A Rainy Playtime

On Tuesday, the rain fell hard on the school playground. The sky was grey and the ground was wet. At playtime, the children could not go outside, so they stayed in their classroom.

Amir played a board game with his friends while Isla read a book in the quiet corner. Mrs Green put on some music, and a few children drew pictures at their tables. Even though they missed the playground, everyone found something fun to do.

R - What day did it rain?

I- How do you think the children felt about staying inside? Give one reason.

C- Which activity would you have chosen at playtime: playing a board game or reading a book? Why?

Thursday 30th April 2026

L.C: To retrieve information from a non-fiction text.

Whole Class

• How many different species of penguin are there?
• What is the name of the largest species of penguin?
• What colour are adult penguins’ bodies and stomachs?

Independent

• Why do penguins waddle when they walk on land?

• What is the name given to the way penguins move quickly across ice or snow on their stomachs?

• Which penguins look after emperor penguin eggs?

• Name one threat that puts some species of penguins at risk.

LC: To describe where rivers start (source) and end (mouth). 

Can you sketch and label a tributary? 

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What is a Tributary?

A tributary is a type of small stream that connects a water source to a much larger body of water, like a lake or river. It carries vital minerals, nutrients and chemicals that different species of vegetation and animals in the water and on the banks need to survive. They also manage watersheds in its path, carrying the contents of surrounding drainage basins, such as rain and snow. Most rivers form from a nearby tributary that’s gathered more water and expanded in size on its path.

What does a tributary do?

Tributaries are mainly responsible for transporting water from the initial source to the larger mainstream body of water, there are other vital aspects to a tributary’s role.

One especially important part of tributaries is the habitats they provide for a variety of species. These include plants, semi-aquatic and non-aquatic mammals, fish and a variety of birds. The fast pace, cold streams often found in tributaries provide the ideal living environment for many of these animals and freshwater plants. The water from the tributary also helps the soil on the banks to grow.

Tributaries are also very important when it comes to the surrounding watersheds. They carry the runoff from these drainage basins and carry them all the way to the mainstream body of water. This excess water is really important for the river cycle as it makes sure that large bodies of water stay full and impacts the erosion of the banks.

Where can you find a tributary?

You’ll find a tributary partway between a primary water source, such as a spring up in the mountains, and a mainstream such as a river or a reservoir. Tributaries transport water downhill between these different bodies of water, so they’re often found on high ground levels.

Often, multiple tributaries join together from different places before meeting reaching the confluence, where they make contact with the mainstream body of water. These are also known as ‘forks’ and are referred to as either North, South, East or West. They can also be identified with the direction of the current they’re carrying in, which is bearing either to the left or right when looking downstream, known as either the ‘Left Bank’ or the ‘Right Bank’.

So, where tributaries are found is important when identifying which fork is which and exactly which mainstream body they’re going to connect to.