This week in Maths we have been finding strategies for halving and doubling 2, 3 and even 4 digit numbers. We started by mentally breaking down the numbers (partitioning) into tens and units. This made the number easier to manage. The tens and units were doubled or halved separately before putting the answers back together.
Example:
| 23 | ||
| (double 20) | (double 3) | |
| 40 | 6 | |
| 46 | ||
This method can be used for both doubling and halving. Children must learn this skill on paper before they can transfer this skill to mental maths.
In English this week we have been using drama and role play to put ourselves in the shoes of characters in ‘The Stone Age boy.’ We discussed how strange it would have been for the boy to suddenly appear in the Stone Age. This made us think how about Om (Stone Age girl) and how she might feel if she was transported into the modern world. It became very clear how much had changed since the Stone Age and that Om would find so much of our world confusing. In response to this we decided to write Om a letter trying to explain one thing from the modern world. This was quite tricky as we realised we could only describe things by comparing them to something Om would have experienced during the Stone Age.
Topic
This week the class have also done some independent research on the laptops about the Stone Age. We already knew there were 3 key areas of the Stone Age.
1. The Palaeolithic era (when they lived in caves.)
2. The Mesolithic era (at this point they made camps and followed the migrating herds.)
3. The Neolithic era (when they began farming and built permanent homes.)
The children were given the task of finding 3 new facts about each of the key eras during the Stone Age. To record their information they did a lot of note-taking. It was important to jot down enough information that it would make sense if they came back to read their notes a few days later – but not too much information that they wasted time. This was a new skill for a lot of the children.
Homework this week was an online interactive game. Please fill in the return form so I can see how many children were able to access the content from home. These games are a great way for children to practise key maths concepts in a fun and engaging way.
Miss Hustwayte
