Year 5 Blog

3rd March 2022Karen Owen

We can’t believe another 3 weeks have passed. Here is what has been happening so far.

Reading and Writing

The children have enjoyed producing a boxed-up plan for their own version of the action scene from the Beowulf story. The next stage is to use their plan to create an innovative write.

In Reading, the children are continuing to read the class book to help master the skills of inference, prediction, summary and the retrieval of information.

Maths

The Children have started learning about fractions. So far, they have learnt about equivalence and converting fractions into mixed numbers. They have also learnt to simplify and apply their knowledge to compare fractions.

Science

The children have continued to learn about space this term. They have enjoyed learning about the lunar cycle and the phases of the moon. They are currently writing a newspaper report about the first moon landing that took place in 1969.

Over the next few weeks the sequence of learning will focus on:

  • In English, we will continue to write our own version of the action scene using all the skills taught in the lessons so far.
  • In maths, we will learn how to add and subtract fractions.
  • In Science, we will continue to study space and discover why we have day/night and the seasons.
  • In music, we will continue to practice The Fresh Prince of Bell Air and use glockenspiel to perform.
  • Oak Class will be performing their assembly on Tuesday the 8th of March.

Year 5 Blog Spring 2

9th February 2022Karen Owen

Another half term completed. Where has the time gone!

Reading and Writing

The children have completed their topic on Poetry. We were very impressed with their efforts and we put some of the many excellent examples up on display, as you can see below. Why not ask the children about some of the unusual jobs they found out about.

 

They have now just started on our next unit, which involves them writing an action scene for a myth. They have started to learn the model text. Have a look at the text map below and see if your child can tell you the story.

Maths

The children have now moved onto our new unit on fractions. They have been revisiting some of the areas they missed during lockdown and have been working on converting tenths into decimals and calculating fractions of amounts. Ask your child if they can find 5/6 of 180.

Science

The children have been finding out some interesting facts about the planets in our solar system and then comparing their size to that of the Earth. They have now started to move onto the evidence of how the Earth was found to be spherical. Here are some examples of what they have been doing.

 

After half term

In English the children will continue their work on their action scene based on the myth Beowulf.

We will continue to look at fractions in Maths, by revisiting equivalent fractions, before moving onto adding and subtracting fractions.

Science will see us find out more about the lunar cycle, phases of the moon and the moon landing and in RE the children will continue to explore the Hindu religion.

 

Year 5 Blog Spring 1

28th January 2022Karen Owen

The children in year 5 have obviously had a restful and enjoyable Christmas break as they have returned to school full of energy and excitement for the topics we are doing this term.

Reading and Writing

The children have been studying four poems about dreams and expectations that people have for when they are older. They have enjoyed investigating different jobs that they could do, such as a snake venom collector, professional cuddler or a dog surfing instructor! As part of their grammar work they have looked at adverbs of possibility, such as maybe and certainly, along with modal verbs, such as should, could and ought to. They have then brought all their learning together by writing their own poem to themselves about what they could be. They have also been asked to learn how to perform their poem over the next week as they will be presenting them to the rest of the class. Here are a couple of examples of the excellent work they have achieved.

 

The children are enjoying their new shared class readers, especially Oak class who can’t wait for the next instalment of Cosmic each day.

Maths

Our topic for the start of this term has been formal methods of multiplication and division. The children have been multiplying 4 digit numbers by 2 digit numbers using the column method and have risen to the challenges we have set of completing missing number calculations. The question below is an example. Why not ask your child to explain how to solve it?

The children have also spent time looking at how to divide a four digit number by a 2 digit number using short division ( often called the bus stop method). They had a range of problems to solve such as real life dilemmas, missing numbers and then explaining where mistakes have been made. Can your child explain where the mistake is in this question?

Topic

The children have been working hard on their art skills by first learning how to draw a face using the correct proportions. They then used their new skills to design their own Pharaoh’s mask, before finally using collage to add colour and texture. Have a look at the pictures below showing the learning journey.

     

Science

The children have just started the topic they have all been excited about – Earth and Space. They have been sharing what they already know about the subject, what they would like to know before becoming familiar with the key vocabulary.

In the next few weeks:

In English the children will start their new Talk for writing unit based on the tale of Beowulf.

We will be looking at fractions in Maths – taking away numbers within 20 and going onto looking at numbers up to 50.

Science will see us find out more about individual planets and in RE the children will continue to explore the Hindu religion.

 

Year 5 Blog 15th December 2021

15th December 2021Karen Owen

We cannot believe that the term is almost over. The children have been working on lots of different things over the last couple of weeks. Have a look in a bit more detail:-

Reading and writing

The children have just completed their own adventure story based on a book called ‘Journey’ by Aaron Becker. We focused on using interesting sentence structures and including description of characters thoughts and feelings. The teachers loved reading the children’s work; they produced some wonderful stories. Here is a fantastic example:

The children have also just completed a short unit linked to their History topic of the Ancient Egypt. They studied the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter and then completed a newspaper report on the event. Have a look at one of the excellent pieces produced.

Maths

For the last few weeks, the mathematicians in year five have been working on area and perimeter of shapes. They have looked at the relationships between area and perimeter of regular shapes. They also enjoyed working out the area of their hands and then comparing to see who had the largest and the smallest.

History

The super Historians in year five have been learning about life in Ancient Egypt. They have studied the landscape of the country, explained why the settlements were all grouped around the River Nile before exploring the key events in the history of the pharoah’s. The children were keen to find out about the pyramids and the discovery of the most famous tomb of them all, that of Tutankhamun. Here is an example of some work done on Egyptian society.

Other curriculum areas which have inspired and motivated the children

As part of our RE work the children have been looking at the beliefs of Humanists and comparing those to the values of the Christian religion. They found out about some Humanist thinkers, including Charles Darwin and Margaret Knight. The children compared their own rules or code for living with those of the Humanists. Here is an example:-

 

As part of the Enterprise Event the children produced the following Christmas Ornaments

The year 5 team would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Year 5 Blog 19th November 2021

20th November 2021Karen Owen

Once again it has been a busy time in year 5. Here are some of the things the children have  been up to:-

Reading and writing

The children have just completed a unit developing their suspense story writing skills. They studied a model text, focusing on the introduction of build up. They have learnt three new sentence types and have successfully used them in their own stories. We have now moved on to our new fiction topic where the children will be writing stories about a journey through a magical land on different form of transport. The children have also started reading three new texts:-

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Cosmic by Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Maths

For the past few weeks the enthusiastic mathematicians in year five have been enhancing their addition and subtraction skills with numbers up to five digits. They have been applying these skills in mastery word problems. The pupils have also really enjoyed the module about two way tables and line graphs.

Science

The super scientists in year five have continued learning about materials and their properties. The dissolving investigation was great fun and the children had the opportunity to work practically in teams. The pupils matched various materials to their properties and discovered interesting uses for these. They then looked at reversible and irreversible changes and how to separate mixtures.

Other curriculum areas which have inspired and motivated the children

There has been lots of enthusiasm amongst the children as we have now started our new topic about the Ancient Egyptians. We talked about what we already know and facts we would like to find the answers to this term.

As part of our PSHE work the children have been looking at those who help us and things that we are all grateful for. For children in need the children were challenged in teams to solve English clues to obtain the key to escape the room. All had a great time and rose to the challenge.

Two of the classes have also taken part in their second session of outdoor learning. The children had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the activities. Have a look at some of the pictures below.

                      

 

Over the next few weeks the sequence of learning will focus on:

  •  Continue working on our new picture book, The Journey.
  •  In maths we will be starting work on multiplication and division by looking at prime numbers, multiples and square numbers.
  • In topic we will begin our in depth work on  Ancient Egypt. We will start with a Geography focus by looking at where Egypt is, what the landscape is like and the importance the River Nile has played in its History.
  • Holly Class outdoor learning on 9th December.

 

Year 5 Blog 14th October 2021

15th October 2021Karen Owen

It has been a very busy half term for year 5. The children have settled well into their classes and many of them have made new friends. It is lovely to see them all being able to mix on the playground and have lunch with those from other classes in the hall.

The children have been really enjoying their science topic on materials. They have:-

  • Looked at the properties of a range of materials
  • Identified uses for materials based on those properties
  • Investigated what would be the best thermal insulator
  • Decided what would be the best material for a new lunch box
  • Recorded the results in a graph.
  • Identified reversible and irreversible changes

Here is one of the graphs they produced.

They are looking forward to carrying out some investigations into soluble and insoluble materials next week.

In English we have written poems about a river and for National Poetry day the children wrote poems about the delights of different countries foods. We were very impressed with their enthusiasm for the topics. Currently we are looking at how a writer completes an opening and build up to a suspense story. In their grammar lessons they looked at three new sentences structures, before using those in a short burst write, inspired by a short film clip. Below is one of the many excellent pieces they produced.

We have now sent home new reading records and books to all the children. Those who have only received a reading record are considered a free reader and can read any books of their choice. Please encourage them to read a range of fiction and non-fiction books. As part of the school ‘Give me Ten’ challenge we are asking all children to spend at least ten minutes a day reading a book and recording that in their reading records. The reading books need to be in school every day and an adult will check them at least once a week. The children have a display in their classroom which shows their progress up the challenge wall.

Next half term we will be starting work on our topic of Ancient Egypt. The children will be using their geography skills to look at the physical features of the country, what life was like for ordinary people, the process of mummification, how the pyramids were built and the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. As part of their DT work the children will make a Shaduf. So exciting times ahead.