Junior – Toftwood Infant and Junior School Federation

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day was marked in an assembly at the Junior School. The children learnt about Armistice Day on the 11th November 1918. At 11 o’clock on that day, nations who were fighting laid down their weapons and this signalled the end of the war (known then as the “Great War”). Today, we know it as the First World War. Armistice is an agreement for peace.

One year later, the first two-minute silence was held. King George V had asked the people of Britain to pause and remember all those who had fought and died in the service of their country.

In in 1920, King George unveiled the nation’s new war memorial called the Cenotaph, where people go to remember the fallen.

The children found out about the Royal British Legion and how it remembers the fallen by launching the Poppy Appeal, where members and volunteers sell millions of red paper poppies. In the weeks leading up to 11th November and on Remembrance Sunday, people are asked to wear a poppy as an act of remembrance.

The children listened respectfully and with interest.

On Wednesday 8^th November, key stage one children were extremely lucky to be joined by the Mayor of Dereham. He talked to the children about why we wear poppies, the significance of the poppy and encouraged the children to join in with reciting a special passage to remember the soldiers who fought in the wars.

On the Friday the Infant School participated in class assemblies for Remembrance Day, including a two minute silence. Reception children also had the opportunity to make poppies.

Black History Month

Year 3 enjoyed watching a video and researching the life of Mary Seacole, who was born in Jamaica over 200 years ago. She broke social rules and prejudices to travel the world, run businesses and help those in need – even in the most dangerous places. She was best known for her work as a nurse in the Crimean War and is remembered as an incredible woman and inspiring role model. They used their findings to engage in a discussion and debate about her achievements. In music, the children learned to sing a Ghanan folk song Tue Tue and to play it on the ocarina.

Year 4 have been ‘celebrating our sisters’ in relation to this year’s Black History month theme. We have learnt about Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman and the part which they played in the Civil Rights Movement. We discussed the important of equality throughout our school and what we can do to ensure we treat everyone with respect. Finally, we created some beautiful art work to celebrate our differences. In music, the children learned a Rap celebrating Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

Year 5 have been finding out about Harriet Tubman and her “underground Railway” where she devoted her life to secretly freeing slaves. We designed panels for a patchwork quilt, which has symbols to represent messages like, get your wagon ready or take the mountain path to find a safe house. The symbols were used, partly to remain secretive, but also because the slaves could not read or write.

Year 6

To celebrate and recognise black history month in Year 6, we researched influential women that have contributed to different industries such as sport, science and medicine, politics, entertainment and broadcasting, literature arts and music. We presented the information that we found in a variety of ways such as: posters, storyboards and drawings. We discussed the theme of this year’s black history month and that this is an opportunity to for everyone to learn about significant Black and Mixed Heritage people and their contributions to Britain and worldwide.

Year 3 School Trip Autumn 1 2023

Autumn 1 2023, Year 3 School Trip

On Wednesday 11^th October, Year 3 visited the Norwich Cathedral and participated in their Sacred Science programme of study. We explored different aspects of Science and learnt all about the history of why the cathedral was constructed. We re-capped our geographical learning with compass points and absorbed the magnificence of the cathedral as a historic building.

As part of our current Science unit: Forces, we explored how effective the force of gravity was in the construction of the cathedral during William the Conqueror’s reign. We used the medieval mason’s template to re-create an archway. We worked together beautifully to create our arches, we displayed determination, resilience and perseverance which enabled us to be successful medieval stonemasons.

As part of our upcoming Science unit: Light, we also explored Opaque, Translucent and Transparent materials. We discussed how our bodies block the sun, causing shadows.

We examined the effect of stained glass on light. Exploring the translucent qualities that create the vibrant colours of the cathedral windows. We compared the stained glass windows with the clear glass of the modern section of the cathedral and observed that it was transparent.

We all had the opportunity to create our own stained glass window, with opaque and translucent materials. We explored depth of colour and during the process we explored the effect of light on our own creations. The work was amazing and we are creating a year group display of them.

After learning so much new information, including that the cathedral has its own cat: Budge, we left at the end of the day able to talk about our fabulous experience.

Pupil quotes about the day:

“I loved going to the cathedral because we learned more about Forces which is our Science topic.” Emmy-Mae

“I liked making the stained glass windows because they were really colourful. It showed us how the stained glass is translucent.” Anni and Alice.

“I loved being in such an old building and knowing people still go to pray today.”

“I really liked learning about how the windows tell a story.” Kendra

“I liked learning about gravity because I didn’t know what it was.” Elliott

Science Autumn 1 2023

Year 3

This half term we have been learning about Forces and Magnets. The children started their learning by classifying whether objects were magnetic or non magnetic. Using bar magnets the children observed what happened when the same poles on two magnets were placed together and when different poles were placed together. We learned the vocabulary attract and repel to describe what happened. Using a selection of magnets the children carried out an experiment to see which magnet was the strongest. We made a prediction at the start and after displaying the results on a bar graph we decided whether our predictions were correct.

We then moved on to learning about push and pull forces, the children acted out a force for the class to guess which they were!

Our final experiment saw the children deciding which material had the greatest friction. Discussions were had to decide how to make the experiment a fair test. Our recent trip to Norwich Cathedral was the perfect way to introduce our next topic – Light!

Year 4

In Science, our topic has been States of Matter, the children have been very enthusiastic about the experiments and particularly enjoyed melting different solids (even if it did make some of them hungry). They have enjoyed demonstrating their understanding of how solids, liquids and gasses move and how they can change state when heated or cooled. We ended the topic by exploring the water cycle and the children loved learning the water cycle rap and even making up their own dance moves!

Year 5

During Autumn 1, Year 5 have been studying the topic of Space.

We began this topic by working in groups to sort evidence cards into groups. We decided whether then card supported the idea that the Earth was spherical or that the Earth was flat. We then summarised our findings as a class.

Year 5 then moved on to look at the movement of Earth and other planets in relation to the sun. We conducted our own shadow investigation demonstrating the spinning of the Earth. We carried out an observation over time and made predictions about how we thought our shadow may change over the day. Once an hour over the school day we went out to the playground and observed how our shadows have changed by drawing around them using chalk. We then discussed our findings at the end of the day and linked them to the use of sun dials.

From our knowledge gained from the shadows experience in the following lesson we could begin to explain day and night. We used globes and torchers to recreate the day and night effect.

Year 5 have also looked at the movement of the moon and created their own research page using tablets. Finally we found out about Galileo and his work on pendulums before making our own pendulums and writing up our findings.

Year 6

We started year 6 by learning about animals, including humans. We learnt about the circulatory and digestive systems and carried out an investigation into how exercise affects our heart rate. We found that after 2 minutes continuous exercise our heart rates speeds up to help oxygen reach our organs more quickly. We also learnt about how to live a healthy lifestyle, including diet and exercise. Over the course of a week, we did regular exercise each morning to see if this helped us to be more alert during our lessons. Most of us found that we did find it easier to concentrate in our morning lessons after five minute jog or continuous exercise.

RE throughout Autumn…

Year 3

Our theological focus this half term has been the Christianity and the Creation story. We have thought about what it teaches Christians and how it shapes their values. We have also compared the Christian Creation story to the Jewish Creation story in our learning.

Year 4

This term in RE we have been answering our big question “What difference does being a Muslim make to daily life?”. The children have explored the concept of the 5 pillars of Islam and the Islamic festivals, Eid and Ramadan.

We have learnt about the diversity within the religion and the children enjoyed watching videos about how different Islamic countries have a variety of traditions.

Year 5

During autumn 1, Year 5 have studied Humanism and their beliefs. They have carefully considered what a Humanist is. In addition to this, they have understood that Humanism believe in three main things: science, logic and reason. After, the children answered our ethical enquiry question of ‘Is life a journey and do Humanists believe it ever ends?’.

Year 6

This half term we have combined our RE with our history to look at the treatment of Jews during World War 2 and the Holocaust. Our question was: How can belief in God help people in times of trouble?

We started off by reminding ourselves of the main beliefs of Judaism and its history. We then learnt about the treatment of Jews by the Nazis and some of the words of comfort and encouragement that are found in the Old Testament of the Bible. After this we learnt about the attitude of Anne Frank and how her faith in God helped her to keep strong while she was in hiding. Finally, we wrote a response to our question, referring to our lessons, and added how we find strength when we are going through hard times.

Geography Year 5 Autumn 1

Year 5 have been learning about earthquakes and plate tectonics. This builds nicely on their prior learning of mountains and volcanoes in Year 4; they started the topic developing their retrieval skills, to enable them to build on this knowledge. They then represented their learning in an A3 spread, like the example shown below.

Science Summer Term 2023

Year 3

This term, we have been learning about Plants and observed over time the experiment of planting bean seeds in soil, sand, and just water. We then observed the changes each week and recorded these observations over time on a table. At the end of the experiment, we planted the beans plants outside and we have been studying a biology unit – ‘Animals including Humans’. We have learnt about different types of skeletons in animals including comparing human and animal skeletons. We have become budding doctors, learning the names of major bones and muscle groups.

Then we moved on to nutrition, studying what is needed for a healthy diet, the names of food groups plus how to examine food packaging. We were very surprised at the nutritional content of some of our favourite fast food items!

Year 4

In Year 4, children have been learning about classification an habitats. We have looked at why we might need to classify living things into different categories. The children have also looked at how animals are well suited to the environment they live in – their habitat. They discovered how changing habitats could pose a danger to the living things within them and how we can better protect living things.

We then moved on to look at our teeth and digestive system. The children loved learning about all of the organs in the digestive system. They created some excellent piece of writing to describe how food moves through our bodies! We also conducted an experiment to see how different drinks can affect our teeth. The children used eggs, as the eggshells resemble the enamel on our teeth.

Year 5

Year 5 enjoyed going on a visit to Sculthorpe Moor, near Fakenham where they were able to add to their prior learning about living things and their habitats in Summer 1. They participated in pond dipping, learning to identify what they had caught. A walk through the Carr area linked nicely to the Broads environment work too. They also made observations of birds, in the hides and identified them too. Bug hunting was also an exciting challenge for them. Observing, classifying, grouping and identifying are important scientific skills.

Summer 2 followed on with animals including humans, where we looked at timelines, babies and their growth and development, puberty and old age; this also reinforced our learning in RSE.

Year 6

Year 6 have been studying Living things and their habitats as well as Electricity this term.

Within Living things and their habitats, the children have looked to classify animals through the animal’s characteristics and learning about and how to use the Linnaean system.

Our electricity work was also cross-curricular with our History topic and after learning about how to create a simple lighting circuit. We investigated how differing voltages can affect the brightness of a bulb. Using this we looked for patterns in correlation to the number of cells used to the number of batteries. After adding a switch to these circuits, we then created a lighting circuit that could be used in our Reproduction Anderson Shelters that could provide light (but not too much) when our doors were closed if there was an air raid warning.

English Summer 2023

Year 3

In the summer term, year three have been focussing on writing biographies, persuasive letters and non-chronological reports.

After completing our research, we wrote a biography on Mary Anning – who is our focus scientist in Year 3. Next, we wrote a persuasive letter to the Council explaining why they should / should not build houses

First of all, we read all about the Tongo Lizard before creating our own fantastic beasts – a hybrid of existing animals. Some were very formidable! We then thought carefully about creating headings and organising information to write in note form. Once this was done, we created a non-chronological report on our own beast.

Following this, we used our volcano knowledge to create a non-chronological report on ‘Vicious Volcanoes’, organising everything we knew into different sub headings and paragraphs. We also created a glossary for all that new technical vocabulary.

Year 4

This term we are learning how to write diary entries using the book ‘Voices in the Park’ as a stimulus. The children have enjoyed reading the story and analysing the different character perspectives and how this shapes the story line. They have focussed on skills such as; informal language, first person, past tense and inference to create a series of diary entries in the voice of a character from our book.

Year 5

During the summer term, year 5 have studied Traditional Tales. We explored three Traditional Tales: The Musicians of Bremen,
Rumpelstiltskin and The Iron Man. The children enjoyed the repetitiveness of particular sentences. After exploring what makes a good Traditional Tale, the children then started to write their own in the style of The Iron Man. They carefully considered the different features and were able to confidently develop their character and setting.

Year 6

This half term we have been using our English lessons to practise reading and performing a play for our end of year presentation. We have focussed on reading the script for meaning, speaking loudly, clearly and confidently (taking notice of punctuation to enhance meaning) and adding expression to our reading. We then had to learn our lines and deliver them in front of an audience. We really enjoyed doing this and some of us discovered hidden theatrical talents!

Art Summer Term

Year 3

This term we looked at the artist Jeannie Baker and created a collage using natural materials. We also used this knowledge to create our own window collages with our grown-ups during a parent afternoon. We used a variety of materials such as fabrics, tissue paper, crepe paper, foil and magazines.

As part of SAW (Science, Art and Writing) week, we created a sunrise of a prehistoric world and after researching dinosaur shapes, created a silhouette of a dinosaur to place on our watercolour background. We focussed on perspective using smaller silhouettes in the background and larger silhouettes in the foreground of our paintings.

As part of our school trip, we created a modern stained glass window – inspired by Norwich Cathedral’s modern trinity stained glass window.

Year 4

Inspired by our English unit of Africa, we created an African sunset using watercolours. We then researched the types of African animals and trees prevalent and used black card to create the silhouettes.

Year 5

Using our knowledge of the Norfolk Broads from our Geography unit as our inspiration for our art, we created a collage. We made mood boards, thinking about foregrounds, backgrounds, perspective and textiles.

Year 6

As part of our topic on World War 2, the children designed and made Anderson Shelters. They used their measuring, cutting and design skills to create their shelters and then evaluated them based upon their strength and appearance. The children worked very hard to make them look authentic; some even had little vegetables growing on the roof just as they did during the war.

Art Spring Term

Year 3

We used our knowledge of Stone Age cave art to create our very own stone age inspired painting. We emulated Neanderthal techniques by using sticks to daub paint on an uneven surface to create animal and hand images.

We also learnt about the artist Georgia O’Keeffe and created our own flowers, using the different mediums of watercolours, sketching pencil and oil pastels.

Year 4

Using our knowledge of Islamic art, we created a tile block using thick string showing an Islamic pattern and then painted over this, pressed it onto the paper to create a Islamic inspired print.

Year 5

Inspired by our Art unit on Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, we created a piece of pop art using lino printing. We re-created our image four times setting a different paint colour over the tile each time. The images made were very striking.

DT Summer Term

Year 3

We designed, created and evaluated a seed bag using a number of materials and stitches (running, over and back-stitch). We also made a meatless pasty, making out own dough, gravy, and filling. They were absolutely delicious and as one child said “I was surprised I liked them because they didn’t have any meat in them!”

Year 4

We designed, created and evaluated our very own hand puppets, using felt and cotton thread. We used a variety of stitches running and blanket stitch. The children used the hot glue gun to seal facial accessories to puppet and make them realistic.

For our final Food technology project, we made veggie chilli, learning that the carrot needed to be chopped much smaller than they were! Despite the large chunks, the chilli was delicious and many children were keen to re-create this at home.

Year 5

We made a wall hanging highlighting the plastic pollution crises in our seas. The children demonstrated excellent sewing skills consolidating on their prior knowledge of stitches using a running stitch to create a wave effect and then used the same stitches to sew their felt ‘realistic and abstract’ creatures onto the wall hanging.

Year 6

The children also used their food tech skills to create a pizza which they served with a salad. They used chopping skills to create the topping, and weighing and kneading skills to create the pizza base. Everyone really enjoyed making their pizzas and especially loved eating them!

DT Spring Term

Year 3

Year 3 made healthy flapjacks, using many of our food technology skills to create these delicious little treats! We used oats, dates, cherries, pumpkin and sunflower seeds as well as a little golden syrup and a healthy unsaturated fat.

We also used our history knowledge of Stone Age dwellings to create a stone-age shelter. We used our measuring skills to ensure our roundhouse was in proportion to its roof. The children carefully moulded the clay then rolled it out using the rolling pins. They created their own template and then cut this out of the flat clay that they then sealed with water, after decorating the sides with a stone effect.

Year 4

The children have been using their geographical knowledge of maps and mountains alongside their scientific knowledge of electrical circuits to create electrical board games! They have put a lot of thought into the bright, eye catching design of their games and we have discussed how important it is for our “wires” (made from foil and masking tape) not to cross over so that the circuits are complete and the games work properly. The children have loved researching different mountains in Europe and then plotting them on their maps. Some of them were surprised to learn about the mountains we have in the United Kingdom!

We also used our Food Technology skills to create fishcakes – using tuna, potatoes, sweetcorn and breadcrumbs. The children found it enjoyable to make these and most were brave enough to try them – surprising themselves by finding them tasty!

Year 5

We focused on our food technology skills and created veggie burgers as well as lemon drizzle cupcakes. We used all of the skills from our prior learning to create these yummy dishes.