What a week!

 This week in Year 5 has been both manic and wonderful. As ever, the children have risen to any challenges they have faced and behaved brilliantly while working hard. 

We have had not one but two dance lessons taught by the girls from King Edward Handsworth Grammar School. The children managed to learn 2 dance routines over 2 days which was incredibly impressive.

We have had some real fun with Maths this week! We have looked at nets of 3D shapes and area of rectangles. The children were very sensible when completing practical work to help with their understanding. 

And, to top it all off, we entered a basketball competition after school. Despite only entering 2 out of the 4 weeks, we still managed to finish fourth in the competition. This is a fantastic achievement and one I am really proud of the children for. 

Welcome Back

 WE ARE BACK! 

It has been truly lovely to see the children back in school this week full of energy, smiles and enthusiasm. After a tumultuous 18 months we can finally try and get back to our normal routines and the way schools are supposed to be. 

The children are enjoying being able to play and mingle with children from other year groups and this enthusiasm has transferred into the classroom. We have loved getting to know each other, finding out all sorts of useful and fascinating information as well as taking part in team building games.

The children have dived head first into our work. They have shown what they are capable of in their writing, dazzled with their Maths and times tables knowledge and been introduced to their Egyptian Topic and Science topic.

During Science, we have dived head first into an investigation into what surfaces cause the most friction. The children were very enthusiastic and loved using the Newton meters while also being in control of what they measured. Taking onus of their own investigation seems to have really helped them get excited about our Forces Topic.

To introduce our topic, we used Now Press Play. What an experience that was! The children were taken to Ancient Egypt as a scribe where they had to lead the pharaoh through the underworld. We learnt loads and had a great time doing it.

They really are a fantastic group of children and we can't wait to see what else they are able to produc as thh year progresses. I'm sure it will amaze us. 

Brighouse (residential) Orienteering

 Orienteering (Getting lost in the woods.... well nearly)

Well, one of the first tasks were to go for a walk around Legion Wood and while the children explored the area the staff set about putting up a 16 point orienteering course. 

The children started out with excitment as they could see the first marker... however it got harder.

There were trails to the left and trails to the right enclosed by trees and bushes. It was meant to be hard and we set the children in smaller groups. 

With the staff in the area, or shadowing the groups, the children managed to find the 16 markers and the letters that made a spanish phrase. 

Rainforest Board Games

 In order to compliment our learning about the rainforest, we felt a fun and interactive way to show what we have learned (especially about the animals) would be to create an interactive rainforest board game. The children had to come up with positive attributes that could help them move forward through the game such as discovering medicine, encountering friendly animals or taking a trip down the Amazon. They also had to come up with negative attributes that would hinder their progress such as discovering deforestation, animals that would set them back or any perhaps some adverse weather. 

They children had a fantastic time creating their board games and it was a really interesting way to display what they have learned. 

Musical Talents Abound

 Year 5 working with Keyboards

On a monday afternoon Year 5 undertake music lessons.

They are beginning to know the layout of the keyboard and where the c note is located.

The children are enjoying the lessons and certainly entertaining the teachers with their keyboard playing.

We look forward to recording one of their final performances and sharing it.

Riveting Rainforests

We're a few weeks into our new topic of Rainforests now and the children are loving it. Alongside this Topic we are looking at plants in Science (a nice clear link). And what better way of teaching and learning about seed dispersal than making our very own 'sycamore seeds'.

The children had a fantastic time while also learning about the 5 main ways of seed dispersal. They especially enjoyed watching videos showing seeds exploding getting very excited when they saw the whole process. It is also lovely to see the children doing extra work at home. Check out this 'Shoebox Rainforest' one of the children made at home - we were really impressed!

Advice for King Henry VIII

The children in year 5 have been looking at King Henry within our Tudor topic.

They have been given the task of advising the King about his wives and how Anne Boleyn wrote a letter to King Henry about her treatment. 

The children worked in small groups to role-play the role of both King Henry and his advisors.

 

They came up with lots of points to support the arguments both for and against what King Henry had in mind for her.

Some of the children would have certainly made King Henry think twice about his treatment and maybe even have changed his mind as to what he eventually did...