Trotts Hill Primary School and Nursery
Welcome to Year 5
In English, we learn how to be persuasive (sorry parents – it could lead to more pocket money!) and extend our writing skills by exploring legends. In Maths, we work towards securing standard methods of calculating, however we also make decisions about when it is more efficient to make informal jottings. Applying mathematical knowledge in problem solving contexts is a regular feature in lessons.
We encourage home learning to be completed weekly. Times table and, spelling practice as well as reading are compulsory. Regular reading is vital as it helps us to learn new vocabulary and notice how many different ways there are to construct a sentence. Keep reading together at home, as well as independently.
In Year 5, we take pride in putting in 100 percent effort. We celebrate the ‘have a go’ attitude. Someone once said, “If you haven’t failed, you haven’t tried.” We value the efforts all parents give to the development of their children.
The children had an out of this world experience at Airbus in Stevenage. They made a moon box and had immense fun learning about 3 of Newtons Laws of motion. In addition, they found out about the work being done in their own town to advance space exploration and saw Mars Rover prototypes with their own eyes.
The children enjoyed an afternoon of drama workshops run by the students of Oaklands College. The session culminated in a 'Horrible Histories' like performance which Year 5 pupils thoroughly enjoyed. At the end, they joined in with the dance they had learned in the workshop.
Using maps of different scales the children used location clues to place towns and cities of the UK on map. They also calculated the distance between and describe their location in relation to others using compass directions.
Year 5 children are building their reading stamina and use the skill of inference using evidence from the text.
The children practised forehand shots.
Using scaled down measurements, the children modelled the relative distance of the planets and, having made predictions, considered whether there was any pattern.
The children delivered a first rate performance in the Christmas Showcase rehearsals.
The children followed a recipe to make gluten and dairy free scones. They made their own decisions about the flavourings they would like to use to enhance the taste.
Year 5 had their first rehearsal of Chistmas Bells on the stage. They are now at the stage of perfecting their movements for a snappy and precise tango.
The NSPCC delivered a workshop to Year 5. They discussed the different types of abuse and that children could recognise it as abuse if it makes them feel unsafe, scared or anxious. The children learnt that they shouldn't keep a secret if they are threatened to keep it, it has no end and makes them feel unsafe. They rehearsed the number for Child Line and learn about the service it provides.
Kidscape provided an excellent workshop to combat bullying. They learned that how to recognise bullying and how a ringleader of bullying behaviour has others who enable it by being a reinforcer, assistant or bystander. Bullying behaviour is successful when there is an imbalance of power. The children were taught to change the imbalance by recognising the roles and making sure that they become defenders and tell an adult.
In violin, the children learned how to hold a bow correctly and play on open strings.
The children carved a design on one side of a tile and on the other carved the same image in negative relief. They printed their tiles as an individual image and then as a whole class piece. They evaluated their art work.
The children participated in a yoga class. Importantly, the learned some breathing techniques that could help them feel calm and grounded when negative feelings bubble to the surface. They also undertook a doodling activity to express their emotions.
The children role played being town planners considering a new settlement by a river which is prone to flooding. They justified where they would put fields, schools, housing, factories, parks etc in order to minimise the risk to the community.
The children learnt to have awareness of the position of the ball so as not to infringe the offside rule.
The children read a text about mythical creatures and grouped the information. They designed and created a database, deciding on whether validation tools such as a menu of choices should be used.
Following on from classroom learning, Year 5 visited Lea Valley Park to look at river features first hand. The children undertook some field work sketches of a river meander and a navigation. As luck would have it, when we arrived at the lock on the navigation, a narrow boat arrived at everyone watched in fascination as the skipper opened and closed gates to allow the water level to drop so he could continue his journey.
After learning about how a river changes from source to mouth, the children made models to demonstrate their new knowledge.
In French, the children listened to a song about activities and adapted it for themselves using the future tense.
In PE, the children are studying athletics. The learned the technique needed to throw a javelin.
Many thanks to Stevenage Sporting Futures for a fun morning of activities to keep us moving - yoga, karate, dance, dodgeball, team-building and archery.
We would like to thank the company Illumina and the organisation Form the Future for providing another opportunity for our pupils to experience real-life science activities. This week, Year 5 pupils learned about DNA and extracted DNA strings from strawberries.
Congratulations to Jessica and Ruby, the Year 5 winners of the KNEX Fairground Ride Challenge.
The children drew triangles on polygons and used this information to calculate the sum of the interior angles in polygons. They looked for a pattern and worked out a way of finding out the sum for any polygon - even one with one hundred sides.
Year 5 visited AstraZeneca in Cambridge to see first hand how the process of making a medicine works. Thanks to the transparent walls they could watch the scientists going about their business and and saw the technology they use. In a lab, they used the mechanical pipettes that the pharmaceutical giant deploys in its drug development process.
"I loved AstraZeneca! I enjoyed using the pipettes more than making a medicine as we got to make our own design. In conclusion, i loved it and want to go again!" - Aaruhi
"I liked in AstraZeneca how we made medicines. It was really fun to learn about." - Grace
"I really enjoyed it and learnt how they use robots to speed up testing." - Harry
"I love it so much. I enjoyed the pipetting. The tour was so much fun; we learnt about how to make a medicine, while having fun. I would love to go again."
"I though it was really good. I learnt a lot about what they do to make medicines." - Ewan
"It was a great experience. I think I would like to work there." - Owen
It was a first time experience at a theatre for some Year 5 children on our trip to see dress rehearsal for a new cast of The Lion King and what an amazing show it was.
"I loved it. The atmosphere was incredible and the singing was spectacular. The way the animals looked was so cool. " - Ewan
"This was my first time at a live theatre. I love it. It felt as if it was a movie not people acting, I really liked the animal and the effects." - Kunashe
"It was absolutely mind-blowing. It was exactly like the movie and I loved every bit. The characters also really stuck to their roll. My favourite characters were Simba and Mufasa." - Bailey
"The show was amazing, especially the kids, and it was well put together." - FIn
"I loved it! It inspired me so much! After watching it, I wanted to be in a show just like them. Thank you so much Mr Driver for giving us the opportunity of a lifetime!" - Sophia
"It was an amazing experience! Now, I want to watch it again. I would like to thank everyone for such a brilliant trip. I hope we can do it again next year." - Aaruhi
"I enjoyed watching the performance. I thought it was really impressive, especially the kids' role." - Harry
After a warm- up of putting and chipping practice, the children learned how to drive the ball to send it over longer distances.
Year 5 had a fantastic time at the STEM Discovery Centre at Airbus in Stevenage. The children learnt many facts about the planets. They viewed the testing site for the Mars Rover and learnt about all the considerations the engineers had to make when building the different prototypes. They made moon boxes to help understand about the phases of the moon and enjoyed learning about electricity, forces and other scientific ideas in the activity room.
The children programmed a microcontroller with two outputs to make a light flash and a motor rotate for a specified number of times.
The children gathered data to investigate the question Does the surface affect the force needed to pull an object? They selected an appropriate force meter for the most accurate results and formulated their own table for recording.
The children enjoyed a day of dressing as a character and produced their blurbs for a book of their choice.
After carrying out their own research, the children shared their information and produced a leaflet for tourists planning a visit to a mountainous destination in the UK.
Students from Oaklands College delivered some Ancient Greece theme workshops for Year 5. Activities included dancing and a quiz. The afternoon culminated in a performance by the students which our children really enjoyed. Perhaps, some might go on to pursue the performing arts.
Stevenage Sporting Futures delivered some first aid training to Year 5. They learnt about how to check for signs of breathing, the recovery position and how to administer CPR. Then, they were trained in how to use a defibrillator. Some pupils asked some very useful follow up questions such as Where would you find a defibrillator? (Eliza) What if it isn't working? (Kunashe). Sophia offered further information about how to adapt compressions for babies and children.
The children modelled the orbit and movement of the planets around the Sun before demonstrating their understanding with a diagrams and an explanation of why we have a leap year.
In French this week, we began by brainstorming all the foods we know how to say in French. The children remembered several of the fruits they had been taught back in Year 2 and added other items such as croissants, baguette and even escargots (snails) to our list. They then wrote sentences about their food likes and dislikes and talked with partners asking about their opinions of different foods.
The children used secondary sources to produce a scaled model of the distance the planets are from the Sun. They concluded that there wasn't a relationship between size and distance because the largest planets - Jupiter and Saturn - are not the furthest away.
Year 5 used the techniques of measuring, sieving, cutting and kneading to make scones. They tasted them while still warm from the oven.
The children role played being Athenian citizens discussing and then voting on whether the Parthenon should be built. Athens was the first example of a form of democracy.
In a science lesson about rusting, an irreversible change, the children used sentence stems to help them suggest, clarify and challenge ideas. The helped them to justify their thoughts about what causes rusting and the best way to protect steel tools from it.
George, from Sporting Futures, visited Year 5 to deliver a workshop about the growth mindset. He talked about the setbacks he faced on the journey to be a professional footballer and his determination to overcome them. They discussed that choices have consequences - both positive and negative and that taking responsibility for decisions is important. He left the children with the message that they should have self-belief but they need to be resilient and work hard to achieve their goals. Importantly, he said that success looks different for everyone.
After learning about filtration, the children were given a variety of equipment to use to separate a mixture of sand, gravel and two mystery materials (steel or iron, and salt). The children used their knowledge of materials. dissolving and changing states to reverse the change.
The children chose to investigate the question Does the type of solvent affect the speed of dissolving? They tested still and sparkling water, regular and diet lemonade. They wrote a conclusion based on their own data.
Following a study of the work of Kara Walker, the children carved an image into a tile on one side and then created a negative image on the other half. They evaluated their own print and those of their classmates.
As part of our 'Hello Yellow' mental health day, the children were given the opportunity to try doodling. We discussed the benefits.
"We can do it anytime we want." Georgia
"It calms me a lot." Bailey
"I feel relaxed." Aaruhi
"You can be free with your designs. If you're feeling sad you or worried you can sit down and do it." Sophia
"You can do it at home when you have nothing else to do and if you're bored." Samiya
We discussed what makes a good friend. Among other responses, Samiya said 'safe'. We suggested and thought about ways to deal with sticky situations - one that makes us feel uncomfortable or unsafe - and rehearsed how to be assertive with our friends or use another 'get-out' strategy.
On a day of sunshine and showers, Year 5 looked at the features of a river in real-life. They were confident in using the key words they had learned in school. Once they had made their own field sketches of the River Lea, they undertook a river speed investigation. The day finished off with a spot of bird-watching.
The children had their first violin lesson during which they learned the correct stance hold for the violin.
Today, the children were learning a dance in the style of musical theatre, rhythmically adding movement to music.
In order to answer the enquiry question 'How does a river change from source to mouth?', Year 5 watched videos and read texts to find out the answer. They matched key words, pictures and statements and demonstrated their knowledge by modelling in the sandpit.