MrJennings

Our English unit is based on myths and legends, linked with our forthcoming history topic about ancient Greece. We have started watching episodes of a tv programme re-telling the story of Homer's Illyad - The Odessey - and have been enjoying this. We have been summarising the plot of the story after each episode, reflecting on the problems encountered by the characters and how the hero, Odysseus, overcomes them. We have also done some descriptive writing and moved on to recounting an episode from the story, experimenting with telling this through the eyes of the main character.

In maths, we have been developing and extending our skills and knowledge in relation to fractions, decimals and percentages. We have learned about mixed numbers and improper fractions (and practised converting between these) and found fractions of numbers and quantities. Then we moved on to revise simple percentages, relate these to fractions (and decimals) and then find answers to problems based on percentages of numbers.

We have undertaken a full investigation in science to complete our topic on light. We were give the scenario that a manufacturer of cycle helmets is planning a new range and wished to know which (of a series of materials) was the most reflective. We have to plan our investigation, carry this out and write up our science report (including a graph of the results) to send off to the manufacturer.

Today we began our new design technology topic which is concerned with bridges and strong, stable structures. We investigated with ways to make a sheet of paper stick out as far as possible from the desk and then moved on to making and testing simple beams with different cross-sections (circular, triangular and square).