Year 5 - Miss McLoughlin

Dates for Your Diary 

*The children will have PE on a Tuesday afternoon this half term. 

*The children will have their Puberty Talk on the afternoon of Monday 1st June.  Any parents/carers who do not wish their child to take part were asked to return the slip at the bottom of the letter.

*The children will be spending the day at Roker Beach on Friday 5th June.  The cost of the visit is £3.00.  Letters have been sent home about the visit. 

*On Friday 19th June, the children will be taking part in a Kwik Cricket Festival on Silksworth Cricket Club.  A letter will be sent home after the half term holiday.

*Bikeability starts on Monday 29th June.  Letters have been sent home and a consent form needs to be completed and returned to school.  The children need to be able to ride a bike to take part in the sessions. 

*Health Week starts on Monday 6th July.  Sports Day will be held this week.

*The children will finish for summer holidays on Wednesday 22nd July at 1.00pm.

summer 2

This half term the children will be reading 'The 1000 Year Old Boy' by Ross Welford.  This will inspire their own writing in English where they will write a narrative which moves between the past and the present.  The children will learn and use semi-colons and colons in their writing.  In maths, the children will calculate the perimeter and area of rectangles and compound shapes.  The children will also plot, read and interpret different types of graphs.  The will learn about different 2D and 3D shapes.  In geography, the children will learn about the difference between developing and developed countries.  In science, the children will learn about the parts of plants and how they reproduce.  They will learn about the life cycles of different species of animals.  In PE, the children will learn the rules of Kwik Cricket and the different techniques of bowling and batting.  In DT, the children will consider safety in the kitchen and will follow a recipe to make a savoury dish.  In computing, the children will program and use micro-bits.  

 

summer 1

This half term the children will be reading as their class novel 'The Jamie Drake Equation' by Christopher Edge.  In English they will learn about the American mathematician Katherine Johnson who worked for NASA.  They will then write an explanation text with a space theme.  The children will continue to have weekly handwriting and spelling sessions.  In maths, the children will continue to use decimal numbers and will learn how to calculate percentages.  They will also be finding the perimeter and area of shapes. They will also learn how to draw and interpret line graphs, tables and timetables.  In science, the children will continue to learn about space and will learn about the phases of the moon and planets in the solar system.  In history, the children will learn about the Victoria Hall Disaster which happened in Sunderland.  In art, the children will learn about the work of Peter Thorpe, Anna Bergman and Candy Lenk and will create their own version of their work.  In computing, the children will be exploring data handling.

Space Day

In their science lessons, the children have been learning all about space and to celebrate this we had a special Space Day.  The children were invited to come to school dressed in something linked to space.  We had aliens, astronauts and even a UFO.  During the day, the children completed space themed activities, such as making a solar system wreath, designing an alien and tasting space food.  Not all of the children were keen on this!  We even tried to fly a plastic bottle rocket using vinegar and baking soda.  The children had a great day and it was a lovely way to end the science topic.

Victoria Hall Disaster

In history, the children learned all about the local Victoria Hall Disaster.  In the classroom, the children learned what the Victoria Hall was;  about what happened at the disaster and the impact it had on the local area.  The children considered who they thought was to blame for the disaster.  We visited Sunderland Museum to take part in a workshop where they looked at different examples of evidence about the disaster, such as newspaper reports and death certificates.  The children also visited the statue in Mowbray Park which commemorates the disaster.

 

Cricket Session

The children enjoyed a cricket taster session with a coach from Durham Cricket Club.  The session began with the children playing warm up games.  The then practised catching and bowling the ball correctly.  The children then practised their batting techniques and played a game.  The children really enjoyed the session and it was good practice before we go to Silksworth to take part in a tournament. 

spring 2

This half term the children will be reading a book called 'The Song of the Dolphin Boy' by Elizabeth Laird.  They will use this book to write their own story from the viewpoint of a character from the story.  The children will continue to have weekly handwriting and spelling sessions.  In maths, the children will continue to use short division and solve problems using division and multiplication.  The children will multiply with fractions and will calculate fractions of different amounts and solve word problems.   In geography, the children will learn about the water cycle and how rivers are formed and move.  In RE, the children will learn about worship in Judaism and in particular the Torah.  In DT, the children will create a pop-up book with their own design.  In science, the children will then about the the solar system and the phases of the moon. In PE lessons, the will learn the skills needed to play volley ball.  In computing, the children will be using 3D design.

Liz Million Workshops  

To celebrate the opening of our new fantastic school library we took part in two workshops with the writer and illustrator, Liz Million.  The first session was held in the library and she told us what it was like to be a writer and an illustrator.  She showed us the technique she uses when drawing pictures for books.  For the second workshop we became illustrators and she showed us how to draw a turtle using basic shapes.  We really enjoyed the sessions and we have proudly displayed Liz's artwork in our class library.

Hockey at the Raich Carter Centre

We had an enjoyable afternoon at the Raich Carter Centre taking part in a hockey tournament against Valley Road School.  The afternoon began with learning about the rules of the game and practising how to use the hockey stick correctly.  We then played short games against teams from both our school and Valley Road.  We had a lot of fun and enjoyed trying something new.

Harehope Quarry

Our geography unit of work this half term was all about rivers and to support our learning we had a great day out at Harehope Quarry in County Durham.  We walked through the countryside to a river and learned about the different features of a river like tributaries and confluence.  We had the chance to go into the river and measure the speed at which the river flowed using dog biscuits.  After lunch, we explored a different and wider stretch of the river and thought about why that stretch of the river moved slower.  We had a very enjoyable day, even though it was cold and most of us got our feet wet.

Spring 1

 This half term the children will be reading the story 'Harry Miller's Run' and this will inspire their own writing.  They will write a story that uses figurative language and use a writing style similar to that of David Almond who wrote Harry Miller's Run.  The children will continue to have weekly spelling and handwriting practice. In maths, the children will be finding equivalent fractions, will compare and order fractions and will add and subtract using fractions.  In history, the children will learn about the Anglo-Saxons and the Viking invasion.  In art, they will explore the work of Vincent Van Gough and will create a painting in his style.  In computing, the children will design a mobile app.  In PE, the children will complete a gymnastics unit of work.  In RE, the children will consider why Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah.  In science, they will learn about the human life cycle and the changes that occur to humans over their lifetime. 

 

Matilda the Musical

The children had the fantastic opportunity to go and watch the rehearsal of Matilda the Musical at the Sunderland Empire.  The children loved watching the show and seeing the story of Matilda, which they had been reading, brought to life on the stage.  The children back in the classroom wrote a missing scene from the show.  In the book and show, one of the characters, Nigel, is in bother with Miss Trunchbull for putting treacle on her chair.  This is only mentioned in the book/show and is not seen.  The children imagined what this would look like and wrote the missing playscript scene or a description of what might have happened.  An actor from the show came to school and read some out some of the children's work.  The actor was Adam, who played Mr Wormwood in the show and the children were very excited to meet him.  They had the opportunity to learn about his life as an actor and to find out more about the show.  The children also put together freeze frames based on the missing scene.

 

 

Wild Oyster Workshop at the Donnison School

The children spent a day at the Donnison School and took part in a workshop about the sea.  The day began with the children thinking about what the seaside and the coast means to them.  They then looked at pictures and photos from  Roker and Seaburn in the 1950s and 1960s and thought about what was the same and what was different from today.  The children took part in a workshop about the Wild Oyster Project.  They learned about what oysters are and how important they are to coastal habitats.  They had the chance to look at a range of different shells and were able to decorate a clam shell.  The children enjoyed their day and learned lots of new facts.

 

Harry Miller's Run

In English the children have been reading the picture book 'Harry Miller's Run' by David Almond.  The story is set in Newcastle and is about the relationship between a young boy called Liam and an old man called Harry.  Liam is going to take part in the Junior Great North Run and Harry reminisces about the time as a lad he and his mates ran from Newcastle to South Shields. The book uses a lot of north east dialect and the children have enjoyed using it.  The children have been inspired to write their own version of the story using the style of the author David Almond.

 

autumn 2

This half term the children will be reading 'The Boy Who Grew a Dragon' and this will inspire their own writing.  They will write a story that is both funny and has tension.  They will write a non-fiction text about a dragon.  In geography, the children will learn about the countries of North America and the states of the USA.  They will also learn about different geographical features of North America.  In science, the children will learn about forces like friction, air resistance and water resistance.  In DT, the children will learn about the gears and cams and will design and make a moving object.  In RE, the children will about the religion of Islam and what it means to be a Muslim.  In computing, the children will use apps which allows them to create music.  In PE, the children will complete a dance unit.  

 

Making Buggies in Science

In our science lessons, the children have been learning about forces.  We made buggies with balloons to show how the force of the air coming out of the balloon will make the buggy move forward.  The children enjoyed decorating and making their buggies and then racing them in the hall.

 

Basketball Tournament

The children took part in a basketball tournament at Farringdon School.   The children played games against two other local schools.  The afternoon started with the children finding out about how to play the games and its rules.  The children were then put into teams of 7 and played rounds of four games against teams from the other schools.  They even got the chance to play against each other.  On of our teams even won 3 games.  The children had a great afternoon and enjoyed learning new skills and playing competitively.   

 

Autumn 1

The children this half term in English will be reading 'Queen of Darkness' and this will inspire their own 5-part narrative with a Roman theme.  They will also write a non-fiction text about the Romans.  In history, the children will learn about the Roman invasion of Britain and the impact they had on the ancient Britons.  In science, the children will learn about materials.  They will investigate which materials are soluble or insoluble; reversible  and irreversible changes and the characteristics of materials.  In art, the children will learn about the artwork of LS Lowry and will create a drawing in his style.  PE will be swimming at Southmoor.  In RE, the children will consider the ways that God is holy and loving.  

 

Segedunum Roman Fort Visit

To support their history learning, the children visited Segedunum Roman Fort and Museum at Wallsend.  At the start of the day, the children climbed the viewing tower to get a bird's eye view of the remains of the actual Roman fort that stood there nearly 2000 years ago.  The children then had the opportunity to explore the ruins for themselves.  The children also spent time in the museum, where they say a model of what the fort would have looked like and learned about how Roman soldiers lived.  On the afternoon, the children learned about what a Roman would wear and had the chance to try on pieces of kit like helmets and boots.  The children learned how to march and how to use a spear and shield in battle.  The children had a great day and learned many new facts.

 

 

Sport Leaders

The children took part in a Sports Leader session where they were taught how to play different playground games that they would teach and play with the younger children at playtimes and lunchtimes.  The children learned the importance of making sure that every child had a chance to play and that instructions are given clearly.  The children were also taught to consider the area in which they played the games and making sure that the correct equipment was used.  After half term, the children are going to begin being Sports Leaders and are looking forward to working with the younger children.

 

 

 

Materials in Science 

In science, the children have been learning all about characteristics of materials.  In one lesson, the children learned about materials as insulators.  They investigated which material was the best insulator of hot water.  They tested a paper cup, a cup wrapped in bubble wrap; a cup wrapped in tin foil and a cup wrapped in felt.  The best insulator was the bubble wrap.  The children also used their maths skills to read a thermometer accurately. 

 

The Romans in History 

The children in their history lessons have been learning all the Romans.  The children have learned about what the Roman Empire was; the three invasion attempts of Britain; what the Romans brought to Britain and about the Julius Caesar and Queen Boudicca.  To support their learning the children have read the book 'Queen of Darkness', which is about Queen Boudicca and her battles with the Romans.