Welcome To Oak Class

'From tiny acorns, mighty oak trees grow!'

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RE - Why is Christmas important to Christians?

As part of our Christmas topic, we looked at Christmas Cards.  We sorted them into ones that showed a Christian message, for example with a picture of the Nativity or Jesus or other people from the bible story of the birth of Christ.  We found that there were not many at all compared to penquins or polar bears or Santa.  However, after we learned about Advent and the wreath to show God's ever lasting love and we found a lot more cards with wreaths on them.

PE and English - following instructions

Oak Class are preparing for their Innovate activity after half term.  They will need to write their own instructions for a PE game.  Today we followed instructions for three different games to see how they were written and how easily they could be followed.  Good fun!

Science - How Germs Spread

Oak Class investigated how germs spread through touch.  We used glitter on our hands to represent the germs then shook hands and carried on with normal activities.  After we looked at the objects we had touched for signs of glitter as well as how much glitter was still on our hands after washing them.  We know we need to wash our hands with soap thoroughly in order to get rid of most germs.

Science - investigation into the effects of exercise

Discovery Dog set Oak Class a question to solve.  He wanted to know which exercise would tire the puppy Naughty Nora the most.  We compared walking, running, skipping and jumping for the same amount of time then observed the effects on our body.  Jumping was the most exhausting!

RE - Holy Week

Oak Class were privileged to have Reverend Margaret visit to tell us all about how Easter is celebrated by Christians.  We watched a fascinating power point and learned lots about Easter events in the local area. We were able to look and touch different objects that are important to Reverend Margaret and are linked to Easter.  A big thank you to Reverend Margaret for taking the time to talk to us.

Marble Box Art

Year Twos in Oak Class have produced their own abstract art works after looking at paintings by Jackson Pollock.  They were produced by coating marbles in different coloured paint then bouncing them around inside a shoe box with a piece of paper in the bottom.  We think they look very effective!

Bubble Blowing Investigation

Oak investigated different bubble making mixes today, but in the end they all worked well, especially with a pipe cleaner as the wand!  Some of the bubbles even bounced!  Lots of fun, and after we went outside to chase giant bubbles too!

Bounce, Bounce, Bounce!

This week Oak Class started a new topic called 'Bounce'.  To get the children bouncing, we did lots of different activities related to bouncing, including: basket ball, space hoppers, beach balls, tennis, bounce catch nets as well as a science investigation into which ball will bounce the highest.

RE - Giving Thanks

As part of their topic about giving thanks, Oak Class pupils collected donations for the local food bank.  Look at the amount of generous donations!  A huge thank you to all the parents who contributed, the children were really happy and I am sure the food bank will be too!

Innovate - Making Bath Bombs

Amazing team work went on with Oak and Sycamore pupils when making their bath bombs for Mothering Sunday.  For Oak it was part of their Innovate activity to end the topic of Scented Garden.  They did make lovely, scented lip balm too (but we forgot to take photos!).  We hope the mums enjoyed their gifts.

Science - Parts of the Flower

To extend our knowledge of the parts of a flower, Oak Class carefully took apart some tulips.  We found that different colour tulips had different colour pollen and that, even if they were the same colour, they could have a different number of stamen.  Thank you so much to Flowers by Maxine who donated the tulips free of charge.  How kind!

Making Salads - Design Technology

Today Oak Class pupils made a fruit or vegetable (or both) salad for a member of the family at home. They designed and created the salads using the ingredients and are now working on instruction writing to tell others how it is done.  We can't wait for feedback from home to see if the salads were a success!   Take a look at the pictures below to see what they looked like before their journey home.

Year 3 Science - Rocks and Soils

Oak Class Year 3s investigated properties of rocks as part of their first lesson learning about rocks and soils.  They found out about permeable and impermeable properties as well as learning all about the different types of rock, how they are formed and what they are used for.

Music - The Tiny Seed

Oak Class investigating musical instruments to create a sound track to the story of The Tiny Seed that we adapted to a poem.  We had to find sound effects for a wide range of things including the wind, rain, fire, fish, birds and children playing.  We are now working on putting it all together to produce a polished performance.

Tractor Visit

We were very lucky to have a visit by Mr and Mrs Carr with their amazing, enormous tractor and some of the produce they grow on their farm as part of 'Bring Your Tractor to School Day'.  All the children in Oak got to sit in the tractor and ask questions about it too.  Then they found out about some of the different foods grown on the farm and where they end up.  A big thank you to Mr and Mrs Carr for taking time out from their busy farm to share with us.

Oak Flower Shop Role Play

Following our visit to Maxine's Flower Shop, Oak Class used all the information they gathered to create their own flower shop in the classroom.  They worked together as a team and the outcome is a fantastic new area to use as a role play.  

Art - Water Colours

Oak Class painted a vase of beautiful flowers from Maxine's shop using water colour paints.  We each had a different view around the bouquet and focussed on the different shapes and colours of the flowers and in making the paint 'watery' over the pencil sketching.   

Trip to Flowers By Maxine

Oak Class had a brilliant trip to Flowers By Maxine today to learn all about how to run a florist shop.  We had prepared questions and now know exactly what we need to set up our own florist shop role play in the classroom.  The children also each took home a flower pot.  A massive thank you to Maxine for having us, for your generosity and for answering all our questions so patiently.  A big thank you to the adults who supported us with the very cold walk there and back.  We can't wait to start our role play area next week!

RE - Welcoming a New Baby

Oak Class have been learning how different religions welcome a new baby and make them feel they 'belong' to more than just their immediate family.  As part of understanding Islamic birth rites, the children tried some sweet honey to help them consider how a baby is wished a 'sweet and happy' life.  They also weighed some 'hair' (wool) to understand just how much gold is given to charity to thank God for the gift of a new child.  After the children learned about how, in the Christian faith, Godparents make a promise to their Godchild.  The children have each made a promise they will try to keep for a week.  They will reflect on hard or easy it has been next week.

Historic England Award

The pupil's hard work enriching the online list of listed buildings in Tattershall was rewarded with certificates of recognition and some lovely gifts: a history linked ruler, pencil, memory stick, special badge all inside a sports bag.  Well done again Oak Class!

Enriching the List - Working with Historic England

Over the past few weeks Oak Class have been working on their topic Street Detectives along with Historic England.  Following the walk to discover the listed buildings and monuments (and a telephone box) the pupils have been writing sentences describing their thoughts on the different listed items in Tattershall village.  They have also produced some fantastic sketches of either the whole building or interesting parts of it.  Their work has now been uploaded to the Historic England website as part of their campaign to get the public to 'enrich' their list.  The links below will take you to their contributions.  The children have had great fun during this topic and are now very animated when we walk around the village spotting and asking about lots more things.  A huge thank you to Mrs Argyle from Historic England who has supported us during this topic.  More to follow soon about their special reward! 

Lodge House: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1287779

Market Cross: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1287778

Phone Box: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1288166

Wayside Antiques: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1215314

Old School: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1390624

Bridge House: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1287838

Tattershall Castle: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1215317

Holy Trinity Church: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1215320

Almshouses: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1287752

Tattershall College: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1287800

Janet's: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1215313

No 2: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1288159​

War memorial: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1288160

Nativity Play

Huge congratulations to Oak Class Year 2 pupils for their amazing performances in this year's play called The Nativity.  After lots of rehearsing they put on two fantastic performances in front of relatives and friends.  Well done!

Art - Study of Lowry

Oak Class have re created their own version of a Lowry painting after studying his cityscapes.  We used water colour paints and tried to keep to the muted colours of the originals.  We hope you like it? 

Street Detectives

Oak Class went on a walk around Tattershall village to start our topic of Street Detectives.  We were on the look out for listed buildings/items, places that needed improving, local businesses and places of work as well as anything 'old'.  We found all the buildings listed by Historical England using the small pieces of pictures we had and the maps.  The ruin of Tattershall College was most interesting and many children (and adults) didn't even know it was there.  A big thank you to the parents who supported our walk and to Mrs Argyle from Historic England too! 

Oak Class Attendance Reward

Oak Class were really pleased to win the school Guinea pigs as a reward for their good attendance on the last week of term 1.  We looked after them really well and they seemed to enjoy their trips out of the cage.  We discovered they love radish!

Design Technology - Fortress Building

Oak's innovate activity was to work in a team to build a fortress for the Three Little Pigs.  Their requirements were that it had to have an escape tunnel, a look out tower, a moat and a draw bridge.  As you can see in the pictures below, the children really succeeded in meeting these requirements.  I am sure the pigs would be happy in any of their models.

RE Start Heart Day

Oak Class really enjoyed learning about CPR when Lives came to teach them on National Re Start Heart day.  They were able to have a go at following the ABC first aid procedures and chest compressions.  It was fantastic to see how confident they became.  A massive thank you to the Lives volunteers!

Science - Newspaper Bridge Investigation

Oak investigated how to build a strong bridge starting with only one piece of newspaper.  We discussed the properties of newspaper as a material and started by trailing ways to make it stronger, such as twisting or folding.  Then we built bridges using different methods.  The bridges were tested by the billy goat, then the horse, then the cow and finally, the hippo.  It was hard to do with one sheet, so we gradually introduced 2 sheets then 3.  The successful bridges used two different ways of manipulating the newspaper, such as twisted then folded on top. It was fun!

RE The Five Pillars of Islam

Oak Class have been learning about the Islamic faith and they have begun to find out about the five pillars of Islam.  They are beginning to understand how a 'pillar' supports something and keeps it firm and safe, so they can understand the importance of the five special things that Muslims should do within the Islamic faith.   We used marshmallows and spaghetti to support a piece of paper to try to understand that one pillar is not as supportive as four or more pillars and that each pillar has equal importance as part of a 'whole'. 

Maths and Geography

Oak Class have been learning about famous towers from different countries and locating them on a world map.  They then compared the heights of some of these famous towers and used the mathematical symbols for more than and less than <> to create number sentences.

Science - Sticky Stuff!

Oak pupils investigated 'sticky stuff' this week in Science.  They learned about what people in the past have used as glue to stick things together and then investigated which was the best at sticking out of: flour and water, hair gel, honey and PVA glue.   They recorded their initial thoughts on day one, then again on day two after performing the 'upside down over head' test.  The hair gel was the least suitable for the job, the honey was still sticky so they decided it was also not suitable and the remaining two substances were just as good as each other (the flour and water and the glue).

Trip to Tattershall Castle

As part of our topic 'Towers, Turrets and Tunnels' we visited Tattershall Castle to learn about how people lived in the past.  We were castle explorers and learned a lot in a castle tour, we dressed up and did Medieval dancing and in the afternoon we made stained glass windows and peacocks (display to come soon).  It was a fantastic, if windy and exhausting day (there were lots of steps climbed many times) but we had lots of fun and learned a lot.  A big thank you to our parent helpers,  the staff who came too and to the staff at the castle for making it all possible.

Science - Investigating Cannon Balls

As part of our materials and castles topic we investigated which material would make the best cannon ball.  We built a wall (made from rubber bricks) and tested different balls to see which material would knock down the most.   First we compared and ordered each material ball by weight.  The rubber was the heaviest, then the marble, then the tennis ball, followed by the plastic ball and finally the foam ball.  We made our predictions and kept the test fair by using the same thrower in the same spot.  The marble knocked the most down - an incredible 29 bricks!

Science - Where do worms live?

As part of our topic about animals that live in 'tunnels' we investigated which habit worms like to live in.  First we carefully gathered and drew some worms (11 in total).  We found out adult worms have a 'saddle' so we knew most of our worms were infants.  We placed them in the centre of 4 different habitats: sand, newspaper, soil, gravel, all of which were dampened.  Then we left them overnight.  The next day we carefully investigated each habitat.  The results were very surprising:  4 worms were in the sand, one was in the soil and the rest had disappeared.  We can't understand where they went?!  There was a lid on the box so no birds could eat them, but maybe they slithered and slimed their way out? Lots of ideas and discussions were shared.

Maths - Human Abacus

Oak Class played the 'human abacus' game where different teams form different 3 digit numbers by arranging themselves into place value columns.  The remaining teams had to guess the numbers shown.  Look at the pictures below, can you guess what they are?

Art, Computing and PSHE

We used the laptops to create some art work that described our feelings towards 'change' and starting a new school year.  We had to change the shape, font, colour scheme and add our own words.  We think they look great, what do you think?