This week, we moved on from mental strategies to written methods for multiplication. We have been learning the expanded method to multiply 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers.

The children learned to partition the 2-digit number into tens and ones, multiply each part separately, and then add them together to find the total.

In English, we have had a dual focus on grammar skills and gathering content for our writing.

Possessive Apostrophes: We have been learning how to use an apostrophe to show ownership (e.g., the lion's mane or the zebra's stripes). We practised adding the apostophes to phrases and sentences before creating our own sentences including possessive apostrophes.

Animal Research: We have started researching for our final piece of writing: an information text. We started to gather information on toucans, working in groups to create eye catching posters full of fascinating facts. We then shared these around the class and used them to turn these notes into full paragraphs!

We looked at how scientists group living things to make them easier to study.

We learned how to sort animals based on their characteristics—such as whether they are vertebrates or invertebrates, or what they eat. The children then presented this information by creating their own classification flow charts, asking yes/no questions to separate the different species.