Construction Challenge
Can you make a vehicle that can be pushed or self-driven that can hold the weight of a team member?
We had varying success but all had a lot of fun!
Author Archives: Miss S JONES
Cooking
Making delicious pitta pizzas!
We even made a box take them home in!
Construction challenge
Which group can make the tallest free-standing structure using only spaghetti and marshmallows?
Year 6 have loved learning all about electricity in science this half term!
We began the unit by looking at everyday life before electricity. The children had some quite interesting ideas as to what they thought items from the past were used for, before electrical items were even dreamed of.
Next, we learned about the discoveries of Michael Faraday, who invented the electric motor, and how his invention dramatically changed the world.
We looked at different electrical components and what their function is before looking at their corresponding symbols and using these to draw circuit diagrams.
We really enjoyed working scientifically to investigate circuits and predict what would happen if any of the components were changed.
Evaluate
We critically evaluated our work throughout the process. After we had made the products, we took the time to reflect on the entire process, considering what went well, any constraints we faced during the design process, what didn’t go to plan and how we overcame this. We also made some suggestions for how we could improve our recipes or making process in the future if we were to make these again.
Some of the children have even taken a copy of the basic recipe home so they can continue to perfect their ideas and experiment with different flavours and textures over the Christmas break!
It has been a hugely successful project from start to finish and Year 6 have thoroughly enjoyed being chocolatiers! We definitely have some budding chefs and bakers among us!
Make
Finally it was make day! We were all very excited! We worked safely and hygienically to make our truffles independently. We had to select the appropriate equipment, weigh out our own ingredients, make our truffles and even do our own washing up! We evaluated our work as we went, asking ourselves what was going well, what issues we were having and how we could overcome them.
Here are just a few of our amazing finished projects! The recipients of these truffle gift boxes are in for a treat!
Design
Using our design brief as a basis, and using what we had learned in the ‘investigate’ stage and focused practical task, we drew up our design specifications.
We designed a range of chocolate truffles taking into account all of the criteria on our design specifications. We shared our ideas with our peers to get some feedback and decided on our final design.
To ensure that we were working within our budget, we had to work out the cost of making our products. We investigated how ingredients can be bought cheaper if bought in bulk. We also discussed how manufacturers need to make a profit in order for their business to be sustainable.
Focused Practical Task
Today we followed a recipe and learned how to work safely and hygienically. We made a basic truffle mixture and then experimented with different textures and flavours to see how the recipe could be customised.
Investigate
Year 6 began this project by learning about the role that chocolate played in the Mayan’s lives. Did you know they were one of the first civilisations to eat/drink chocolate? They used to add chilli to it!
We then explored the packaging of existing chocolates to see what the main ingredients in chocolate products are. We discussed allergens and different dietary requirements people may have and looked at a range of packaging to see how this has been designed with this in mind. We discovered that the main allergens were written in bold.
We had discussions about milk and why this ingredient might mean that chocolate is not always suitable for some people with allergies or who follow a vegan diet. We discussed alternatives to cows’ milk and how these can be used in chocolate recipes. We then did a mini taste test to see if we could tell the difference between chocolate containing milk and dairy-free chocolate. We discussed different flavours and textures.
We did some independent research into the process of making chocolate from bean to bar.
We taste-tested a range of chocolate products and completed hedonic sensory analysis and analysis of specific attributes. This was extremely exciting!
Over the past few weeks, Year 6 have thoroughly enjoyed learning all about the Brazilian carnival and the dances in involves. We have formed our own samba schools and learned all about the history of samba. We have been working hard to create out own rhythmic dance sequences and have even learned some new Brazilian words along the way! We have learned about various choreographic structures including ‘canon’ and ‘unison’ and have explored how we can use our bodies to create levels within our dances.
Here are some of our still images of us creating the cityscape of Rio de Janeiro:
