Year 5
Term 1
Year 5 have had a cosmic beginning to the year with our topic of Earth and Space.
We started with a big bang of building rocket capsules to protect an egg on re-entry from launch. The children worked in teams to plan and build their designs; showing off our Star Learning Skills of learning with others. One of the teams even managed to return an egg safely to the playground.
The class loved the text this term (Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce) and used it as inspiration for their own incredible space stories as well as for acting out scenes. From this we then held a debate over whether humanity should colonise Mars; learning a huge amount about the red planet and the dangers of living there. The class have been enthusiastic astronomers over the term as they have come up with all manner of questions about the stars, on top of learning about the orbits of the planets. We have even been making our own video explanations of how theories about the solar system have changed over time using some fancy green screen effects.
We have also been incredibly fortunate to learn how to play the ukulele this term. We have played a whole host of songs from ‘we will rock you’ to ‘shake it off’. The class family has made an impressive start to the year and we are looking forward to continuing to learn so much more.
Term 2
This term year five have been investigating materials and their properties and even managed to make their own bath bombs. In our English, we read the book Floodlands. We imagined what Bristol would be like if it flooded and then created our own stories based on the book.
However the highlight of our term was our class family trip to Kintbury. We spent two nights away from home in beautiful surroundings where we explored the journey to Bethlehem. One evening, we all went on a night time walk to a stable to help us to understand more about the journey taken by Mary and Joseph. We spent time with each other and had the opportunity to be creative through art, drama and song.
When we returned to school, we continued to develop our artistic talents by creating works of art based on the sculptures of Andy Goldsworthy.
Term 3
This term, year 5 have been learning about Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his amazing feats of engineering. We explored life in the Victorian workhouse, interviewing some inmates, reading Street Child by Berlie Doherty and using powerful descriptive language to create our settings for a story.
In Science, we enjoyed learning about forces and investigating friction in lots of different ways. We used a newton meter to measure forces and we looked at water and air resistance. We even had a go at making paper planes using our knowledge of forces to see who could create the most aerodynamic plane. We flew and evaluated these as we watched the Beluga aeroplane fly over Filton.
Term 4
This term, year 5 have been continuing their topic of Isambard Kingdom Brunel by becoming engineers and designing and building their own model bridge. This involved precision and understanding of the structure of a bridge, whilst also evaluating which materials would be the strongest and the easiest to secure.
We finished our Brunel topic with a fantastic and engaging trip to the SS Great Britain and Brunel museum. The children began with a tour of the ship with an outgoing tour guide who really brought the ship to life! They were then able to live like a Victorian in a workshop where they tried on costumes and played with Victorian toys.
In English, we delved into the gripping play of Macbeth, where the children re-enacted the famous scene where Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost. They used their descriptive language and development of characters to create their own version of the fatal story.
In Computing, the children created their own songs using Garageband, where they learnt about sound loops and how to build instruments on to a bass line.
Term 5
This term, year 5 finished their topic of Macbeth with a visit from a Shakespeare Workshop, which involved teachers and students from a local secondary school supporting the children in their acting and reading of Shakespeare.
We then started our topic of the Amazon Rainforest through transforming the classroom into a canopy and becoming explorers. We have been practicing our balance and agility that Amazon animals would need through our outdoor learning experience at MoJo. On this trip we were also challenged to build a river like the Amazon with only crates and parts of drain pipes!
In English, we are reading ‘Journey to the River Sea’ by Eva Ibbotson, which follows the journey of a girl called Maia from London (in 1910) to her new home in the Amazon. Through drama, discussions and writing a recount we have explored her journey so far including a treacherous storm on the ship and the exotic, vibrant Brazilian markets.
In Geography, we explored the habitats and lifestyles that exist in the Amazon Rainforest. We wrote a non-chronological report filled with our favourite facts about the deadly creatures and elegant wildlife that call the rainforest their home.
Term 6
This term, year 5 continued their topic of the Amazon Rainforest and performed their class assembly, where we shared our knowledge of deforestation and how we can prevent it. We were also able to share some poems we had written about the Amazon and a recount we had written detailing the character from our class story’s journey to Brazil, including a treacherous storm on the ship and the exotic, vibrant Brazilian markets. The assembly was an opportunity to showcase some excellent acting, dancing and singing talent from year 5 and they all performed with inspiring confidence.
We also studied some Brazilian art and created some colourful collages based on Beatriz Milhazes. Putting our sculpting skills to the test, the children re-created their own Aztec sun designs in clay, which required attention to detail and patience! In English, we wrote a persuasive argument on the importance of the rainforests, especially the Amazon rainforest and how essential it is to look after it.
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