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Valley Primary School

‘Growing and learning together to be the best we can be’

Year 5

Welcome to Year 5!

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UKS2 Curriculum

Curriculum Overview

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Sharing Our Learning ... Year 5 Photo Gallery!

Year 5 really enjoyed collaborating to make flapjacks as part of their life skills work!

Year 5 have enjoyed competing in Sports Day.

In Science, children revisited Space - one of their favourite topics from this year - and conducted research on the planets in our solar system to produce exciting fact files.

Year 5 have been hard at work in D&T over the past few weeks. They designed and made their own world war 2 themed toys using cams mechanisms to make the toy interactive - the object on top will move up and down or spin.

In Science, we have been learning about reversible and irreversible changes. We enjoyed combining coke and mentos to demonstrate an irreversible change!

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In English, we have been looking at the features of persuasive writing. We worked in groups to write examples for each feature and considered why they are effective in persuading the reader, ready to write our own persuasive pieces about deforestation.

In Maths, we have started learning how to calculate volume. We used cubes to build different shapes to work out their volume and to compare this with other shapes. We also were able to explore how length x width x height will give us the volume of a cube or cuboid.

In Reading Skills, children used highlighters to retrieve evidence from the text, and dictionaries to check the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary they encountered.

In PE, children played a range of team and partner games to develop their ball skills and hand eye coordination.

Year 5 had a go at using cipher wheels to crack coded messages after learning about Alan Turing, a man worked for the government during World War 2 to break the coded messages that Germany were sending through Enigma machines. His work saved many lives and the war could have lasted years longer without his help.

In Art, we researched the ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ clay poppy artwork that was displayed at the Tower of London in memory of the soldiers who died in the war. We used clay to create our own poppies in the same style.

In English, we deconstructed and discussed the features of a mystery and adventure story. We then had a go at writing our own stories over four days, based on finding an old key. Everyone enjoyed being creative and imaginative and produced some fantastic stories, full of mystery, suspense and adventure.

Webber 5 had their first go on the new interactive floor this week and had great fun practising their times tables through a range of games!

In Maths, we have been learning about shape. We identified what regular and irregular polygons are and had a go at drawing a range of each. We then looked at 3D shapes and made our own by using nets. We investigated the features of these shapes and their nets.

As part of our reading skills sessions, we made predictions about what would happen further on in the text, Robyn Hood.

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As part of our reading skills sessions, we made predictions about what would happen further on in the text, Robyn Hood.

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In Science, we have started learning about different types of materials. We investigated the properties of a range of materials including wood, aluminium and steel. We tested them to see if they were magnetic, flexible, or could could conduct electricity in a circuit.

In Maths, we have been learning how to measure angles using a protractor. We worked together to measure a range of angles, including both obtuse and acute angles, that had been made using masking tape on our tables.

Year 5 have been learning about Evelyn Dunbar, an artist who created watercolour paintings about the role of women in WW2, specifically the Women’s Land Army. We used watercolours to paint our own pictures in the same style.

In Music, we are learning the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and have begun performing this using glockenspiels and rapping in small groups.

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In Music, we are learning the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and have begun performing this using glockenspiels and rapping in small groups.

In Computing, after designing our 3D model we were then able to print one using the school’s 3D printer!

In English, we planned and wrote stories based on our current book, Pax. We thought about what might have happened before the opening chapter of the book and the conversations that might have taken place. After writing our stories, we edited both by ourselves and with our peers to improve our writing.

In Computing, we have been designing a 3D model, which we will then print using our 3D printer! We can't wait to see the finished designs!

This week we had a look at what makes a good friend in PSHE. We discussed good and bad qualities of friendship and found strategies to use when friendships breakdown. The children enjoyed acting out these scenarios in pairs.

In Reading Skills, we summarised a short story about a girl who notices the impact of her actions throughout the day on the environment.

In Maths, we have been adding and subtracting decimals. We made sure to line up our digits and decimal points to calculate answers carefully, using placeholders when numbers have a different number of decimal places.

In English, Year 5 have begun their new Power of Reading text: Pax. This week the children have made predictions about the text, identified inspirational vocabulary used within the text and explored the characters thoughts and feeling displayed so far. Here is some of the work they have produced.

Year 5 have been working on their balancing skills in PE and are developing their ability to throw and catch balls, at a range of heights and distances, whilst balancing and maintaining their stance on a bench.

Year 5 had a fantastic Wow Day to start off their new World War Two topic: Keep The Home Fires Burning. Children dressed up as evacuees, complete with identity tags and gas mask boxes, and learned all about what happened in the cities and why children at the time were evacuated to the countryside. They wrote letters in role as evacuees and thought about all the new experiences that they would have, how they might be treated, and how they might feel. They then made Mickey Mouse style gas masks that evacuees would have carried with them

As part of our Down In The Deep topic, Year 5 have been learning about the work of Jason DeCaires, an artist who creates sculptures that live underwater. His sculptures are designed to be a part of the underwater landscape that sea life can settle on and live around. Children used coloured clay to create their own sculptures in the artist's style. They then took their own photos of their sculptures, thinking about which perspective to take their image from.

Continuing our work on Rooftoppers, children planned in detail and then wrote their own explanations titled 'How To Be A Rooftopper'. We thought about the skills and qualities a successful rooftopper would need to have and the things they would need to know about before giving it a go.

In Science this half term, children have been learning about forces. They have investigated gravity, friction, air resistance and levers, pulleys and gears. Children conducted their own experiments at home into how levers allow smaller forces to have a greater effect.

As part of our work on Urban Pioneers, we have been learning about the work of Walt Disney. In Art, children designed their own characters in the style of Disney animation. They named their characters and some children wrote their backstory or a short description of them.

In RE lessons this half term, children have been reading and discussing a range of Sikh stories, all of which contain a message or moral for the reader. After discussing these themes, children chose one theme to write a poem about.

In English, after practising a range of training exercises that the main character in our book Rooftoppers tries, children chose one exercise to write instructions for. They included clear and detailed instructions with imperative verbs, adverbs and modal verbs, and some pictures to help the reader complete the exercise!

Children organised the key events of Walt Disney's life into chronological order, researched more key events to add, and then presented these on a timeline that reflected Disney's creativity and imagination.

In this half term's book, Rooftoppers, the main character has to complete training exercises to be able to become a rooftopper. Children had a go at these training exercises and made notes on what made them successful.

Children have been learning about the work of the graffiti artist Banksy, who we identified as an Urban Pioneer. They created their own tags in a graffiti art style using their name and things that are important to them.

Christmas cards with a twist-literally!! In the run up to the end of term, the children have had lots of fun exploring and developing their Design and Technology skills (cutting, shaping, finishing and mastering movement using pivots, levers and sliders) when making their own Christmas cards. We hope you enjoy following their card-making journey through the wonderful photographs captured by their teachers and their cards have taken pride of place at home.

We have been learning about the artist Frida Kahlo in our Art lessons and exploring how her work reflected her life and experiences. We then designed our own artwork in her style using bright colours and drawing things that represented or were important to us.

Well done to all those children who completed their Topic Home Learning Passport last term. Mr Hillditch was particularly impressed with Caitlin's practical topic work!

We made dreamcatchers in Design and Technology as part of our topic work on Mysterious Mayans. We designed our patterns and made them using hoops and wool.

We have been learning about perimeter in Maths. We investigated shapes we could create using ten identical squares and found that the perimeter could be very different depending on the shape created even with the same number of squares.

In Science, we investigated pitch by using elastic bands and a cardboard box to create a guitar style instrument. We found that the thicker bands produced a lower pitched sound, and the thinner bands produced a higher pitched sound. We tried tightening and loosening bands to see how this affected the pitch.

Webber 5 practised using Microsoft Teams in a Computing lesson. They particularly enjoyed the chat feature!

We are learning about Sound in Science. We did a range of experiments to investigate how sounds are created, how they travel, and how we hear them. We learned that sounds are created as vibrations and that sound travels as sound waves which are vibrating air particles.

A few examples of Topic home learning from Year 5. Many children enjoyed the task of making their own Trojan Horses for our Autumn 1 Topic, The Iliad. For our Autumn 2 Topic, Mysterious Mayans, home learning so far includes Mayan Huts, a game involving the Mayan number system, research on Central America and Mayan Gods, and a few recipes for hot chocolate!

Year 5 really enjoyed their WOW Day for our new topic Mysterious Mayans. We made traditional Mayan chocolate drinks using cocoa, cinammon and chilli powder. Some children enjoyed the taste more than others! We then created persuasive video adverts in the style of M&S to advertise a Mayan chocolate drink. In the afternoon, we looked at authentic Mayan jewellery and designed and created our own pieces using clay.

For Black History Day, Year 5 learned about famous black women and their achievements. We focused on three black women, referred to as Hidden Figures, who worked for NASA in the 1960s: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. We learned about the obstacles they had to overcome and how they never gave up on their dreams.

In English, we have been looking at poems including several poems about tardigrades. We compared and discussed these poems and chose our favourite. We then identified poetic devices, lines and verses we particularly liked and explained why.

In Maths, we have been learning about column addition and subtraction with four digit numbers. We used counters to physically exchange digits when subtracting.

In History, we learned about Ancient Greek medicine and how this was shaped by their beliefs. We made predictions based on primary sources and then discovered what the pictures and texts showed.

In Science, we learned about why we have day and night on Earth. We looked at how the Earth's tilted axis causes us to have seasons and why Australia has opposite seasons to the UK. We have also been learning about what a year is and how long it takes each planet to orbit the sun.

Some brilliant examples on Science and Maths work from Year 5 children

Year 5 had a fantastic WOW day! We dressed up as Ancient Greeks and Spartan soldiers. We followed a recipe to make pitta bread, a traditional Greek food, wrote instructions of how to make it, and then cooked our pitta breads over the fire in the afternoon.

Webber 5 Gobi Desert Video

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We made videos to advertise a holiday in the Gobi Desert!

Webber 5 Gobi Desert Video

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We look forward to welcoming all our children back on 1st September... take a look at our short film clip showing how our classrooms have developed during the summer break so they are all ready for you to come and do some wonderful learning... the displays and various areas are started but need some brilliant work from you to make them come alive!

Video Resource Centre

Our Classrooms... all clean and tidy and ready for us to help create our own learning environment and displays!

Archived Learning Documents and Activities

Spring 2 Home Learning and Spellings

Spring 1 Home Learning

Spring 1 Mental Health Activities

Spring 1 week 1 Home Learning

Autumn 2 Home Learning

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