WWII Joyning the Learning

The pupils have now come to the end of their surprise topic! What a busy 8 weeks the class have had! Room 16 has been transformed into a wonderful display of aspects of WWII. The pupils have learned an amazing amount of information about the Home Front and developed their skills in several currciular areas.


The pupils began their topic with a carousel to plan their topic and take responsibility for their own learning. They planned some exciting writing activities they could do related to the topic, considered ways to transform their classrooom, decided on the Big Questions they wanted to research and began thinking ahead to the Open Evening.

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The pupils were very motivated from the very start and chose to begin working on a Blitz scene. The excitement took over and they were so keen to put some of their work up on the walls. However, they struggled at the start with the quality of their work and had to work on improving their cutting and painting skills to ensure they would be proud of the final result. As you can see from the pictures, it was worth all the effort. They wrote imaginative stories called the Air Raid which developed their ability to write a cliffhanger. These were written as zig-zag books and displayed on the blitz scene.

The class then chose to create a station scene of pupils being evacuated. They drew and painted a steam train with carriages and added their photos printed off in sepia tones - it looks very effective.





The pupils then transformed the back of their room into a 194os room and kitchen using their art and technology skills to create a number of realistic 3D objects. The living room is very cosy with their wallpaper, fire place and family portraits.In the kitchen they made a stove, cupboard, shelf and mangle as well as the tiled flooring which looks great!




As well as transforming the classroom, the pupils have developed their writing tasks through a variety of core tasks. They imagined what it would like to be an evacuee and wrote letters home to their family and also wrote an evacuation sense poem. These were displayed on the train carriages. The pupils also wrote newspaper articles about the declaration of war. The pupils studied Anderson shelters and completed annotated diagrams giving information about the structure and contents of a shelter. The pupils also focussed on the Blackout and created information leaflets in pairs. Another core task was an invitation written in the style of an old telegram which was tea-stained to look old. These were sent to the parents to invite them to our Open Evening.

The pupils then spent time preparing a play, assembly, learning WWII songs and creating activities for their Open Evening. The children worked so hard and were so enthusiastic right to the very end. They decorated the gym hall and held a VE Day party with entertainment and a selection of rationed foods for the guests. They entered into the spirit of it all by dressing up in 1940s clothing. Here is a selection of photos showing the pupils and parents having a wonderful night.












As part of the Open Evening the parents are asked to write in the comment book and we were delighted to read such positive comments. So many were amazed by the standard of work and couldn't believe how well the pupils had transformed the room. I am so proud of my class, they have worked so hard and we have had such fun in the process. Well done Primary 7, I'm sure you'll remember this for a long long time.

As part of Environment month, the Primary 7 pupils were involved in planting some trees in the infant playground. They were supported by Starling Learning who taught the pupils how to plant trees correctly and how to encourage them to grow. The pupils really enjoyed the experience and were fortunate enough to have a dry day!