Autumn 1
All of the children were very excited to get back into school and begin Year 5, they have settled into the new routines very well.
In English, our first Talk for Writing unit was a persuasion text for a Wizard School, using the tools for persuasion the children wrote their own adverts for a Leisure Centre. They had some great ideas for the facilities it should have and we’re sure you’d all be persuaded to go. Our second unit had a focus of suspense. We looked at the text An Adventure at Sandy Cove and the children worked hard to create their own suspense toolkit, from the work we had completed, to write their own stories.
In Science, our unit was Earth and Space. The children learnt how to describe the movement of the Earth, and other planets, relative to the Sun in the solar system. They then moved on to understand the movement of the Moon relative to the Earth and describe the Sun, Earth and Moon as approximately spherical bodies. The children then used drama to act out how the Earth and Moon rotate around the sun. Finally, the children used the idea of the Earth’s rotation to explain day and night and the apparent movement of the Sun across the sky. We looked at the Scientist like me, Dr Sheila Kanani who is a planetary physicist.
We continued our space topic with a focus on the book and film ‘Hidden Figures’. By watching the film, the children learnt about the true-life story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the United States space program. The children learnt about the history of NACA and NASA and the United States race against Russia to put a man in space. We researched the talent of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson who quickly rose the ranks of NASA on the task of calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return.
Linking with Black History, we learnt about the segregation and treatment the black people endured and how Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big.
In maths, we have completed our place value units, which covered knowing the value of each digit in numbers up to 1,000,000 and representing them in different ways, understanding rounding and partitioning numbers, appreciating that the combined parts must still be equivalent to the whole. Also, the children learnt how to apply their knowledge of place value and the number line to compare and order 4- and 5-digit numbers.
In history, we completed our Tudors unit. The children worked very hard to learn our ‘5 Fingertip Facts’ and enjoyed our retrieval parts of the lessons where they could show what they had remembered. The children created a timeline of the 6 Tudor monarchs and learnt about The war of the Roses in 1485 and why the Tudor rose was created. They loved making Top Trump cards to remember facts about Henry VIII 6 wives. The children understand why Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic church and created the Church of England. Finally, we looked at the roles of the men and women during Tudor times and the gruesome ways of punishment.
In art, we have focused on the abstract work of artist Peter Thorpe and linked this with our science unit. The children used his technique of using left over paint to create a dramatic background. They then used watercolour pencils to design abstract space objects for the foreground of their artwork.
In PHSE, the children completed the unit – The caring school and bullying – pressure and risks. The focus was looking at healthy friendships and the importance of respecting others. The children also looked at the different types of bullying and the impact of it, responsibilities of bystanders and how to get help.
We are looking forward to Autumn 2 and all of the excitement of the Christmas activities planned.
