Welcome back Year 5, we all hope you have had a fun-filled and relaxing holiday and are ready to return with enthusiasm! Term 5 is going to be another packed term full of exciting learning opportunities.

Our history lessons will focus on the Ancient Greeks, a fascinating civilisation whose legacy surrounds us still. We will explore the beginnings of democracy, the Olympics and myths that have survived millennia.

In RE, we will explore how different religions express their beliefs creatively. Creative and beautiful, stained glass windows are one example of this; dance, song and music are others.

Friday 28th May

Guided Reading

This week we have been focusing on learning by heart the poem ‘Dear Flower’. Today we took turns to perform this poem, reciting it in small groups. 

Thursday 27th May

PE

In PE, we learned techniques to throw the javelin. We threw from a standing start, then tried it with a three step run up and took note of the difference. We were able to throw further when we coordinated the steps and the throw - this was harder than we had expected!

Thursday 18th May

Ancient Greek Day

At last, our eagerly anticipated chance to dress up as Ancient Greeks, taste Greek food and examine artefacts arrived! We listened to the myth of King Minos and his golden touch, discussed the moral and then acted it out to bring the story to life. Several children excelled in this, and their enthusiasm was infectious.

We had the opportunity to analyse replica artefacts, borrowed for the occasion from The Collection museum in Lincoln. After handling them and asking questions, trying to think like historians, we were able to infer what many of them may have been used for and who may have created or used them. In their mindset as historians, many children suggested ways we could research to find out more, “If we look it up online or in a book, we’ll be able to see what other historians know about this”. Following on from a recent discussion about Greek pottery, another child said, “Historians can even tell where and when this amphora was made, because the style and colours were different.”

We also held a mini-Olympic event, trying some of the events held in the ancient Games - javelin, chariot-racing and running (although not in full armour as the Ancient Greeks did!). This was tremendous fun, and we learned why these events were valued: their athletes exemplified the skills, strength and stamina revered by Greek society at the time.

To finish our day, we had the chance to try Greek foods such as pitta bread, olives, feta cheese and pomegranate seeds. The latter linked to the last myth of the day, Demeter and Persephone.

Friday 12th May
English

We learned the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, loving the gory details of a mythical creature eating children! In small groups we acted out parts of the story, ensuring we understood the plot and the impact on different characters. Freeze frames gave us the chance to discuss the story from Theseus’ point of view, then Ariadne’s.

Thursday 11th May

PE

We were excited to practise relay races today, putting our improved sprinting techniques to good use. We quickly realised passing the baton is harder than it looks! It is important though - no matter how fast you run, your team is unlikely to win if you can’t work together to get this part right.  By the end of the lesson, we were able to pass the baton more efficiently, by communicating clearly and using better techniques.

Friday 5th May

The King’s Coronation celebration 

Year 5 discussed the continuity of the monarchy and some of the threats it has faced over its thousand year history. Charles I’s execution was a serious threat and the children were fascinated to learn about the circumstances that led to this. Taking part in an interactive ‘pyramid of power’ helped their understanding of the beliefs and laws at the time. The reason the monarchy continued following this is an example of how the institution has adapted over time. The absolute belief in the divine right to rule changed, and power shifted towards Parliament. 

RE

Thursday 4th May

Discussing the idea of what makes humans creative has led us to appreciate stunning examples of religious art, through which people have depicted their beliefs. To understand the difficulties some artists faced and overcame, we learned about the artwork decorating the Sistine Chapel. By drawing above our heads, we quickly realised how challenging it must have been to create this!

PSHE

Tuesday 2nd May

We have become very passionate about helping the environment, following the shining examples set by inspirational people like Sir David Attenborough, Greta Thurnberg and HM King Charles III. Having discussed some of the problems people cause for the environment, we created 3D posters to warn about the dangers of not caring for our environment and how beautiful and beneficial it is to all when we do look after it.

Archie - The Young Leaders Award

Friday 28th April

The next challenge we were set by Archie was a trust walk. For this we worked with partners, to guide them blindfolded around a course of cones on the playground. All agreed a lot of trust in the seeing partner was needed, to avoid walking into other people or walls!

PE - Orienteering

Thursday 27th April

We have learned the importance of applying taught skills such as holding the map still while working out the location of the flags distributed around the school grounds. Thinking strategically was another focus for today, as we realised that by planning the route by reading the map first, we could save a lot of time.

French

Wednesday 25th April

This term we are learning the french words for different professions. To practise our pronunciation and confidence when speaking, we played a pairs game, saying the name of the profession on the card and then building it into a simple sentence - par example, il est un serveur.

English

Thursday 20th April

We are very excited to be writing to entertain this term: we love the myth of Arachne the spinner and were able to find the moral of the tale. To develop our understanding of the story (before we retell it next week!) we focused on using expanded noun phrases to write a character description of Arachne. Here we are gathering our ideas in small groups, discussing a basic idea such as what her hair looked like and building it into a detailed enp ready to include in a draft.

PE

Thursday 20th April

Our first lesson in our Athletics unit required us to consider pacing when running, to conserve energy and maintain a steady speed over distance - with enough energy to sprint for the finish! We very quickly realised that we could not maintain running at speed for long, and discussed the pace setter seen in long distance races, and their role. By considering what 50% of top speed felt like, compared to 80%, we were able to develop an understanding of pace.

Computing 

Wednesday 19th April

This term we will be learning about spreadsheets, how to input and present data. In this lesson, we generated data by rolling a dice in groups, then recorded the results in a table. Next we input that data into a spreadsheet.