English

In English, we have started our new text which is a non-fiction book based on the ocean. The children have used this to prepare to write a non-chronological report about the layers of the ocean. Once they explored the features of a report, they used these to write into their own non-chronological reports as well as ensuring they had well-structured paragraphs. Having finished writing these, the children begun to prepare to look at instructions and the features of these text types. The focus was on learning about co-ordinating and subordinating conjunctions which were used for planning and writing. The children went on to write a very detailed set of instructions on how to prepare for a deep-sea dive and then focused on oral practical skills. Through this, the children planned, wrote and performed a persuasive speech about the threats to our oceans. The children worked wonderfully in groups and when presenting their speeches in front of the class, they really impressed us with their confidence and presence.

In Summer 2, we started our new text called ‘Tuesday’. This is predominantly a picture book with very few words but is fantastic for inference and drawing on conclusions about what is happening. The children created their own setting descriptions based on the first few pages and have generated some excellent expanded noun phrases including similes, personification and varied sentence starters. We have been so impressed with their beautiful vocabulary given that there is little to go on from the author. The children retold the story using a variety of figurative language, sentence types and they then had to innovate the ending to put their creative spin into the story. 

Maths

In Year 5, we have learnt how to find the area and perimeter of compound and rectilinear shapes. We have learnt an action to remind us of how to calculate them and the difference between them. The children also had to find missing lengths of some of the shapes. We have learnt how to use a protractor to measure angles. The children have defined and measured acute, obtuse and reflex angles. They have also drawn their own angles and calculated angles around a point. They used their knowledge of angles and measuring angles to identify angles in shapes. They then moved their learning on to identifying irregular and regular polygons by looking at the sides and angles of the given shapes. We then moved on to learning about position and direction. The children have identified and plotted coordinates and translated points and shapes on a grid. They recapped lines of symmetry and looked at symmetry in horizontal and vertical lines. They then used their knowledge of symmetry in the following lesson where the children reflected shapes and images. After this topic, the children learnt about decimals. The children had to use known facts to add and subtract decimals within 1, add and subtracted decimals with different numbers of decimal places and thought about efficient strategies to use. They then multiplied and divided decimals by 10,100 and 1000. We finished the year by learning about negatice numbers. 

In Year 4, the children used their knowledge of tenths to look at dividing one digit and two-digit numbers by 10. The children have used place value charts and Gattegno charts to look at how the value of the digits change. We have finished dividing a 1 and 2 digit number by 10 and 100 using a place value chart and a Gattengo chart. Securing this knowledge will prepare the children for our next unit which is ordering and comparing decimals. We then moved onto a new topic: 'money'. The children have enjoyed looking at different coins and notes. The children explored different values of money and have enjoyed using our resources to compare, order and convert pence into pounds through written decimal notation. Following this, we moved onto time and the children enjoyed looking at analogue and digital formats of time and converting between the two. The children were amazing in retrieving the knowledge from last year and have been using representations of time to problem sole using their knowledge of addition and subtraction.  

Science

In Science, we started Summer Term by learning about Animals and Living things. To begin with the children have looked at classifying animals into different groups. They used Venn and Carroll diagrams to sort the animals and they had to think of their own criteria to base the groups on. the children looked at classifying and identifying invertebrates and vertebrates. The children went on an invertebrate hunt outside and had to use a classification key to identify the vertebrate group. They then had to draw an invertebrate and label the body parts using a diagram. Following this, the children learnt about how humans’ actions can damage and destroy local habitats. For example: not throwing rubbish away correctly and starting fires etc. They learnt about what we can do to make a difference. We discussed the use of litter picking, creating bug houses, gardening with care and much more.

During Summer 2, the children have been split into their Year groups for the rest of the term. Both year groups will be learning about animals including humans.

Year 4 began the unit by labelling the digestive system. The children learnt all of the names of the system and with their finger they followed their saliva down their digestive system. They made a dynamic model of the digestive system! They really enjoyed this and thought it was a little bit gross! They then moved on to learning about the different types of teeth and their functions.  

Year 5 described the changes as humans developed to old age. The children looked in detail about each stage from prenatal development to old age.  The children then looked at changes in their bodies during puberty. We had an excellent discussion about all of the changes the children will go through in both boys and girls. The children were very mature and sensible! We then learnt about changes in old age and gestation period. 

Topic

We have started a new topic ‘Why do Oceans Matter?’ To begin with, the children learnt about how we use our oceans and mapped the route of trading import and exports from Australia to other countries. We then focused our learning to learn about the location and significance of the Great Barrier Reef. After learning about the Great Barrier Reef, we developed our learning by explaining the impact humans have on coral reefs and our oceans. We identified problems like coral bleaching, plastic pollution, overfishing and climate change. Also, we identified how humans will be impacted by the changing ocean conditions. the children have learnt about ‘heroes’ of the ocean. The children worked in groups and were given a ‘hero’ to research over 2 weeks. They spent the first lesson researching their hero and then during the second lesson they worked together to present their findings to the rest of the class. 

During the second part of Summer Term, the children’s topic was ‘Who should feature on the £10 bank note?’ In the first lesson, the children looked at the features of a bank note and made inferences about the important figures who appeared on them. The children looked at sources and decided why a person is historically significant. They were able to explain why a person is historically significant and went on to evaluate the significance of sporting people. The children wrote brilliant fact files on Lily Parr and Betty Snowball. To finish the topic, the children worked in groups to create a presentation about a significant historical figure who they think should be the face of the £10 bank note. The children chose one person from the shortlist of who should be on the next £10 note (Elizabeth I, Alfred the Great, William Tuke, Betty Boothroyd, Ellen Wilkinson, Lily Parr and Betty Snowball) and shared their opinion with the class. The class debated who they think it should be and explained why. The children included a summary of the person and their life, how they are significant and rated their significance using a criteria.