During the Autumn term Years 5 and 6 studied the topic of
“What was life like for a Victorian child”?
The children used textbooks, photos, pictures and the internet to see how much things were different during the reign of Queen Victoria.
They were amazed at the number of terrible jobs Victorian children were expected to do!
The children drew some lovely pictures of aspects of Victorian life and the fashion of the day!
They also studied the Bristish Empire during Queen Victoria's reign.
We have linked our Art and D.T lessons to our topic this term. As part of 'The Victorians' programme of study we have looked at portraits. We made 'Wedgewood' style cameos of our partners.
Year 6 are taught by Mr Taylor and Mrs Payne and have been working in Literacy on 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' They have written in many different styles, narratives, play scripts, persuasive writing, adverts and diary entries, all inspired from the book's text.
Y6 have been looking at biographies and autobiographies of famous people. They have learned how to convert one style to another and have written their own biographies based upon the lives of famous people from though out history!
Year 5 are taught by Miss Williams and Mrs Webber and are following the National Literacy framework. They have already studied some poetry and enjoyed writing some instructional texts as well as some reports about the 'D'Eyncourt's Got Talent' Competition.
In Numeracy lessons, Year 5 worked hard on addition and subtraction, fractions, number sequences, and multiplication and division. Children have continually used their times table skills during both mental and written maths lessons and some pupils are still working hard to complete the 55 club times tables facts.
In Numeracy lessons, Year 6 worked on using their knowledge of the four rules of number to interpret problem solving questions. They learnt the relevance of multiplication tables to calculate fractions, decimals, percentage, ratio and proportion. Mental calculations continued throughout the term.
In the science lessons, year 5 have been learning about the life cycle of plants, insects
and mammals.
They planted some seeds to investigate what conditions allow germination to take place.
In science in year 6, the children have been learning about 'Interdependence and adaptation' and 'Micro-organisms'. They have been looking at how animals are specially adapted to suit their environment and the food chains that exist within these. They learned about the many types of micro organisms and the jobs they do, such as decomposers, which help rot dead matter and create compost and how yeast creates useful carbon dioxide.. They have also learned how some
micro-organisms can be harmful and make us feel ill.
During science week the year 5 children had the opportunity to carry out some fun activities related to their science
topic this term
“keeping ourselves healthy”.
The children went on the laptops and played lots of games and quizzes to learn all about
their hearts.
They went on a website called “Good drugs, bad drugs”. The children learned that some drugs are medicines and these can make them better, when they are ill.
The children designed their own investigation to see if their pulse rates were affected
by exercise. In pairs, they designed, carried out and recorded their investigations.
As well as the looking at the respiratory system this term we have also looked at our digestive systems and which foods help to keep up fit and healthy.
Also during Science week, the children in Yr 5/6T began by looking at flight, what things could fly and how the children thought this was achieved. THey watched a short presentation which explained simply how aeroplanes manage to achieve flight and the forces that are involved. They then constructed their own paper plane to a standard design and tested it to see how the forces involved acted upon it and to take measurements on how far it would fly. In groups, the children then brainstormed ideas of ways to improve the distance/flight-time of the design and finally decided upon one to test. Each group chose a different modification and built, tested and drew conclusions as to the effectiveness of their design. Finally, each group built a larger scale modified plane, incorporating what they felt worked best in the testing stage. They tested these in the hall and were awarded prizes for the best design aspects and most successful plane!
In Art and Design, Years 5 and 6 have been creating printed cushions, with designs inspired by nature and the works of William Morris.
They spent many weeks developing their skills needed to make these, beginning by looking, collecting and sketching fallen leaves of colours, shapes and sizes from our
Environmental Area!
They then layered and collaged our collections using the designs of William Morris, who is famous for his nature inspired textiles, to help create exciting compositions.
They chose their favourite areas of these and began to trace these sections onto a printing block. This allowed them to experiment with printing before decorating the finished cushions.
To make the cushions themselves, they learned many new sewing techniques and used these firstly to make personalised bookmarks, before creating our actual cushions.
After printing the designs on the fabric they sewed and stuffed their cushions – we think you’ll agree that they look fantastic!
Year 6 spent several session in the Autumn Term training in areas of Cycle Safety to help them become more aware of traffic, other road users and to ensure they become much safer cyclists.
This training is designed to: help develop observation and manouverability skills, introduce the Highway Code for Young Road Users, teach the importance of cycle maintenance and hazard awareness, and provide information and advice on being conspicuous and wearing protective headgear. The course included the basics of off-road training and on-road training, progressing from quiet roads to building confidence
on busier roads.
Year 5 had a ‘Safety Day’ at SAFESIDE which is at Birmingham Fire Station. They explored the indoor town and learned all about road, fire and water safety. There was also a pretend shop where they learnt about consumer rights. Theylearnt about safety by the railway tracks and Internet safety. It was a super day out and they learnt lots. The children gave the trip top marks!
Mr Taylor's class made some very colourful calendars to take home this Christmas. These were created by selecting 4 different seasonal pictures which were then sliced up and arranged in a collage and edged with black marker pen.
They were then mounted on either a complimentary or contrasting colour which were then laminated to bring out the colour and make them more durable. The final touch – glueing on the calendar dates!
Year 5 and 6 have been learning how to stay safe when using the Internet and other communication devices such as mobile phones. By exploring the ‘ThinkUknow’ website the children have learned the correct and safe way to use e-mail, instant messaging, blogs and much more!
Wednesfield High Planetarium Day
Year 5 were invited to Wednesfield High for a Planetarium Day. We took park in 2 activities during the morning. The 1st activity involved entering a mini-planetarium and learning all about Space! The second activity involved completing an ICT programme, where they designed there own planet. The children had to consider atmosphere, moons, heat and water when they were designing their planet. We had lots of fun and learnt a lot in preparation for our science topics in the Spring Term.
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