Year 5 gives you a warm welcome! We hope you enjoy perusing the exciting activities that we have undertaken so far this year.
YEAR 5 SPRING TERM THEME: THE MAYA
Maths Workshop
On Thursday we invited our parents into school to spend a morning learning how we can revise our multiplication, division and times tables at home - a great way to practise for next year's SATs!
English - Creating our own Mayan Gods
Art: Mayan Masks
Year 5 enjoyed looking at different designs for Ancient Mayan masks, examining their different uses and trying on our own to explore why masks were important to the Mayan civilisation.
Our trip to Cadbury World
We enjoyed learning about the Maya and, in particular, their invention of chocolate! Cadbury World taught us about the history of chocolate and how the Ancient Maya influenced Birmingham's most famous company!
Maya Day
Year 5 spent an action-packed day learning about the Maya with lots of fun activities. We practised Mayan weaving; explored the shapes of Mayan architecture; made colourful Mayan sun designs; constructed Mayan calendars and even learned how to make their traditional 'chocolatl' drink!
FRICTION is the force created when two objects rub against each other. We used Newton Meters to measure the friction of different surfaces around the school, such as whiteboards, the concrete playground, the rubber flex playground, a table and the classroom carpet. We found that rougher surfaces generate more friction than smoother surfaces.
UNICEF DAY 2019
Years 5 and 6 commemorated the 30th anniversary of Unicef with a day of activities to celebrate the rights of the child.
English - Newspaper reporting
Science - Investigating GRAVITY and AIR RESISTANCE
Year 5 observed the effect of GRAVITY on two differently-shaped pieces of paper, finding that the one with the larger surface area fell slower. Then we designed and built parachutes to protect an egg, which we dropped from the top of the stairs. We found that the larger the parachute, the more air was trapped underneath as it fell, causing more AIR RESISTANCE.
Remembrance Day 2019
At 11 o'clock on the 11th November, the school gathered in the Gilsenan Hall for two minutes of silence to mark the anniversary of the end of the First World War. The next day, a special Mass was held in English Martyrs' Church, where we remembered all those who have died for us and who have suffered as a result of war and conflict. The children wrote prayers on poppies for the people they wanted to remember.
R.E. - Baptism
We have been examining the traditions and elements of baptism. We learned the story of Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist and looked at different artistic depictions of Jesus from all over the world, before painting our own versions of the story.
Drama - performing 'The Raft'
Year 5 have been learning diary writing through Jim LaMarche's short story 'The Raft'. We started by closing our eyes and imagining ourselves as the story's protagonist Nicky, before using dramatic techniques of freezeframes and exaggerated facial expressions to put ourselves into the story.
Geography - Water cycle
Year 5 have been exploring how water changes between a solid, liquid and gas during the water cycle. We enjoyed learning about condensation and evaporation before working in groups to produce diagrams of the cycle.
Art - Waterlilies and monochromatic painting
We used our skills of tinting, shading and toning, as well as our knowledge of different textural painting techniques, to create a monochromatic water painting in the style of Claude Monet. We made waterlilies using paper plates and tissue paper, working in groups to produce our own impressionist art pieces.
English - Biographical writing
Year 5 are learning about biographies and learning how to write about other people's lives. Class 5A have chosen to write a biography of David Attenborough, researching and compiling events from his life in order to create a detailed life story for the famous naturalist and TV presenter.
Science - Planting experiment
Class 5A planned an experiment to test the conditions needed for a plant to grow. Each group planted a seed in different conditions: one without water, one without light, one without CO2, one in low temperature and one with perfect conditions. We have predicted how each plant will grow - which one do you think will thrive best?
Visit from the NSPCC
Year 5 enjoyed learning about how to stay safe and who we can talk to if we need help. The NSPCC spend their lives helping vulnerable people, which is how Jesus wants us to live our own lives.
The Rosary with Archbishop Bernard
As a school we said The Rosary with the Archbishop. We loved the hymns about Mary. Celebrating Mary in October is important as it is one of her months.
R.E. - The Joyful Mysteries
Year 5 learned about the five Joyful Mysteries and celebrated how special Mary is to us. We remembered our own mothers and gave thanks for everything they have done for us.
MATHS DAY 2019
On Wednesday 25th September, year 5 joined classes 6A and 6B in participating in our annual Maths Day! We practiced our six, seven, eight and twelve times tables using games, songs and activities like Snakes and Ladders, as well as using Venn diagrams to work out the relationship between different times tables. We hope you enjoy working through the Maths Activity Packs with your children!
English - 'The Island', by Armin Greder
This term year 5 have been studying Armin Greder's short story 'The Island'. Class 5A made predictions about the plot, setting and characters before reading the book, and are working on their fiction writing by planning their own alternative ending to the story. The children are learning how description, pacing and different sentence types can help add suspense to their writing.
English - Dear Mrs Harper...
Class 5A have been investigating the effects of plastic upon the environment, and how we can work to reduce our carbon footprint by cutting our plastic use. The children used questionnaires to gather information on the use and disposal of plastic at English Martyrs', before using their skills in persuasive and formal writing to produce letters to Mrs Harper, asking her to make the school plastic-free.
Year 5 Spellings
Spend time learning the statutory spellings for Year 5 and Year 6. You will be tested on these throughout the year. Why not choose a few to learn each week to make sure you know how to spell them confidently.
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