Year 5/6

Summer Home Learning Menu

Spring 2

Liverpool Philharmonic

In March, Year 5/6 had the fantastic opportunity to go and watch the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra perform a concert, called “Musical Tracks”. The children were able to see the instruments, that they learn in school, and what role they have in the orchestra. The musicians played a range of pieces from cultures around the world and from a range of different time periods. The theme to their pieces was the movement of people between lands and across oceans. At the end of the concert, the children were able to join in with the song, “Songs of Home on Hope Street” with the other children attending the concert, the song was specially composed for the concert.

Catholic Social Teaching

Music

Science

This term, in Science, we have been looking at electric circuits and investigating how adding more components or cells affects the circuit. We have linked the topic to ‘Burglar Bill’ and the children have made their own switches for an alarm system and looked at effective lighting of a street to deter thieves.

Our topic in RE this term has been Sacrifice. We have explored the meaning of sacrifice and what this looks like in our lives. We have studied the sacrifice Jesus made for us and learned about the key events of Holy Week. Children have learned about the Stations of the Cross and have worked with other classes, lower down the school, to assist in their understanding of Jesus’ final journey.

English

The book we have studied during the second half of the term in 5/6 has been ‘Beowulf’. We have loved exploring a book from a different time period and learning about the History of the period and the new vocabulary that was used at that time. Classes have enjoyed reading the adventure of Beowulf and exploring the horrifying monster Grendel. We have used the new vocabulary to write in different genres, including: writing invitations to the great mead-hall, Heorot; reporting on the horrific actions of Grendel; imagining and describing Grendel’s lair; creating Wanted posters for the gruesome beast; writing a CV for a mighty warrior and reporting on the success of Beowulf in slaying the malicious monster! Over the next few weeks we will also be creating biographies on the brave Beowulf.

Spring 1

Chester Zoo

In February, we visited Chester Zoo to develop children’s cultural capital and to inform their understanding of ecology and the natural world. The weather was kind to us which made the experience all the more enjoyable. Children enjoyed watching familiar animals as well as finding out about some of the lesser known creatures they came across. Everyone had their favourite animal but the Meerkats stole everyone’s hearts. The children were worn out by the end of the day but they all had a memorable experience.

Science

In Science we have been exploring forces and developing our understanding of the topic through practical investigations. Children have worked independently, designing their own investigations and selecting the resources they need to answer their questions and test their hypotheses. They have recently worked on transporting a message across the room using the thrust generated by deflating balloon. They used the scientific process , learnt from their mistakes, rethought the problem and eventually achieved success.

In RE, we have been learning about the Sikh religion. We have explored different aspects of Sikhism including the founding gurus, their book, the Guru Granth Sahib, their beliefs and the similarities and differences between Sikhism and Christianity.

P4C

This year we have enjoyed developing our philosophical skills through other lessons. During RE we discuss the questions, “What is being fair? What is being just?” and “Should everyone be treated the same – even those that commit terrible crimes? Should people who have done wrong be treated the same as those who have lived life as God wants? Do you think it is fair?”. When studying Kensuke’s Kingdom in English, we discussed “Who should survive?”, where we were given three photos and had to decide who we thought should survive. This caused us all the disagree, but we were able to form arguments to support our point of view. We have enjoyed many more philosophical discussions this year and have learnt how to listen to others and speak respectfully during a discussion. Have a look at the pages below to see some of our discussion points.

English

During the first half term in English, we have been studying the book, ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’. We have enjoyed delving into the story and experiencing first-hand elements such as tasting Turkish Delight! Alongside reading the text, we have written in lots of different styles, taking inspiration from the novel: creating our own chocolate bar radio adverts; holiday brochures for Narnia; persuasive speeches as the Queen of Narnia and recipes for our own potions. Please see some of our fantastic literary creations below!

Autumn Term

Art

During the first half term, we enjoyed looking at a range of Japanese Art. We explored with colour mixing and created our own versions of Hokusai’s ‘The Great Wave’.

Please click the link below to see the artwork created by the children.

The Great Wave

Design Technology

Year 5/6 are currently enjoying their new Design Technology unit. They are applying their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control products. So far, they have learnt all about Raspberry pi and have used this to program LEDs to light up using Scratch coding. Over the next few weeks, they will use computer aided design software to design their product before creating it.

Raspberry pi images

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Y5-6 Home-learning menu Autumn 2021