Thursday 30 April 2009

Brand new student council reps for 3W!

Congratulations to all of the candidates for applying to be student council reps:

Jessica, Grace, Sinead, Lei, Luc, Khalid, Prabhav, Tushar, Daniel and Jo.

After talking about their ideas in front of the whole class and having a secret vote and a very exciting counting process...the elected reps are:

Grace and Luc!

I'm really pleased to have so many children who are keen to take part in their council and who want to take responsibility for how their class, year group and school works.

Reading target

Well done to Yuqing!
She was the first to send me her reading target sheet for April.
Click here for Yuqing's reviews.

For a good powerpoint story by Luc, follow this link. We'll learn more about powerpoint this term I think.

Wednesday 29 April 2009

EAL - Year 3 blog - link added

Yes...it's here!
Follow the link in the general links section on the RHS (right hand side) of the blog to go to the Y3 EAL blog.

There is great information about our Ancient Egypt topic, and some brilliant vocabulary ideas.

Monday 27 April 2009

Candles as clocks

Tushar did these two great pieces of research. It sounds like they could be true. What do you think?
If we could find another source which backs up the information, it would be even more credible (believable). Maybe you could research using a recent encyclopedia when we are in the library this week.
Well done!
Mr.Ben here is a lot of candle clock information A candle clock was one of the first methods of measuring the passage of time. From ancient Asia to the Dark Ages of Britain, people found ways to use candles to tell time. Though no one knows who invented the first candle clock, there is no doubt that they have been in use for centuries. Types of Candle Clocks Most candle clocks consisted of a 12-inch tall thin candle with markings that represented blocks of time. Common markings used were simple lines or numbers placed on both sides of the candle. As the candle burned past each marking, a person could have a sense of how much time was passing. Candle clocks were also used as timers. A person would stick a nail into the candle at the marking that represented the desired amount of time. Eventually the wax would melt and release the nail. The sound of the nail falling onto the candle plate alerted the person to the passage of time. Some candle clocks incorporated multiple candles and special holders. In multiple candle systems, candles of graduating sizes and markings indicated a specific period of time. As each candle burned, a person could measure time. Sometimes the candle holder or plate had panels with markings that assisted time keeping. Ancient China used candles and sticks of incense to measure time. Crude versions used sticks of different scents to measure time. Time passage was noted by a change in fragrance. Later versions of incense clocks combined sticks of incense with weights held by thread. When the stick of incense burned a thread, a weight was released and dropped on a plate. The sound of the weight on the plate indicated a passage of time. Read more: "Candle Clocks: An Early Method of Telling Time" - http://historicalresources.suite101.com/article.cfm/candle_clocks#ixzz3QOySWcOv&A I hope it is true,
Dear Mr.Ben,

I have more evidence that the sun spins:
Yes, the sun does spin, or rotate. Because it is a gas, it does not rotate like a solid. The sun actually spins faster at its equator than at its poles. The sun rotates once every 27 days at its equator, but only once every 31 days at its poles. We know this by watching the motion of sunspots and other solar features across the sun. The giant gas planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, also spin faster at their equators than at their poles.

On http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_kids/AskKids/sunspin.shtml

With special telescopes, scientists looking at our Sun notice that its features appear to move from one side to the other.

This is because our Sun actually spins. (Just like our planet Earth, only much more slowly.) It takes about 27 days for the Sun to make one complete rotation.

On
http://solar.physics.montana.edu/YPOP/Spotlight/Tour/tour06.html This link also has an animation of the sun spinning

from Tushar
Tushar, excellent research. Well done for including the source (the place you found the information). It would be even more reliable if we could find the same information from another source.
Well done,
Mr Ben


New Project Homework

We have some new homework this term.
We don't have reading comprehension any more.
We don't have maths homework on Mondays.
We DO still have spellings, tested on Thursdays.

It is called Project Homework. We will be doing the homework in a booklet and it is due to be handed in on Thursday 7th May.

You must also make a front cover, including your name and "Project Homework"

The first task is to Investigate the number 31.

You need to be:
  • organised (time and presentation),
  • tidy,
  • knowledgeable,
  • a risk taker,
  • a thinker,
  • open-minded
  • a good communicator
  • CREATIVE
Please use the two pages of the book which contain the task slip.

Good luck.

You will have to wait until Monday 11th May for news of the next topic homework.

Friday 24 April 2009

Unanswered science questions

Do you remember we came up with lots of "light and shadow" questions?

Can you answer any of them?

Send answers as comments, including where you found the answer(this is called a reference).
Who?
Who invented candles?
Who invented the light bulb?
What
What is light?
What are sunspots?
What is dark?
Where?
Where do shadows come from?
Where does light come from?
Where is the darkest place in the world/the universe?
When?
When was the light bulb/candle invented?
Why?
Why does light happen?
Why do we have shadows?
Why do we have rainbows?
Why are rainbows made of different colours?
Why don't the flames from the sun go out?
Why do shadows stretch?

Egyptian Creation Myth

For a selection of animated myths, go to The Big Myth.

The Egyptian creation myth is animated and is read to you. There are lots of complicated names but don't let this put you off.

How did Atum give birth to his son and daughter, according to this myth? It's quite disgusting!

Want an extension project? Then go to the exercises, make a project based around some of the questions and write it up...remember if you help others learn you will earn marbles!

Thursday 23 April 2009

Breaking news! Artefacts Found

Go to eclassroom for a new unit about the archaeological finds at school.
Find links to the webpage we saw in assembly today!

Post your comments in eclassroom.

Student Council Election

Term three is here and it is a time to say thankyou to Kristine and Gaius for representing the class as school council reps. They have worked very hard attending meetings, writing letters, collecting our opinions and taking risks by bravely speaking up for the rest of the class.

Ten people said they would like to take part in the elections for Term Three Student Council Representative for 3W.

Here is the application form. Please print and hand in before Thursday of next week (30th April).

Good luck.

Please be ready to say a few words to the class about why you would be a good rep.

Hippopotamuses or hippopotami?

How do you vaccinate a hippopotamus?
With a hippodermic needle.

Very funny!
But what happens if you have more than one hippopotamus?

In spelling today, I said that the plural of hippopotamus was hippopotami. Well, it seems I was wrong. The correct spelling is actually hippopotamuses. The Oxford English dictionary says so.

The English language can be very confusing and it gets especially confusing when you move a round the world, particularly between England and America: colour or color, favourite or favorite and there are many more.

For a history of English spelling look here.





Tuesday 21 April 2009

Spelling

Weekly words too easy? Want a bit of a challenge? Want to add an element of time?

Try Spell-a-thon.

It doesn't teach the meanings, but it does tell you the right spellings.

My first score was 45...comment on your score.

ICT link

Today's ICT lesson about manipulating sound was from this website. http://www.sfskids.org/templates/splash.asp

We looked at instruments from the orchestra.

Sunday 19 April 2009

Light and Shadows - the earth in space

Why does the sun appear to move across the sky?
Why does the sun create shadows which change in length and direction during the day? Look here for a great animation. What time on the animation is the shadow the longest? Send answers as comments - remember to put your name if you use the answer anonymously option.

Usually I show it in class by using a bright light, a globe and a piece of blutack shaped like a person!

This website shows the earth rotating and you can change the month of the year to show how much sun each part of the earth gets.

This website is a great animation of the earth rotating, while it orbits the earth and while the moon orbits the earth.

To see how to make shadows bigger or smaller using an object, a screen and a light source, look here.

Saturday 18 April 2009

Welcome back on Monday!

I hope you all have had a great holiday. Please send me a favourite photo from your holiday along with a question which we could answer by looking at the photo...then I might be able to post it to the blog. For Internet safety, remember that when I post pictures, I won't post names.

Here's another joke from Athena!

What do you call the river Nile when there are crocodiles?

Croconile!

Have a look at the links in the earlier post about Egypt. There are some more links to great websites which answer where and when questions about the Ancient Egyptians.

Friday 3 April 2009

A few more ...

How did brave Egyptians write?
In hero-glyphics (hieroglyphics)!

Who changed King Tut's diapers?
His mummy.

What kind of music do mummies prefer?
Rap music.

Egypt...the journey of discovery begins!

We start learning about The Ancient Egyptians in term three. It will be great.

Here are some funny(ish) jokes. Please send any more as comments to this post.

How do you ring an Egyptian doorbell?
Tutankhamun (Toot and come in!)


Do you know why you'll never starve to death in the desert?
Because of the "sand which is" there!

What did King Tut say when he had a nightmare?
"I want my Mummy!"

What do you get if you cross an Egyptian mummy and a car mechanic?
Toot and Car Man.

Start to find out about the ancient Egyptians. Remember the question words...they will help you to think about what you want to find out:
who - Who is the Ancient Egyptian Goddess of cats?
what - what do words like amulet, embalming and natron mean?
where
Where is Egypt? 
when
When did the ancient Egyptians live?
why - Why did the Ancient Egyptians use a hook during mummification?
- Why did the pharaohs build pyramids?
- Why do we learn about the Egyptians?
- Why is King Tut famous?
which - Which is the biggest pyramid?
how - How did the Egyptians write?

Please send any links to me...you might like to try this one...maybe send me a webreview of the site...what did it help you to learn? Did it teach you new vocabulary? Were there good illustrations?


Thursday 2 April 2009

Wow! What a busy term!


We have been very reflective today, reviewing the term. We have also spent some time thinking about our maths assessments.
We thought of all the elements of the term at school and added them to this kidspiration map. Some children felt it was too messy. They may be right. We used it as a reminder or prompt for our review writing which will go home in our record of achievement today or tomorrow.

Wednesday 1 April 2009

Happy Songkran from all of 3W


Maths games

We've been having a busy week this week and have done quite a lot of maths assessment activities over a range of topics, including the ones below:
Follow the links to have a go at some of these practice activities.

Also remember to look at your eclassroom quiz and check what you need to work on. (Apologies for the incorrect answer for one question...the quiz has now been changed).