In science this term we have been learning about geology, with a particular focus on rock types and the rock cycle.

This week we will be looking at oil – from how it is produced to its place in the global economy.

Today we found a fantastic documentary on Teachers TV which dealt with both the early days of finding oil in Pennsylvania, USA, in 1895; the technological advancement of the automobile and subsequent increase in demand for oil; the issue of monopolies, from Rockerfeller to the “majors”; the importance of access to oil when fighting a war and dividing the ’spoils’ amongst the victors; and the quest for new sources of oil around the world, particularly in developing countries, as demand for oil increased in times of economic stability.

If you haven’t yet discovered Teachers TV (which is available to all – you don’t need to be a teacher to access the resources), perhaps this documentary might tempt you:

The Epic of Black Gold – The Golden Age of the Majors

This term we are studying Medieval history and our latest focus is on the Crusades. We will be making links between various curriculum areas: Christianity and Islam in RE; Medieval paintings, illuminated manuscripts and Islamic art in Art and Design. Today we began our studies into Islamic art by making use of “Islamic Art and Geometric Design – Activities for learning”, published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and available in PDF form via the Met’s website:

http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/publications/islamic_geometric.asp

The resource makes use of exhibits within the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but is easily adaptable for use with other examples of Islamic Art. We made use of photographs of exhibits that we took on a recent visit to the British Museum’s Islamic department:

We talked about the dominance of geometrical designs in Islamic art, both within the works of art that we had seen in the British Museum and those that we were able to find in books or through the internet. We linked this to the teachings within Islam that discouraged the idea of idols; an idea that we related to the range of modern imagery available relating to film stars, pop stars, and so on.

The children then created their own geometric pattern which used seven overlapping circles.

Here’s one that I drew using Promethean’s Activinspire software that we use both on our laptops and our interactive whiteboard (I found that our pencil-drawn designs didn’t scan very satisfactorily, whereas the Activinspire software produced much clearer lines which scanned easily):

We will be adding to this pattern as we continue our studies, so watch this space!

This term we are reading and studying together L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz”.

Today we read chapter three : How Dorothy Saved the Scarecrow.

I asked the children to scan back through the first three chapters until they found a passage which described a character of their choice in such detail that they might be able to complete an illustration. We then discussed the depth of our understanding of the characters so far and searched through the text to find the “perfect quote” which might best illustrate our impressions of our chosen characters from the story.

“M” chose to focus on the Scarecrow:

“A” chose to draw a picture of Dorothy and Toto, selecting quotations from the text which showed the relationship between the two characters:

Whilst studying Medieval history this term, we have been looking at illuminated manuscripts. Following a visit to the British Library in London

http://www.bl.uk/,  we were inspired to have a go ourselves.

“M” and “A” have been learning about the importance of parables in Christianity, so we thought it appropriate to use a parable as the subject of our own illuminated manuscripts.

Here is “M”’s Parable of the Lost Sheep:

This term we have been finding out about Medieval history. We began today’s session by making a concept map of our prior understanding of the Black Death and its relationship to aspects of Medieval life. We then created a series of questions which we raised in order to clarify our understanding of the disease and its place in medieval history.

These are our questions which helped to direct and focus our further research:

1. Where in the world did the Black Death start? What was the route of infection and how did it get to Britain?

2. How serious was it? What were the symptoms? How many people died? Is the Black Death still a danger today?

3. What did people believe were the causes of the Black Death at the time What actions did people take?

We talked about the range of primary and secondary sources that we might access and the need to cross-reference and check the information, together with an awareness of author bias or agenda. We made use of a range of resources, from websites to library books and animated Horrible History DVDs to online quizzes.

“M” and “A” were free to choose how to best record their responses to the questions raised. “M” decided to create a written account of the Black Death, using the Keynote application on a MacOSX and printing out a booklet for future reference, while “A” created a drama and Q and A session in front of our Promethean Activboard with puppets who “taught” their audience about various aspects of the Medieval Plague whilst making use of maps and images projected onto the interactive whiteboard behind. Each to their own, as we say!

For those of you who fancy researching your own response, you might find the following links useful:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_01.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consequences_of_the_Black_Death

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/plague.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/

“A” and Mum write:

Rocks are broken down by erosion and by physical, chemical or biological weathering.

Physical weathering can be due to freeze-thaw, which happens when water gets in cracks in rocks, then freezes and expands, putting pressure on the rock before it thaws and releases that pressure, eventually causing the rock to split.

Another form of physical weathering is onion-skin weathering. This happens when rocks experience alternating extremely hot, then extremely cold temperatures, such as in a desert, until layers of rock start to peel off.

Chemical weathering happens when rain, which is acidic, eats away or dissolves the rock. This can cause holes, gaps and even caves.

Today we visited a limestone pavement. The limestone has been shaped into blocks (called clints) which have gaps in between (called grikes):

Some of the clints have holes which go down into the rock:

Biological weathering happens due to animals, plants and decay. For example, rabbits might burrow underground, causing the rocks above to collapse. Lichen clinging to rocks secrete an acid which eats away at the surface of the rock. Plants put out roots which can work their way in between the gaps in rocks, eventually prising the rocks apart.

“M” writes

Metamorphic rock is formed by existing rock getting changed by heat and/or pressure.

Metamorphic rock may have small crystals, some have layers, like marble and slate.

Metamorphic means ‘changed form’

Examples (as found in CGP KS3 Geography and CGP KS3 Science)

sandstone becomes quartzite

limestone becomes marble

granite becomes gneiss

clays become slate

When we were travelling in Switzerland we took a photo of metamorphosed sedimentary rock, which showed layers of sedimentary rock that had been pushed up into curved folds:

For more info on rock types,  click on the links below

http://library.thinkquest.org/J002289/meta.html

http://www.open2.net/sciencetechnologynature/worldaroundus/tooklit/rocktypes2.html

In our Literature lesson this week we have started to read L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz”. Today we read the first chapter, which tells of Dorothy’s life on the Kansas prairies with her Uncle Henry, Aunt Em and her little dog Toto.

Reading about Dorothy’s experience of a cyclone prompted us to learn more about cyclones and tornadoes.

We found a great video of a scientist setting up probes in the path of a tornado and recording what happened:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0506/feature6/multimedia.html

We also found out about the Enhanced Fujita Scale which grades a tornado according to the damage that the tornado creates, ranging from EF0 to EF5:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Fujita_Scale

This next site is aimed at children and educators:

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-tornado.htm

“A” writes:

Sedimentary rocks are made from tiny particles of rocks and sand ,or tiny pieces of shells, plants or animal remains, which form layers and eventually become rock.

Here are some websites that give more information:

http://fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/oct98/create/sediment.htm

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/geology/sed_intro.html&edu=elem

Limestone is a sedimentary rock. It is formed from tiny shells and micro-skeletons.

Below is a picture of sandstone.

It is made of sand particles.

In the Natural History Museum we found a stone named the Sunday stone. It was a sedimentary rock. It was made in a coalmine so the black lines are work days and the white lines are days off:

“M” writes:

Igneous Rock is formed from cooling magma (molten rock).

Igneous comes from the latin word ignis for fire.

The volcano in the diagram above is like a tube of toothpaste with holes in because when you squeeze a tube of toothpaste it squirts the paste out of the top, but if the tube has holes in it the then paste will shoot out of all the holes in different directions.

The magma that comes out of the volcano and cools is called extrusive rock. Because it cools fast the crystals are very small, like in the Basalt shown below.

But if the magma stays in the ground and cools it is called Intrusive Rock, and because it cools slowly the crystals are big.

Try the links below for more information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igneous_rock

http://fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/rocks/create/igneous.htm

http://geology.csupomona.edu/alert/igneous/ignrxs.htm