Diving Below Zero in Year 5 Maths
This week in Year 5 maths we have begun our new unit on negative numbers, and the children have already shown great curiosity as they explored what happens when numbers drop below zero. We discussed real-life examples such as temperatures, lifts travelling underground, and money in a bank account to help the class understand how the number line continues past zero into negative values. The children practised counting forwards and backwards through zero, comparing and ordering negative numbers, and creating change stories with negative values. It has been brilliant to see so many children challenging themselves and explaining their reasoning with growing confidence.
Help at home: ask your child to explain how the number line works when it goes below zero and challenge them to give you a real-life example of a negative number.
Each Peach Pear Plum
We’ve had such a busy week! We enjoyed celebrating World Nursery Rhyme Week, marking Remembrance Day, taking part in Odd Socks Day and supporting Children in Need.
World Nursery Rhyme Week
Children loved taking part in World Nursery Rhyme Week, singing and exploring some of our favourite rhymes. Nursery rhymes play an important role in early years education for many reasons. Here’s an overview of a few of them.
If you’d like to find out even more, you can read about seven key benefits of nursery rhymes for young children on the BBC Tiny Happy People website.
Each Peach Pear Plum
Linked to World Nursery Rhyme Week, we’ve been reading the classic Ahlberg book, Each Peach Pear Plum. We listened for rhyming words and spotted familiar fairy-tale and nursery-rhyme characters hidden in the illustrations.
History: Household objects from the past
The illustrations in our focus story inspired discussions about household objects from the past and we learnt about some objects that we had never seen before. We compared these to objects we might have at home, in the present.
In addition to pictures, we looked carefully at some old household artefacts and had a go at sorting past and present objects.
Ask your child which objects from the past they can spot in this picture from the story. Can they remember what they are called and what they are used for?
Phonics
This week, we focused on the new GPCs (Grapheme-phoneme correspondence) v, w, x, y.
We’ve also learnt some new tricky words; and, has, his, her. Tricky words are words that should be read by sight.
Help at home – Please continue to revisit this week’s sounds and tricky words using the ‘Learn at home’ sheets.
Poem Of The week
This week’s poem is called ‘Shoes‘.
Reminders
- It’s our Number Stay and Learn session on Tuesday 18 November (9–10am). We hope you can join us for a short maths lesson, followed by some time in the classroom taking part in maths activities with your child.
- Please make sure all uniform is clearly named. Please could you also double-check that your child has brought home the correct uniform, as jumpers and cardigans can sometimes end up in the wrong place!
- Rain, rain and more rain! Please ensure that your child has a pair of wellington boots at school so that they can enjoy learning outside in all weathers.
Next week:
We’ll read Night Monkey, Day Monkey and explore how the two monkeys experience the world at different times of day. We’ll also be learning about daytime and night time activities, including discovering some amazing nocturnal animals.
Reading – Michael Rosen Day
We enjoyed an online meeting with Michael Rosen today. The children were absolutely enchanted by him reading poems and telling stories. Listen to more of his work here. (This is a YouTube link. Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog along the play bar and turn off autoplay – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.)
Anti-Bullying Week
On Monday, children in year 5/6 came in odd socks. By wearing odd socks we celebrate individuality and inclusion while standing together.
The theme from the Anti-Bullying Alliance is Power for Good. We’ve looked at the roles around bullying and learned about the 6 roles involved in bullying:
- ringleader
- assistant
- reinforcer
- bystander or outsider
- target
- defender
Amazing Adjective Day
We literally became words yesterday for adjective day. Thank you for the ingenious costumes. We were sleepy, cosy, explosive, sparkly, glistening, sporty and adventurous to name but a few.
We learnt this song about adjectives to help us remember what they are.
Adjectives can tell you more,
About a noun and that’s for sure
AD-JEC-TIVES!
Help at home by using interesting adjectives when talking to your child.
Adjective Day 1A
We’ve had a super day in 1A for Adjective Day. We have shared our adjectives with one another and learnt an adjective song.
See our fabulous costumes below! We dressed as sporty, sparkly, sleepy, wild, energetic, merry and lots more!
PE: gymnastics
Gymnastics is giving the children a chance to try a totally different sport this half term. They’ve been exploring different ways that they can travel around the hall using different parts of their bodies. This had to be done with confidence and control. We extended this further by introducing hoops and balls which they then had to incorporate into their sequence of movement. We then moved onto introducing equipment to their routines. A bench allowed the children to incorporate a balance into their routines and some groups challenged themselves by turning the bench upside down to make their balance even trickier. We talked about how to stay safe in gymnastics by removing our shoes and socks, carrying equipment safely and giving each other plenty of space. It was quite tricky to photograph their great routines but here’s a couple of the best.
Living and Learning – Anti-bullying Day
Today, we’ve worn odd socks to mark the start of Anti-bullying Week. We’ve celebrated the similarities and differences between us all.
This year, the theme for Anti-Bullying Week is about ‘Power for Good’, which encourages individuals to use their power to challenge bullying by speaking out, standing up for others and promoting kindness and inclusivity.
In our learning today, we’ve discussed:
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- the anti-bullying policy
- what bullying is, the different types of bullying, the impact of bullying and what to do if someone is being bullied
- how friendships sometimes have ups and downs and how disagreements can be resolved
- the importance of being kind and respectful online and offline
We also enjoyed watching the BBC live assembly.
Help at home by talking to your child about their learning.
Odd Socks Day!
Today, children came to school wearing odd socks in support of Anti-Bullying week. We discussed how important it is to celebrate our differences and respect everyone.
Reception children loved showing off their mismatched socks while learning about kindness, inclusion and celebrating differences.
Living and Learning – Odd Socks Day 1A
Today has been Odd Socks Day in school. The children have come to school wearing odd socks in support of anti-bullying week. The socks represent everyone’s differences. Everyone is unique and our differences should be celebrated.
