Autumn 2

Just like that, we have now completed our first term in year 5. This half term has seen us sail aboard the Titanic, carrying out duties, activities and experiencing 1912. The children enjoyed getting into character and we had some fabulous costumes! Thank you all for your help with this!

We then moved away from the Titanic and turned towards more of a geography focus, looking at volcanoes and ‘The Ring of Fire’. This linked beautifully to our reading of Phillip Pullman’s, A Firework Maker's Daughter- a story that follows Lila in her quest to be a firework maker and her perilous journey to the volcano. This was the focus of our English lessons, where we explored character and setting descriptions.

Our P.E and Science have also been linked together through our circuits work. The children have been exploring how their hearts work before, during and after exercise. As well as tracking their fitness over a period of time. On a Friday morning, the children have had expert tutoring from the Music Department at Mountbatten, which will culminate in a performance in carols and candles.

Following our INSET training on Dialogue Works 'Thinking Moves' we have introduced the children to the 26 alphabetised 'Thinking Moves'. Each letter of the alphabet has its own symbol and sign. Why not ask your child to recite the alphabet using their new found skills?

Autumn 1

What a busy half term Year 5 has had! From three weeks of Bikeability, to our ‘Who is to blame for the sinking?’ trial, our feet have not touched the ground. Possibly our biggest challenge has been getting to grip with Year 5 home learning, on our new platform of Google Classroom. Each week, the children get better at uploading and completing their homework to Year 5 expectations. At this point, we would like to thank all parents and carers for their continued support. Our focus in the next half term continues to be developing the children’s reading skills. Best results all to come from reading aloud and discussing the story so far. With this in mind, we would encourage you to hear your child read, as much as is physically possible. Continue below for our highlights of our first half term in Year 5…

We kicked off the year with three weeks of Bikeability, this taught the children life skills and managing cycling on the roads. The children adapted well to the changes in timetable and their routines, resulting in a challenging but enjoyable week for each class!

This half term, we heavily focused on our history topic of the Titanic. From analysing various pictures of different classes of passenger, to evaluating reasons why the ship sank, the children have developed a much clearer understanding of Titanic’s journey and untimely end. Our year group trip to the Sea City Museum gave them a deeper understanding of life on board and the effect this disaster had on the City of Southampton. All this hard work culminated in the drama based ‘Who is to blame?’ trial, where the children adopted five of the main characters involved in the designing, building, operating and sailing of the ‘Queen of the Ocean!’ They took on the roles of the courtroom, from judge and jury, to executioner!