Year 5 - Jade Class and Lime Class
Curriculum overview
Termly Newsletters
Summer
Year 5 has had another fantastic term filled with exciting learning experiences and memorable opportunities. In History, we explored the Industrial Revolution, discovering how many incredible inventions shaped the world we live in today. Our visit to Leeds Industrial Museum brought our learning to life as we found out what life was like during Victorian times, particularly for children. We loved stepping back in time in a Victorian classroom, where we experienced the strict rules, learned with an ink and quill, and even discovered the harsh punishments children once faced.
In Design and Technology, we became budding chefs during our Come Dine With Me Day. Working from a simple brief, the children planned a three-course meal, researched recipes, carefully measured ingredients and prepared their dishes. Everyone enjoyed tasting and reviewing each other's delicious creations!
Our Geography topic, No Planet B, taught us the importance of protecting our environment. We linked this learning with English by writing persuasive arguments about reducing plastic pollution in our oceans. In Art, we were inspired by Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, using watercolours and recycled plastic to create powerful artwork highlighting the impact of ocean pollution.
An absolute highlight of this term was our amazing residential visit to Nell Bank, where we demonstrated resilience, patience and fantastic teamwork while taking part in a range of exciting outdoor challenges. The children particularly enjoyed getting very wet during the duck race activity, and they worked wonderfully together to build some excellent dens.
Spring
Spring Term has been an exciting one for Year 5! We thoroughly enjoyed learning about World War II in History, discovering what life was like during this important period and exploring how it shaped the world we live in today. In English, we learned more about a local explosion that happened during WWII at Cotopa Mills in Guiseley and the children wrote some fantastic newspaper reports about the event.
One of the highlights of the term was our Evacuee Day, where we became fully immersed in our learning. We experienced life as wartime children by making rationing meals, becoming expert code-breakers and taking part in a range of exciting activities that brought history to life. Jade Class also proudly shared their knowledge and enthusiasm in their fantastic class assembly, and it was wonderful to see their fantastic acting skills.
In Art, we explored the work of Sir Edwin Lutyens and Vincent van Gogh, learning about their lives and their unique artistic styles before creating our own beautiful interpretations inspired by their work.
In Science, we investigated the life cycles of plants and animals, and during Science Week we showcased our learning by creating models of plants and bees to demonstrate the fascinating process of pollination. The children loved being able to share their creations and explaing their learning to their families during our fantastic finish!
Autumn
Year 5 have had a busy start to the school year with some fantastic learning happening in all subjects.
The children have been engrossed in the gory side of history with our Crime and Punishment unit. They loved visiting Bradford Police Museum and finding out what a hard life it was for a Victorian thief. The slightly sinister theme continued into English lessons where we wrote persuasive letters to ask for the conviction of Agnes Waterhouse for being a witch and persuasive adverts to sell a Tudor punishment device.
Creative Arts week was a particular highlight as we combined our science learning about Earth and Space with our artistic skills to create some fine pastel drawings of our planet from space. While National Poetry Day that week saw us thinking about harvest time and creating Haiku poems, which we performed in the harvest assembly.
There was lots of creativity on show in DT as well, when we designed structures for a playground. We thought about useful materials and ways to strengthen structures and all the children focussed really well to produce their prototype.
Lime class also worked really hard to present their class assembly which showcased, not only their learning, but their great acting skills!
