English
In English, we have been reading the novel ‘Stormbreaker’ by Anthony Horowitz. The children have been enthralled by the life of Alex Rider, a 14-year-old boy who becomes a spy. We have made predictions as to what might happen next whilst reading, given our personal opinions and created roles on the wall about the characters.

Based on the novel, the children have written a diary entry in role as Alex Rider, written a discussion text giving reasons for and against Alex Rider becoming a spy, and an advert to advertise a new spy gadget.

Maths
In maths, we have been working hard at developing our understanding of number and place value up to and including 1,000,000 (one million). We spent the first few weeks really picking apart numbers so that each child had a solid understanding of the value of each digit within numbers up to one million. We also used the books ‘How big is a million?’ and ‘How many jellybeans’ to gain an understanding of the size of numbers to one million. Once the children were confident with this, we moved on to ordering and comparing numbers and then rounding numbers. Throughout this topic, the children were challenged to demonstrate their understanding by explaining their methods and the reasoning behind them.

Science
In science, we have been learning about forces. We planned a fair test to demonstrate the effect that air resistance has on different sizes of paper. We also learnt about gravity and conducted an investigation where we concluded that gravity has the same pull on all objects no matter their mass. We also learnt about the effects of water resistance and were able to use our understanding from being in the water at swimming lessons to support this. We tested which shapes would be able to dive the deepest in a pot of water and used a ruler to measure the results.

History
In history, we have been studying the Bayeaux tapestry which depicts the events leading up to, including and after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. We first had a go at sequencing the images with no extra knowledge and tried to understand what was going on in the images. We then were given the events to sequence and used these to put the images in the correct order. Then, we were given information about the final missing piece of the Bayeaux tapestry and had to use this to design the missing piece in the same style as the rest of the tapestry.

Geography
In geography, we have looked at the landscape where Saether takes his dog Tiry for a walk every day, and used to clues to determine that it was in fact around a dormant volcano. We have then learnt about what a volcano is and have been able to label a diagram of an active volcano. We then learnt that most volcanoes occur between tectonic plates and used our understanding of what a volcano is to explain why this is the case.

Art
In art, we have been looking at the artist Cai Guo-Qiang and his installation artwork. We have compared different pieces of installation artwork in order to come up with a definition. We then were inspired by installation art pieces that were built using everyday materials and had a go at building artwork using materials found around school. This involved an element of problem solving as we had to work out how to attach and position different pieces to one another. Finally we planned and created a final piece of installation artwork based on a theme or idea that was important to us.

Computing
In computing, we have learnt how to programme a sprite using the programme Scratch. We have used coding to be able to programme the sprite to move in different directions when certain keys on the keyboard are pressed.

Spanish
In Spanish, the children have been learning how to answer the question, Tienes una mascota? (Do you have a pet?) We have learnt the names of different animals, as well as how to say the name of the pet. Throughout this, we have worked hard at developing our Spanish pronunciation and phonic knowledge.

PSHCE
In PSHCE, we have been working on the unit called me and my relationships. We have developed our co-operation and teamwork skills when working in groups. We have also learnt about how to communicate with different people and how to support them when they are expressing different emotions. We have also had extra PSHCE lessons with Jude, learning about keeping ourselves safe and understanding the difference between a safe and an unsafe secret.

RE
We have learnt about Hinduism in R.E. this half term and how Hindus show commitment to their faith. The children enjoyed learning about the different customs and routines and have been able to recall and explain the ways a follower of Hinduism may show their commitment to God. We created a class commitment tree, each pupil designing a leaf with their personal commitment written on.

PE

Year 5 have been implementing different skills in creative games. The games that they have been involved in included, invasion games and bench ball. As part of the unit the children not only applied the skills that they learnt but also implemented their decision making skills particularly in relation to when to pass a ball, how to get into a space and outwit an opponent.