Rowan

AWE Primary Science Challenge 

 

The class really enjoyed the preparation for this challenge, and worked very hard on the car, poster and presentation. The team that went to the QMC did very well, and enjoyed taking part in experiments after nervously delivering their speech! Overall, the children did very well representing the school and I would like to thank them for their hard work and for the parental support which allowed us to go and compete. Thank you! 

Summer Two- Planet Earth

 

Throughout this half-term we will be learning about Planet Earth. We will be able to learn more about our planet, the animals we share it with, and how we can better protect it. 

 

In Science we will be learning about animals and their habitats. We will be able to look at and compare the life cycles of different types of animals and the habitats that support this. We will also be looking at the scientist Jane Goodall, her work with chimpanzees, and why this is important. 

 

Planet Earth provides a great opportunity for us to practice using maps in Geography. We will be able to compare different climates around the world, as well as examine how local history has changed over time. We will be able to locate countries, cities and landmarks using compass points and grid references. 

 

During ICT we will be learning more about staying safe online as we create our own anonymous website, The class will make decisions about their website and contribute to pages in smaller groups. 

 

Finally, our English this half-term will be based on The Explorer by Katherine Rundell. Writing their own fictional responses to this jungle story will allow the children to develop their understanding of life in other climates as well as develop an exciting story. 

 

This  half-term our PE days will be on Mondays and Thursdays, please make sure that you have your kits in school ready. 

AWE Science Visit Photographs

We had a great time with the visitors from AWE. We got to see a scientific demonstration, and we got to try some of our own. We enjoyed making slime and designing rafts. 

Milestones Trip

 

We had a fabulous time at our trip to Milestones. We were able to try on gas masks, dress up, and go into an Air Raid Shelter. 

 

We were also able to develop our understanding of life during World War Two by talking to an Air Raid Warden, a nurse, and a shop keeper. These kind people taught us how to identify WW2 planes, create a sling, and understand rationing. 

 

We also had some free time to go around the museum and learn about how people lived in times gone by. 

 

Thank you for everyone who helped out!

Summer One- World War Two

I hope that you are ready to come back to school  after a lovely Easter break! 

 

This half term we are learning about World War One- we will be writing diary entries for evacuees in English. Our trip to Milestones will help us to get lots of ideas of things to write about. 

 

In History we will be learning about the war, and how it started, and then we will focus on the impact that it had on England. We will look at rationing and evacuation- why these were necessary and the impact that they had. All of this learning will help to make our diary entries very realistic! 

 

We will look at propaganda posters from World War Two. We will think about the message they are trying to convey, and how they are achieving this. Then, we will make and share our own posters with a message for wartime Britain. 

 

We will look at coding during our ICT time, and we will use special programs and websites to develop our own unbreakable codes! 

 

Finally, in Science we will be learning about the properties of materials. We will compare different materials, and will design and conduct fair tests to help us draw conclusions. 

 

Our PE days are Wednesday and Thursday so please make sure that your kits are in school. The homework is updated online every two weeks so make sure you stay up to date! 

 

 

Animal Visit

Some animals visited us this week, and they linked to our Harry Potter theme. We saw an owl flying, and learnt about how birds of prey have different feathers for different purposes. We know that an owl has very soft feathers to help them fly silently. We were able to touch some Madagascar hissing cockroaches- some of us were even brave enough to hold them! We saw a snake and we talked about how it felt to hold, and how it moved. Then we compared this to a slow worm, and learnt about the differences between them. We were able to stoke a rat and learnt about why they make such good pets. Only one person was brave enough to hold the tarantula! We also saw a leech and a frog. We had a busy morning and saw lots of animals that will help us with our writing! Take a look at the pictures below!

School Science Day

We went all over the school trying different science experiments. We made lava lamps to see how oil and water reacted with each other, and we used food colouring to make it look good! We made paper aeroplanes and then we had a competition in the school hall to see how far they would go. We tested different designs to see which was the most efficient and aerodynamic. Finally, we made bubble worms using washing up liquid, socks, and bottles- we made a lot of bubbles! We learnt about how bubbles are made and we worked together to make really long worms! 

 

Have a look at our photos below!

World Book Day!

We dressed up as our favourite characters! Who can you spot? 

School of Witchcraft and Wizardry 

Hello, and welcome back after half-term! I can't wait to hear about everything that you've been up to! 

 

In this half term, our learning will be based on Harry Potter. In English we will be looking at instructions to make potions, and soon we will be designing potions of our own! Who knows what incredible things you will be able to do after you drink them! 

 

In Music we will be composing music to go with a clip from the movie. This will allow us to practice making music to build suspense, and to make real movie sound effects. 

 

We will be making clay sculptures in Art, the children can choose what they make, and will be able to practice making different designs and effects on the clay. 

 

In Science we will be learning about the properties of materials, and the children will be designing fair tests to discover how materials conduct heat and electricity. They will learn about materials that dissolve in water (and how this is different to melting) and about irreversible chemical reactions. 

 

This half term our PE days will be on Wednesdays and Fridays. Please remember to read 4 times a week, and to sign your reading record. Practicing on MyMaths can help develop your understanding of the maths we are currently doing, and can be a great revision for maths we have already done! 

Spring One 

Welcome back and happy new year! 

 

Thank you very much for your generous Christmas presents, I hope that you all enjoyed your time off! 

 

In the next six weeks we will be learning about Ancient Egypt. We will be able to learn about this ancient civilization in our afternoon History lessons and during our English writing. 

 

We will be writing a recount of an archaeologist uncovering a tomb for the first time, and exploring how they might be feeling as well as what they might find! 

 

In our History lessons we will learn about what life would have been like in Ancient Egypt, by looking at their jobs, hieroglyphics, and mummies. 

 

Finally, in Design and Technology we will be designing and making traps to stop grave robbers from stealing the ancient treasure. 

 

Our PE days are still on Mondays and Wednesdays, please feel free to bring in an outdoor PE kit for Wednesdays as it is very cold at the minute. 

 

Thank you, and please remember to keep up your reading records and My Maths homeworks! 

Autumn Two

Welcome back after your half-term break! I hope that you enjoyed your time off and are ready for a busy couple of weeks! We are leading up to Halloween, Bonfire Night and Christmas, so there is a lot going on!

 

Our topic for these next few weeks is Bella Italia and this will build upon the children's previous knowledge of the Romans to look at modern Italy and its impact on our life here in England. 

 

In Geography we will be comparing life in Basingstoke with that in an Italian town which will allow us to look at similarities and differences in human and physical geography. 

 

In Art we will focus on Leonardo da Vinci and his masterpieces. The children will follow his process of sketching and drawing to completed artwork, ultimately creating their own version of the Mona Lisa. This allows the children to learn more about this artwork, draw inspiration from it, and develop their own ideas more fully. 

 

This topic also brings in Design and Technology as the children will be able to understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet. They will be learning about this as they plan, prepare and make pastas of different flavours. 

 

It is going to be an exciting half-term, with a lot to do!

Please remember to keep reading at least three times a week and to sign your reading records! 

Italian Pasta 

We made pasta today which we really enjoyed! After making and tasting our dishes, we wrote up our recipe as a whole class. We hope that you enjoy it as much as we did! 

Autumn One 

Welcome to Rowan Class! I hope that you all enjoyed your summer holidays and are ready to start Year 5 with lots of energy!

 

Our Topic for Autumn One is going to be Earth and Space, and so we will be learning about the solar system, our place in it, and how this affects our daily lives. 

 

In science we will learn about how the planets move, their shapes, and what they are made of. We will also design a parachute suitable for a rocket travelling through space, which will allow us to control variables, make predictions, and record results. 

 

In Geography we will learn about the Earth, and how the sun affects our days and nights, as well as time zones. This also links to the equator, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. 

 

In English we will look at the book Cosmic: It's One Giant Leap for All Boy-Kind by Frank Cottrell Boyce. We will look at the characters and events in detail and ultimately write a newspaper report about what happens. 

 

We will be having our PE lessons on Mondays so please ensure that your full kit is in school ready for this. 

 

Looking forward to meeting you all soon!

Miss Coulter