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.