Latest Learning 2024-2025

13.12.24 - Visitor from the British Library!

In Indigo base this week, we enjoyed hosting a visitor from the British Library who told us lots of information about the library and how books and journals are stored. After the initial introduction, the children experienced a workshop 'Write like a Poet', She began by showing an original copy of a published poet's draft and explained the difference between a draft and a published piece. We played word association games and looked at similes before making up our own similes that could be included in their own poems, these could be silly and/ or serious. The first draft of the poem was completed on crumpled paper to show that it was definitely not the published piece. The children found this a really fun experience. 

The children thoroughly enjoyed participating in the workshop.

 

 

29.11.24 - Author Visit!

Indigo base were feeling very excited about our visitors, the author of 'Tempest's Secret (Brave Kids Never Give Up) Ariane Chapelle and the illustrator Macho Yao. Ariane gave the children an outline of the novel that she had written and how she found her ideas and inspiration, who her characters were based on and why - which was very informative and something that the children really understand and utilise in their own writing endeavours. They both discussed the illustrative process and how they worked together to bring to life the characters in the book. Macho demonstrated how to draw characters and think about the facial features to depict the feelings and intent of different characters, eg: scared, plotting something, happy, etc. The children used this inspiration to draw different characters and design their own detective. A thoroughly enjoyable and engaging experience. 

 

 

 

22.11.24 - Viking Visitor!

This week Indigo Base had a special visit from a Viking!

The Viking visit was to enrich the children's learning of our history topic of The Vikings. The visit helped to bring alive the topic with engaging discussions about the life of a Viking and the misconceptions people have about Vikings, eg: they wore hats with horns - they didn't! We looked closely at a variety of Viking artefacts, discussing what they were and what they were used for, which the children drew as an activity in the afternoon. We talked about Vikings belonging to different categories - Raiders, Traders and Settlers, and what these actually entailed, including where they came from and where they went to do the raiding, trading and settling. 

The afternoon activities included looking closely at the artefacts and drawing them, making clay candle holders, making and playing a Viking game and they used spears and shields to show how the raiders invaded. 

 

 

 

15.11.24 - Maths!

This week we used  concrete apparatus (multi link) in maths to investigate cube numbers. The children worked in pairs to find the cube numbers for 1 to 5. They enjoyed using the multi-link and could really see how cube numbers were represented.

 

08.11.24 - Art Pointillism!

This week in our art lessons children have been learning about pointillism! We have created our own version of a Seurat picture using pointillism. Children selected something that they enjoy as an  inspiration for their artwork.

18.10.24 - History!

In Indigo Base this term we have been enjoying learning about our history topic - The Vikings!  We were looking at timelines for different events during the Viking era. The children worked together to  put the events in chronological order.

11.10.24 - PSHE!

Here are some highlights from our PSHE learning  in Indigo Base this week. The photo of the children in two lines is a ‘conscience alley’ where they were giving arguments for and against a point for someone to pick the right decision.  We had a lot of discussion prior to this activity where the class thought carefully about their arguments.

We also completed a Dot's activity, which was where we focused on a book about self-esteem, how we can build that for ourselves and help others to build them up as well.

 

 

04.10.24 - Science!

In Indigo Base this week we have been investigating whether certain solutes were soluble or insoluble when making a solution. The children enjoyed the experiments and worked brilliantly as teams in their respective investigations!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

27.09.24 - Reading!
This week in Indigo Base we have been annotating reading extracts. We have been asking questions about a text to illustrate we are curious readers and this week we have also introduced a new focus of connecting our background knowledge to a text which went extremely well.

 

 

20.09.24 - Maths!

This week in Indigo Base we have been really enjoying our maths lessons! We have been looking at place value of numbers to one million. The children have written numbers in numerals and words, used place value charts with concrete apparatus and recording numerals and we have partitioned numbers in a variety of ways.

 

                          

 

13.09.24 - Reading!

We are really trying to promote reading for pleasure in Indigo Base this year! Each class has a  reading corner where children can enjoy reading in a relaxing environment. In our classrooms we have set up "recommended read" pockets, where we can share our favourite books with our classmates.  We are enjoying the new books we have in Indigo Base to choose from and getting into our new routines at school!

 

                           

                     

 

06/09/24 - Welcome Back to School!

Children in Indigo Base have had a fantastic start to the new school year!  We started this academic year with a team building challenge -  each team had to use only one roll of foil, nothing else, to build the highest tower that could stand unaided! Children needed to collaborate with each other, use their initiative to think about the best structure they could build and be resilient when it didn’t quite work, thinking about how they could solve the problems. This was a really enjoyable activity that sparked so much enthusiasm from the children in each class!

 

              

 

 

 

Archive - Latest Learning From 2023-2024

05.07.24 - Euros 2024!

 

In Year 5 we have been really enjoying the work we have bee doing around the Euros2024! We have researched stadiums, countries that we were allocated, wrote biographies of specific football players after researching them, looked at maths problems relating to football and the Euros, designed new football kits and boots! All we need to know now is who the winner will be on Sunday 14th July!

                                               

 

 

21.06.24 - History!

In history lessons, children were historical investigators! The task was to work in role, working as a trainee archaeologist on a Roman battle site. The top archaeologist believed they had discovered some artefacts that may have been used to treat injured Roman soldiers. They chose different artefacts to investigate with partners, where they had to ask and answer questions about the artefacts and produce careful diagrams of them. 

The children have also been looking at the great plague, when it started, the symptoms of the plague, including a timeline, the 'cures' that were tried, quarantine and how the plague ended. The children dressed as the plague doctor and discussed the outfit and why these garments were deemed necessary.  This learning is all based on our history topic called The History of Medicine!

     

 

14.06.24 - Science!

This week in Indigo Base we have been learning about the phases of the moon. In order to better understand this, we created diagrams using Oreo biscuits to represent each phase and learning the vocabulary associated with each phase. 

 

 

07.06.24 - PE!

This week in PE the children in Indigo Base were playing a game of End ball. They worked collaboratively in groups to pass the ball between themselves before passing to the 'goalie' to score a point. We really enjoy our PE lessons, we love being active and having fun with our classmates!

                                

 

24.05.24 - Maths!

In maths this week we have been focussing on problem-solving skills and looking at multiplication and division SATs style questions. The classes worked in pairs and groups to read the question, work out the relevant information that they need, what calculation to carry out, how many steps they need to complete, complete the calculation and check if the answer is correct. This worked really well and the children enjoyed collaborating through working together.  

      

17.05.24 - Oracy!

This week, we have been looking in depth at characters in our novel 'The boy at the back of the class' - we used the technique hotseating to explore the thoughts and feelings of two characters in the text; a bully and a refugee. We have also had stimulating discussions about the plight of refugees, the reasons for leaving their home and their journey to safety. The children are thoroughly engaged in the reading of this book and discussing the range of issues that stem from it. 

                           

10.05.24 - Literacy!

Here are some photos of Indigo Base practising and performing dialogue that they had created in relation to two characters from the book that we are reading in English 'The Boy at the Back of the Class' The two characters in the book had opposing views about refugees and whether they should be allowed into the country and schools. We had a fabulous discussion regarding this issue, where the children were very sensitive and empathetic towards refugees and the plight that they had to endure. They wrote their own conversations between the two characters, carrying on from the book. They then practised with their partner and performed for the rest of the class. 

                

26.04.24 - Science!

In science, we were exploring the concept of day and night. The children used a torch to represent the light source of the sun and placed a small lego character on a globe to represent the Earth rotating as it orbits the sun. Children explored the way the planets orbit the sun using a moving model to gain knowledge of the solar system. 

 

 

                                                        

 

15.04.24 - Benjamin Zephaniah Week!

This week in Indigo Base we have been enjoying exploring the life and works of Benjamin Zephaniah. We have created factfiles for Benjamin Zephaniah after learning all about his life. We have also been practising, reading and performing group poems after creating them together. We had a lot of fun experimenting with words and language - we worked together to create our own poetry using random words to inspire and amuse with our ideas!

     

 

22.03.24 - Drama!

In Indigo Base this week we have used drama to act out different sections of a story to aid our understanding of the plot. This helped to structure our independent writing of a suspense story.

                                                               

 

15.03.24 - PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Learning (PSHE)!

In Indigo Base this week, children have been researching inspirational women as part of our work for International Women's Day. They produced posters about their chosen woman after their internet research and group discussions to share their findings.  

        

 

08.03.24 - RE

In RE this week we talked about humanism. The children looked at similarities and differences between their own beliefs and humanist beliefs. They then worked in groups to create a poster on Humanism.

                                                                                                

  

 

01.03.24 - DT!

In Indigo Base, children have been  completing a tapestry task for DT related to our Viking topic. They looked at different designs they could use, then designed their own tapestry. We learnt how to do different types of stitches to make them more effective. The children absolutely loved doing this. 

                                                   

 

 

 

19.02.24 - History!

In Indigo Base we have learned about the Viking raiders and traders during Viking times, looking at different swords, materials for making useful objects and how to make a shield wall to defend ourselves. We were had a great time consolidating our learning at the Royal Armouries Musuem in Leeds City Centre.

 

                          

 

09.02.24 - PE!

In outdoor PE this team we have been completing a beanbag stealing challenge to warm up our body for passing and dodging skills. We are working on encouraging others as part of our social skills in physical education. 

In indoor PE we have been working on  seated volleyball to develop core muscles and hand-eye coordination. This linked to the outdoor social cog because we kept the focus of encouraging people. 

                                                                                          

 

02.02.24 - Super Science

In science, we have been investigating which materials are soluble and insoluble in water. We conducted our own experiments in small groups by mixing water with salt, sugar, pepper, flour and rice in test tubes. The groups observed whether the substances dissolved in the water to test whether their predictions were correct. 

                            

22.01.24 - Marvellous Maths!

This week in Indigo Base, children have been working with numicon to order numbers before working on using number bonds to ten and recording them on large paper.  We used multi-link to investigate cube numbers and found that all cube numbers could make a cube shape. If they don't form a cube, they are not cube numbers - we worked as a class to complete this investigation! We also used counters to work out fractions of amounts of unit and non-unit fractions. The counters helped us to visually represent the calculations and gave us a basic understanding of finding fractions of amounts, prior to using formal calculations. We have had a busy week!

                                                       

 

 

15.01.24 - Focus on Literacy!

This term in Indigo Base we are looking at the book There's A Boy in The Girl's Bathroom by Louis Sachar. We have started reading the text as part of our learning and have found it really interesting so far! In our lessons this week, we have been looking in depth at a character called Bradley and trying to infer his thoughts and feelings about other characters in the novel, in preparation for writing a diary entry in role as the character Bradley next week.