 
to make simple boats that float.
Create and practise dance and movement to music about water and the sea 
including traditional sea shanties.
*Make detailed drawings of boats and mechanisms from first and second 
hand source materials.  Explore, line, mark making and using different media 
to draw.
*Listen and begin to sing along to songs about sea including sea shanties.

Knowledge & Understanding of the World
*Find out about different types of mechanisms and resources boats use 
such as winches, pulleys, levers and joints that allow movements.
*Play with a range of toys, including boats that have moving parts and 
mechanisms.
* Float, race, push and pull different types of toy boats in a variety of places.
* Look in detail at Cardiff Bay and find out about its physical and human 
features.
*Compare Cardiff Bay before and after The Barrage was built.
* Develop fair tests to investigate which boat can carry most treasure/cargo.

Welsh Language Development
*Counting to 100 in Welsh and answering the following Faint ydy 30 a 40? 
Faint ydy 60 tynnu 40?
* Discussing brothers and sisters in Welsh – Oes brawd neu chwaer da ti?  
Carry out a questionnaire and graph the results using Purple Mash.
* Read the book ‘Teulu Tomas’ and rewrite the book for older pupils using all 
phrases previously taught.
* Read their new book to Dosbarth Twcan.

Some important dates for this term:
* Thursday April 11th - Dosbarth Coala and Cangarw visit to Cardiff Bay (more 
details to follow)
*Monday 22 nd and Tuesday 23 rd April Parents Evening - if you haven't already 
done so please can you return your slips with your preferred date and time.