One of our first questions was: what does the word “Varmints” mean? We considered how the word might describe different characters and why the author chose it as the title. We also looked for links to other stories, including fairy tales, and discussed similarities between the events, characters and ideas in these different texts.
This week, we took our learning one step further by working in trios to create a short discussion. Each group had three important roles. One person was a Varmint, one was an Other (the people who take over the Varmint’s land) and one was an observer.
Taking on these roles encouraged us to think carefully about different viewpoints. The Varmint had to consider what it might feel like to lose its home, while the Other had to think about the reasons behind taking over the land. The observer listened closely, noticed how each person shared their ideas and considered how well the discussion developed.
Working in this way helped us to explore the story from more than one perspective. It also gave us the opportunity to practise speaking, listening and responding thoughtfully to one another, while deepening our understanding of Helen Ward’s powerful story.
This week, we had a lovely time exploring our topic of Properties of Materials in science. We began by looking closely at key vocabulary connected to the topic, which helped us build our understanding and use the right scientific language with confidence.
The children worked brilliantly when matching cards to the correct words and meanings. This gave everyone a chance to talk about what each property means and to spot the differences between materials. We also played a pairs game, which was a fun way to revisit the vocabulary and practise remembering the new terms. It was great to hear children using words such as opaque, transparent, translucent, hard, soft, flexible, rigid and absorbent in their conversations.
Then, we carried out a science investigation using different materials with different properties. The children had the opportunity to handle, compare and sort a range of materials, thinking carefully about what they could see and feel. They noticed that some materials let light pass through, while others did not. They also explored which materials bent easily, which stayed stiff, and which soaked up water.
There was lots of careful discussion, sensible teamwork and thoughtful observation throughout the lesson. It was wonderful to see the children making links between the vocabulary and the materials in front of them, and using their knowledge to explain their ideas.