Terrible Tudors
Our projects this term focus on the Tudors and the discoveries made during that period. The children, working in groups, research and plan investigations into trebuchets, catapults, periscopes and much, much more. Applying their Maths, English and investigative science skills the children design a number of tests to challenge a hypothesis. Debates and presentations form a key part of the learning in Year 5 giving the children the chance to share what they have learnt. In addition, the children will work alongside a local stately home, Poltimore House, where they get the chance to be archaeologists and investigate the history of this Tudor building building.
Rivers and the Ocean
Rivers and the Ocean is our second topic of the year, this runs alongside our residential trip to Heatree House in Dartmoor. The children enjoy three days away from home and learn to measure a river from source to mouth, building their own shelters in the woods and experiencing what it is like to go into a Bronze age round house with an open fire. The results we collect from the investigations are brought back to school and used in producing formal reports.
Gardening
We are lucky enough this year to have the opportunity to start growing in our new school garden. As a class we will be planning what we would like to grow whilst thinking about when the crop will be available to harvest. Maybe there might be the opportunity to cook with our own vegetables soon!
The Olympics
Our final topic of the year will focus on the 2012 summer Olympics. The children will look at the various participating countries, electronically link to schools in London and participate in their own mini Olympics.
BTV
The School’s own TV studio is greatly used within Year 5. TV programs cover a range of topics linked to class activities and provide fantastic results within oral and written literacy. Children develop their presentation skills and consistently learn to edit and improve their work. A weekly news program written and produced by Year 5 allows the school to share in the weekly events and activities.
