What an interesting and exciting start to the spring term we have had in Years 4 and 5. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the Big Pit Mining Museum and learnt all about coal mining in Wales.We travelled back in time underground to experience first hand the working conditions of the miners, including the children who worked underground. We saw the stables where the pit ponies slept and learnt about the different roles and terrible working conditions that the children endured!

Literacy

This term in Yr 4 and 5 we have been: 

Writing discussion texts by exploring persuasion and different arguments and bias. We have looked closely at WAGOLL discussion texts and the literacy techniques . We even had the opportunity to visit the Council Chambers and debate whether Homework should be Banned. It certainly was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

We have also written poems all about our topic 'Pits and Ponies'

This term in Years 4 and 5 we have been diving into lots of exciting maths, including:

🔢 Place value

➕➖ Addition and subtraction

✖️➗ Multiplication and division

🥧 Fractions

📏 Area, length and perimeter

We have used the census data from Blaenavon to work out birth and death rates and were able to input information into our own database.

Science and Technology

In Science, Polar bears have been  exploring sound as our topic. We have discovered  the functions of the ear and different parts of the ear, different  sounds and how we hear things.

We have been: 

🔌 Investigating sound and distance⚡ Learning about sound installation and pitch and volume

In ICT, we have  been exploring and creating spreadsheets using excel to record birth and death rates

🎮✉️Using Minecraft to build a mine and Sharing work and creating online collaboratively

 

Humanities​

Our topic this term is about our local industrial heritage, the economic impact of the mining industry, the difficult working conditions for both miners and animals, and the eventual transition to modern technology. We have visited  the Big Pit Mining Museum and explored the lives of the mining communities and the jobs undertaken by young children. Some of the working conditions were horrific. Our enquiry about the mining community allowed us to discover the people living and sharing homes together, their occupations and the birth and death rates of the mining community in Blaenavon.

We have looked at the different coal mines in Wales and plotted them on a map of Wales, we have discovered how many people were killed in the mines , the poor safety equipment and the lives of the ponies used underground.

RVE

Our lessons have  encouraged thoughtful discussions about values such as kindness, respect, and fairness, while also deepening our knowledge of major world religions, their festivals, and places of worship. Through stories, debates, and creative activities,the children have been encouraged to ask big questions about life, beliefs, and morality, developing empathy and curiosity.

Expressive Arts

This term in Polar bears, we have been using drama, art, and music 🎭🎨📖 to bring characters and scenes from our story ‘Escape from the Dark ’to life. We have learnt the song ‘Bread of Heaven’ and explored different ways to develop our creativity and imagination. We have explored the work of Josef Herman and replicated his artistic style in our own work.

Health and Well-Being

This term in Polar bears, and using our novel as a stimulus, we have focused on empathy, resilience, and kindness, exploring how people cope with challenging situations, pupils have reflected on their own feelings, the importance of supporting others, and children’s rights, considering how everyone deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued.

In PE, we have continued to develop our core skills such as coordination, balance, and teamwork, while enjoying activities like dance, gymnastics and team games 🏊‍♂️. Our team sport this half-term has been netball.