This week, we completed the narratives we began working on before half term. Our class book is Darwin’s Dragons by Lindsay Galvin; we read up to chapter 31 and made predictions about what might happen next. We wrote our own chapter (chapter 32) for the book, focusing on the techniques used by the author such as:

• flashbacks of memories to reveal a character’s back story/history
• methods of conveying character
• vocabulary choices
• figurative language such as personification, hyperbole and pathetic fallacy.

We also focused on including:

• purposeful speech to convey character or advance the action
• the range of grammar and punctuation previously taught such as semi colons, relative clauses and techniques to build cohesion within and across paragraphs.

On Friday we shared our narratives with Class 9.

Here are some extracts from our fantastic writing:

The sea was calm…but the island was raging.

I ran carefully into the sea, trying not to hurt my feet even more, pushing the old boat in front of me until I felt it rock. The boat was a hero to me, saving me from this dangerous island. The eight huge dragon eggs were heavy across my chest, like the bags of potatoes my aunt used to make me haul from the market. I stepped onto the old boat as it slowly drifted away.

Eva

The pale green fish filled the sea and the coral glowed like bio luminous creatures in the night as the sun reflected off it. I was growing hungry; I wish I had thought to bring some prickly pears along with me. If it took much longer, I would die from starvation.

Ellie

Once I was stable, I grabbed the oar and set off; I tried to row fast in case the dragon had escaped and was on the hunt for me. I just rowed and rowed; my arms felt like they were going to fall off and my heart felt like it would burst out of my chest.

Finally, I was brave enough to slow down, and then stop. I looked behind me to see if the petrifying dragon was there but nothing was. It was almost as if I could hear the dragon’s screams from the burning molten lava. I ignored it but, when I looked back, I saw that a giant storm was approaching. The clouds ahead looked as black as coal.

Jac

I grabbed the boat by the prow and stuck the eggs (and Farthing) into it, dragging it into the sea. That was when I saw it; the lava was coming from all sides, vaporising the prickly pear plants into ash. I dragged like my life depended on it, because it did!

I reached the sea just in time. The lava clashed into one huge flow, hunting me. I was there mere minutes ago! With a new found determination, I pushed the boat out into the water and dived into it like a pelican diving into the sea. I snatched the paddle up and thrust it into the water and pulled it out, doing this until I was free of the lava and out into the deep blue sea.

Peter

As part of our topic on Charles Darwin, we have been writing non-chronological reports about the Galapagos Islands.

Take a look at some of our fantastic work:

If you want to join in with tag rugby on Thursday, please remember your PE kit.

Thank you

Mrs Duncan

Well done to all those who joined in with the netball session with Mr Weaver yesterday. There will be another session at lunch time tomorrow so please remember your PE kit.

Mrs Duncan

Today, Class 8 dissected a lamb’s heart and lungs in our science lesson. We made a cut along the interventricular sulcus of the heart, to divide the heart and look inside. Before dissecting the lungs, we used a bicycle pump to observe how they inflate and deflate.

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Yesterday, Reverend Rich came to talk to us about the importance of respect, which is one of our Christian values. Class 8 took responsibility for creating a page in our whole school worship book, reflecting on our thoughts and expressing what respect means to us.