Jetsetters!
We have jetted around the world this half term!
First of all, we explored the coldest place on Earth – the continent Antarctica right at the bottom of our world! Did you know Antarctica is a frozen continent – covered almost everywhere by ice? We found out it is a desert too – but it isn’t hot, it is because hardly any rain or snow falls there – because it is so COLD! Hardly any animals live there but it is home for LOTS of penguins!
We had lots of fun rescuing trapped Arctic creatures from the huge frozen iceberg, using tools, salt, hot water and lots of patience! We read the story The Emperor’s Egg – did you know the Daddy penguin looks after the egg while Mammy goes off to sea eating lots of fish? Daddy balances the egg on his big feet to stop it rolling away, and tucks his furry tummy over it to keep it warm! Mammy comes back once the chick is born. We sequenced this using fabulous writing!
We made fantastic collages of the Emperor penguin in Antarctica using strips of coloured paper for the ocean and cutting the shapes to make a penguin. We love using different materials in Art.
In Science we tested how long we could hold our hand in a bowl of iced water (5-10 seconds!) We then made ‘blubber gloves’ using layers of squishy butter and lard! It was so messy – we put on the glove and found we could keep our hand in for ages – that’s how penguins swim in the icy Pacific Ocean – they have lots of blubber!
In Maths we have been consolidating number bonds to 10, rolling dice and counting penguins on a 10 frame, then counting how many more to 10. We can write the number sentences too!
Next, we jetted to the North Pole the Arctic where it is extremely cold, however many more animals live here as the weather does get a little warmer in summer so plants do grow, and predators can hunt other animals!
In Maths we measured polar bears using cubes. We also counted Arctic animals and created a bar chart.
Class 9 Spr 1 25 Antartica
The next continent we have explored is the hottest place on earth – Africa. We enjoyed the story ‘Handa’s Surprise’ all about a girl taking tasty African fruit to her friend. We painted fabulous animal masks and acted out the story of them stealing the fruit. We had great fun tasting exotic fruits including passion fruit! We looked carefully at the fruits and painted them.
We also colour mixed hot colours to create an African sunset. We added a silhouette of an African animal and we think they are amazing!
We have found out that the River Nile is the longest river in the world and the Sahara Desert is the hottest desert in the world! We enjoyed listening to African songs and played along to the beat on Djembo drums.
In Geography, we compared the culture/food/wildlife in Africa and the UK. Have a look at our fact files to find out more about Africa…
Class 9 Spr 1 25 Africa
