Autumn Term

Week 8

We have had a busy and exciting half-term in Year 5, with lots of opportunities to learn, explore and work creatively together.

In Writing, a mysterious alien came to visit Year 5 and left lots of clues behind. When the children came into the classroom, it had turned into a spaceship! The children loved investigating the clues and discussing what may have happened. They used their ideas to create a wanted poster, with the aim of capturing the alien. This encouraged them to think carefully about descriptive language, presentation and the important information needed to help identify the missing visitor.

We also loved creating a story map for our new text, all about aliens. The children enjoyed sequencing the events, exploring the characters and using pictures and key words to help retell the story. Story mapping has supported the children in developing their understanding of plot and structure, while also helping them to generate ideas for their own writing.

Alongside our academic learning, we have had two very special visitors come into school to talk to the children about emotional health. They shared useful strategies that the children can use when they are feeling difficult emotions. We discussed the importance of recognising how we feel, talking to trusted adults and choosing strategies that can help us to feel calmer and more prepared to manage challenging moments.

Thank you for all the support this half term. We have enjoyed all of the lovely experiences we have had and have valued the enthusiasm, curiosity and thoughtful contributions the children have brought to their learning.

Week 7

It has been another busy week in Year 5, with lots of exciting learning and opportunities to develop new skills.

In Maths, we have been practising drawing line graphs and plotting different data onto them. The children have been carefully considering how to present information clearly and accurately.

In Writing, we published our holiday brochures for a popular holiday destination in Greece. We enjoyed sharing our ideas and creating appealing descriptions for our readers.

In Reading, our texts have been based on Magic your mind happy. We explored and practised lots of different magic tricks, while developing our reading skills and thinking carefully about the information we discovered.

This week, we also took part in Cross Country. The children worked incredibly hard and showed great resilience as they challenged themselves.

We had a PHSE workshop from SCARF, where the children got to know their brains. We discussed different methods that we can use to support ourselves when we feel overwhelmed.

Finally, in Art, we created portraits of ourselves inspired by Hom Nyung. The children explored ideas about identity and used their creativity to produce individual portraits.

Week 6 

This week, we have been exploring line graphs and data. The children have been learning how to read information from a graph, identify patterns and use the data to answer questions. They created their own stories to interpret different graphs, which they thoroughly enjoyed. This activity encouraged them to think carefully about what was happening in each story and how the information could be represented clearly using a line graph.

In Writing, the children have been using different persuasive features linked to our History topic, Ancient Greece. We explored how writers can influence their readers by choosing powerful vocabulary, making clear points and supporting opinions with reasons and evidence.

We story-mapped our model text to help us remember the text and support our understanding of its structure and language choices. The children considered how the beginning, middle and end of the text were organised and identified the features that made it persuasive. They have also been thinking about how these techniques could be used in their own writing.

In Science, we have been investigating gears, pulleys and levers. The children were really engaged as they explored how these mechanisms work and considered how they can make tasks easier. Through practical investigations, they observed how movement and force can be changed by using different mechanisms.The children discussed examples of gears, pulleys and levers in everyday life and began to explain why these simple machines are useful. They worked collaboratively, shared their observations and used scientific vocabulary to describe what they discovered.

In Art, we created portraits inspired by the artist Hom Nguyen. The children explored portraiture and developed their own creative responses to his work. They looked closely at the use of line, shape, colour and expression, considering how an artist can communicate ideas and emotions through a portrait.

Our Reading text was based on Wonder, which explored important themes including inclusion, bullying and friendship. These themes encouraged thoughtful discussions and helped the children reflect on how people can support and include one another.During our discussions, the children considered the characters’ feelings, motivations and experiences. They used evidence from the text to explain their ideas and made connections with situations that can occur in everyday life. The story provided opportunities to discuss kindness, empathy, standing up for others and the importance of treating everyone with respect.

Week 5

In writing, we have begun our new topic: writing to persuade. The children had a go at writing a short advert to persuade Miss Oakley, to visit somewhere they have been to. They considered how to use persuasive language, interesting descriptions and reasons to encourage their audience to agree with them. We will continue to develop these skills as we explore the features of persuasive writing further.

Further into the week, the children immersed themselves in Greece! We had a taste-testing session, which the children loved. This gave them the opportunity to experience some different flavours and talk about their likes, dislikes and observations.

In Maths, we have been exploring different strategies to add and subtract numbers up to 6 digits. The children have been practising choosing an efficient method and explaining their thinking clearly. They have also been developing their accuracy when working with larger numbers and checking their answers.

Our text this week was A World of Flavour. The children explored different recipes from around the world, discussing the ingredients, methods and cultural influences included in each one. This supported them in developing their vocabulary and understanding how information can be presented in a non-fiction text.

In DT, we tested the strength of the truss bridges that we made last week. The children carefully observed how their bridges performed and considered what made them strong or less stable. They then evaluated their designs to explore how we could improve them next time. This encouraged them to think like engineers by using evidence from their testing to suggest practical improvements.

Week 4

In writing, we have finished our narrative unit. The children have written some amazing portal stories, using their imaginations to create exciting settings, interesting characters and adventurous plots. They have worked hard to develop their story ideas and have considered how to use descriptive language, dialogue and well-chosen vocabulary to engage their readers.

In Maths, we have begun our new unit on addition and subtraction strategies. The children are exploring different methods for solving calculations and are developing their understanding of when and how to use each strategy. They have been encouraged to explain their thinking, compare methods and check whether their answers are sensible.

Our Science learning has focused on water resistance. We have explored how different shapes move through water and tested a range of shapes to see which would fall the quickest into water. Through our investigations, we found out that the most streamlined shapes moved the quickest through the water. The children have enjoyed making predictions, carrying out tests and discussing what they observed.

In Reading, we have travelled to Egypt through the text Secrets of a Sun King. The children have really enjoyed exploring the story and finding out more about its setting. They have been developing their comprehension skills by discussing characters, events and vocabulary, as well as sharing their thoughts and responses to the text.

In Music, the children have also been very excited to learn to play the keyboard. They have begun to explore the instrument and practise playing notes and simple musical patterns. It has been lovely to see their enthusiasm as they develop their listening, coordination and performance skills.

Across the curriculum, the children have been taking part in discussions, practical activities and creative tasks. They have shown curiosity and a willingness to try new approaches, whether they have been writing a portal story, investigating water resistance, solving mathematical problems, travelling through an ancient Egyptian setting or learning to play the keyboard.

Week 3

It has been another busy and engaging week of learning, with pupils enjoying opportunities to investigate, discuss, create and work together across the curriculum.

In Maths, we have been exploring Roman numerals. The children used Dienes blocks to represent Roman numerals, helping them to develop a clearer understanding of how different values can be combined and represented. They enjoyed using practical resources to support their mathematical thinking and explain their ideas.

In Writing, we have been innovating our portal narratives. The children have been working hard to build on their descriptive writing by developing settings, characters and events in their stories. They have been choosing vocabulary carefully and considering how to make their writing more engaging for the reader.

In History, we explored the contrasting city-states of Athens and Sparta. The children learned about the different ways of life in each place before taking part in a lively debate about where they would rather have lived. They shared their opinions, listened to different viewpoints and used historical details to support their arguments.

In DT, we made truss bridges out of spaghetti. This practical challenge required careful planning, testing and problem-solving. The children used our school value of collaboration as they shared ideas, worked as teams and supported one another while constructing their bridges.

In Science, we investigated how air resistance works to slow objects down. Through practical exploration, the children considered how air interacts with moving objects and discussed why some objects experience more air resistance than others.

It has been lovely to see such curiosity, creativity and teamwork throughout the week.

Week 2:

This week in Year 5, we have been busy with the curriculum and have really enjoyed getting stuck into our learning.

In Maths, we have been comparing 5-digit numbers. We played place value games and challenged ourselves to create the greatest and smallest possible numbers. After that, we ordered our numbers on a number line, which helped us spot how the value changes depending on each digit.

In English, we began our portal story unit by first creating a new world to inspire our writing. We then investigated our model text, looking carefully at how it was put together. We also story mapped our text and created actions to help us learn it, which made it easier to remember the key events and language.

In DT, we experimented with different types of structures to aim to create the strongest bridge possible. It was great to test ideas and see which designs worked best.

In History, we learnt about the Ancient Greek God’s and then created our own.

Week 1:

This week we were really excited to welcome our new Year 5 class back after the summer holidays. Over the past few days we have explored what Year 5 looks like and spent some time getting to know each other.