Autumn 2    2024

This half term our theme is Britain at War. The children will start the topic by visiting Manor Farm to experience what schooling and life might have been like as an evacuee. As historians, they will develop their understanding as why World War 2 was a significant turning point in British history, the impact of the Blitz on Britain, what life was like as an evacuee in Britain, and question what the legacy of the war was. 

To support the message of 'make do and mend' during the war, children will sew a waistcoat for a teddy bear and add patches, pockets and embellishments too. 

Children will develop their music notation skills linked to World War 2 songs.

Please see below our 'big picture' for extra information:

Autumn 1 2024

To kick off the start of the year, Y5/6 immersed themselves in their first topic: space. We had an excellent workshop provided by Space Explorers to develop their curiosity. Within science lessons, we explored the planets in our solar system - the children found out about the movement of Earth relative to the Sun, the movement of the moon relative to Earth, and by using the idea of Earth's rotation were able to explain day and night. 

In geography, we looked at climate change and the impact of Earth becoming warmer; children learnt about the greenhouse effect and how human activities impact this.

In DT, the children constructed space-themed cam toys: simple mechanisms that convert rotary motion (movement that goes round in a circle) into linear motion (movement in a straight line).

Check out some examples of our learning below:

Summer 2 2024

Our topic to end the academic year was called 'The Golden Age of Islam'. In this unit, we developed our historic understanding of early Islamic civilisations and how life in Europe may have been different to that of Baghdad in 900AD. We considered the impact this civilisation had on the modern world.

We developed our art skills through appliqué; learned how to play the ukulele; improved our coordination through frisbee; and developed our language skills in French by looking at 'school' vocabulary.

Of course, we finished the year with an incredible production of Peter Pan where the children shone!

Our 'big picture' for this unit is attached below.

Summer 1 2024

In our topic, focussed around Ancient Greece, as historians we developed our understanding of everyday life in Ancient Greece and whether this civilisation had any influence on the western world. 

We explored the world of Greek myths and legends - there are some incredible stories to be told and re-told!

In art, we created clay vessels in the style of the ancient Greeks, looking at their geometric patterns and illustrations of religion, daily life and society.

To kick start our topic, the children were invited to dress up for our Greek Day activities and immerse themselves into this unit of learning.

Our big picture is attached below:

Spring 2 2024 

The children have enjoyed our topic  'Road trip Arizona'; it was a geography based topic. The children learned how rivers were formed and made comparisons to rivers they know and other rivers in the world - namely The Colorado River that runs through the Grand Canyon. We focussed our learning around Arizona, a state in USA and explored the geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography. 

To supplement this learning, they drew and painted landscapes of Arizona in the style of Georgia O'Keefe. 

In PE, they took part in cricket and badminton to develop hand/eye coordination and agility.

Also, as part of out DT unit, the children learned about structure; they recognised that supporting shapes can help increase the strength of a bridge, allowing it to hold more weight. 

Our 'Big Picture' about this topic is linked below.

Spring 1 2024

This Spring term, we learnt about the human circulatory system in science, and how the heart functions. Our unit was called 'Heartbeat.'  We understood that a healthy diet and the exercise we take have an impact on how effective our bodies are. The children were able to make links to the effect of exercise on our heart and bodies, and what happens to the circulatory system during exercise.

In art, we explored images of the heart, draw scientific sketches of the heart and make a two-colour print of it.

In PE, we learnt about fitness - the children worked on improving their speed, balance and coordination; the children also interpreted the circulatory system in a dance unit. 

Our learning behaviour for this unit was 'Resilience' - we focussed on growing and learning from any setbacks. 

Our topic 'big picture' is linked below.

                                                                             Autumn 2023

Autumn 2 - God's Beautiful World

What a fantastic end to our Autumn term! The children explored renewable and non-renewable resources in Geography, and considered the impact on our natural resources. They learnt about how these resources create the energy we use and where in the world many of the natural resources are found.

In science, we explored electrical circuits, and worked scientifically to investigate the impact of changing  variables - the children used their observation and recording skills to record their data and form conclusions. Their new circuit knowledge, allowed the children to create their own electrical car - check out the pictures below! We also investigated how light travels and how we see objects.

In computing, we used Sphero bots and developed our coding skills with Sphero Bolt - a robotic ball!

We finished the term with a beautiful Christingle service in school, as well as a visit to the church to end the year with a Christmas service, supported by Year 5. 

What an exciting end to the year!

Autumn 1 : Spirit of Adventure

What a great start to the Autumn term we have had!

In this topic, the children learnt about the natural world. As scientists, they explored how evolution explains how some species adapt over time to their environment. A visit from Jungle Jonathan, exposed the children to animals up close and personal! From this, drawing skills were developed in art, as the children recreated animal pattern and texture using pencil and oil pastels.

In DT, the children used a range of sewing stiches to produce their own bag, designed by themselves with a purpose in mind.

Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals was the inspiration for children to create their own musical piece, using glockenspiels too!

Check out our photos below!

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Summer 2023

Summer 2: Festival of Food

In this design technology driven topic, we explored seasonality and tasted some fresh food from this season. By understanding the principles of a healthy and varied diet, we prepared and cooked a range of savoury dishes at our local secondary school. We worked together using newly acquired knife skills to chop ingredients sensibly and skilfully – teamwork was in abundance! Finally, we evaluated our finished dish in terms of taste, skill level and cost.

In art, we used tissue paper to papier mâché a bowl, according to our own design. It was tricky at times, but we persevered to create some beautiful bowls.

The life cycle of humans was explored and discussed in science; we learnt how humans change during their lifetime. The 6 main stages of growth were investigated: foetus, baby, child, adolescent, adult, and old age.

Ending the year, we were lucky enough to experience a career’s fair: we were visited by a range of organisations and services. The information stalls and visitors inspired us to think about what career we might like to do in the future.