Class 5- David Attenborough Class
Welcome to Year 5- Attenborough Class
Attenborough class is taught by Mrs Eaves, and Mrs. Westrop, and supported by Mrs Blake. We might be a small class, but we have the biggest heart -making up for our small size with our super kindness, care and support of each other!
Year 5 is an exciting year as we move into Upper Key Stage Two. Central to all of our learning is our focus on My Happy Mind: our character strengths, our brain, our attitude for gratitude, relating to others and engage with school life and community life. We aim to develop our ability to self-regulate our learning, to develop an independent drive to learn.
We have some brilliant topics this year.
Autumn 1 City Life
Autumn 2 The Tudors
Spring 1 Earth and Space
Spring 2 The Industrial Revolution: buildings and bridges
Summer 1 Early Islamics
Summer 2 Rivers
Please contact me via email: n.eaves@devere.essex.sch.uk or telephone via the office.
Sir David Attenborough Class 2023-2024 Class Blog!
1st December 2023
In Attenborough class, we have had quite a variety of activities keeping us occupied! We have started our fundraising for our residential. We enjoyed designing and making our own cross stitch designs for decoration day. In History, we have been able to top copy our explanation texts about the Tudor monarchs, and we have created diaries of a character that switched from being a rich Tudor to a poor Tudor or vice versa! We have also been learning to recognise equivalent fractions through a variety of activities, using our times table knowledge to help us!
3rd November 2023
In Attenborough class, we had a great week before half term – filled with poetry and art! See the photos of our poems being copied up. We had a wonderful time with a ‘My Happy Mind’ session outside, listening and being mindful to collect ideas. We used the Night Walker poem as a model for our own poems. What a brilliant display we have produced with the poems on tracing paper and our watercolour artwork to illustrate and enhance the poems.
In art, we applied our learning of the vanishing point to our own copy of the Norwich market scene. We sketched the scene and then painted with watercolours. We look forward to holding a class gallery to show all our art work off to parents after school on Friday next week (10.11.23)!
In English and Maths, we have been revising basics – word classes and main clauses in English and multiplying by 10, 100 and 1000 in Maths.
We have also begun to study the Tudors and learned about how the Tudor dynasty began at the Battle of Bosworth.
13th October 2023
What a great fortnight we have had in Year 5! We have moved from place value to written methods in Maths. We started reminding ourselves how to use written addition by completing these in chalk on the playground.
One very exciting addition has been starting to read with our Year 1 buddies! What a highlight to the week that is turning out to be.
In our theme, we have moved onto art. We have been exploring local artists’ art on the markets of Norwich. We have enjoyed learning the skills for drawing in perspective with a vanishing point.
English has seen us focusing on poetry and the structure of a cinquain. We chose our own animals to write a cinquain about, and if we had time to present these in best, are on display ready for us to show you at Parent Consultation next week. 😊
29th September 2023
In Attenborough class, we have been continuing with a lot of our units – more reading and writing about our class book, Cogheart, writing explanation texts to finish our Norwich unit and completing our number unit in Maths to name a few. The children had good fun applying their learning about Norwich through designing their own tourist guide. If you manage to take a trip to Norwich, you may have your very own tour guide. 😊
We enjoyed adding recorder playing to our music lesson while continuing to learn Livin’ on a Prayer. We had to recall our prior learning to be able to play the notes written on the score. Also, we had good fun exploring place value of numbers up to (and beyond) a million by exploring footballers’ pay! We used our place value to put the incomes in order. It was interesting to look at the reasons for the divide between women’s and men’s pay.
15th September 2023
In Attenborough class, we’ve got stuck straight into our learning in all areas! We have found out about human and physical features of Norwich in Geography. We enjoyed using different resources to explore Norwich, including a website that gives you a 360o tour of key attractions. You can see the results of our research on our Jamboard in the images.
In English, we have enjoyed starting our new book, Cogheart. We have been able to retrieve and infer when reading, and we have been writing our own diary entry of Lily’s experiences within the story. We have been developing our emotion vocabulary to help us to improve our word choices in our writing.
In Maths, we have been working on place value, now working on numbers up to 1 million. We have also been exploring prime numbers.
In PE, we have begun working on our netball skills. We had good fun developing our throwing techniques and applying these within a game setting.
In Music, we have just started to learn the song ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ by Bon Jovi. We had great fun learning the lyrics and singing along with gusto!
Class Blog
20th July 2023
We have brought our learning based around the Amazon in ‘The Explorer’ story to a close by writing a narrative in the style of the author and a non-chronological report about an unusual rainforest animal. The children’s books are looking fantastic and ready for you to view on Tuesday after the Sports morning.
We have also continued our learning about Rivers by looking at how and where people and rivers interact – be it for drinking water, sewage or even leisure. We have also been challenging our potential misconceptions about Africa in Geography by finding out about the huge variety of countries and landscapes that exist on Earth’s second largest continent.
In Computing, we have been studying different types of shots and editing skills used in video production. In this week’s photos you can see the children trying out different filming techniques on the field.
Thank you for your continuous support this year – it’s been a busy and memorable one!
16th June 2023
In Year 5, we have returned to some very seasonal learning about Rushing Rivers in Geography and a Katherine Rundell novel called ‘The Explorer’ in English. Rundell’s story features four children who find themselves stranded in the Amazon rainforest and we are learning to write effective contrasting sentences and hope to pick up some best-selling author tricks!
This week has been Healthy Eating Week, run by Mrs Westrop and Mrs Mills. Amelia, Molly, Misty and Marnie volunteered to be ‘Taste-testers’ and tried a range of plant-based meals. This is what they had to say:
“There were four meals to try, a range of curries and chillies, and a favourite – the chickpea, lentil and sweetcorn burger. The thai curry was popular and even had home-grown at school new potatoes in it.”
“The chilli had sweet potato in, instead of meat, and it really absorbed all the flavour. Amelia enjoyed the sweet potato and lentil curry as it was still spicy but it had a mashed potato texture that was easy to eat.”
25th May 2023
The photos say it all in this update as we have had the luxury of not one, but two specials days to compliment our exciting curriculum. Firstly, along with Thunburg Class in Yr 6, we had visitors come from the World War I Heritage Trust to see us with World War I flight simulators, historic photographic presentations, war poetry and art, and a quiz! The children were fascinated to interact with the simulators and our visiting co-pilots for the day. Thank you to Mrs White for organising this extra-curricular day.
Then, we visited Daws Hall Nature Reserve to learn all about Rivers ahead of our new topic next term, and to participate in a number of field experiments and scientific testing. The children experienced ‘kick sampling’ in a brook off the River Stour, unearthing all kinds of larvae and even freshwater shrimp. They tested the river water quality in a number of ways utilising a range of digital equipment, Ph testing strips and charts, and seeing a flow-rate meter in action. The weather was beautiful so we had a whole day of outdoor learning in the local area.
12th May 2023
Continuing with The Ways of the Wolves, we have explored expanded noun phrases and more advanced ways of organising detailed information. The children then wrote and performed presentations to each other on Wolves, concentrating on clarity and accuracy. They did an amazing job of engaging their audiences!
In Maths, we have been developing our understanding of shape and angle facts to enable us to solve angle problems. This was hard work, but we persevered. In Art, we are exploring the beautiful, geometric designs that originated in the Early Islamic Civilisations, and have been learning how much of modern medicine has those early scholars to thank.
In PE, we have been developing our team working skills and tactics, competing in various Handball activities.
28th April 2023
Welcome back, Attenborough Class!
We have been rediscovering shape in Maths, learning about different types of angles, perimeter and area. In English, we are reading a beautifully illustrated non-fiction book called ‘The Ways of the Wolf’ and learning different language and layout techniques from a gifted author and illustrator. This has linked to our work in Science comparing animal life cycles.
In PE, we are refining our passing and teamwork skills in Handball. In History and Art, we are studying the Early Islamics; all about their love of books, learning, technology and architecture ahead of travelling the Silk Road, the ancient trade route that linked our worlds in the past.
We are looking forward to the Coronation celebrations next week too. So much to discover!
31st March 2023
In our last two weeks of this busy Spring Term, Attenborough Class have been investigating the animal life cycles of a dog, a frog and a ladybird in Science, discovering just how varied and surprising nature can be.
We have also been using a visual text to inspire some narrative poetry around JK Rowling’s ‘The Tale of The Three Brothers’, learning to write similes and metaphors. These poems are designed to be performed so you may find yourself on the receiving end of a verse or two!
In Computing, the class have been challenged to use coding and programming tools to create simple musical pieces on keyboards.
Finally, we attended a whole school Easter service and shared our learning and art work about The Easter Story and the significance of this time of year to Christians.
17th March 2023
Science Week 2023 has been a week of ups and downs,mainly because Attenborough class have been making parachutes! Working in small teams, they researched, designed and made parachutes out of a range of materials and used them to pass a message to Year 6. Sadly, it wasn’t very windy that day but many successfully floated down as planned. We were also lucky enough to take part in a visiting workshop from Gridserve, who brought an electric car with them to much excitement.
We have been studying the life and innovations of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. He was both a pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, and an example of a brilliant engineer, mathematician and scientist. The children have written his biography, and designed and built ‘Brunel in a Box’ (linking to our learning about frame structures in DT).
In Maths, we have moved on to decimals and the children are building on their learning about fractions.
We spent today cooking, ready for the mums and family members to enjoy treats after our Mother’s Day Wellbeing Walk.
3rd March 2023
Attenborough Class have really embraced the new topic of the Industrial Revolution in History and English. They already know so many facts about how Britain rapidly changed due to the innovation and invention of the early Victorian Era. A lot of our learning is thematic; we are reading Street Child in English following a poor boy’s journey through a workhouse, learning about what life was like for children at this time, and all the inventions that forced change.
World Book Day was a great success. Thank you to all the children and their families for creating such wonderful, imaginative costumes. We heard from author Sarah Oliver on the day and she inspired many A to Z’s on a range of interests, in a non-fiction writing activity.
In PE, we had a basketball day and practised lots of skills before matches of mini basketball. In Design and Technology, we are learning how to spot frame structures and looking at how they are joined to inspire our own joining skills. In the photos, you can see us experimenting different joining and strengthening techniques.
Finally, in Maths, we have been exploring division and fractions of amounts.
10th February 2023
In Year 5, the children have spent time in the last two weeks working really hard to develop their written methods for multiplication and short division in Maths. There has been some head scratching, frowning and then cheering as they have begun to master each method. I’m really proud with how much dedication they have demonstrated.
In English, they have been exploring persuasive writing, designing leaflets and working on their sentence construction. Using a slightly creepy thriller-style animation, they have surprised themselves with their sinister sentence creations! Parents will have had a chance to read these as Parent Consultations continue.
In Art, they have been painting in an abstract style with a collaged rocket or planet in the foreground as part of our Space Art project. A few of our proudest artists can be seen in this week’s newsletter photos.
27th January 2023
Attenborough Class have been really busy developing their methodology for written multiplication. We explored area (or grid) models to learn how crucial place value is to the process and began applying it in different size calculations.
In English, we have been focusing on developing vocabulary and persuasive devices. In Geography, we have been learning all about Global Trade and how good are transported around the world. We have also looked at how trade has developed over time to the trillion dollar industry it is today, realising that some brands and logos would be recognisable to children around the world.
13th January 2023
In Attenborough Class, the children have worked hard to be able to convert fractions by finding a common denominator, and learning how this can help to order fractions. We have also explored which numbers some up regularly and which are more rarely used.
In English, we have begun a new tale by Philip Pullman called ‘Clockwork’, defining new vocabulary and the devices an author uses to create tension.
As part of our Science topic on Earth and Space, the children have created beautiful solar system diagrams using pastels. They also took part in a practical lesson, recreating the movements of the planets around the sun.
9th December 2022
We are using a visual text in English to explore a distant moon call Pandora, filled with six-legged creatures called hexapods. This has led to some detailed, technical writing and amazing insect-based creations which they children loved developing.
In Maths, we are getting to grips with Fractions as well as exploring larger multiples in practical ways (see photos).
Our biscuit designs are ready to be mixed, baked and decorated; a Christmas sweet treat to take home next week.
In History, the children have been exploring the different lives of Rich and Poor Tudors and been practising teamwork in PSHE and RE. We would also like to thank families for coming to hear our Reading for Fluency lesson this week. We appreciate your support.
25th November 2022
In Maths, we carried out investigations into special numbers. The children worked in groups to find square, cubed and prime numbers in a variety of ways. This exploration is so important, even as the children get older.
In DT, we are exploring biscuits – which are the most popular? What makes them popular? What is it about the texture or taste people love? As part of our research phase, we taste-tested some chocolatey biscuits and some Xmas specials to inform our designs.
In Science, we discussed how babies grow inside the body and how doctors monitor their growth and development after birth. The children had lots of insightful questions and really enjoyed learning just how clever our bodies are.
11th November 2022
Attenborough Class have been learning about poetry in English. We explored ‘Cinquains’ which are a similar to Haikus as the have a set syllabic pattern in a five-line shape. In the photos you will see proud children sharing their colourful poems on a topic of their choice. This led to the exploration of a narrative poem called ‘Night Walker’ by Philip Gross. The children read the poem to fluency, learning about the structure from the original piece, and wrote their own walker poems, including Desert Walker, Rainforest Walker, Day Walker and Sunset Walker, to name a few. The children then used a text called ‘Here We Are’ by Oliver Jeffers to inspire their illustrations.
In Maths, we are learning about multiples, factors and special numbers. The children are particularly proud of their work in this area of the curriculum and the progress they are making.
Finally, you can see some of the finished Norwich market paintings and a special piece for Remembrance Day, which captures imagery from both recent losses in the pandemic (rainbow) as well as the iconic soldiers in the poppy fields of World War II.
7th October 2022
Attenborough Class have had a busy couple of weeks full of exciting learning opportunities. Last week, we were visited by ECC’s ‘Abbie Ayre and the Shed of Science’ who delivered a fantastic performance around Air Pollution and the little changes we can all make to help improve Air Quality. This was a great compliment to our learning about Materials and the visitors were impressed by the children’s Road Safety awareness.
In English, the children used their knowledge of the ‘Cogheart’ story so far to write impassioned diary entries for the main character, Lily. Many are displayed on our ‘Proud Wall’ which parents will be able to visit at Parent Consultations. Next, we have been looking at news reporting. The class took part in a Think, Pair, Share activity, role-playing as reporters and witnesses to a terrible airship crash that happens in the book. You can see photos of the event below.
In Art, we are taking inspiration from a recent Norwich city painting competition piece to sketch out a scene showing the iconic covered market stalls. The photos show Before and After sketches where the children were learning about perspective.
23rd September 2022
Welcome to Year 5! The children have started back really well and are starting to get to grips with the challenges that Upper Key Stage 2 brings.
We have dived straight into a new adventure by reading, analysing and creating writing around ‘Cogheart’ by Peter Bunzl. It is a thrilling tale set in Victorian London, but with a few differences to our world. Humans live alongside ‘mechanimals’ like Malkin, a mechanical fox, and his humans, Lily and John. The children have got to know these characters well and will soon be writing diary entries in character as Lily, and a newspaper article detailing an airship crash.
In Maths, we have been exploring numbers up to 1 million and they particularly enjoyed sorting top footballer salaries into groups this week.
Our theme is ‘City Life’ and we have begun looking at village life around our school and comparing it to Norwich, as a nearby historic city. In Science, we are exploring how to separate mixtures. Swimming is going well: the children have been assessed and put into appropriate groups and started a range of activities in the water. I am really pleased with how they have behaved going to and from school on the minibuses.
I look forward to sharing more of their learning with you as the term continues.
Mrs Hutchings
