English/Maths
Year 6 have completed another set of SAT papers this week in preparation for their tests in May. It has been wonderful to see how much progress they have made since the Autumn term and it has shown which areas need increased focus over the next few months. The Year 5s have also completed a reading, maths and grammar assessment which they have gone through with Mrs J to see where they have made errors.
Science
In Science this week we investigated the different timezones around the world, and how they and day/night are created by the movement of the Earth around the Sun. The children represented this movement through a Scientific diagram, and then clearly explained what they diagram showed. They then created a daily timetable involving different countries around the world to show what is happening across the world at different times of day.
Topic
As part of our topic work this week, the children have begun investigating Native American tribes. They have studied where the 5 main tribes lived on a map of North America, and then researched the different cultures and traditions of the different tribes.
RE
In RE this week, the children were creating their own prayers linked to the teachings of Jesus in The Gospel of Matthew. Some of the prayers have already been used in whole school Worship.
PE
The children have continued developing their skills in Quick Sticks this week. They also played in teams in a small tournament. On Friday, they had a tennis lesson with Mr Creffield.

English

We have been doing some challenging writing in English this week. The children’s task was to rewrite a section from Phoenix, from the perspective of an Axxa (alien) instead of as the main human character, Lucky. We planned out our extract first, looking at ways in which we could create atmospheric shifts in our writing. The children then drafted, edited and redrafted their story independently.

Maths

We have continued algebra this week, focusing on linear number sequences. The children have solved a range of problems including finding missing terms in a sequence, creating their own number sequences, finding the nth term, and applying their learning to solving a range of challenges.

Science

In Science this week the children performed their persuasive speeches in small groups. The other members of their group listened to their speech and then gave them a strength, a weakness and a next step. Mrs J and I were very impressed with the scientific understanding that the children showed, and they were very convincing in persuading their peers that the Earth isn’t the centre of the Universe.

Topic

In Geography this week, the children were tasked to choose a physical or human feature of North America that interested them. We had a great range of features including the Statue of Liberty, Niagra Falls, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Grand Canyon. The children then worked in pairs to research their feature, and presented their findings through a non-chronological report. They had to make sure they were presenting facts not opinions, using a wide range of conjunctions, and structuring their report clearly.

RE

In RE this week, we have continued our theme of ‘What Would Jesus Do?’, the teachings of Jesus. The children were given a copy of The Lord’s Prayer, taken from the Authentic Youth Bible, which they analysed, interpreting the words and phrases into their own understanding.

PE

The children have continued developing their skills in Quick Sticks this week. They also discussed leadership and captaincy of a sports team. On Friday, they had a tennis lesson with Mr Creffield.

English

In English this week we have been writing a non-chronological report about Axxa – a species of alien from our class novel. We looked at a range of report texts and picked out their features, and then decided on subheadings for our own text. We then went through the planning process where we made brief notes under each subheading, drafted and then redrafted our reports. The finished result is fantastic and the children are demonstrating that they can securely write a range of different types of text.

Maths

We have begun a new unit of Algebra this week. We have been solving simple equations where the variables are given, and then moved onto working out missing values later in the week. We then applied our learning to solving some problems and explaining our reasoning for our solutions. We will continue algebra next week.

Science

In Science this week have been writing our persuasive argument about how we know that the Earth moves around the Sun. The children used their research of Copernicus and Galileo to support their arguments, along with diagrams clearly showing the movement of the Earth and other planets in relation to the Sun. Next week, the children will be performing their persuasive speeches for the class or group.

Topic

Geography this week has been based around the different climates in North America. We studied a climate map and began thinking about why cities are in certain places. We thought about reasons why people might choose to live in a place, and what potential challenges the climate could present. The children then presented their findings through a piece of extended writing.

RE

This week in RE, we have been looking at the stories Jesus told during The Sermon on The Mount, Matthew 5-7. They chose several different passages and recorded how they could apply the teachings of Jesus in their lives today.

PE

In PE this week, Class 5 have enjoyed tennis with Mr Creffield.