Highlights from Year 5

This half term has been very busy with lots of engaging activities and new learning. We have been reading The Fastest Boy in the World, which takes place in Ethiopia, Africa, and comparing the two countries and looking at how to achieve our goals and keeping the dream alive, plus predicting if the boy can get help for his grandfather. We have continued to read The Secrets of the Sun King and the adventure is taking us to Egypt to try and break the curse! The children have loved listening to the story and discussing both books.

In Mathematics, we have been working extremely hard on developing our multiplication and related division facts to help us solve tricky long multiplication calculations, we used coloured pencils and place value counters to help explain how this method works. We also looked at shapes and how they can be translated, rotated, and reflected. Lots of discussions and group work took place, the children enjoyed exploring how to manipulate the shapes.

In English, we have been creating instructional texts about making cupcakes. We acted out different instructions and the children realized how important it was to include everything! Luckily no disasters occurred. Using specific criteria for instructions all the children have produced a great final piece of writing.

In History, we have been looking at the Maya period and how clever and intelligent they were with creating a calendar and hieroglyphics to communicate. Also we created a huge timeline in the hall and worked together to order the main periods in history. The children were extremely pleased to learn that the cacao bean came from Mexico and that this is what makes cocoa and eventually chocolate! We hope to continue learning about the Mayas for a bit longer after the holidays.

In ICT, we have been using the program Scratch to create different types of computer games and this will lead to the children creating their own game from a storyboard they have created themselves. All the children enjoy the use of the computers and the program Scratch. They are teaching me a thing or two!

Year 5 also performed our Parent Assembly, and all the children were amazing especially with the sharing of work and reading in front of an audience. Finishing with a song and instruments at the end was amazing and the children performed it with great gusto.

Also, we had our last visit into school by the Ufton Court Staff and the children enjoyed team building games and even constructing a catapult!