We have now completed our unit on procedural or instructional writing. We have learned about the steps to writing a successful set of instructions, from a title, interesting introduction, list of requirements/ingredients, and method with numbers and imperative (bossy) verbs. We practised writing lots of procedures, including recipes, game instructions and manuals. Our best work is now on display in the classroom.
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On Monday January 19th, we got to make homemade lemonade in the class as a treat. It also tied in very well with the procedural writing we've been doing recently! We had to read and follow the recipe step-by-step. Have a look at the recipe below and you can even give it a try yourself if you like! We really enjoyed making the lemonade and of course tasting it afterwards.
Homemade Lemonade What You Need: · 1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon (approx. 3 medium lemons) · 2 cups boiling water · 1 cup cold water · 1¼ cups caster sugar · Slices of lemon and ice to serve · Heatproof jug/container · Kettle · Spoon · Lemon squeezer (optional) · Glasses/cups to serve Method:
On Wednesday, we had a visitor, Dawn from Dogs Trust. She came to the school over two days and visited every class to tell us about what Dogs Trust do, how to look after pet dogs and what to do if you meet a stray dog. We made a list of the things dogs need, including food (twice daily), water (all the time), walks (twice daily), vaccinations, license, microchip (which Dawn informed us will be required by law in 2016), love and care, grooming, a bed, cage/kennel and playtime. Dawn told us about Patch's story. Patch was the first dog rescued by Dogs Trust in Dublin when they set up in 2009. She explained the steps that the vets and workers in Dogs Trust went through to look after Patch and bring him back to health, right up to his adoption by a family five years ago.
We also learned about what to do if you see a stray dog (any dog without an owner). Dawn advised us not to go over to the dog, and to call the dog warden if we were worried. She also told us it is important to ask any owner before you pet their dog and showed us how to make a 'safe hand' for the dog to sniff. Afterwards, we all got a wristband, sticker and certificate to show we now know exactly how to be safe with dogs. Thanks Dawn!! On Friday, we created a brochure about looking after dogs to see if we could remember the information Dawn shared with us. Sense poems involve describing something using all of the five senses – sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. We wrote sense poems based on winter. We worked in pairs at first to brainstorm some ideas, then we shared our ideas with the class and added more adjectives to make our descriptions exciting and interesting. We wrote draft one in our copies and after some editing, draft two was presented on a wintry shape of our choice. They are now proudly displayed in our classroom. Come in and have a read!
We have been learning to write non-chronological reports in English recently. The purpose of a non-chronological report is to provide detailed information about a topic. In this type of report, the structure is very important. We learned about writing an introduction, detailed paragraphs and a conclusion. Reports are written in the third person and the present tense. They include lots of facts and information to inform the reader about a topic.
Because we have been learning about space, we decided to write our reports on the planets. Everyone picked a planet they would like to research and looked up information using the internet and books from the library. Then we wrote our reports into our copies, edited them and finally wrote another draft onto a sheet. The reports are now on display in our classroom, and a photocopy will also be included in our space project booklets (which are now almost finished!). Fourth class recently read, discussed and learned the poem 'Windy Nights' by Robert Louis Stevenson. We thought the spooky and eerie mood created by the poet was very appropriate for this time of year! WINDY NIGHTS By Robert Louis Stevenson Whenever the moon and stars are set, Whenever the wind is high, All night long in the dark and wet, A man goes riding by. Late in the night when the fires are out, Why does he gallop and gallop about? Whenever the trees are crying aloud, And ships are tossed at sea, By, on the highway, low and loud, By at the gallop goes he. By at the gallop he goes, and then By he comes back at the gallop again. We then created some art inspired by the poem. We painted a background of concentric circles with only three colours, white, blue and black. We mixed the colours to create a gradually darkening effect. Finally, we added silhouettes on top using black markers or pencils. Some people added haunted houses, bats, witches and graveyards. A few people even drew the travelling horseman from our poem! We learned about newspapers during the month of September. We read about how clever headlines are created using techniques like alliteration, rhyme and wordplay. After looking through various newspapers to find examples of headlines, we created some of our own. The work on newspapers was connected with the writing genre of recount. A recount is an account of something that happened in time order, including a title, setting, details of the events and a conclusion. Everyone wrote a newspaper article and they are displayed in our classroom. Feel free to come and have a read! |
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