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Valley Primary School

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

Year 5

 
 

Welcome to Year 5 

 
 

Curriculum Information & Website Links 

 
 

Life Skills Activities 

Half Termly Life Skills challenges as part of our drive to develop good future citizens: 

Weekly Brain Boosters and Curious Challenges as part of our Feel Good Friday initiative: 

 
 

Home Learning Activities

World Book Day Adventure Story Competition 

 
 

Isolation Tasks

 
 

Sharing Our Learning...Year 5 Photo Gallery

Year 5 enjoyed competing in their Sport's Day on 4th July.

We enjoyed practicing the different events we would be taking part in for commonwealth sports day. The activities included netball shooting, rugby relay, triple jump, hockey, javelin and basketball dribble.

We have had a fantastic time learning cricket throughout the summer term, learning how to bowl overhand, bat, keep score and work together in pairs and teams.

In Geography, we recapped the water cycle by making our own ‘water cycle in a bag’ to see evaporation and condensation in action.

Year 5 enjoyed a visit from Severn Trent Water to introduce their new topic Down In The Deep, which focuses on water on our planet. We learned about the importance of staying hydrated throughout the day and after different activities, how water is cleaned before and after use by Severn Trent, and how water pollution can be caused and the effects of this on the environment. We later had a go at cleaning water ourselves!

In Science, we have been learning about irreversible changes. We had a go at experimenting with a few mixtures that caused irreversible changes including coke and mentos, skittles and water, and vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.

In Maths, we have been exploring 3D shapes and their properties. We used paper nets to investigate what 3D shapes look like when unfolded. We looked at the shape of the faces and counted the number of edges and vertices.

To introduce volume in Maths, we made shapes with a volume of 6cm cubed. We all made different shapes and compared them, discussing how we knew they had the same volume. We then made a cuboid and multiplied the length, width and height to show that this is a way to work out the volume of a shape.

In DT, we have continued to assemble our CAMS projects and look forward to sharing these with you at our Express event.

In English, we looked at a range of adjectives that could describe two of the characters in our story Pax, and used dictionaries and thesauruses to look up definitions and synonyms for these words.

In PSHE, we discussed a story about a child who spends a lot of time on his phone and how this is impacting his relationships with others. We thought about advice we might offer to help manage this.

In Maths, we have been learning how to use protractors to measure acute and obtuse angles. We had to work together to measure the angles created by tape across our tables! We then drew our own ‘wonky’ houses and measured and categorised the angles we had made.

Year 5 enjoyed their Express event for their World War 2 topic, Keep The Home Fires Burning. They invited parents in and were able to share what they have been learning about the war, including showing the cams mechanisms they created in D&T this term, which were inspired by aspects of the war that interested them. Children dressed up as evacuees, British soldiers or members of the Land Army.

In DT, we have been investigating moving models based on World War 2. We have looked at how different shaped CAMs change the movement of our models. Our design pages show what we are going to be making.

In Maths, we have been learning how to use the column method to add and subtract decimals. We started with numbers that had the same number of decimal places before moving on to numbers with a different number of decimal places, where we had to use place holders and remember the importance of lining up our digits correctly.

In RE, we thought about our own commitments and why we are committed to those things. We worked in groups to label scenarios with different ways of showing commitment, looking at different people and families. We used question prompts to support our thinking.

One of our focuses in English this week has been parenthesis. We worked with a partner to match the relative clauses to the sentences and added in punctuation to show the parenthesis. We then edited our writing to include parenthesis.

In Maths, we have been learning how to use the column method to add and subtract decimals. We started with numbers that had the same number of decimal places before moving on to numbers with a different number of decimal places, where we had to use place holders and remember the importance of lining up our digits correctly.

In RE, we debated whether wearing a helmet on a bike should be a legal requirement. This linked to our English work, where we wrote a balanced argument. We considered both sides of the arguments and worked in groups to think of ideas. We then deabted the issue as a class.

This half term we are reading ‘Pax’, a story about boy who has to leave his pet fox behind and we discussed whether Peter should have left Pax, his pet fox. We worked together in groups to generate ideas for our arguments. We looked at both for and against and had to find evidence to support our ideas. We then completed a conscience alley to discuss our ideas and voted for what we thought.

In English, we have been reading two books about refugees. We did research about where refugees might come from and why they might have had to leave their home countries. We then turned our research into non-chronological reports using a range of organisational devices.

In Computing, we have been designing our own 3D models. We have looked at how we can move and edit points to create different shapes and added colour to our designs. We are enjoying seeing the 3D printer in action, bringing models to life!

In PSHE, as part of our learning about body image, we thought about how pictures in magazines can be altered so that the images we see might not be how people really look. We looked at pictures from magazines and sorted them into real and altered photos.

We are looking at different poems in the book ‘Dark Sky Park’ by Philip Gross. We listened to the poem Night Rider and drew a picture of what we saw when we listened to the poem. We drew night light, Northern Lights and nocturnal animals.

In Science, we recapped our learning so far on states of matter by discussing examples of solids, liquids and gases, and matching up the properties of each. We thought about materials that don’t quite fit with the rules.

As part of our orienteering topic, we have been creating assault courses designed to improve our agility. This will help us when we come to using the map as we have to find where we are going and move quickly. We have to change directions quickly whilst looking out for obstacles or dangers in our path to stay safe and complete the course.

In PSHE, we have been thinking about first aid. We thought about what we can do and how we can get help in different situations. We acted out what we would do in different first aid situations.

We completed four different activities to celebrate Science Day. For Planet Friendly Burgers, we discussed and researched what made our food more or less environmentally friendly, and created posters to share this information and examples of planet friendly burgers that people can buy. With Surviving On Mars, we thought about what a creature would need to survive on Mars and worked in groups to design and make a creature with features to help them survive on the red planet. In Outdoor Gym, we thought about how we can use our bodies and equipment that is readily available in parks and playgrounds, and completed our own exercises outside. For Antibody Origami, we talked about what viruses and antibodies are and made our own with paper.

In Art, we used paint and PVA glue to paint and glaze the clay poppies we made on our Wow Day. We painted them in the same style as the Tower of London poppies.

In English, we have been reading The Journey, which is about a family who have to leave their country. We looked at the different ways they travelled; by car, van, lorry and bicycle. We created freeze frames to show the different stages of the journey and thought about how they felt.

During World Book Day, we dressed up as our favourite adventurous book characters.

As part of our WOW day, to introduce our new topic 'Keep the Home Fires Burning' we made clay poppies.

Our Spring 1 topic ended with an express day. We held an art gallery for year 5 and 6 and enjoyed looking at the different examples of art work. Year 5 created street art based on famous artists they had studied. Don't they look fabulous?

In Music this term, we are learning to perform the rap from Fresh Prince of Bel Air. We watched videos of it being performed and listened to the rap. We practiced it at a slower speed so that we could get the words right and then tried performing it in groups.

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In Science, we have been learning about different stages of the human lifecycle. This week, we focused on infancy and learnt how much babies grows during this stage. We plotted line graphs to show the average height of a baby each month and thought about what we could learn from our line graphs.

In DT, we used polymer clay to create a range of characters inspired by Disney. We are looking forward to using our characters to create stop-motion animations.

We created our own pieces of street art, following our design. We choose a design that represented our interests or a message we wanted to share. We then used a range of techniques including stencils and paint to create our finished piece of street art.

One of Webber 5's Stop Motion Animations

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One of Webber 5's Stop Motion Animations

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One of Webber 5's Stop Motion Animations

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One of Webber 5's Stop Motion Animations

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One of Webber 5's Stop Motion Animations

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One of Webber 5's stop motion videos

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In D&T, we used the characters we made from polymer clay to film our own stop motion animation videos. We had to shoot the videos frame by frame so they would combine to make a short film. We considered how to make our film enjoyable for the audience by making them funny and interesting to watch, and by using some practical effects and props.

In PSHE, we shared our own hopes and dreams and then thought about the hopes and dreams of children from another culture, comparing them to our own. We shared how this made us feel.

This week in Topic, we have evaluated our street art and discussed the messages behind them ready for our Art Gallery with Year 6 next week. We have also finished off designing and making our characters and props out of modelling clay for our stop motion animation. Some of us started to make our animation using an app on the iPads after making our backgrounds. We took lots of photos to make it move as smoothly as we could!

During English, we have been exploring diary entries and pulling out their key features in preparation of writing our own whilst pretending to be Sophie. We then role-played in different characters by answering questions to really understand how the characters were feeling and the types of events we would want to include in our diary.

In D&T, we used polymer clay to create our own Disney inspired characters. We will be using these models to film our own stop-motion animation films. We considered the use of colour and which parts of our models will move in the animation.

In PE, we played an attack and defense game called Kabadi. Each player took turns to cross to the opposing team’s side and attempted to take a tag from another player before their own tag could be taken. We had to use communication within our team and tactical thinking in order to gain tags.

In Art, we used a range of techniques including paint, stencils, sponges and mosaic tiling to create our own street art. We were inspired by the art we have looked at and used our own interests and opinions to design our own pieces.

In English, we had a go at hot-seating the main character of our book Rooftoppers, Sophie. We took turns asking questions for Sophie to answer, and answering questions in role. We considered Sophie’s thoughts and feelings at this point in the story ready to write a diary entry from her point of view.

In maths this week, we have been dividing using different methods. We started by using part-whole models and sharing place value counters before moving on to the bus stop method. We have used lots of our times table knowledge to help us calculate the correct answer! By the end of the week, we had moved onto looking at 4 digit numbers with remainders. We also enjoyed a hands-on lesson to consolidate our learning and help us become really confident.

In English, we have been writing instructions for how to be a rooftopper. We drafted and edited our writing before publishing and presenting it in an appealing and relevant way for the reader, including a range of features of instruction texts.

In History, we have been learning about the life and career of Walt Disney and why he is a significant figure. We explored how animation has changed over time by looking at how Mickey Mouse has changed, and learned about how Disney's work influenced other companies.

In Art, we explored a range of different techniques that are used in street art and discussed their features and why artists might choose to use that method. We had a go at using card to create our own stencils, using sponges, brushes and paints with the stencil to create our own artwork.

In Computing, we are learning about databases and how they store and display information. We worked together to create a class database and began to use the data to create graphs and charts.

In PE, we worked with a partner to create counterbalances. We had to communicate with each other to make sure that the balance was stable.

In English, we looked at instruction texts and worked together to identify the features that they included. We then had a go at following instructions to do a range of exercises that a rooftopper might need to practise including press ups, sit ups and balances.

In Maths, we have been learning to multiply by 2 digit numbers. We looked at different methods, including the gird method and formal written method. We were able to use these methods to multiply 4 digit numbers by 2 digit numbers and to solve word problems.

This week, in PSHE, we have been thinking about jobs and careers. We started by looking at the wages of different jobs, it was very hard to match them as we thought you would get more money for jobs we thought were more important or difficult! We then had a think about what we would want to be when we are older and drew pictures of us in our jobs. We also thought about what we have to do to get our dream job. We certainly will be working hard to get there!

In Geography, we have been looking at sculptures by Anthony Gormley. We looked at Another Place and talked about how it represents emigration. We then looked at his sculptures and found them on a map of the UK, as well as finding the grid references of each sculpture.

In Maths, we have been working on multiplying larger numbers using the formal written method. We started with multiplying by a single digit and worked in pairs to solve a range of calculations. We made use of our times tables knowledge to ensure our calculations were accurate.

On our Wow day we learnt about different Urban Pioneers but mainly Banksy. We really enjoyed doing collages of different street art around the world. We also enjoyed writing our names in different styles. By Max, Brody and Amin.

We have begun our RE topic on Christmas and have been looking at whether the truth can be different and still true. We have looked at different versions of the Christmas story and discovered that the story we all know is lots of stories joined together. Did you know that the Bible never says that there are three wise men? We have also been looking at stories that contain morals. We read the Ant and the Grasshopper and The Shepard who Cried Wolf. We worked out the moral and thought of ways it could help us.

In maths this week, we have been applying our knowledge of multiples and factors to help us to complete problems. We have also learned about square and cube numbers and how to recognise them. We have ended the week by learning how to multiply and divide by 10 and 100. We used lots of resources and jumped our digits the correct amount to find the answer.

This week in science we have learning about seed dispersal and wy it is so important for seeds to be moved around. We had to investigate different seeds and put them into categories based on how they are moved, such as by the water or animals. We then began to design an experiment to see whether wingspan of a seed affects the time it takes to reach the floor. We made our own hypothesise and shared them with the class.

In Science, we have been learning about different lifecycles. We enjoyed using ipads to research different lifecycles. We learnt about different lifecycles of amphibians. We looked at and compared complete and incomplete metamorphsis. We then drew and labelled different examples of complete and incomplete metamorphsis.

For one of our PSHE sessions, we had a list of activities that could make us happy and we worked in pairs to order them and find the ones that made us most happy. We then watched a video about children living on a cocoa planation in Kenya. We ordered the happiness cards to show which we most important to them and compared them to our order.

As part of safety week, we designed our own happy rooms and though about what we would choose to be there. We used the ipads to add things to our happy room.

In RE, we have been thinking about how a story can be true in different ways. We looked at a video of a news clip and wrote our own reports of what happened, comparing the differences between them. We looked at different news headlines about the same event and thought about why they might be different.

As our text for this half term, Skellig, which is based on an owl-like creature, we created a non-chronological report about owls. Before making our own reports, we looked at a range of non-chronological reports and highlighted the key features. We then used iPads to find out facts to use in our reports. We used subheadings, pictures and text boxes to share information about owls.

In Science, we worked in groups to piece together the life cycles of three types of animals: mammals, amphibians and birds. We compared their similarities and differences and learned about the different stages of each life cycle.

In RE this half term, we have been looking at two different versions of the Christmas story and what 'truth' means. We explored the importance of the Christmas story to Christians and why both stories could be believed to be true in different ways.

As part of Safety Week, we took part in a virtual assembly from the NSPCC about how children can keep themselves safe. We learned what Childline is and made chatterboxes with information about this service on, thought about which adults in our lives we could go to if we were worried about anything, and considered what makes us feel safe and happy.

We enjoyed celebrating Anti-Bullying week by wearing odd socks to show our support for anti-bullying and 'stamp it out'.

In Computing, we are looking at coding using Purple Mash. We created codes to make characters and objects move across a screen and are working on creating more complex codes.

In English, we have been looking at the idea of memory boxes. We thought about what the main character in our book, Skellig, would put in a memory box for his baby sister and drew and labelled our ideas using inference skills and evidence from the text. We wrote about and shared our own memory boxes in class.

As part of our reading skills sessions, Lynn 5 have been focusing on non-fiction texts. We read the books in groups and used the contents page to find the correct page. We used the text and diagrams to find information. We really enjoyed the page about Legoland and enjoyed choosing our favourite rides.

In Maths, we have been learning about multiples, factors and prime number. We found the factors of two numbers and added them to a venn diagram to show common factors. We created an array using the counters for the first number and then tried to make an array with the same number of rows using the counters for the second number.

This week in science, we have learning about seed dispersal and why it is so important for seeds to be moved around. We had to investigate different seeds and put them into categories based on how they are moved, such as by the water or animals. We then began to design an experiment to see whether wingspan of a seed affects the time it takes to reach the floor. We made our own hypothesis and shared them with the class.

For Real Life Maths day, Year 5 were tasked with designing their own theme park. They had to stick to a budget of £1,000,000 and had a selection of roller coasters, attractions and amenities to choose from to purchase for their theme park. They had to draw out the area of each of these purchases on their scale diagram. Children worked in groups to budget, plan out their park, and design the layout.

In computing, we have started our new topic of coding using purple mash. We have refreshed our memory of all the vocabulary we need to be using and looked at ways to design. We then designed out own on paper before starting to code it. We will finish these next week.

This week we have been focussing on apostrophes and parenthesis to make out writing accurate and exciting. We completed hands on activities to help us to remember. We then wrote letters to an agony aunt pretending we were Michael to ask for help (because of the creature in the garage). After thinking long and hard, we answered our own letters with lots of mature advice in our formal letter.

In PE, we have started our new unit of dance. This half term we will be choreographing our own dance to the song 'Rocket Man'. To warm up, we practised moving in time to the music pretending to be different animals (including giraffes and elephants) and showing different emotions (including joy, anger and sadness). Can you guess what we are acting out in these pictures?

In Topic, we have started learning about Frida Kahlo. We researched her life and art work and then created a fact file about her. We also looked at examples of her work and thought about the style, shapes and colours used. We compared her self portrait to other artists and thought about the message she was trying to share.

Year 5 had their Wow Day for their new topic, Mysterious Maya. We brought mugs from home for Mayan hot chocolate drinks. Surprisingly, we used spices such as mild chilli powder and cinnamon like the Maya would have used. We then created graphs to show how many children liked their drink. We worked in groups to write scripts for adverts to persuade people to try the hot chocolate in an M&S advert style. Later in the day, we made jewellery from the Mayan times using clay. We carved Mayan gods and patterns after looking at pictures of the jewellery they would have worn. Year 5 had a great time during their Wow Day and are looking forward to learning more about the Maya. (Qasim and Charles, Webber 5)

In English, we worked in groups to write poems about a moment in our book, Cosmic, when the characters lost control of their rocket and were spinning around in space. We aimed to use ambitious vocabulary to describe what was happening and how the characters felt. We then performed our poems to the class.

For Black History Day, we learned about three women who worked for NASA in the 1960s. As Black women, they faced a lot of prejudice and had to overcome a lot to achieve the great things they were able to. Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan were able to pave the way for other female mathematicians and engineers. They are referred to as Hidden Figures because a lot of the work they did wasn't recognised at the time.

We applied our knowledge of addition and subtraction to mutlistep word problems. We underlined the key words in the question and drew bar models to help us select the correct operation. We used column addition and subtraction to find the answer.

In Year 5, we have been doing Bikeability and we have learnt how to signal, U-turn, stop and go at a crossing, overtake parked cars and how to stop for cars. My favourite part was stopping and turning after signalling. We cycled past the Infant site and around lots of houses before coming all the way back to school. (Jayjay, Holst 5)

We learnt all about the Space Race between America and Russia. We used the ipads to research the main events and created a non-chronological report. We enjoyed finding out about the first satellite, animals and people in Space. We also thought about the role of Maths in the Space Race and made spinners to crack the code and answer questions about space.

In English we are going to be writing a newspaper article based on our book, Cosmic. To help us plan and write our article we identified the key features of newspaper articles by looking at a range of recent articles. We created a key and highlighted the different features including the headline, captions and direct quotations.

In Art, we have been looking at the work of Sara Fanelli who created collages of mythological monsters. We used a range of different materials to create our own mythological monster collages.

In PE, we have continued to work on our ball skills and tactical thinking by playing a team game called Endball. We had to pass the ball to members of our team whilst evading the opposing team and we scored points by getting the ball to the team member behind the cones.

In Maths, we have been practising using the column method to add increasingly larger numbers, with and without exchanging. We began by using place value counters to help us understand what is happening when we exchange digits and have focused on presenting our work neatly to avoid errors.

Webber 5 wanted to share some of the work they are proud of from their Topic lessons! In Geography, we have been learning about coastal features, particularly in Greece, and how these are formed by erosion. In History, we learned about the events of the Trojan War and Odysseus's journey home from the war, in which he encountered a cyclops. We wrote speeches from Odysseus to his wife about his experience. In Art, we are looking at the work of Sara Fanelli and will be creating our own collages inspired by her work on mythological monsters.

In RE, we have been exploring the practices and beliefs held by Sikhs, and how they show commitment to their faith.

This week we have been comparing our lives to the lives of others and thinking about the lives of refugees. We cannot tell who is a refugee just by looking at their pictures and this has helped us to understand that we must not make assumptions about people and what they have been through. We have also been brainstorming ways we can help refugees as they arrive in the UK. We have also designed a jigsaw piece with our goals for the coming year and thought of lots of different things we can do to reach that goal.

After making our scale model of the Solar System last week, we have made models of the Earth, Sun and Moon to represent how they orbit each other. We have looked at the similarities and differences between them and in the ways that they move. It has been so interesting finding out how the planets move and how the sun stays at the centre of the Solar System.

We have been using the interactive floor to practice our times tables and to practice counting in 6s, 7s and 9s. We played games in our houses and tried to beat the other houses by answering quickly.

In Computing, we have been talking about online safety. We learned how to send emails and emailed each other some tips for staying safe online.

Webber 5 playing guitar

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Webber 5 have started taking part in guitar lessons this term. They are enjoying learning how to play different notes and have already learned to play their first song!

In Reading Skills, we are beginning to scan through for key words in the text that can help us answer questions.

In Maths, we have been looking at representing larger numbers in different ways including part part whole, bar models, number lines and place value grids.

In English, we used iMovie on the iPads to make adverts persuading people to visit the Gobi desert, one of the main locations in our class book.

In PE we have been practising our ball skills. We threw a tennis ball for our partner and they had to catch it after one bounce. After completing this, we challenged ourselves to balance on one leg when catching the ball as well as starting further away from our partner. We then put our skills into practice when playing a game of throw tennis, a game where we aim to throw the ball to the other side of the court and catch it after one bounce.

Year 5 had their WOW Day on Monday 6th September. The school allowed us to dress up as Ancient Greeks for the day for our new topic The Iliad. Like the Ancient Greeks, we made pitta bread to eat. We also made our own set of instructions to make pitta bread for people who would like to have it. While we waited for the pitta bread to bake, we designed out own Olympic event because Greece was where the first Olympics was held. At the end of the day, we had a feast with our pitta bread and we got to pick toppings including: olive oil, olives, tomatoes, cucumber and hummus. We enjoyed our trip through time and are sad to leave it. We are excited to learn more about Ancient Greeks this half term. By Riley and Jacob (Webber 5)

Summer 1 Home Learning Activities

Spring 2 Home Learning Activities

Spring 1 Home Learning Activities

Autumn 2 Home Learning Activities

Autumn 1 Home Learning Activities
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