Printing fun!
Year 5/6 have been busy creating more prints this week as part of our art topic. The children in a previous lesson had already created a leaf design on a polystyrene tile. They’d used this to create a simple print using acrylic paint. Moving on, the children have now added more detail to their leaves, such as veins and blemishes. The children selected alternative colours this time to print over the top of their original prints. The children thought really carefully about their colour choice. Did they want vibrant colours or complementary colours? It was great to see the children discussing their art with each other and thinking of changes and improvements to their original designs.
Science: water resistance
Does the shape of an object affect how quickly it moves through water?
Children carried out a very wet experiment today. They used modelling clay to create different shapes that would cut through the water.
Living and Learning: self-care techniques
This week, year 5/6 have been discussing how they could improve their mental health through self-care techniques.
We watched this short video to gain a better understanding of self-care techniques and get some ideas about what we can do.
At home, set aside some time to discuss which self-care techniques work for you. Remember, not all self-care techniques work for everyone. Give them a go and if you enjoy it, try to make it a regular thing.
Some children decided that they would try deep breathing. Others suggested that spending more time with their parents might help. Finding time for yourself or being around positive people can have a dramatic influence on lowering your stress levels and boosting your engery.
Class 5/6A News
Phew! What a week that has been. Not only have the pupils crammed in a huge amount of learning, we’ve also been cheering England and Wales to World Cup glory! Let’s catch up on the goings on in Mr. Robson’s class this week.
In Maths, Year 5 have been getting to grips with mixed numbers and improper fractions, and being able to convert one into the other. One of the key skills to success in this is sold times table knowledge, which we have reinforced this week with Times Table Rockstars sessions at every opportunity. Having that solid times table knowledge helps to unlock a whole host of mathematical understanding.
Ever wondered what it’s like to interview a snowman? Well we managed to put one in the hot seat this week along with their friend Lily. Our Reading focus has been on the heart-warming Christmas tale of “Lily and the Snowman”, where a snowman magically comes to life in Lily’s garden, the two build up a strong bond only for Lily to grow up and the pair drift apart (all while the snowman lived in Lily’s fridge). Our pupils took turns to be the main characters, whilst the rest of the class used their inference skills to ask questions about how they might have felt at certain parts of the story.
Water resistance was the focus of our Science experiments this week. Tasked with investigating how changing the shape of an object affected the amount of water resistance it was subjected to, the class took part in a competition to see who could create a shape which would reach the bottom of the tank the quickest. Some very creative designs were on show, but congratulations to Amelie whose effort reached the surface in 0.38 seconds.
The class have been under strict instructions to follow instructions this week, as creating a clear and concise set of instructions is our Writing focus at present. Eary in the week they got to grips with tying a necktie, drawing a house and creating origami. We will build on this further in the coming week and identify the key language and layout that makes a good set of instructions.
There’s just time to see who our lucky certificate winners were this week:
P.E – Sam Wilkinson: Always on task, gives 110% effort in every game.
Learning – Harry: A Strong week all round for Harry, but he has particularly shone on his fractions work in Maths.
Living & Learning: Millie – A mature, confident student who is always demonstrating the best version of herself.
Enjoy the weekend!
Mr. Robson
Year 5 reading
This week in reading, Year 5 have been enjoying a video called ‘Lily and the snowman.’ The video is a story about a child who builds a snowman and he comes to life. When the snowman starts to melt, Lily puts him in the freezer in the garage. Each day she brings him out and they sit and share stories together. Over time, Lily forgets about the snowman and she no longer visits him. Many years later, she remembers that he is still in the freezer in the garage and that she has forgotten all about him now that she is older and has so much to do. She returns to her parents house to see if he is still there – he is! The video is about always making time for the things you love. It might make you shed a tear – I nearly did!
The children have used the video to complete lots of learning over the week. They have thought of questions they could ask Lily and the Snowman. We then did a hot-seating activity in which a child takes on the role of a character. They must answer the questions as if they are the character. The children were also able to apply their oracy skills – voice projection, prosody and clarity and pronunciation.
Have a look at the video at home with your child. What do they like/dislike about it? Can they create some questions for the video? Can they infer what the characters are thinking or feeling?
Science investigation
Our mission, in science this week, was to investigate the effects of water resistance on objects. This followed on from our previous learning about how air resistance effects objects, in which the children found that the impact of air resistance increases, the larger the surface area of the object. We wondered if the same rule applied this time.
The children created five different shapes using plasticine. They had to ensure the mass of each one was the same, but the surface area needed to be different. This is known as the independent variable. The children dropped the shapes into a container of water and timed how long they took to reach the bottom. We had to be very quick at timing! The results were recorded in a table and our next job is to work out the average time for each shape and analyse the results. From this, the children will write a scientific conclusion.
Ask your child about the investigation. Can they tell you about different types of variables withing investigations? You could even set up a similar activity at home and see what results you get.
Writing: instructions
This week, children will be writing a set of instructions for our printing process in art.
Today, we had a go at reading and following a set of instructions. As you can see from the photos, we had different levels of success.
At home, discuss why you might need a set of instructions. Do all instructions share the same features? You might like to try following a set of instructions for an art project (https://artprojectsforkids.org/)
Reading Records: WAGOLL
Your child may sometimes come home from school and say that they have seen a WAGOLL. We often use WAGOLL (What A Good One Looks Like) to demonstrate how we want a particular piece of work or behaviour to look like. Today I want to share an example of a WAGOLL Reading Record.
Our expectation for pupils is a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes reading at home each day with an adult. When the child has read with their adult, the date, book title and pages read needs to be recorded in the diary section, and the adult needs to sign this. Furthermore, if homework has been set, this must also be completed. This allows the pupil to immerse themselves into the text beyond simply reading to a target page. We are seeing an increasing number of pupils who either forget to bring their reading records or forgot to complete the homework.
It is vital that pupils are reading at home, and completing the homework when set.
Parents, please continue to support your child’s reading at home. Developing their competence in this area is vital in them being able to access the wider curriculum.
Class 5/6A News
Another week done and dusted in Class 5/6A. There’s only 20 days left of school until the Christmas holidays! Let’s catch up on the class goings-on from this week.
In Writing this week we have continued writing our narrative about an apocalyptic world using figurative language. The students have produced some very imaginative work and have really got to grips with engaging their reader in different ways.
Tuesday saw us become physicists in our Science lesson. Pupils recreated the famous experiment of Galileo Galilei to see if objects of differing mass fell to the ground at the same speed. Using a tennis ball, football and basketball, and dropping these from the same height, our students were able to show that despite the differing mass of the objects, the velocity of which they fell was broadly the same.
It has been really pleasing to see the number of pupils who have improved their arithmetic test scores this week in both Year 5 and 6. Year 5 have begun to look at unit and non-unit fractions, whilst Year 6 have explored long division. Parents, you can help support your child’s maths development a home by accessing a number of resources through the Scholes website. Click here https://www.scholeselmet.leeds.sch.uk/learn-more/calculations/ for more details.
Mrs. Thorn and the class have produced some excellent pieces of Art this week. The pupils have been looking at using different mediums, with this week focusing on chalk pastels. They have produced some very colourful pieces as you can see.
In Topic we have looked at how printing on a large scale is used to replicate the works of William Morris. Our pupils have today had a go at their own printing methods to create monochrome leaf pictures.
Before we go, let’s see who the lucky recipients of our certificates are this week:
Great learning – Sam B. Always on time and on task. A great role model for behaviour and attitude to learning and does himself and the class proud.
P.E – Will. Gives 100% in every lesson. Plays every game in the right spirit and is a great partner and teammate.
Living and Learning – Ruby. Polite, considerate and on task. Ruby can always be relied upon to do the right thing first time, every time.
Enjoy your weekend!
Mr. Robson
School Charity
The classes have been busily discussing who we would like our school charity to be this year. All the ideas were brought to the Junior Leadership Team meeting and we discussed which one we would like to support. It was a unanimous decision in support of Cancer Research UK. The JLT will be busy thinking of fundraising ideas for the year and we hope you will support us in this.
If you’d like some more information about the charity, please visit their website.