Emscote Infant School
and
All Saints' C of E Junior School
Year 5
The Lord Leycester Trip
Year 5 were lucky enough to be the second school ever to go to the Lord Leycester Hospital on a school trip. We learnt about the history of the building including where the word ‘boss’ originally comes from because of the ‘boss’ on the ceiling. We had a go at designing our own ‘boss’, thinking about what is important to us and what we would want on it. We also talked about the job of the Guild Master and the important role they played in society.
Whilst looking at the materials used to build the Lord Leycester Hospital, we talked about how they were made including the process of using wattle and daub to strengthen the walls. We had a go at a miniature version of wattle and dorb using sticks in sand and weaving straw in and out of them.
It was a very enjoyable morning and the children and staff all had a great time!
London’s Big Stink of 1858.
In 1858, all of London was feeling the effects of an oppressive heat wave and as a result, all the sewage in the River Thames began to ferment in the scorching sun. Centuries of waste was literally cooking in the monstrous heat and the result was unimaginable.
We have been learning about mixtures and reactions and figuring out which are reversible and which aren’t. We created our own sewage (using safe food products of course) and then tried to see if we could purify the water. The children were given colanders, sieves, filter paper, spoons and tongs/tweezers to see which worked best to remove the different items from their ‘sewage’. They tried to purify the water as much as possible with these resources.
Big Picture of the Bible
Year 5 are learning about what Christians understand about the big concept of ‘Incarnation.’
The children worked in the hall to learn about the ‘Big Picture of the Bible’. They learnt about the way the concepts fit together and then had to sequence concept cards to show they understood the order.
Active Maths – Relay Calculations
The children worked in groups of six to try to be the first team to complete the number sentence challenge. They took it in turns to walk to the other side of the hall with a bean bag on their heads. When they reached the other side, they had to choose a card from the tub which would either contain a number or an operation. Once they had taken the card back to their group, the next person could then collect another card to add to their set. As they gained more cards, they had to figure out what number sentences they could make. This involved a lot of rearranging and working as a team.
We talked about the word ‘commutative’ and that although all teams were given the same numbers, they did not necessarily make the same calculations because addition and multiplication are commutative.
They all worked really hard on this activity and Mrs Davies was very impressed with their team work and problem solving skills.
Active Maths Relay Challenge- Ordering Numbers
In groups or 5 or 6, the children worked together to each collect a number card from the other side of the hall. Once they had taken their card back to their group, the rest of them then had to put them in ascending order. We talked about the words ascending and descending and practiced ordering up to three decimal places in both ways. The children worked really enjoyed this challenge and worked really well in their groups to order their decimals.
Hidden Calculations- Active Maths
After expanding on their skills when completing formal written methods, the children were challenged to find 20 different calculations hidden around the year 5 area. Once they found them, they had to complete the calculations and get their partner to check it before moving onto the next question (these could be completed in any order). These calculations involved addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. They included up to 5 digits, decimal places, money, weight and length.
Science
In science, the children have been looking at decay. As a class, we recapped what decay, biodegradable, not biodegradable and decomposer means. We also discussed how we know something is decaying/rotting e.g. mould, smell, discolouration etc. Year 5 then went on a hunt around our school grounds to find examples of rot and decay.
Fire Safety Talk
On Thursday 28th September 2023, Leamington and Warwick Fire Service came in to Year 5 to do a talk on Fire Safety in the home which links to PSHE. The information they gave us was very informative and the children were very good a spotting the hazards in the home. They were also good at remembering to ‘STOP, DROP, ROLL’ if they do catch on fire. We also discussed what a ‘hoax call’ is and why it is dangerous to do this. The children were thrilled to experience the lights going, the siren and the horn on the fire-engine when they said goodbye to us.
Orienteering
In PE, the children have been orienteering. The children have learnt how to orientate a map and how to mark locations accurately on a map. We have recently moved onto finding a location using a 4-figure grid reference.
Geography
In our current geography unit, Incredible Islands, we have been looking closely at map reading skills. Year 5 now know what scale and contour mean, understand their purpose and how to locate these on a map. We have been using atlases and local OS maps to help us with this.
Tudor World
On Wednesday 7th June, Year 5 visited Tudor World, which is in Stratford Upon Avon. During the day, the children took part in a variety of workshops and had a tour around Stratford itself. The children learnt lots of information and had a great time. Here are a few areas the children looked at:
1.) Life at a theatre in Tudor Times. The children looked at the Globe Theatre in London and how the different classes were treated. They also learnt that Shakespeare changed the start of his plays to be more ‘dramatic’ to grab the audience’s attention.
2.) Tour around Tudor World. The children had a tour around the museum which had many artefacts and interesting information. Some of the children particularly enjoyed the smell boxes where they could smell what it was like in that time.
3.) Crime and Punishment. The children learnt about the crimes and punishments people faced in the Tudor times (particularly Women!) They liked putting the teachers in the pillory (stocks) for their wrong doings!
4.) Tour around Stratford-The children were taken on a tour around Stratford particularly focusing on William Shakespeare. The children also reinforced their knowledge and understanding of Tudor buildings.
Buoyancy Workshop
On Thursday 25th May, a man called Rich, from the Sea Cadets, came to talk and run some activities with Year 5 about buoyancy. The children learnt about mass, volume and density. They completed different activities to test their understanding of this.
1) The children were given a big ball of plasticine. They were set the challenge of making the plasticine float in the water without breaking the plasticine apart.
2) They were then set the challenge of making a boat out of card with a base no bigger than 15cm x 8cm that could hold the most amount of marbles without sinking and then covered their boat in tin foil to make it waterproof.
3) The children tested their boats and they did a fantastic job!
RE- Understanding what is meant by making a sacrifice.
In Year 5, we were trying to think about what Christians believe Jesus did when he died on the cross. We needed to understand the concept of ‘sacrifice’ so Mrs Wilkins & Mr Jacobs asked us to write down on a piece of scrap paper something we have done which we know was wrong. Some people would call this a ‘sin’. It could be something we have done, thought or said which we know was wrong, and wish we hadn’t done. We kept it private by folding up our paper.
We all went outside to burn the piece of paper, like people used to burn animal sacrifices to ask God to take away their ‘sins’. The person would place their hand on the animal to symbolically place their sins on the animal before ‘offering’ it to God. After we had burnt the papers, we had an interesting discussion about how it felt to have got rid of our ‘wrong-doing’ or ‘sin’. Some people said it felt like a burden had been lifted, others felt a sense of relief. Some felt like they now had a fresh start.
Bread Making
In DT, we have been looking at bread. The children designed their own bread and added their own ingredients to the base bread mixture and then evaluated their product according to taste, appearance and texture.
On Friday 28th April 2023, Year 5 hosted their learning afternoon. All the children’s parents were invited, to see what we have been up to this term. The children and parents/carers got to go around looking at their history and geography homework, try a range of activities linked to lots of our subjects and look through the children’s books. The afternoon was great success and it was such a lovely atmosphere. Thank you to all parents/carers who could make it. Fantastic work year 5.
