Reading and Writing

In Reading, we have explored the books ‘Pax’ and ‘The Amazing Night Sky Atlas’. We are currently reading ‘Journey to the River Sea’ by Eva Ibbotson. Children have really enjoyed acting out parts of the stories, hot seating characters and creating posters to show their understanding. 

In English, we started the year with abstract poetry. We wrote our own version of the poem  ‘The River’ by Pie Corbett. We then moved on to creating the opening and build-up of a suspense story and writing a letter to advise. We are currently studying and understanding the structure of a discussion text. The children have really enjoyed taking part in debates and setting up a mock court trial as well as finding slime around the classroom or outside, creating the question: do aliens exist?

Maths

In Maths, we started the year with place value. The children learnt how to manipulate base ten numbers using concrete, pictorial and abstract representations.  We then moved onto addition and subtraction, then multiplication and division where we got to expand our understanding of different methods to help us calculate problems. We are currently working on a fractions unit. The children have been using practical resources to represent fractions and are starting to solve multi-step questions. We have also been learning about what equivalence means and how fractions can look very different. Children have learnt to convert between improper fractions and mixed numbers confidently. 

Science 

We started the year with a unit on space. The children have loved learning about the solar system and have participated in practical activities such as going outdoors to represent the planets in orbit. We have also looked at the phases of the moon and used playdough to represent the different phases. We have just started a new unit on forces where the children have used physical resources and objects to represent the different forces.

Black History Month

During Black History Month, Year 5 looked at Arthur Wharton. During the week, we looked at why Arthur Wharton was an important historical figure as the first professional black footballer.  He broke down many barriers for future sports figures. To showcase our learning, we created fact files using PurpleMash, wrote a poem and created artwork based on his life and achievements.

Music

In music, we have been learning the guitar. It has been amazing to watch the children progress from playing single notes, to learning to read music and play notes on the fretboard. Children are beginning to develop a keen sense of pulse and their rhythmic fluency. 

Design Technology

In DT, we continued to develop our understanding of space. The children have enjoyed creating their own moon buggy. They researched existing designs and examined the key features needed to make an effective buggy. Using their research, they designed their own buggy, made changes and compared their designs with other children in the class. Finally, children created their moon buggies using a range of materials and evaluated it against the success criteria. 

Over the next few weeks, we will be focusing on:

• In English we are continuing with our unit on discussion texts and will then move onto playscripts.
• In maths we are going to continue our unit on fractions until Christmas. Then we will move onto multiplication and division after Christmas.
• In history we are going to start our unit on Vikings.
• In French we are continuing our work on naming and understanding different animals.
• In PSHE we are continuing our unit on celebrating differences.

Out of this world!

To kick start our new science topic on space, Year 5 visited the National Space Centre in Leicester. The children had an absolute blast! They fully immersed themselves in all of the weird and wonderful things that can be found in space. They enjoyed watching the live and explosive “It Is Rocket Science ” show, where we investigated the fiery power of rocket fuel and the explosive nature of forces and much, much more!

The children thoroughly enjoyed travelling up the rocket tower and engaging with all the exciting exhibits. Perhaps the most exciting part of our trip was the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium show. The children sat beautifully in the comfortable reclining seats, as they were transported through time and space. They were taken on a journey through the solar system, where they learnt fascinating facts about the planets, and then took part in an interactive quiz from their seats- what a treat!

Our new geography unit this term is called ‘Passport to the World’. Within this unit, we will ‘visit’ continents, countries and oceans and learn lots of interesting facts about them.  So far, the children have enjoyed increasing their knowledge about continents, oceans and have learnt a wide range of new vocabulary and their definitions. Take a look at the mini glossaries the children produced below:

The children have also been looking at a range of maps to develop their maps reading skills. We focused on ordnance survey maps and created stories using the various symbols to help us to embed our learning. Take a look:

Year 5 have absolutely loved playing Globle everyday to compliment their learning about the countries in the world! Why not have a go at guessing the mystery country with your child at home? https://globle-game.com/

English

In English, children are studying a meeting tale called ‘This Morning I Met a Whale.’ It is about a young boy named Michael who meets a whale by the River Thames.  This is a great tale as it provides children with the opportunity to learn about current issues around the world including ocean pollution, deforestation, extreme weather patterns, poaching etc. We began by looking at some of the animals that are at threat of extinction and the different causes. The children produced some fantastic art work to show the before and after scenes and have written messages from the animal’s perspective. Within this unit, children have also learned a number of skills needed to produce a meeting tale and recapped grammar tools to make their writing more sophisticated. Over the next few weeks, children will begin the process of planning and writing their own meeting tales to share an important message. Have a look at some of the fantastic work below.

It has been yet another jam-packed half term so far in Year 5. The children have continued to work hard and their behaviour and attitude for learning has never been better. We are so proud! Let’s have a look at some of the exciting things we have been getting up too.

Art – The Monarchy

As part of our topic on The Monarchy, we have really been immersing ourselves in Tudor art. To say the children have been enjoying this unit, is an understatement. Nothing makes us more fulfilled then receiving the positive and excited feedback from children as well as parents, so thank you! What has truly astounded us, as a team, is the sheer number of budding artists we have in our year group. As well as technical art skills this unit has taught children the values of determination, perseverance and patience.

We kick started our learning journey by researching, exploring and discussing Tudor art. We then learnt about colour theory including how to make secondary and tertiary colours from primary colours. We explored patterns and texture in Tudor clothing and then practised our sketching skills, using a range of techniques. We used a range of paints to create accurate and realistic skin tones. This was then followed by sketching in proportion- this was challenging but we got there in the end! Finally, we put all of these new skills together to create a self-portrait in the style of a Tudor monarch.

It has been so rewarding to watch the children flourish in this subject, but even more rewarding for the children to see their progression.

World Book Day

This year’s World Book Day was absolutely amazing! The team were blown away by the sheer amount of effort the children had put in their costumes. From Gangsta Grannies, to Thing 1 and 2; From Rapunzels to Beowulfs; From Wednesday Adams to Mary Poppins; Not to mention the Gryffindor House! The list was endless!

The children took part in a range of activities including: origami bookmarks, Draw with Rob and orienteering. We also split our classes and buddied up with the Year 1s. We made comic strips, re-enacted scenes from our favourite picture books and even had a delicious Booknic! What a treat it was! We ended the week with an off the scale fashion show where the children showcased their costumes and their OUT OF THIS WORLD dance moves. It truly was so much fun. Thank you to all the parents who attended, you made it all the more enjoyable! A HUGE well done to the winners of the costume contest: Taylor (Beech) as Gangsta Granny, Sam (Linden) as George from George’s Marvellous Medicine and Sienna (Hawthorn) as Willa from Zombies 2. Well done to everyone who got involved!

Maths- Fractions

The children have been working exceptionally hard in maths this term. We have been learning about fractions- a concept that is not typically the easiest to grasp at first. We started by revising equivalent fractions and fractions greater than 1. We moved onto improper and mixed fractions, as well as comparing and ordering fractions. The children have been working on adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions too. There is a great deal of coverage, but they are showing an equally great deal of resilience to work through the challenges.

English

We finished our unit on action and have now been learning about Characterisation. This was where the writer develops and builds a character through the clues in their behaviour, appearance and traits (to list a few.) The children have been looking at a range of different texts to help build their knowledge and vocabulary bank. They have completed some excellent short bursts of writing where they have described and developed a character and practised some of the skills from our lessons.

A huge well done to everyone and their efforts. There is so much to look forward to this term and into summer 1- including our very exciting and much anticipated trip to the National Space Centre! We hope you are as excited as we are 😊

Spring Term

Wow! What a busy first half term we have had! The children returned to school after Christmas with enthusiasm and a real drive to hit the ground running. We kick started the term with a visit from Thomas Kitching and the Young’uns with whom we learnt about Luton’s heritage and wrote a song together. Please keep an eye out on Twitter and the school website where their final piece of music will be posted. Have a look at all the wonderful things that we have been getting up to in our classes.

English

In English this term, Year 5 have been learning how to write an effective action scene. Our model text is based on the book, Beowulf, by Michael Morpurgo. Within this unit, we have focused on specific writing features that we can use to make our own action scene writing. Some of the features we have focused on are:

• Repeated ED verbs– “they wrestled, yanked, heaved and lunged.”
• Sentences of three (to move the action forward)- “He tore his teeth into blood-stained hair and, with a splintering crack of a bone, ripped flesh from the creatures side.”
• Adverbials of action– “As he turned for more prey…” “held him fast by the arm.”
• Prepositions to introduce the action– “Up from his lair and through the shadows..”
• Carefully place adjectives– “ like a crazed animal” “ Grendel’s hideous skull”
• Long and short sentences – “He aimed. Fired.” “And so, finally, splattered and stained with blood, our hero stood, and at his feet, a gruesome carcass lay.”

We have learnt the meaning of new words found in our model text. These include: carcass, splintering, lair, moorland, thirsting, frenzied, seized, gnashing, inferno, thrashing

At the end of this unit the children will write their own action scenes. We are looking forward to seeing their creations!

Maths

In maths, children are currently on the topic of multiplication and division. They have worked incredibly hard to understand long multiplication using the area model and column method. They began by multiplying numbers by a single digit and gradually moved on to multiplying 4-digit numbers by double digits. The children were very thorough and worked methodically to solve calculations. Over the next few days, they will learn to solve long division using the bus stop method. Children will be supported with a range of concrete and pictorial representations to aid their understanding. Have a look at some of the fantastic work below.

PSHE

Within the Jigsaw lessons, children are working together to identify some of their dreams and goals for the future. They began by creating a dream jar- filling it with all their hopes for the future. Over the next few weeks, children will be exploring different professions and looking closely at different roles and responsibilities people have. They will understand the importance of different jobs and how they contribute to society. They will also be researching careers they are interested in and identifying the steps required to achieve those. Have a look at some of their dreams and goals below.

Reading- The Promise

The children have thoroughly enjoyed our reading comprehension lessons this half term. We have been studying the picture book called “The Promise.” The children have been building on their ability to have discussions and debates; justifying their thoughts with evidence from the text. They have learnt to empathise with character through the use of dramatical techniques like role play, hot seating, conscience alley, role on the wall and writing in role. The children have discussed the many themes and key messages that the author has tried to convey. They have looked at how language informs illustrations and how they illustrations change throughout the story, as well as the impact this has on the reader.

Topic- The Monarchy

This term we will be studying the monarchy. The children have enjoyed learning about the many different monarchs that have led our country since Alfred the Great. We have learnt how to plot key events on a timeline as well as learnt what the order of succession means. We have looked at some key figures and the impact they had during their reign, including: Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria. The children will also be planning King Charles’ coronation! Have a look at some of the beautiful art work that children made for our class displays! Do you recognise any of these royal objects?

Computing 

In Computing, Linden, Beech and Hawthorn Class have been exploring what is meant by E-safety to gain a greater understanding of the impact that sharing digital content can have. Each class created digital comic strips to highlight how to stay safe online- take a look at the examples below:

We have also spent time identifying the advantages and disadvantages of altering an image digitally as well as the purposes and reasons for doing this. The children used a fun program on Purple Mash called 2Paint A Picture to manipulate their images. You can see some great examples again below:

Wow! We cannot quite believe how quickly this term has gone by! We have been blown away by so many of the children in our classes- the quality of work has been outstanding!  Below is a snapshot of what we have been up to over the last few weeks.

Music

This term, we have been learning the iconic song ‘Livin’ on a prayer’ by Bon Jovi. We started by learning the lyrics and rhythms and then moved onto playing some key notes on the glockenspiels to accompany the song.  Look out for some of our performances on Twitter, coming soon!

Science

This term we started our new topic: “Properties and changes of materials.” We revised some of the key vocabulary and content that we learnt last year and are now building on these key concepts. We have carried out some exciting investigations too! We started by conducting a test on the properties of a range of materials e.g. the flexibility, permeability, hardness, transparency and magnetism of objects. We will soon be moving onto carrying out comparative investigations, like testing the best thermal conductor and insulator. Do you recognise these words? Can you think of everyday objects that are thermal conductors/insulators?

Design and Technology  

As part of the ancient Egypt topic work, the children in Year 5 have learnt the importance of a Shaduf and the river Nile. In DT this term, they will be creating a shaduf by applying their knowledge of levers from science. By working as a group, they have begun planning their ideas- trying to select the best materials and resources to create their prototypes. Over the next few days, they will be bringing their ideas to life and creating their final product, ready to put it to the ultimate test. Will their shaduf be strong enough to carry the water from low to high ground? Take a look at some of the initial research they did.

Feeling Festive!

A huge thank you to all the parents and carers who came along to our Christmas craft morning- we had so much fun creating wreaths, reindeer hot chocolate and snowmen bookmarks!

We are absolutely loving Bookvent and have enjoyed listening to the children read out their favourite chapter of their favourite book to the whole class.

We are very much looking forward to walking up to Queen Elizabeth School on Wednesday 14th December to watch their Christmas Panto: Robin Hood and His Merry Men. Please do remember to sign and return the permission slip before Monday.

We would like to take this opportunity to say happy holidays and we hope that you all have a restful break ready to return on Wednesday 3rd January 2023.

Miss Islam, Mrs Parkar and Miss Khan

Hello and welcome to our first blog of the school year!

Linden, Hawthorn and Beech class have all made an absolutely brilliant start to the year! All of the teachers are very proud of the children and the great learning which has taken place already. Please do enjoy reading about a few of our highlights below.

PSHE- Building Resilience

For the first two weeks of the Autumn term, we focused our afternoon lessons on the theme of resilience. The aim of these lessons is to develop the children’s growth mindset towards their learning. The children discussed strategies to help them cope with difficult situations and using their favourite ideas, they created a resilience wheel. We also learnt about how to build resilience when faced with challenges. The Learning Pit teaches us that we have to fail in order to eventually succeed. The children had fun creating their own learning pits. We also looked at diversity and its importance in our community. The children created some beautiful posters to celebrate diversity.

English- Poetry and Spook-tacular Stories!

In English, we have been writing our own poems based on The River by Pie Corbett. The children included various poetic features including alliteration and similes and their amazing work was even commented on by Pie Corbett on Twitter!

@WigmorePrimary tremendous word play – like a sarcastic clown…. https://t.co/WE9FukKD01

— Pie Corbett (@PieCorbett) September 22, 2022

We then went onto writing the opening and build up of own suspense stories. It’s been great fun learning about ways to engage the reader and how to build tension and suspense into our writing. We learnt that writers can weave in rhetorical questions, short sentences, clues to tantalise the reader, onomatopoeia, similes, metaphors and personification. The children have worked incredibly hard to include these in their independent writing, why not ask your child about which features they have included in their work this week.

Topic- Tomb Raiders!

The children have enjoyed learning about Ancient Egypt through a variety of cross-curricular activities. They first went on an exciting scavenger hunt around the school to find the definitions of key words such as archeologist, tomb and sphinx. We have also explored key physical features and locations in Ancient Egypt by studying several maps and artefacts. The children thoroughly enjoyed drawing their own cartouches to demonstrate their understanding of hieroglyphics too. Take a look at some of the fantastic work below!

Science- May the Force Be With You!

This half term we have been developing our understanding about forces. We have revisited, as well as learnt some new, key vocabulary and tried to remember the different types of forces around us. We discussed the terms “balanced” and “unbalanced” forces and used everyday objects to demonstrate this new concept. We learnt about Sir Isaac Newton and how he developed his theory of gravity. Following this, we explored the effect of gravity with objects in the classroom. We identified the difference between Mass and Weight and used Newton meters to find a correlation between the two. We then moved onto learning about Galileo and his discovery that gravity causes objects of the SAME size and SHAPE, regardless of their MASS to fall at the same rate.

This week we will be investigating the effects of air resistance by making parachutes of varied sizes, shapes and materials and testing how quickly (or slowly!) they fall to the ground.

Finally, we are very much looking forward to seeing you all at Parents’ Evening next Tuesday and Wednesday. As ever, thank you for all your support and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask your child’s class teacher.

The Year 5 Team 🙂

English

In English, children have completed writing a twisted tale of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. Their creativity and imagination were evident through their fantastic ideas. They have used expanded noun phrases, embedded relative clauses, subordination, parenthesis among many other grammatical features. Why not ask your child how they have twisted their story? How can they twist other traditional tales? Read a particularly good example below.

We have now begun our new unit of work on persuasive speech. The children have learnt the definitions of key vocabulary that will be used throughout this unit such as pollution, fauna, prospect and endangering.

Maths

The enthusiastic mathematicians in year 5 have enjoyed learning about different types of angles. Ask your child if they can explain the difference between acute, right angle, straight line, obtuse, reflex and full rotation. Children have also learnt to use protractors to measure and draw angles accurately.

We will be continuing to work on angles over the next few weeks. Children will learn to recognize and draw parallel and perpendicular lines and develop their reasoning about 3D shapes.

Science

We have just started our new unit of work on Living Things and Their Habitats. The curious scientists have learnt about the process of metamorphosis and have begun comparing different life cycles of insects such as honey bees, butterflies and damselflies. Have a look at a few life cycles below.

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

–        In English, we will be studying the skills needed to produce a persuasive speech.

–        In maths, we will be solving questions related to position and direction.

–        In science, we will continue to explore the life cycle of different animals and plants.

–        In Geography, we will learn to read maps and investigate countries in different continents.

Reading and writing

The children have just completed their unit on information texts. They researched endangered animals during their ICT time, finding out about where they live, what they eat and why they are endangered. They then wrote a report on their chosen animal. Why not ask your child what they found out about their animal? Here is a particularly good example.

We are now working on twisting the traditional tale of Red Riding Hood. The children have looked at the tales of Goldilocks and The three little pigs and how they have been twisted. Ask them about the two stories below.

Maths

For the past few weeks the enthusiastic mathematicians in year five have been investigating the relationship between decimals, fractions and percentages. They then moved onto calculating with decimals. Have a look at a couple of pages from the children’s power maths books to show some examples of the types of questions they have been solving.

Monarchy

The children have continued looking at significant monarchs of the United Kingdom. They have compared the lives of our two longest serving monarchs, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II.  They then wrote a diary entry as if they were present at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Below are two examples of the many excellent pieces completed.

Passport to the World

As the ‘wow’ factor introduction to our geography based unit we will be studying in the coming weeks year 5 had some crew from EasyJet visit on Monday 16^th May. As you can see from the pictures below great fun was had by all, with the children learning about aircraft safety, first aid and how to become cabin crew.

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

* Completing our twisted tale and moving on to writing persuasive texts to encourage people to protect the environment.

* In maths we will be moving onto look at geometry, studying angles and the properties of shapes.

* In French we are looking at food and how to order what they would like in French.