Summer 1 week 6

This week, year 5 have had a great final week. Their attitude towards their work has been amazing and we have got through so much. In English, the class have researched all about their role model and produced some wonderful biographies. These ranged from Beyonce to David Attenborough. 

In maths, we have been looking at mental methods to add and subtract decimals. The children then had to answer some real life problems including money, weight and measurement. 

In science, the children had a game of ‘Guess who?’ The teachers all sent in a baby photo and the children had to guess who it was. They found this rather tricky! This was to get the children thinking about how human beings change throughout their life and how people age. 

In French, the children created some outstanding poems all about the seasons, these were beautifully decorated and the spelling of the french words was remarkably accurate. 

Summer 1 week 5

Year 5 have had a very active week last week. The children produced their own gymnastics routine and performed it informs of the class, these were truly outstanding. We also had our annual sports day. Every child in the class did themselves proud and thoroughly enjoyed the morning. 

The children were also very busy in English this week. They had to write in the style of the author, producing their own wonder to go in the Nowhere Emporium. These were truly amazing and blew me away! 

In maths this week, the children looked at coordinates. We plotted different shapes and even had a game of battleships which the children loved! The competitive edge cam out in most of them. 

We finished the week off with an outdoor education session. We created a wonder in the woods using props and retelling a story. The children showed outstanding confidence and creativity. We also produced some artwork using natural resources. The children did their own interpretation of Mr Ilver from our English text. 

Summer 1 Week 2 

The children started off by writing a biography all about King Charles. The children did their own research and found out some amazing facts!

The next session was an art session, using iconic British artist ‘Banksy’ as our inspiration. We wanted a twist on the King’s portrait and the outcomes were amazing!

We then learnt all about a commonwealth country. The country we chose was Malawi. Malawi was a country were our student teacher, Miss Potts visited on a mission trip were she helped set up a children’s centre. The children throughly enjoyed the session and got to see some real artefacts.

We also still had our Maths and English session each day. In English we have been focussing on the book ‘The Nowhere Emporium’. The children loved exploring the characters’ personalities and ended the week by writing a diary entry from the point of view of the main character, Daniel Holmes. 

In maths, we focused on angles. The children enjoyed drawing angles on the desks and working out missing angles around a point and on a straight line.

Spring 2 week 5

Year 5 have had a super week once again. In English, we have started our non fiction focus. We have looked at a range of information texts and considered how reliable they are, if they are biased and who the target audience is. These have come from magazines, university reports and social media posts all about extreme weather. 

In maths, we have looked at area and perimeter and how these can be used in real life situations. The class have done well answering with some very tricky problems. We also tested our knowledge by taking part in a Kahoot quiz to end our week on Friday. 

In PE, we had a coach deliver a taster session in American Football. The children all performed extremely well and had a great afternoon despite the awful weather. 

Last but not least in French, the children designed their dream menu. Not all the choices weren’t to Madame Wardle and Mr Edgar’s taste.

Spring 2 week 4

Year 5 have had another great week. In English, we spent the week preparing to write our very own legend based right here in Hoddlesden. This included a quality scene and character description, which blew Mr Edgar’s socks off! I cannot wait to read the finished pieces. 

In science this week, the class had to design their own investigation using toy cars and different surfaces to find which caused the most friction. Every group was very accurate with their prediction and explained this well like true scientists. 

In computing, the children designed their scene and characters from their legend on Tinkercad. The children produces some amazing 3D designs and I cannot wait to print these off and bring their writing to life.  

In geography we had a great debate about the pros and cons of tourism in Alpine villages. The children considered both points of view and explained their opinion very well. 

Last but not least PE, sadly our PE lesson was cut short due to snow and heavy rain. This didn’t dampen their mood as each and every child came in with a smile on their face. 

Spring 2 week 1

Year 5 have had a wonderful week once again. Today was our World Book day celebration and each and every child made a tremendous effort with their outfits. We had a special worship all about books which the children enjoyed. Hopefully, this will inspire them to pick up a new book, or even better, go and spend their book voucher. Today as a one of task, we had a debate about how stationary is misused in the classroom. The children then wrote a letter of complaint, in role as a piece of stationary and the outcomes were fantastic. 

In English, we produced an advert for a new dog for the Prince, linked to our text ‘The legend of Gelert’. The children were very persuasive and did a wonderful job. 

In science, we planned our very own experiment to prove if gravity exists. The children thought of different variables and gathered some amazing results.  These findings included, the weight of the item effected how gravity works and if the height something falls from would effect the gravitational pull. 

In geography, we looked at how mountains are formed. The children modelled this using playdough and produced some wonderful models. 

In PE, we did some rhythmic gymnastics and moved to the beat of the music. The children then ended the lesson with some strength work, which they found very tough!

Spring 1 week 6

Year 5 have produced some amazing work to end a wonderful half term! I look forward to you seeing it displayed in both the classroom, and the corridors in school. 

In English, we have been writing in the style of the author of Mulan producing an alternative ending to the story. These have been a pleasure to read and there are most definitely some budding authors in the room!

In music, the class performed a few well known songs from Mulan and also did a rendition of Abba’s hit, Mama Mia which was fantastic to listen too!

In PE, we finished our striking and fielding unit with a competitive game of rounders. The class had a hard fought game by one team winning by just a point. It was pleasing to see all of the skills come together. 

In Science, we researched two of the most groundbreaking scientists in in space history: Galileo and Aristotle. We discussed how their theories were so very different, but understood their thoughts. We produced a documentary explaining their thoughts and theories. 

I wish you all a restful half term break and look forward to seeing you in Spring 2.

Spring 1 week 5

Year 5 have had a fabulous week. We have worked equally as hard inside the classroom as we have outside the classroom. 

In English, we switched our focus on to the Shang Dynasty (the earliest ruling of China). We researched the key events, which linked to our History topic, put the fact in chronological order and finally added them to a timeline. Next week, we have the nice job of adding some art work to our timeline. 

In maths, we have been learning about finding a fraction of an amount. We discussed how this skill is used in everyday life and they grasped this concept well. 

We were also treated to an outdoor learning session with Louise from Wild Ones Adventure. We used our them of Mulan to find a spear, practice hitting as target and also built a stretcher to save an animal in the wild. The children showed super teamwork skills throughout the session and also kept their spirits up, despite the awful weather. 

In science, we learnt about why we have phases of the moon. The children enjoyed a practical lesson in which we scarred Oreo’s to resemble the 8 phases. When asked which was their favourite part of the lesson at the end; they said eating them was!

Todays we supported the NSPCC’s number day! The children sported some wonderful outfits and your donations are appreciated. To celebrate, we played a maths version of catchphrase and did some challenges in our maths lesson. I look forward to answering some of your problems!

Spring 1 week 4 

Year 5 have had another jam packed packed week of learning. In English, we have continued to explore Mulan’s thoughts and decisions in more detail. We discussed whether Mulan going to war without her parents blessing was a good, or bad decision. The children considered both points of view, then gave their opinion using evidence from the text.

In maths, the children extended their multiplication knowledge and applied this to fractions. They all grasped this concept well and had some fun on Kahoot to test this!

In PE, we took our tennis lesson outside and introduced more power into our shots. The children had to hit targets and did a great job!

In Science, the class enjoyed being creative, creating their own Top Trumps card based on their favourite planet. They had to research key facts including the size and how far away from the sun it was situated. 

Finally, we looked at why we have a Lunar New Year and why each year has an animal to represent it. We first looked at our birth year and which animal we take after (Year 5 find it highly amusing Mr Edgar was born in the year of the pig!)

Spring 1 week 3

Year 5 have had another jam packed packed week of learning. In English, we have continued our learning all about Mulan. We looked closely at a chapter where Zuli Khan is introduced. The class produced some outstanding character descriptions which led to some super wanted posters.

In RE, we have looked at some of Jesus’ parables and some of the messages he wanted to get across. We looked this week at the story of the prodigal son. In groups the class discussed why the message of forgiveness is relevant today. 

The class had a guest speaker on Wednesday. We were treated to two police officers speaking about several matters including, stranger danger, variety of crime and also careers in the police. Quite a few members of year 5 quite fancy working in the police which was pleasing to see!

In PE, we continued looking at racquet sports. We moved on this week to introducing a rally. The children by the end all managed to get 4 continuous shots which was very impressive!

Finally, in science, the class had to work out why we have day time and night time. Each group was given a torch and a globe. They had to investigate independently and many groups could explain this through their investigation. 

Spring 1 week 2

It has been a great week in Year 5. The children are well and truly back into the swing of things after the Christmas break. 

In English, we have started to read the book Mulan. The children have explored Mulan’s personality traits in the first two chapters and how these alter quite significantly. We ended the week by writing a letter to an Agony Aunt in the role of Mulan, asking for some advice about disappointing her mother and father. 

In Maths, we have been working on answering problems using multiplication. All be it this was trick, the children’s efforts and determination was tremendous to see and they made super progress. 

In science we continued our learning all about the solar system. In small groups, the children decided which planet they were going to be. We acted out the movement of the planets and understood that they spin on their axis, and all mover around the sun. 

In History, we explored the Shang Dynasty. The children played the role of an archaeologist, they looked at artefacts and predicted when the Shang Dynasty was and what they used to do, using the pictures given.

Finally, the children have designed a soft toy in DT. Next week will start looking at appropriate materials we can use and basic stitching. 

Spring 1 week 1

We have had a lovely first few days back after the holidays. In Maths, we have started looking multiplication. The children looked at partitioning numbers with 3 digits, to make these tricky problems much more simple. 

In English, we have started looking at the book ‘Mulan’. The children have used the front cover and the blurb to think about what will happen in the story, where the story is set and if there will be any differences to the film, which many of us have watched and enjoyed. 

In science, the children have written some questions, asking things that they would like to find out about the solar system. Over the next few weeks I am sure many of these will be answered. A few of them may not as they are still being researched today by NASA!

Week 11

The festivities are well and truly here in Year 5! The children have been busy making their cards for Elf Enterprise (which are now on sale) and eating their Christmas dinner today.

We have still managed to squeeze in lots of new learning. In English we have been researching facts about refugees entering the UK and adding in some emotive language; this is in preparation to write a letter.to the Prime Minister about the ongoing issues with refugees entering the UK unsafely. 

In science we have looked at the life cycle of mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds. The children looked at the similarities and differences. Some of the findings were very interesting!

In DT we have busy designing our Christmas cards. The children have been doing these independently and have done a super job!

We finished off the week wearing our Christmas jumpers. The children all made a wonderful effort and enjoyed a lovely christmas dinner!

Week 10

Year 5 worked extremely hard this week.

In maths, the children finished off their unit on fractions. Despite this learning being difficult, the children all made super progress. 

In English, the class took part in a book club morning. We read a couple of chapters of our new novel, The Boy at the Back of the Class and discussed it and added our thoughts onto a3 paper for the class to read. The children also had a nice surprise when some of their interview questions where answered by Graeme Jones (Ex Belgium and England assistant manager).

In History, we looked at the Windrush generation and thought about why they made the journey from the West Indies. We looked at the positives for the migrants but then also found out they faced racism in Britain when they arrived. The children made links to Rosa Parkes’ situation in the USA at a similar time.

In RE, we looked at the similarities and differences between the two Christmas stories in the bible. The children were very surprised as many only thought there was one. We finished of the week by making our product for the Christmas fair in a our festive classroom!

Week 9

We had another busy week in Year 5.

In English, we have gone back in time to the year 1912. We have written a newspaper report all about the Titanic’s disastrous maiden voyage. The children remembered many key facts and have written some fabulous reports.

In Maths, we continued looking at fractions. This week we have looked at adding and subtracting fractions. This led on to understanding that fractions can be used to display numbers that are greater than 1 - Improper fractions and mixed numbers. The children are making super progress with these!

In DT, the children have been making mechanisms that have led to two characters (Jack and Jill) walking up a hill. The children enjoyed this task and made some fantastic creations. 

In PE, we started thinking tactically about how we can move the ball forward in difference sports. The children realised we can do this by passing and dribbling. We played some small sided games and the children enjoyed this, despite the cold weather!

Finally, we ended the week being part of our very own rock band. The children listened to a range of instruments and even got to join in. The Rock Steady Group will be putting on lessons that are available to sign up for from next week.

Have an enjoyable weekend,

The Year 5 team. 

Week 8

We have had a lovely week in Year 5. 

In English, we have been playing the role of a journalist in English. They have written some headlines, researched the facts and are now ready to interview one another for some quotes. They are taking us back to the date April 15th 1912, they day the Titanic sank. 

In Maths, we have been learning about fractions. Even though this concept may seem tricky, the children have made amazing progress. So far we have looked at ordering fractions and equivalent fractions. Using pizza and chocolate bars as examples seemed to have helped! 

In History, we have started our topic focusing on journeys. We started off by looking at the explorer; Sir Walter Raleigh. We discovered he made the long and dangerous trip to the Americas and discovered items that our now very common in Britain, for the first time. Including potatoes and tobacco (which they thought was medicine). 

In DT, the children have started to look at pop-up books and cards. This is in preparation for this years Elf enterprise.  

In PE, we started our new dance scheme of work. We are dancing in space and have already put together a 6 step routine to the song ‘Around the World’ by Daft Punk.

Finally, the class throughly enjoyed their outdoor learning session this week. The children had saw their own stick to use in the wild. This helped them navigate their way across the varying terrain, including through a river.

Week 7

We have come to the end of our first half term and it really has flown by! This week the class have drawn together out Native Narratives theme by producing some outstanding work. In English this week, this has been particularly evident. The class have produced the most amazing non-chronological reports all about a biome in Africa. The children did all the research independently and even taught me a thing or two this week!

In geography, we looked at the journey of how our favourite fruit gets to our homes. The children were surprised at how many different people and processes are involved in importing many goods. To the UK.

In French, we looked at different landmarks in the town and we found them on a map. The children also rehearsed the French alphabet which they are all but fluent in!

We finished the week off with piecing together our rock and roll dance routine. We performed the routine to ‘I love to boogie’ and the children had a ball and also performed some high level moves.

This was a lovely way to sign off the first half term of Year 5. The children have been a credit to you all and I hope the hard work continues. I wish you all a fun and restful break.

Week 6

This week year 5 have had a number of special guests appearing in their lessons. The first special guests were from ‘Tri Kidz’. They introduced the class to the sport of triathlon, and what a triathlon consists of (swimming, cycling and running). The two experts commented on the classes sporting excellence and amazing effort and also encouraged them to look on the triathlon UK website to find their local club!

Mr Richards our music specialist also had year 5 for a session, looking at the composer, Pamela Z’s work and making their own version.

Year 5 have been hooked on our new text, ‘The Wonder Garden’. This focuses on 5 biomes around the world and looking at the plants, climate and wildlife we would find their. We are building up to writing about another biome to add in to this already amazing book. I cant wait to read them!

In computing, the class were set a challenge to redesign the school’s website. We looked at the key features of a website and then got to work in small groups. Mr Dugdale might be stealing a few of their ideas!

In Geography, we looked at the benefits of of shopping local and the benefits of buying imported products and had a debate in class and what the pros and cons of both were. As a class we decided that buying both was a great option and therefore we can help farmers all over the world. 

Have wonderful weekend Year 5!

Week 5

We have had another busy week of learning in Year 5. This week in English the children have shifted their focus onto poetry. We have looked at the meaning poems, and why a poet may have written a poem in a certain style. We focussed mainly on The Refugee, by Brian Bilston. The children then thought about how this poem should be performed and we decided to perform it as a whole class.

In science we conducted another experiment. Out key question was to see if the temperature of water increased or decreased the speed of a material dissolving. The children predicted the outcome and were quite surprised at the result!

The children also produced some wonderful artwork this week. We looked at the work of African sculpture, Magdalene Odundo. We recreated some of her work in our sketch books. I think some of these could have been placed in a Gallery!

The children are also making great progress with their brass playing skills. Already the children have learnt to play their first note and I can't wait to see how they progress throughout the next few weeks.

The children also showed me their competitive edge in PE this week. We looked at the importance of marking in invasion games and not letting your opponent recieve the ball or get away from them. 

Next week the children will be doing a performance of their poem in front of the school and I am sure they will do a super job. I'm looking forward to another busy week of learning.

Week 4 

Mr Edgar has been in Robin Wood with the Year 6 children this week so we have been doing some amazing learning with Mr Dugdale and Mrs Harrison. They have both been absolutely blown away by the standard of our work! We have wow’d them with some unbelievable diary entries in role as Salva from our class text. Mrs Harrison couldn’t believe the progress we have made since she last taught us in Year 3 and 4! The diary entries were truly riveting to read and our use of the ‘show not tell’ technique was exemplary. Well done to all of you! 
 

Our maths learning this week has centred around mental arithmetic methods and column addition and subtraction. We have all persevered and shown great resilience, resulting in many Brave Bananas being awarded. Our explanations of exchanging are beautifully articulate. 
 

In Science we have conducted an experiment around different liquids, our working scientifically skills were really put to the test! 
 

As part of our Native Narratives topic, we have explored the meaning of Fair Trade and how it benefits those around the world. 
 

Our RE topic this half term has focused around why Christians read the Bible. We have been looking at what languages the Bible is accessible in and the work of charities like The Bible Society who work endlessly to translate and transport the Bible around the world. We have begun to look at a timeline of the production of the Bible and this week have researched William Tyndale. 
 

In French we have continued our learning around the alphabet and in Music we have all managed to get a clear sound out of our brass instruments! In PE we have begun partner work in our Rock & Roll dancing and practised some key partner moves. 
 

On Monday we experienced ‘West End in Schools’ which was superb. We are just collating the pictures and then our teachers will send a video out showing what we did! 

Week 3

It has been another busy week in Year 5! In our science lesson this week we were testing the strength of different materials. We did this by putting weights into different shopping bags. The children predicted and recorded their results, there were a few surprises!

In English, we have been looking at descriptive techniques that have been used in our class novel, ‘A long walk to water’. The children have been highlighting these and adapting them into their own words and have produced some super examples, particularly describing the characters thoughts and feelings.

This afternoon, we had great fun dancing away to some Rock and Roll music. The children choreographed a short routine and performed it with confidence in front of their peers. The class have also started their brass lessons which are taking place on a Thursday. In just two lessons they seem to have made great progress and we cannot wait to showcase our final outcome with the Halle orchestra in the summer term.

The class have also been showing off their French skills. They have been recalling the French alphabet and how it has similarities and differences to our own alphabet. They have all been able to spell their name in French and also write their name in French style handwriting.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and look forward to meeting you on Tuesday.

Week 2

Year 5 have had an extremely busy week this week. We have had visitors as well as following our jam packed time table. The first visitor we had in was the Life Education team who focus on age specific topics within the PSHE curriculum. Their focus for year 5 was ‘friendship’. The class were told to act out real life dilemmas and give the response they thought was correct. They all made some excellent life choices and it was pleasing to see their maturity at such a young age.

On Wednesday, the class were lucky enough to have an extended outdoor learning session. This was linked closely to our novel which features a refugee. The children linked this to survival skills and successfully could light a fire, saw wood, make a teepee using natural resources and even got a chance to attempt an assault course. The class had great fun, worked as a team and also learnt so much from the experience.

Back in the classroom year 5 have been working hard. In English the class had to use their public speaking skills to retell chapter 1 and 2 of our novel ‘a long walk to water’. They all showed great confidence and used great vocabulary when retelling the story.

In maths we have been carrying on our work on place value. The class become confident at multiplying by 10, 100 and 1000 which was pleasing to see. In geography we designed our own fruit salad (there was some strange combinations). The children then used Google maps to find out where abouts on Earth their fruit had travelled from to arrive on their plate.

We managed to finish the week off by some invasion games in the sun. There some super sportsmen and women in the class and this was fantastic to see them shine in another environment.

I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend and I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday.

Week 1

What a whirlwind of a week it has been in Year 5. It was a pleasure to welcome the children in to school after the summer break and it was pleasing for me to them all smiling and ready to learn.

We started the week by spending some time reflecting on how we had changed since the start of Year 4. Then we thought about what things we would like to achieve in Year 5 and set ourself some goals and targets to work towards.  From there we started to think about our aspirations for the future such as what kind of career we would like to have and what kind of place we would like to live in. There are most definitely some aspirational characters amongst year 5!

In English, we started the week by predicting what our class novel ‘A Long Walk to Water’ was about. The children used clues such as the front cover, the blurb and our prior knowledge of the continent of Africa, where our book is set. As the week progressed the class read the first chapter and started use their comprehension skills to explain how Salva felt on the day he heard conflict outside of his school.

This led nicely on to our Art lesson. We started the lesson with a debate whether we believed British graffiti artist ‘Banksy’ was in fact an artist, or a vandal? We focussed on the painting ‘Protesting Pigeons’. This shows 5 pigeon protesting about a refugee African Swallow. We linked this to Salva becoming a refugee. The children then produced some outstanding pieces with messages of hope and welcoming refugees in the style of Banksy – In their sketchbooks rather than on my wall thankfully!

In maths we have been looking at place value and understanding exactly what a number is made up of. In science we have looked at a variety of materials and what properties they possess. The class ended the week with a fun outdoor PE lesson and thankfully we avoided the rain!