This term, the children of Year Three have been busy adding more detail and flair into their writing. Samples of their writing have been selected and typed up for your enjoyment. More will appear as the year processes and by the end of the year we hope all the children will have some of their work featured on our website.
We have been learning in Science lessons how plants can grow to be healthy specimens, how seeds germinate and what are the causes of unhealthy or stunted growth. These pieces of writing include some of the observations we have made in our investigations.
The Life Story of a Sunflower
By Daniel Taylor
Deep in the rich brown soil, the sunflower seed lay in wait. What was it waiting for do you think? It was waiting for spring for then there is enough rain and sunlight to start the process. This is the start of it: once it had lots of water, the seed swelled up and cracked. The determined roots came out from the seed and anchored it firmly in the ground. Then the young shoot pushed its way through the soil to the surface. After that the roots sucked up all the water and nutrients it could and the leaves turned into food factories using the sun’s energy. Then finally a little bud appeared and after three weeks a flower appeared with dazzling yellow petals and it stood two metres tall. When the spring had past, summer was here and the flower head turned to the sun and the leaves produce more food. Eventually the flower dies and the head droops after the pollen is taken. Seeds fall, some are eaten, some are gathered and some lay in wait for the next year.
The Life Story of a Sunflower
By Rachel Baines
Down in the rich brown and squelchy soil, the seed will wait. It will wait for both spring and summer because the sunflower needs water, warmth and light to grow. Now I’ll tell you how this sunflower grew. Well once you planted your seed and when you have given it water, the seed shell will split open and out pops a time white root. Soon after the roots have started moving downwards, a green shoot grows and pops out of the soil in search of light. As well the roots need quite a lot of space so it can get enough water and nutrients from the soil. By the way, nutrients are soluble food that plants need. Then when the little shoot gets its leaves, it needs lots of light. Did you know that the leaves are like food factories because they use the suns energy and water to make fuel for the plant? At this point, the sunflower is getting really, really tall then a tiny bud begins to grow at the top. Then in the summer that bud begins to grow. When it is fully grown the flower opens. In the centre lots of brown seeds appear in the vast sunflower. I’ll now tell you a fact about this plant, when the sun is out, the head of the sunflower turns towards it. Guess what? When the bees and insects have spread the pollen, birds then come to peck at the seeds and some are eaten. When the bird has eaten a seed it will come out of its body and a new sunflower will grow in a new place. I’ll tell you one more amazing fact: well every evening the petals of the flower will close up and every morning the petals will open wide and look delightful and so ends the lovely story of the sunflowers short but amazing life.
We looked at an illustration of Alfie by Shirley Hughes. In it, Alfie, a small boy, is trying to sleep but it is summer we imagined what might stopped him from sleeping.
Here are some of the children’s ideas.
Bedtime in Summer
By Liberty Caithness
The boy was lying in his usual bed. He was as sick as a parrot because he heard sound outside and the sun still streamed through his curtains. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t even get cosy. The boy’s little sister was curled up fast asleep and he could hear her gentle breathing. He could also hear all sorts of things going on outside. The lawn mower growled cutting the grass, baby birds cheeping for their tea as if they wanted their supper than sleep time too. Big boys were heard playing football and the last thing to keep him awake was the smell of cooking food and it smelled like a barbeque. He took a drink of his warm milk and tried even harder to sleep. It was just no good and he became bored and more bored. Soon the room darkened and the boy became a little sleepy but he still couldn’t sleep it was too warm. He slipped out of bed and asked if he could stay up for a little while.
“No,� replied his mum and he grumbled back to bed.
Finally it was completely dark. Dad was still up hammering in nails to hang pictures up. The boy became more and more sleepy, he heard dogs barking and cats mewing. The boy sat on his window sill and looked out of the window, there were fewer people about. The boy was half asleep when his dad went to his own bed and eventually he nodded off. He dreamed he was flying in warm summer breezes and it was wonderful.
It is hard to sleep in summer, don’t you think?
Trying to Sleep
By Laura Wilkinson
The boy was snuggled in his familiar bed, his little baby sister in her cot was gently breathing next to him. The boy was quite fed up not knowing which other ways he could try to get to sleep. Outside it was just like day, he could hear the mothers and fathers chatting excitedly over their garden fences. He could her baby birds demanding food and neighbours cutting their grass with loud lawn mowers. He could hear older children shouting in their games and other playing pop music. Yes he was fed up so he decided to risk it and go down stairs. Before he did he listened to see if he could her anything else to tell his mum. A bigger list might mean a bigger chance to stay up, but he couldn’t. He did tell his mum about all the noises that were keeping him awake but she told him to get straight back to bed adding she would be up in a minute. Now when his mother did come up to his bedroom, he was fast asleep and she was quite surprised. It was dark when she walked into her bedroom and she fell asleep. All the house was silent at last. Outside all that could be heard was a single cat mewing at the moon.
Bedtime in Summer
By Ben Kitchen
One light, bright, summer night, a small little boy was lying on his bed. He was bored with trying to sleep and he could hear many sounds outside. He would hear grown ups chatting loudly and music from open windows, sizzling food on barbeques, big boys playing a game of football and other things such as birds cheeping to one another. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t fall asleep. Sleep would not come. Finally he went slowly downstairs to see he if was allowed to stay up for a little while but he wasn’t. His father has said,
“No chance, mate.�
So miserably he went back to his bedroom without a word. Next the lawn mower started up and all that filled his ears was a whirring sound. Then he heard his dad singing in the shower! He would not believe his bad luck. He tried to count to one hundred but that still didn’t work. He gave up and got out of his bed and played with his toys. Soon he found putting his train set together was tricky because his room had darkened. With the dark came quiet, he climbed back into bed and finally, at last and easily, he fell asleep.
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More to come very soon, watch this space!