Fractions

Fractions!

We look and interact with fractions each day – like cutting cake, eating pizza, reading half the book, getting into 2 teams, eating half / quarter of your sandwich….
We have recently looked at fractions! We look at them as part of a shape and then part of a group. The Year 2′s switched right on with them as part of a shape and could easily cut up and colour what fraction was needed. Fractions as part of a group is much harder to conceptualise and we will need to revisit this idea soon to keep it in our heads!

Ideas taught in class:

    Whole Fractions – one big group
2/2
4/4
8/8

Halves – Half of a group – breaking into 2 groups
1/2
2/4
4/8

     Quarters – Quarter of a group – breaking into 4 groups
1/4
2/8

Hardest concept so far are eighths!

     Eighths – An Eighth of a group – breaking into 8 equal groups!
1/8

Division

A few key pointers to remember:

* Means shared among
* Means in groups of
* Means divided by

Get the children to draw pictures or manipulate objects to help them understand the concept!

Below is a game you could use to enjoy learning division.
(You can choose the difficulty of the game by ‘creating a game’, then choosing a custom game and putting in your number limits.) Click on the picture below to have a go.

Time

Time!

What seems to be easy skill for us is a tricky concept for some children to grasp.

Here are some of the major ideas taught in class:

When the Big Hand is on the:

12 – O’Clock

3 – Quarter Past

6 – Half Past

9 – Quarter To

When the big hand is on the 12 the small hand is on the hour number.

When the big hand is on the 3 the small hand is just after the hour number.

When the big hand is on the 6 the small hand is half way between the hour numbers.

When the big hand is on the 9 the small hand is almost to the new hour number.

Great game to check for understanding: Time: 15 minute intervals 

Olympics

We have been learning so much about the history and the different elements of the Olympic Games.

We have learnt about the:

• Olympic Rings – we learnt about the significance behind the colours of the rings

• Mascots – Wenlock and Mandeville! They are funny looking creatures but some interesting facts behind their intriguing  looks!  The big eye like a camera that sees everything. The taxi light on top of the head to signify London’s black taxis. The shape of their head represents the three medals won at the events. Friendship bands that represent the 5 colours of the Olympic Rings.
  
•  Torch – We Looked at the ritual of the lighting of the cauldron and the history of the flame. Below is a picture of the Cauldron – there are 22 petals for each country represented at the Olympic Games.
  
• Medals – Looking at the design behind the Medals presented in London. The design of the front of the Summer Olympic Medals are always the same - Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike arriving at the Host City. The back of the medals are designed by the Host City. This year there are 5 elements to the medal.
  - The curved background implies a bowl similar to the design of an amphitheatre.
  -The London core emblem is a metaphor for the modern city, and is deliberately jewel-like.
  - The grid suggests both a pulling together and a sense of outreach – an image of radiating energy that represents the athletes’ efforts.
  - The River Thames in the background is a symbol for London and also suggests a fluttering baroque ribbon, adding a sense of celebration.
  - The square is the final balancing motif of the design, opposing the overall circularity of the design, emphasising its focus on the centre and reinforcing the sense of ‘place’ as in a map inset.
  
•  London Motto – Citius, Altius, Fortius! Which means Faster, Higher, Stronger. We talked about how we could incorporate this into our everyday lives.
• I’m looking forward to the children’s presentations on the different sports at the games this coming Wednesday!
• Useful Website for the projects if you need any help! Olympic Games Website 

Term 3

Welcome back to Term 3!

This term we are looking at Cultures and Celebrations!

We are focussing on the Olympic Game for the first 5 weeks. For the last 5 weeks we are then looking at 5 different countries and their customs and celebrations.

A few things to look forward to are….

• Olympic Games Project Presentations on Week 5 on Wednesday
• Fun Run – Week 5 on Friday
• Book Week – Getting into Reading!  We also will be changing classes to do some Art activities based on the books.
• Cross Country – Week 8

What a lot to look forward to!!

Cat Barking?!

Stereotypes

1. Who is being stereotyped?
2. Brainstorm as many things that you can that show this stereotype.

ANZAC Cove

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