Dear Parents,
This week we have enjoyed starting our new topic ‘Stargazers’. Please find attached the knowledge organiser for this half term.
Maths: We finished our Decimals topic, specifically working on adding and subtraction decimals, decimal sequences and multiplying and dividing decimals by 10, 100 and 1000.
English: We started our Myths & Legends writing genre. Children really enjoyed discussing examples of these texts, their key features and relating them to our everyday lives. The children’s comments were extremely insightful and mature. We are using the moon to inspire our own myths, this week we wrote descriptions of the moon using figurative language.
Guided Reading: We have been reading a Native American legend called ‘Mondamin’ and a Finnish myth based on the poem ‘Kalevala’.
Science: We enjoyed a practical Science lesson on the playground where we mapped out the Solar System using different objects, relating to each planet’s size and trundle wheels to measure the relative distances. We soon discovered that we needed not only all of the playground, but the field as well to plot the ‘Solar System’s’ vast size!
Music: As part of our ‘Stargazers’ topic, we listened to the Planets Suite by Holst and compared the music to images of the planets and the effect the composer was trying to achieve and how he did it. We particularly enjoyed ‘Mars, the Bringer of War’!
PE: We started our Orienteering topic. The children enjoyed using ‘face maps’ to find and locate equipment in teams.
Forest School: We did our own observational pencil drawings of natural objects we found in Forest School, looking very closely at the detail of them. We were inspired by botanical illustrations.
Next week:
Maths: We are starting our topic of Properties of Shape, starting with Angles.
English: We will plan, write and edit our own myths.
Guided Reading: We will continue to look at myths and begin a short story called ‘Mind Your Own Business.’ We will be learning how to improve our fluency and expression and how authors make word choices to have an effect on their reader.
Science: We will be learning how to explain how day and night occur.
Music: This term we will be composing our own space music.
PE: We will be using more sophisticated maps and directions.
Support at home
In our spelling lessons this week we have been practising Year 5 and 6 statutory words.
Spellings for the spelling test on Friday 17th June:
Marvellous
Mischievous
Muscle
Necessary
Neighbour
Nuisance
Occupy
Occur
Opportunity
Parliament
Times Table Rock Stars
Please continue to encourage your child to use Times Table Rock Stars at home.
Reading
Children need to read at least 5 times weekly for 20 minutes.
Guided Reading- Special request
From Monday 20th June in our guided reading lessons we will be reading ‘Cosmic’ by Frank Cottrell-Boyce. If possible, it would be great if your child had their own copy of the book in school. Please make sure the book has your child’s name in it. This book is very funny and we think the children will really enjoy reading it together.
Dates for your diary:
14th June- 5M Barnet Environment Centre (Volunteer parents are still needed)
16th June- 5MG Barnet Environment Centre (Volunteer parents are still needed)
17th June- non-school uniform day for a bottle for the Summer Fayre
Saturday 18th June- St Catherine’s Summer Fayre
Tuesday 28th June- KS2 Sports Day
Thursday 14th July- Parents Open Evening
Have a lovely weekend,
The year 5 team
