5EC

In Art this week we were comparing and contrasting details in feathers. Who knew feathers were so uniquely designed 😍

We are learning to draw details using marks and lines to show texture. Here are a few of our artworks - look how closely matched they are to the actual feather we were drawing!

Year 5 have started working on learning the monarchs since 1066. They've also discovered how the Magna Carta came to be and how that still impacts our lives despite being over 800 years old.

What a poo day!

It has been science week this week and we were tasked with EXCRETION of all things! The children absolutely loved playing Decisions Decisions and guessing which animal had done which poo with real poo! The stink from some of them was so bad!

Afterwards, they went straight onto dissecting owl pellets, which are regurgitated bones and fur of their food. They found quite a few skulls and were able to identify the animals that they came from.

This half term’s RE is all about the five pillars of Islam. This week, we have been learning about the positions of prayer and looking at the story of Bilal.

We have been studying the complete and incomplete metamorphosis within the lifecycle of insects this week, looking at dragonflies, ladybirds and butterflies. We created a spinning wheel for a butterfly and made notes about each section and what happens to the insect during each stage.

There have been lots of wonderful ideas this week for our balanced discussion about whether or not technology is destroying the human race. The children have thought of many positives and negatives to counter argue one another. It has been great to see how passionate they are about a topic close to their hearts.

We have started our new and exciting topic of Vikings. This week we have explored some artefacts and discovered their uses and what they are made from. There were some interesting pieces like an ear picker and a firestarter!

We learnt how day and night are made and we discovered how scientists can tell that the Earth moves using shadows. We demonstrated this using our globe and a torch in class.

With new chairs comes great responsibility! Since getting our new tables and chairs this week, we have had a real focus on ensuring that our handwriting improves. This is already the difference between one child's writing! Check out the amazing before and after photos above!

Year 5s went to the Science Museum this week to help develop their knowledge of Earth and space. They had fun looking around the galleries and playing in the interactive sections.

It was great to see so many fantastic and creative costumes this week for World Book Day. The highlight of the day was reading stories to the reception children.

Our geography topic of rivers has kicked off this week with a look at the water cycle. We had great fun creating a comic strip breaking up parts of the cycle and creating a water droplet character.

The children had their enrichment day this week. They completed a litter pick and researched a climate change issue. They then had to present their issue and a way to resolve it. They produced some brilliant PowerPoints to go alongside their pitches.

Our geography topic is looking at climate change this half term. The children pretended to be animals affected by climate change in their habitat.

In science, we were looking at water resistance and how it is affected by the shape of an object. We created different shaped boats and dropped them in water to see which ones had the most water resistance.

This week, Year 5 have been investigating angles. We started off by naming different types of angles and identifying them by drawing on the tables. At first the children were confused but thoroughly enjoyed it afterwards… even the clean up.

We had an exciting water workshop today as we had a virtual visit from Anglian Water. The children learnt all about filtration and the water cycle. They learnt how to save water to help the planet and how Anglian Water clean our drinking water. They learnt the real gross reason why chlorine in a pool can sting your eyes. It is because the chlorine is reacting with other people's urine! They wrote pledges afterwards to try and save water at home.

This week we have started our new and exciting topic of Climate Control.
This has involved us looking at a map of Grays from 1895 and comparing it to a map from today. The children looked for similarities and differences between the two. They noticed that our school wasn’t built at that time and that where the original school used to be it was an old chalk quarry. Dell Road had not been built and neither had most of Bradleigh Avenue.

They noticed the obvious difference that there was so much woodland and fields back then in comparison to now.

Countdown to Christmas has begun! 🎄

Our week started with a visit to Saint Peter and Paul's Church for the Year 5 and 6 carol service. Feeling Christmassy, we wrote some Christmas and winter themed acrostic poems. Here are a few samples from the class. We hope you enjoy reading them.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy new year. We look forward to welcoming you back on 5th January 2022

Over the last couple of weeks in Science, we have been learning about condensation and evaporation. We set up an experiment to see if we could get filtered, drinkable water from the beach to help us if we are ever stranded on a desert island. We placed salty water into a bowl with a glass inside. Then we wrapped it up in clingfilm and placed stones on top. This was to allow the water droplets from the clingfilm to then fall into the glass underneath it. The glass then collected the water, which was no longer salty and was now drinkable. We stored it near the radiator to quicken up the process with the heat.

The elf has made an unexpected return this week and has already caused lots of havoc! He has knocked over the Christmas tree that the class spent ages decorating and he even initiated a snowball fight!

Christmas is nearly here! As part of the QHA Christmas tradition we have been making our hoops to hang in the hall.

In art, we are learning to replicate the style of Dali Salvador using shading. One of Salvador Dali's most famous paintings (shown above) is "The Persistence of Memory," which shows several watches melting in a surreal landscape.

Here are some finished pieces from our table top gallery

We have learnt how to separate materials this week and it got a bit messy!
We used filtration, sieving, evaporation and magnetism.

In science, we are looking at reversible and irreversible changes. As a class, we conducted lots of different experiments today, such as:

Melting chocolate

Adding vinegar to bicarbonate of soda

Making toast

Boil jelly

Continuing with our Black History Month topic, the children have started to create images in the likeness of Jesse Owens for a display.

For Black History Month, Year 5 have been learning about Jesse Owens. The children completed their own research whilst they were doing their remote learning. Here are a couple of examples of interesting facts that they found out.

This week, we have conducted an experiment to see which metals were the best electrical conductors. Our results varied between the tables with aluminium, silver and iron all making the lightbulbs shine brightly.

In 5EC, we used our bodies to create different shapes. We started off with numbers and letters. Can you tell what numbers and letters we are making in the pictures? We had great fun trying to make ourselves look like appliances, such as a toaster and a washing machine. The real challenge was trying to figure out ways to make us ‘work’.