Orange Class have been carrying out some wonderful work across the school curriculum based around our current overall theme of water. In literacy we have been reading three books that contain images of water – a book about fish, a story about raft building and a very moving story about a stranded dolphin. We used this example to have a class conversation about pollution and what is meant by the idea of conservation.
Geography lessons in Orange Class have explored the idea of where water comes from. The pupils have made three suggestions: the sea, rivers and taps.
Orange Class have been carrying out a number of very practical experiments working with water during our science lessons. We have been looking at the idea of floating and sinking, as well as thinking about how we can fix a leak.
We introduced the pupils to the complicated ideas of permeable and waterproof. An experiment was set up to help us see for ourselves what these two words mean. Working with the apparatus of a tray, a measuring jug of water, a bin liner and a cloth, we invited class members to pour water into a bin liner, and then into a tea cloth shaped into a vessel.
The pupils observed that no water escaped from the bin bag, whereas the tea cloth allowed drips of water to leak through. We found out that this is known as a permeable material. The water isn’t contained because the cloth holds many small holes. You can watch a short video of this experiment above.
We are planning a future experiment that will help the children to understand how we can clean water. We will be making some tap water dirty using sand and twigs, and then using filtration paper to see if this can help to clean up the water.
