In science, Year 5 were given a challenge. Children had a range of mysterious materials
and had to investigate them and classify them. They began by making drawings of the materials and looking at their hardness and transparency. They then investigated which materials were magnetic and which conducted electricity before studying a map of Alchemy Island and labelling where they thought the mysterious materials could be found.
In Health Week, year 5 focussed on eating. We made healthy flapjacks, wrote explanations of the digestive system and painted healthy fruit. Painting the fruit with watercolours gave us a chance to consider our mental health as well as we concentrated on peace and relaxation. Parents joined us for this session and even little sisters joined in with the painting. Thank you everyone who came.
Following on from their work investigating which substances were soluble, year 5 generated their own questions about whether they could speed up the rate at which substances dissolved. We worked in groups to choose a question to investigate and see if we could make jelly dissolve faster. Groups investigated whether the size of the piece of jelly affected the rate or the temperature of the water or the number of times it was stirred. We recorded our observations and the time taken to completely dissolve before writing a conclusion.
On Thursday, year 5 had a visit from the nurse with important information. They learnt all about the dangers of alcohol, smoking and drugs and joined in a discussion about how to avoid peer pressure and stay safe. It was a very informative session and the children had lots of questions for the nurse.
Year 5 have just started a new topic- Alchemy Island. Over the next half term, we will be investigating the world of alchemy, discovering gold and changing materials. We began this week by learning about solutions. We carried out an investigation to discover which materials were soluble and which were insoluble. We made predictions and observed the changes when we added the substance to the water. There were some surprises.
During Intofaith week, Year 5 studied Sikhism. As part of this, w e looked at the importance of the Sikh symbol , the Khanda.
We designed our own batik using this symbol and designs commonly found in the art in gurdwaras.
First, we drew our design and then piped on a mixture of toothpate and hand lotion to cover the lines. This would act as a resistor when adding the paint.
Parents joined us for the second stage when we painted our designs. When the paint dries, we wil wash off the toothpaste mixture to reveal the finished batik. Keep reading our blog to see the finished product.
Year 5 joined in the whole school celebration of Prince Harry’s and Meghan’s wedding on Saturday. We made bicuits fit for a royal wedding reception and decorated them with flags, crowns and good luck messages.
We also had challenges to complete on our home tables. Our first challenge was to design and make a wedding dress for our Meghan doll. Our second challenge was to design and build a bridge strong enough to carry our wedding car across the River Thames.
With only newspaper, lollipop sticks and sellotape, it was tricky but we did it.
Our RE topic this half term is Salvation. We are learning about Easter and the importance it holds for Christians. We began by sequencing the stations
of the cross using art work and discussed Christ’s journey. We wrote a paragraph to explain the role of Jesus in the Easter story and how this is reflected in the stations of the cross.
To celebrate World Book Day, Year 5 spent the afternoon discovering new authors. First there was a mystery- three books wrapped in brown paper. We read a part of each one and discussed which we prefered and what they might be about. Eventually, we voted and Sputnik became our new class reader. Then we chose from a number of new books to sit and share with our friends.
We also had a chance to share our favourite books from home with each other as well as with a visiting Year 4.
Our reading corner display now shows the new authors we discovered and will hopefully inspire us to try even more.
As part of Safety week, Year 5 looked at how to keep our bodies safe from tobaccco, alcohol and drugs. We focussed on the dangers of smoking and researched facts about smoking and cigarettes before discussing our plan of action for the week. We role played children being offered cigarettes and thought about how best to combat this peer pressure. We decided to protect ourselves and other childen from this danger, we would write pesusaive letters to Theresa May urging her to ban smoking. We learnt duirng the week about how to keep ourselves safe.