Blogger of the month - December

Save our shopkeeper

Nigerian nibbles

Can you remember what these Nigerian dishes are called?

Which would you like to try the most and how do you think it would taste? Can you think of adjectives to describe the taste, texture and smell?

What would the recipes be?

Weighty matters

What would you use to weigh the food and what would be the unit of measurement?

Estimate the weight of each food item, then order the items from the lightest to the heaviest?

Artists in Residence: Part 2

Well done to another Year 3 student who has had her painting printed and permanently displayed at school. Again, the school office has been busy fielding calls from curators at Tate Britain and even MOMA in NYC!

Murky maths

Academic excellence

Searching for supper

What ingredients did we find in Brixton market that could be used in Nigerian cooking?
What else could you cook with these ingredients?

Devour these words

Find all the words about the book we are reading Why the Sky is Far Away. Then use the internet and a dictionary to find and blog the meaning for each word.

Your recommendation

Now we have finished reading the book in class, write a review of Why the Sky is Far Away. 

Remember to include: 

1. The title of the book and the name of the author.

2. A description of what the story is about, including who the main characters are.

3. Why you like the book, remember to give examples of what you particularly liked.

4. Why you would recommend the book to a friend.

Poetry, Please!

Please Mrs Butler, by Alan Ahlberg, is one of my favourite poetry books. All the poems are about daily life at school, something which we can all relate to!  It was written quite a few years ago and although I have read it many times, I still enjoy it. 

I love the poems in this book, especially some of the funny ones which are absolutely hilarious! Some of the poems rhyme, but some of them don't and are still very enjoyable. 

Do you know any poetry books, Year 3? What are they like?  

Do you have any favourite poems?

Miss Lewis recommends ...

The Tunnel by Anthony Browne is one of my favourite children's books. I think it is a very intriguing and interesting book. It tells the story of a brother and sister who argue all the time. When their mother sends them out to play together and they discover a tunnel, their relationship changes forever. The sister is too scared to enter the tunnel so the brother decides to go through and finds himself in a magical forest. When her brother doesn't return she follows him into the tunnel and finds him turned into stone.

The illustrations in this book are lovely, especially once the children are in the magical forest. He makes the forest look so enchanted and captures the readers imagination. Year 3 if you have not read this book, I recommend you do. I know you will all appreciate the beautiful illustrations. If you have already read this book see if you can answer some of the questions below:

How did the brother know she would come? Why did he turn to stone? Why did Jack go through the tunnel if his sister was scared?

Little Miss Greedy

Write a character profile of Adese. 

Remember to think about why she is never satisfied, why she is greedy and what she tries to convince people to do.

High or low

Put the operations signs (+ or - or x or ÷) between the numbers 3, 4, 5 and 6 to make the highest possible number and the lowest possible number. 

Challenge 

Try with the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

The Hill Mead Literary Review

One of my favourite books is Dirty Beasts, a collection of rhymes and poems about mischievous and mysterious animals by the famous children's author Roald Dahl.

I remember reading Dirty Beasts when I was at school and the book still makes me laugh out loud. From crocky-wock the crocodile, to the clever pig who hatches a plan to save his bacon. The characters in the stories are both hilarious and ridiculous.

As with all Roald Dahl's books, it is wonderfully illustrated by Quentin Blake. I would definitely choose this book to read aloud in assembly.

What book would you like to have read out in assembly? Have you written your review yet? 

Remember the best reviews will be posted on our blog every month.

Face off

What do you think of the traditional Nigerian clothes we tried on in class?

Flashman beware

Anti-bullying week happens every year and is when children and young people, schools, parents and carers come together with one aim: to stop bullying for all. 

At Hill Mead we will be running a competition about anti-bullying. All year groups have been asked to come up with a song, rap or drama that highlights the issues involved in bullying. We have been asked to think about children who are new to the school and how learning and understanding all about them might help stop bullying.

Now blog what you would like to perform in a small group of three or four children. 

Remember to include the details of your performance. 

Ijó wa ni dun

Yesterday we listened very carefully to four different Nigerian songs.

What was your favourite song and why? 

How many people do you think are playing in your favourite song and what musical instruments are they playing?

Where might you hear this music and what is it about?

Word play

Try to finish the word search about Nigeria. Then blog what you think the words mean.

Under a black cloud

Why was the sky unhappy with the Oba and his people?

What do you think the sky will do?

Festival fun!

Take a look at this photograph of a festival in a Nigerian village. 

What do you think is being celebrated? 

What sounds do you think you would hear around you if you were there? 

How do you think the villagers prepared for the festival?

Nuts about numbers

Can you answer Kemi's question?

Challenge 

How tall will Kemi's plant tree be after 120 hours?

Sounds from the village

Blogger of the month - October

Smokey's sleep over

Dance the day away

See all the pix from our trip to the Royal Opera House.

Up in the sky

Have a look at the front cover of the book we will be reading this term.

What do you think the story will be about?

A groovy fella

Smokey has been learning all about Fela Kuti and Afrobeat at the Kalakuta Museum in Ikeja, Lagos.
What do you know and what would you like to find out about Nigerian music?

The further adventures of Smokey ...



Smokey landed safely this morning after a six hour flight.
Where is he and how do you know?
Where would you recommend Smokey visit on his holiday?
Is there anything you would like him to find out about the country he has travelled to?

Recyclable Shards!

After learning that 95% of the Shard was constructed from recycled materials, we had a go at creating our own models of the Shard using only recyclable and reusable materials.

What other recyclable materials could you use to build models of other buildings? 

Telling tales

Now that you have watched the film, in the half term holiday, retell the story on our blog.

Remember to add detail to your story and make sure your sentences make sense.

Go super eagles!

Next term our topic work will be all about Nigeria. 

What do you know about Nigeria and what would you like to find out?

The littlest hobo

Where do you think the robot came from?

Why do you think it is alone in the woods?

How can you tell that it is lonely?

Challenge question

Does the film remind you of the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel and why?

How sweet is your house?

In different versions of Hansel and Gretel, the house in the forest is made from different types of sweet food. In Anthony Browne’s version, the roof is made from fruit cake, the walls bread and the window panes are made from sugar.

What food would you build the house from? 

What sweets, biscuits or cakes would you use for each part of the house? 

How would you make your gingerbread house? 

The lonely robot

Watch the film Origins this week, talk to your friends about what the film might be about.

The great escape

Can you explain how Gretel escaped from the witch's house?

A BAFTA for the Shard?

The Shard is one of six buildings to be entered in a competition for new buildings. Tonight the results of the famous RIBA Stirling Prize will be announced. 

Do you think the Shard should win the prize? What makes it such a special building?

Loose change

You have £5.00 to spend in the gift shop at the top of the Shard. 

What could you buy and how much change would you have?

Competition - be a journalist

Blog a recount of what you have learnt in our dance project with the National Ballet. Remember to include what you remember about the presentation at Clapham Manor School and the workshops with David.

One of your recounts will be published in the local newspaper the Brixton Bugle. Good luck!

Number fun - Part 1

Here is a challenge for you Year 3 ...
What number sentences can you make using these 5 numbers?

You can use each number once and any combination of them, but only once.

Gimme shelter

What were Hansel and Gretel thinking, when they were alone in the woods?

What might they have felt when they saw the gingerbread house and the old woman at the window?

Shard pix online!

Click on the photo above to see all the pix from our trip to London Bridge.

Newsflash: Junior Leadership Team elections next week!

Next week we will be voting for who will be representing Year 3 on this Junior Leadership Team.
What qualities could you bring to the team? Tell us why we should vote for you! 

Chance to Dance

The Chance to Dance programme run by the Royal Opera House (ROH) provides a creative introduction to ballet for Year 3 children through a mix of ballet demonstrations and practical workshops. Children identified with enthusiasm and aptitude for dance will be invited to join the Chance to Dance Company for up to four years, going to weekly classes, attending family days at the ROH and working towards an annual performance alongside dancers from the Royal Ballet.

At Hill Mead, the Year 3 children and teachers have been learning about Swan Lake and some of the most important positions in ballet. 

Can you remember what any of these ballet positions mean?

plié, port de bras, sauté, pirouette

Can you remember any other characters from Swan Lake? 

Mirror mirror

These clocks have been reflected in a mirror. What time do they say?

Missing in the woods

Did you see what happened to the children?

What do you think the parents said to the Police?

Where do you think Hansel and Gretel are now?

Artists in Residence: Part 1

Well done to this Year 3 student who has had her painting printed and permanently displayed at school. The school office has been busy taking calls from curators at Tate Modern and the National Gallery!