Last Week in Class Three....
21 Jul 2021
Design and Technology: Building a Shaduf
This week we have all really enjoyed a more practical week completing our Design and Technology project all about an ancient Egyptian tool - The Shaduf. This simple lever tool enabled Egyptians to move water from the river Nile to irrigate their crops which grew on the fertile soil of the riverbanks.
To build up skills, knowledge and techniques ready for our final build we first tried out several different construction methods and materials. We began our reconstructions using Lego as a building material first, a firm favourite! We found this method was effective in creating very rigid, strong supports and the children worked out how to create a moving lever with the technic pieces. We evaluated that whilst it was a useful way to construct, it wasn't very life like!
So, we then moved on to using sticks, string and playdo (mud). These created much more realistic structures but they were not at all stable! They flexed and collapsed a lot! Some groups showed excellent team work skills, really listening to each other and building on each others ideas in a collaborative, positive manner.
Finally, after we had practised some different joining techniques the children designed and created a shaduf using a free choice of materials. There were varying degrees of success, but they had a fantastic time assembling, reassembling, evaluating and creating.
Marvelous Magnets...
The children enjoyed sharing and playing with the home learning magnets projects on wednesday! Everyone had really worked hard to create something original and the projects were all fantastic! Thank you for the home support... It was a really tough decision but Archie and Sam won the prizes for their originality and hard work!
Moving on up.....
As our year comes to an end, we say goodbye to the year 4 pupils who will move up to Class Four. We can say very honestly that we are sad to be saying goodbye! This year may have been a rollercoaster but this mix of Year 3 and 4 pupils has met every challenge postively and with great enthusiam. Mrs Barker is a very lucky lady to have the lovely year 4 group moving up to her.
For those of us left behind we cannot wait to welcome the current year 2s into our class. We wrote letters last week to hopefully reassure them how epic Class three is, so all there is to do now, is prove it in September!
Have a wonderful, safe summer holiday!