Year 5 - Friday 13th May 2022

Date: 12th May 2022 @ 4:47pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

This week in year 5

In Maths, we have been working on area and volume. The children have been able to use perimeter measurements to help work out the area.  They have used calculations to do this (length x width) and also drawn the shapes in their maths books and counted squares to check their answers.  They have used cubes to build 3D shapes and counted the cubes to find the volume and then managed to learn the calculation (length x width x height).

In English we have started to examine narrative poetry, specifically The Highwayman and The Owl and the Pussycat.  We have looked at the features of narrative poetry and spent time discussing how to use tone, intonation and pace to get the emotion of the poem across to our audience.  The children each learnt a section of The Highwayman and performed it together. Please see video on St Oswalds TV.

In Science, the children continued with their ‘living things’ topic and investigated different types of pollination.  They watched video clips showing the different types and then went on a nature walk to try and find plants that used the different types of pollination. They have been looking after their plants and we have a number of sunflowers sprouting and our strawberry plants now each have flowers.

In RE the children completed our topic on transformation.  We looked at the scripture of Paul on the road to Damascus in more detail and how he managed to transform the lives of others due to his transformation.  We reflected in a lovely collective worship to celebrate out learning during this topic.

This week in French, we learnt how to pronounce an/am/em/en and read some unknown words correctly. Next we recapped -er verbs with the verb jouer - to play.  We then used an online dictionary to look up some sports words and talked about the advantages and disadvantages of an online dictionary compared with a book. We talked about cognates - words that look the same or very similar to English but are not pronounced the same. Sports words are all cognates so they're easy to learn.

 In Art we sketched portraits of the queen.  The children were all given the same photo of the queen and were asked to sketch a picture of her in this likeness.  They did an amazing job.  They really thought about the placement of her features and sizes.  They were able to use light and shade to really make the portraits come alive.

In PE the children began to practise skills for sport’s day. They practised running races, collecting bean bags in a hoop, sack racing, egg and spoon and quoit throwing.  They had a great time and were all very competitive, I feel we have a great sport’s day ahead (Dates TBC shortly).

In computing the children were able to develop their coding skills using commands and loops.  They really enjoyed the session as the programme used had characters from Minecraft so really engaged the children.  Remember they are able to use the coding programme at home, they will feel like they are playing a game but actually they will be developing computing skills.

DON’T FORGET

Common exception words have been sent home and the final test for these will happen before the end of the summer term.

Online Safety Update

Age ratings can be used by adults to make an informed choice as to whether a game or platform is suitable for their child.

Below you will find our guide with tips on a number of potential risks including inappropriate content, peer pressure and online spending.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school.  Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week we are counting up in 6 and 0.6.  Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 6 or 0.6s, either forwards or backwards.  It often helps the children if they note down the numbers as they say them, it helps them work out the next number more easily when they can see it. Help them use bridging where appropriate to count on e.g. 4.8 + 0.2 = 5, then add the other 0.4 to get to 5.4.  This is bridging.

Spellings words containing the letter string ‘ough’ where the sound is /aw. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday.  12 spellings this week not 15.

bought fought thought ought thoughtfully sought nought thoughtless brought wrought afterthought thoughtful

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.  You should all have received a second sheet with these words on by now, I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Easter. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. We will be assessing the children on these words before summer.

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to perimeter

Spellings words containing the letter string ‘ough’ where the sound is /aw

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