What a crazy few months this has been!

In Literacy, the children retold the story ‘Escape from Pompeii’ using their revised knowledge of expanded noun phrases, fronted adverbials and direct speech, to make their versions more interesting. Mr Watkins and I really enjoyed reading them.

Then, they carried on their work around ‘Earth’s Extreme’ with a focus on earthquakes, due to the recent, and ongoing, disaster in Turkey and Syria.

Again, they recapped their geographical knowledge of: the world’s continents; the equator; the northern & southern hemispheres and lines of longitude & latitude.

Next, they researched some of the most significant, and therefore famous, earthquakes in history, including the devastating one in Indonesia on Boxing Day in 2004.

The children then found out about what causes an earthquake and how they are measured. They wrote informative paragraphs, about these two things, with a specific focus on using co-ordinating and subordinating conjunctions in their writing.

Finally, following on from their homework over February half-term, the children wrote persuasive letters to families at Woodlands to convince them to support people in Turkey and Syria who have been impacted by recent events there. The children can be very persuasive!

After Easter, the children’s Literacy work will be based around the ‘Glorious and Gruesome Greeks’ of Ancient Greece. We know lots of them are looking forward to it!

In Numeracy, the children have learnt a new formal written method: long multiplication.

They have also revised square & cube numbers and decimals, including turning decimals into fractions when the denominator is /10, /100 or /1000.

In Science, the children have concluded their learning about forces and have moved on to finding out about Space! We thoroughly enjoyed recreating the solar system on the playground.

Finally, in Music, the children have been working really hard at mastering the note E on the recorder, alongside G, A and B. We are amazed at their skills and the progress they have made. After half-term, we will be moving on to note D.

January in Y5 has flown by!

In Literacy, the children have been undertaking work around our new topic ‘Earth’s Extreme’ – with a focus this half term on volcanoes. They began by recapping their geographical knowledge of: the world’s continents; the equator; the northern & southern hemispheres and lines of longitude & latitude. We also talked about the central line of latitude, the Greenwich Meridian, which runs right through our capital city, London!

Next, they practically explored the layers of Earth with a focus on the crust and the mantle as this is what is involved when a volcano is formed. The children thoroughly enjoyed getting their hands dirty to create their own playdough model of Earth.

The children then found out about key volcanoes, including the ring of fire, and the three main types of volcano: composite, shield and cinder cone. They were most intrigued by the shield volcanoes as, apparently, when you look at them from above, they look like a warrior’s shield. Finally, the children explored what the land is used for around volcanoes; they were very surprised at the number of people living near to active, and potentially deadly, volcanoes.

We have relished the opportunity to interact with the website below which details active volcanoes and earthquakes around the world:

https://earthquakes.volcanodiscovery.com/

At the moment, the children are recapping their knowledge on narrative writing based on the book ‘Escape from Pompeii’ by Christina Balit.

https://www.inspireacademyashton.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Year-3-Guided-reading-text-Escape-from-Pompeii-Week-8-1.pdf

In the next few weeks, they will be retelling the story using the revision they have done, on expanded noun phrases, fronted adverbials and direct speech, to make their writing more interesting. Mr Watkins and I are very excited to read their versions!

In Numeracy, the children have revised rounding and 2D & 3D shapes. They have also learnt how to turn improper fractions into mixed numbers and vice versa. This is a Y5 target and the children have done phenomenally well using the instructions below:

In Science, the children have concluded their learning about materials and their properties and have now moved on to finding out about forces. Right now, the children are investigating gravity and having a lot of fun doing so!

Finally, in Music, the children have been working really hard at mastering the note G on the recorder, alongside A and B. This is really tricky but they have almost cracked it. Next week, we will be moving on to the note E which is very exciting.

Yesterday afternoon, Y5 took part in the first ever online workshop with the Royal Opera House.

Initially, we warmed up – both our bodies (including our mouths!) and our voices.

Then, we had the opportunity to practice our operatic skills with two trained opera singers completing the workshop with a final, choreographed piece.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and can’t wait for the next one!