4B’s final thoughts…

4B have loved having the note books and will be extremely sad to pass them on to 4S next week!

As you can see we are all enthusiastically engaged, independent learners whenever we get the chance to use them!

I like having the notebooks because you can go on games that are educational and fun at the same time! Daniel Crowley

 Instead of only going to ICT once a week, we can use the notebooks every day in the classroom. Amelie Lau

I have really enjoyed having the notebooks for these 6 weeks and the time has gone really quickly. I hope that one day I can use them again! Alex Beveridge

I love having the notebooks as they are a great source of information and fun! I hope everyone likes them as much as me! Sam Brittan

I have enjoyed having the notebooks because we can go onto Type Quick and improve our touch typing skills. Marcus Cheung

I think having the notebooks is great because ICT can come into the classroom and they are fun to use! We get to go on Type Quick for EMW. Maya Lurie

Finally my favourite comment…

I thought it was great having the notebooks as we got to learn in a different way. We were able to improve our typing skills whilst completing work at the same time!

It also gave Miss Bye a break as we focused more, so the classroom was silent! Alex Pearson

I totally agree Alex!

Now it’s 4Bs turn!

4Bs life with the notebooks…. 

Cheers were echoed around the 4B classroom as I told the children it was our turn to use the notebooks.

My first thoughts

• I am really excited about using the note books in lessons.
• I am nervous about dropping my note book and breaking it.
• I am nervous about forgetting to charge it up at night so it won’t have any battery when we use it.
• My wish is to be able to type with two hands at the end of the six weeks.  

By Noah Sapsford   

                                                                                     My first thoughts…

 The three things I am most excited about are that; ICT is coming into the classroom (yes!), we might play some games connected to the work we are doing and that EVERYDAY we will be using the notebooks – Oh yeah!!!     By Maya Lurie   

My first thoughts…

                  1. I’m really excited about using the laptops everyday!

             2. I’m also really excited about doing ICT everyday as it’s one of my favourite lessons.

                  3. I’m really nervous about dropping and breaking the laptop.

Target:   To get better at typing and finish TypeQuick.

By Alex Pearson

My first thoughts…    

I’m very excited about not having to go to the ICT suite to use the computers because now we can do ICT in the classroom, all the time. I like the idea of being able to research stuff on the notebooks instead of going through books, also I’m looking forward to doing ‘Quicktype’ every day on the notebooks. I’m a bit nervous that I might drop it and break the notebook or forget to charge it so I can’t use it.I’d liked to be able to speed up my typing.  By Sam Brittan.

After only having them for a couple of days, we have already realised how fantastic they are!

So far we have used the notebooks to further our research for our ‘Healthy Eating’ project, develop our typing skills and write poems, within literacy…

4B Haikus 

The picturesque tree,

Swaying in the gentle breeze

As the birds glide by.   

By Ella Roberts

Beautiful flowers,
dancing in the glistening sun,
bursting out in bloom.

By Elizabeth Cottee

 

Beautiful blue pond,

with exotic golden fish,

bubbling water.

By Daniel Crowley

 The bubbling water,

flows gently around the pond,       

the water glistening brightly.

By Sophie Healy

                          It’s extremely small,

                  it’s not the most exciting fish,

                                         then it disappears.  

By Nathan Benyon

4T continued to carry the torch!

Just like the    , which is protected and proudly    along,   the year 4    has been nurtured and so     graciously from 4M to 4T   so now you can catch up with 4T on what they are doing with the notepads!     Meanwhile they’ll also be reading and learning from  4M’s and 4F’s    entries.   So far 4T have enjoyed : * having direct access to a notepad and putting lessons into practise “We don’t have to wait to go to the ICT suite” “I have improved my typing * learning to read more carefully and edit work: Lily B says, “I think using the notepads is exciting and also fun. Also instead of rubbing everything out when your writing all you have to do is press the undo button when you have made a mistake! “ “I think the notepads are helpful because it helps you with your typing and also when you are answering questions all you need to do is edit the question instead of writitng it all out again!!!” L Cowie Other popular comments were: “I now know how easy it is to answer comprehension questions” “I can see how to change the words around in a sentence” We have been practising taking notes, on the Hindu Trinity, then putting them into our own words so practising using text boxes and editing was fun! “I can see when I have made a spelling mistake and I can change it easily” Further gems from L Cowie, and a top tip: “With the notepads you can actually find out new things as well, it helps you when you do things ….you can just save it but if you write it and keep it you can lose it…… but you need to be careful not to overwrite other peoples work!”

Time Flies When You’re Having Fun in 4M!

4M can’t quite believe that our time with the notebooks is up already!  Time has gone so quickly, but they do say time flies when you’re having fun!

Although we’ll be sad to say goodbye to the notebooks, we’ve really enjoyed having them in our class and wish 4T good luck with using them. 

So before we hand them over to 4T we wanted to let everybody know the exciting things we did, and learnt from using the notebooks recently.  Also we thought it may be useful to share some of our TOP TIPS to help future classes.

Day one is a day we will all remember.  We were VERY excited to finally get our hands on the notebooks!  We soon discovered that the notebooks were small and cute, perfect for our small hands! Some of us were a bit nervous about which buttons to press, until Mrs Miller explained that computers rarely blow up!  Discovering the trusty undo button was also very important! Very quickly we got used to logging on and starting our lessons using the notebooks.

 We used the notebooks for a variety of subjects such as literacy, the Ancient Greeks, the Iron Man and of course practising our typing skills using the Type Quick programme. 

                                                                   

So after our time with the notebooks we’ve come up with a list our top tips:

• Be patient! Technology has a naughty habit of not always doing what it’s supposed to!  But be patient and you’ll get what you need done. 
• Show initiative! If something doesn’t go according to plan think about what you can do to fix it – brain, buddy before the BOSS!
• Share any special shortcuts with the rest of the class, we really apprecaite a quicker way to do things e.g. F12 shortcut to save.
• Organisation!  We needed to show lots of organisation,  from laying out our work with the notebook on our desk to saving work properly and in the correct place on the network so it can be accessed again. 

We’re sure that 4T will come up with plenty more top tips to add to list but for now 4M’s main piece of advice is to enjoy the notebooks as much possible while you have them!

Transition

Back from half term, and the last week for 4F to have the notebooks before they move on to 4M. Today we used them to work on literacy skills, using the Sentence Doctor activity to diagnose poorly sentences, focusing on the placement of commas. The children are always so engaged when using the notebooks, even for something that could be quite a ‘dry’ grammar exercise.

Here is a quick challenge: where should the commas go in this sentence?

Although we will be sorry to see the notebooks go to 4M we will still work on our typing skills at home.

Answers in the comments box please!

The next few blog entries will be written by the children…so watch this space!

Busy busy busy

4F have been terribly busy, whether using the notebooks or working in a more traditional way. Our literacy focus has now switched to the skills of notetaking and the features of information texts. In keeping with our Ancient Greece topic, the children have been learning how to take notes from information texts, in the form of books and websites. Having the notebooks in class has given the children access to a wide range of material with which they have been researching the Ancient Greek city states of Athens and Sparta and more recently triremes, the powerful Greek warships which helped the Athenians win the Battle of Salamis against the Persians.

We discovered first hand today one huge advantage of having notebooks in the classroom after Mrs Flaherty asked the children if anyone knew the modern name by which the country of Persia was now known. Since nobody did, as is usual in these situations, the question was written on the board with a 2 merit prize for the first person to come back with the answer. Instead of having to remember to find out once they have got home, the children had the means to find out at their fingertips, and, as he researched triremes on the BBC Primary History website, Matt discovered the answer! Well done Matt. Can you find out the answer too?

Challenge: if you can write something in the comments about triremes that Mrs Flaherty doesn’t already know, there is 2 merits in it for you!

Going Potty

This is not a comment on Mrs Flaherty’s state of mind, but a reference to today’s work on Ancient Greek Pottery. We explored the different types of pots and their uses using this website. Children, you can explore examples of different shaped pots by following the link. Merits for comments that include information you have learnt about pots that we didn’t cover in class!

The children also decorated their own virtual pots using this website from the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery and printed a copy for their topic books. Surf around the website for a great timeline of Ancient Greece. Merits for comments to this post that include a fact from the timeline.

Theseus and the Minotaur

After several preparatory lessons, the children finally got to write their version of part of Theseus and the Minotaur this week.  They used the adventurous vocabulary we had shared in class to describe how they, in the person of Theseus, prepared to enter the Labyrinth, cautiously stepped inside and finally met and slayed their own personal beast. The children all worked very hard to produce their best writing. When you read the extracts below, I think you will agree with me that they should be very proud of their efforts.

‘Looking out at the sapphire sea, I was trying to think about how to defeat the monster. But I couldnt think, my mind was blank with the scorching sun sinking on me’ – Julian

‘As I clamber up the ladder I notice that I am now standing in the murky soundless Labyrinth. I feel petrified as I can see flesh and blood smothered all over the mossy wet walls. Theres a horrible putrid stench of animal dung dotted around where I’m standing. I feel startled by bats drifting around, tearing out flesh from human remains. As I’m standing here, I can hear footsteps echoing through the rock tunnel.’ – Matt

‘Now I am in the eerie Labyrinth I can see the water cascading down the walls into gigantic puddles. I can also see all the cockroaches and rats scattering around. There are skull white skeletons sitting all over the ground covered in rotting meat. I have come to a dead end but there is a tiny passage to my right which has hundreds of revolting insects in it. I think if I hit it with my sword it will open into a passageway.’ – Reuben

‘Drool hangs in globules from its cavernous mouth, his claws are as sharp as needle like swords.’ – Tom J

 

Typing Challenge for 4F

I hope all you children are practising your typing skills whenever you get the chance. Here is a challenge to motivate you! The first five people to finish Lesson 1 (sections a, b and c) with a minimum speed of 15wpm and an accuracy of over 80% will receive five merits each. The next five people will receive three merits each and the third five people will receive one merit each. To stop any sneaky people getting experts to take their lessons for them, you will have to show me how good you are in school before you earn your merits.

So get typing and don’t forget to keep your fingers over the home keys!

Year 4 Children – This post is for you!

As you know, you are currently writing your own versions of part of the Ancient Greek Myth of ‘Theseus and and Minotaur’. We have used scenes from the interactive computer game ‘Myst III Exile’ to inspire you and to help you put yourselves in Theseus’ sandals as he prepares to enter the Labyrinth and hunt for the fearsome Minotaur. [Parents: The use of Myst to engage children and enhance literacy skills was pioneered by the award winning teacher Tim Rylands who visited Cleves last year as part of our Writing Week. You can read about his visit on his blog here.]

Theseus and the Minotaur is one of the most famous Ancient Greek Myths and references to it can be found throughout our culture. If you watched Doctor Who last week you would have seen a Minotaur terrorising people in a modern version of a maze: a virtual hotel.

Theseus also battles the Minotaur in a fantastic smartphone app, a logic puzzle with multiple levels that will get your brain working. So if you have access to an iphone, ipad or android phone you can download the app and have a go. Its called, not surprisingly, ‘Theseus and the Minotaur’ and the ‘Lite’ version is free, but always ask permission from an adult before you download it.

If you fancy playing a interactive maze on your computer, you can play ‘Maze of the Minotaur’ by clicking on this link. There are various options, both with and without an enemy chasing you. Its all free to play so have a go!

Some more traditional printable Labyrinths can be found here.

So have a play around and use the comment box below to tell us about your experiences. Which game did you try? What level did you get to? Merits will be given for interesting comments, so please join in the conversation!

Just to get you in the mood, here is Jonathan’s fantastic beast that he made for last week’s homework. Fearsome!