Autumn 2, Week 5

English: This week, we have been writing explanation texts about our designs which could attack a castle.

At home: You could look examine other explanation texts – where can you find them?

Maths: We have begun our unit about multiplication and have started to think about formal written methods.

At home: You could practise the method. Also, you could practise your times tables on TTRS to help you.

Music: We have been continuing to learn songs for our Christmas concerts.

At home: learn the words for the concert which have been sent home this week.

 

---

Autumn 2, Week 3

English: This week, we have been finding out about explanation texts. We used junk modelling to create a machine which could attack a castle. Then, we gave oral presentations in the style of Dragon’s Den to explain how they worked. (See photos).

At home: You could look at books or other texts at home to look for explanation texts.

Maths: We have been continuing our learning about positive and negative numbers. We have found the difference between positive and negative numbers and solved lots of problems about them.

At home: You could talk to someone about positive and negative numbers in bank balances and what they mean.

Music: We have been starting to learn songs for our Christmas concerts.

At home: learn the words for the concert which have been sent home this week.

 

---

Autumn 2, Week 2

English: This week, we have finished writing our narrative poems linked to our story about Sir Gawain. We will be performing these to our buddy classes in Year 2 next week.

At home: You could practise reading aloud with expression and intonation. You could use a poem to practise reading with rhythm.

Maths: We have been learning about positive and negative numbers. We have been learning to read these numbers, place them on a number line and calculate the interval between two numbers.

At home: You could investigate temperature in different parts of the world. What are the differences between two countries?

RE: We had a fantastic visit from one of our parents linked to our learning about Diwali in our unit on Hinduism. We found out what Diwali is and how it is celebrated.

     

     

 

---

Autumn 2, Week 1

English: This week, we have finished writing our narrative poems linked to our story about Sir Gawain. We will be performing these to our buddy classes in Year 2 next week.

At home: You could practise reading aloud with expression and intonation. You could use a poem to practise reading with rhythm.

Maths: We have been learning about positive and negative numbers. We have been learning to read these numbers, place them on a number line and calculate the interval between two numbers.

At home: You could investigate temperature in different parts of the world. What are the differences between two countries?

RE: We had a fantastic visit from one of our parents linked to our learning about Diwali in our unit on Hinduism. We found out what Diwali is and how it is celebrated.

---

Autumn 2, Week 1

English: This week, we listened to Mr Gunn perform a narrative poem about King Arthur. We have now started writing our own.

At home: You could investigate rhymes and other poems that have an ABCB rhyming pattern.

Maths: We have been applying our knowledge of decimals to add and subtract amounts of money using different methods. We have also worked out change using number lines and column addition and subtraction.

At home: You could look at different coins and set up your own shop to practise adding totals and working out change. You could also visit a real shop if you’re allowed.

Science: We started our new unit all about Forces. We experimented with levers and pulley in our lesson (see photos).

         

Environment: Ukraine had their first session of Nature School and had a brilliant time!

At home: find some more resources for our Nature School bag including conkers, acorns, pine cones, feathers and beech nuts.

 

---

Autumn 1, Week 7

English: This week, we have completed, edited and published our recounts of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. You might have seen them at parents evening!

At home: You could investigate other legendary stories. Do you think that there might be some truth in them? Why or why not?

Maths: We have been applying our knowledge of decimals to add and subtract amounts of money using different methods. We have also solved problems with them.

At home: You could look at different coins and set up your own shop to practise adding totals and working out change. You could also visit a real shop if you’re allowed.

Science: We are finishing our unit on changing materials this week or next week, depending on the class. We looked at a variety of irreversible changes and why these cannot be changed back, including mixing lemon and bicarbonate of soda, mixing effervescent tablets with water and some classes have even been trying to burn cotton wool in the nature reserve by starting our own fires.Art: Ukraine class visited Preston Park as part of our unit about sketching. We loved having parents with us to join in with this learning.

Environment: We have had a fantastic visit from Sussex Underwater who talked to us about all of the creatures and plants which can be found off the Sussex coast and how this has changed over time.

At home: find out more about this brilliant organisation through Facebook and Instagram.

  

         

---

Autumn 1, Week 6

English: This week, we have been hearing the last part of our story about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. We have started writing a recount of the final section, imagining that we are Sir Gawain telling the story to the knights of the round table.

At home: You could investigate other stories told about King Arthur and his knights. Do you think they are true? Why or why not?

Maths: We have been revising number, looking at rounding to tenths and wholes using numbers with two decimal places (hundredths). We have also began working with numbers to 3dp and looking at ordering these.

At home: You could look at rounding decimals that you can find around the house (meters, measurements, temperatures etc).

Science: We are finishing our unit on changing materials this week or next week, depending on the class. We looked at a variety of irreversible changes and why these cannot be changed back, including mixing lemon and bicarbonate of soda, mixing effervescent tablets with water and some classes have even been trying to burn cotton wool in the nature reserve by starting our own fires.

Art: Uruguay and UK class visited Preston Park this week to create sketches of the clock tower as part of  our drawing unit. Ukraine class will visit next week when the weather is more favourable.

Environment: We have been in the nature reserve attempting to start fires to learn about irreversible changes. In geography, we have also been learning about how the coastline changes through physical and human impact.

At home: if you’re near the beach, you could look at the waves and the impact they have on our coast. Can you find any evidence of what helps to prevent out shoreline from being destroyed by waves?

---

Autumn 1, Week 5

English: We have been editing and publishing our diary entries in role as Gawain from our text ‘Gawain and the Green Knight’. We have read further in the text and made predictions about what will happen next.

• At home: You could explain the plot of the book to your family and tell them your prediction.

Maths: We have been working with hundredths. We have added and subtracted them using the column method and solved some word problems.

• At home: You could look add or subtract 2 amounts of money e.g. £7.99-£4.25 =

Environment: We have been finding out about important features of our coastline and how the sea deposits them to create beaches, spits and lagoons. We learnt about longshore drift and tried to create this effect using sand and water in trays as well as drawing it on the playground. (See photos).

• At home: you could visit the beach and look at how the waves move and the effect on sand and shingle.

                                            

 

                                            

---

Autumn 1, Week 4

English: We have been writing diary entries including description of setting and character from the perspectives of Sir Gawain from our book ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’.

• At home: You could write your own diary entry about your day.

Maths: We have been revising number, looking at hundredths as a fraction and a decimal. We have been partitioning decimals in different ways.

• At home: You could look at how we use hundredths when we talk about money e.g. £3.25 and make the amounts using coins.

Environment: We have been doing a science experiment where we thought about how to separate materials that had been mixed together with water, using different equipment (see photos). We thought about why water is dirty for so much of the global population and how it could be made clean.

• At home: you could find out about charities that support people who do not have clean water to drink.

      

         

---

Autumn 1, Week 3

English: We have continued reading ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.’ We wrote a character description of the Green Knight. Then we created maps of his journey (see photos).

         

• At home: You could use a thesaurus to look at new vocabulary to describe characters or settings.

Maths: We have been adding and subtracting decimals using the column method. We have also been rounding decimals to the nearest whole number.

• At home: You could practise adding numbers in columns e.g. 4.5+3.6

Environment: We have started to learn about our coastline in Geography lessons.

• At home: you could visit the beach and see what features of the coast you can see.

 

---

Autumn 1, Week 2

English: We have been reading the start of our new text, ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’ by Michael Morpurgo. We drew pictures of the knight from the description.

• At home: You could explain what the Green Knight looks like to someone at home.

Maths: We have been revising numbers, looking at tenths as a fraction and a decimal

• At home: You could ask for a number and then attempt to divide it by ten to find a tenth.

Environment: We have had our WOW start to our coasts topic in geography with a social responsibility day about the ocean. We have learnt about how the sea helps us and the development of sea kelp along the Sussex coast.

• At home: You could investigate the sea kelp forest along the Sussex coast and see how you could support it from charities such as Sussex Seabed Restoration Project.

---

Autumn 1, Week 1

It has been such a lovely start to year 5. The children have come back and really settled into their routines.

English: We have been revising what a basic sentence needs as well as looking at how to use adverbs to make our writing more interesting.

At home: You could look at any writing and think about the choice of adjectives and adverbs – could you find a better synonym (word)?

Maths: We have been revising number, looking at place value and rounding.

At home: You could identify the value of each digit in a number and round it to the nearest 10, 100 or 1000.

Environment: We have been learning how to use treasury tags in our books at school so that we don’t need to use glue sticks.

At home: What small changes could you make at home to help the environment?