Spring Curriculum Vehicle
Our Vehichle for this term is based arround the idea of 'Democracy'.
In History, the children will be learning about the Ancient Greeks, from whom we have inherited democracy.
In Geography, we will be looking at democracy and it's affect on human geography, how politics affects the environment and how we can be more active within our environment.
In Art, children will be attempting their own architectural drawings of The Palace of Westminister.
We will be creating our own political manifestos in groups, leading political campaigns, debating local issues and learning about how we have power as citizens of our community, country and the wider world.
Week 1
Year 5 have settled back in to school life fantastically- well done!
I am so proud of the effort, collaboration and the enthusiasm that the children have shown in their learning throughout the week.
Below are some photos and some highlights of this term so far...
In English, we have begun "The London Eye Mystery"- the children are working hard to solve the mystery of where Salim has gone (some theories are shown below).
In Science, we found out about how plants reproduce and investigated the different parts of a flowering plant.
On Wednesday, we had a transition day at Blessed William Howard High School. We created worker bee prints in art, learned about different ways to pray in RE and created a 4 bar composition using ICT.
Thank you to all of the parents who were able to join us for our multicultural week round-up. We have learned about the 4 Noble rules, 8 fold path and how Buddha founded Buddhism. Well done for all your fantastic crafting- I am looking forward to creating a new display!
Week 2:
This week, the children have been researching the 4 major political parties in the UK- The Conservative Party, The Labour Party, The Liberal Democrats and The Green Party.
The children used their online-research skills to find out the main points about each manifesto from the most recent General Election in 2019.
In English, the mystery of Salim's disappearance is our main focus, and his whereabouts is still undetermined!
The children have been creating their own newspaper articles, appealing for information. If you have any information regarding his location, please do not hesitate to speak to a member of staff!
Week 3
We have had an interesting and exciting week in Year 5!
On Monday, we began our geography learning as we explored the definitions of counties, cities and constituencies. We looked at the most recent election results and made observations about the electorate map of the UK.
In English, we have been writing diary entries from the perspective of different characters in our text "The London Eye Mystery". The children worked really well, and produced detailed and insightful entries, showing their understanding of characters within the text.
On Thursday, we attended a "Staying Safe" workshop at the fire station in Stafford. The children attended 5 different workshops;
Staying Safe Online - with Staffordshire Police
Healthy Relationships- with New Era
Staying Safe near Railways- with Network Rail
Staying Safe near Roads- with Gist Logistics
Understanding the Risk of Fire- with the Stafford Fire Prevention Team
The children represented St Anne's fantastically well, resulting in a complimentary email which has been sent to the office regarding their enthusiastic and respectful behaviour during the visit.
Next week, we will be discussing government departments, and thinking about the departments within school, which will build up to the content of the children's manifestos. In English, we will be exploring persuasive writing to complement our learning towards persuading the electorate (everyone in the school).
Well done Year 5! Keep up the good work!
Week 5
This week, the children have been delving deeper in to our vehicle, based on Democracy.
In English, we are beginning to write and perform persuasive arguments, outlining our beliefs about what has happened to Salim. Persuasion is an essential skill in life, as well as in democracy, we are learning to convey our points across articulately and concisely, speak in front of an audience and use language to create convincing arguments. Our work on persuasion will feed in to our next unit of work, where we will be debating issues within the class.
The children have been using their meta-cognative skills, to discern useful historical information. In our class, children are beginning to work more independently, conducting their own research, so that they develop skills necessary to research information, for their own interests and future study. In history, the children were given a range of texts, to find pertinent information relating to their Ancient Greek timeline, which was produced in previous learning time. The children have been analysing the sources, utilising a 'source analysis prompt', which ensures that children are thinking broadly about historical events and the information available relating to them.
In Geography, we have been looking at the most Geographically significant rivers in the UK and in Greece. The children have been fact-finding online and will be presenting their findings in the coming week.
Rivers are incredibly pertinent when thinking about democracy, given that large settlements rely on the river in many different ways. We will be thinking more about this in future weeks.
The children in year 5 continue to be a delight to teach, and are working hard to increase their independence in learning.
Keep it up year 5! Let's have another good week!
Week 6:
This week, the children have been comparing Ancient Greece to Modern Greece.
The children have written postcard from different points of view. One from a person of their choice in Ancient Greece, and one from Modern Greece.
The children have also been performing their persuasive speeches. We have discussed the power of words in the world, and spoken about famous people who have changed the world for the better, for example: Martin Luther King Jr and William Wilberforce.
