Oak - Week Beginning 21st November 2022
We have had an exciting week this week for a number of reasons ranging from practical history lessons to getting out the tools in DT and finding out about our new Business Enterprise task for this year.
On Monday afternoon, we took a deep breath and braced ourselves for some gory history as we learnt about the mummification process. The children really enjoyed (as predicted) the gruesome details and were fascinated by this process. We looked at the historical evidence via a link to a museum which showed us how historians are confident in what happened during this process and then we looked into the individual steps that took place. The most exciting part was to re-enact this process, with the children taking on the different roles. They did a fabulous job and even though this was a deeply spiritual and serious process in the days of the Pharaoh's, much laughter was to be heard as they carried out the role play. This experience will give the historical context for their writing activities for the rest of the week as they learn how to construct a clear set of instructions. This follows on from the information texts about pyramids from last week.
On Wednesday Mrs Thompson and Mrs Clements turned the hall into a DT workshop as the children made their final versions of a shaduf. It was a fantastic sight to see such a productive environment with the children supporting each other and working together effectively. The finished products were very impressive too and they did some testing to ensure they worked! I have shared some in the gallery this week.
This week saw the launch of our Business Enterprise project for this year. We are doing it slightly differently this year in that we are going to use the PFA Christmas Fayre as our selling platform. Each team selected a different stall (by picking an option out of a jar) that were chosen in negotiation with the PFA, it is then up to the children to decide what their product or service will be. We are in the very early stages of this process, business names have been chosen, initial ideas discussed, and money has been allocated. We will post more about this as we progress through the different stages. This work forms part of our PSHE topic on money and work, plus many other personal and social skills. The funding for this project was carried over from last years, very successful Business Enterprise project with all profits this year going to the school. The children and I are very excited to get going!
We had our penultimate swimming session this week in which the children showed off their skills to swim as quickly as possible in order to choose who will represent Year 5 in the Small Schools Swimming Gala later on in the school year. They were all showing signs of improved confidence and skill after the sessions they have completed over the past 8 weeks. The last week will be a fun swim where they will get to play and get the toys out in the pool, and we will then return to PE in school on a Thursday morning for the rest of the year.
In maths we have started to look at Fractions, please take any opportunity in your everyday lives to reinforce this learning. We will be covering equivalent fractions, moving between improper fractions and mixed numbers, ordering, adding and subtracting fractions. If you are sharing out food for example ask for different fractions that equal halves, quarters and thirds etc. Or use this to add fractions too. For other ways to squeeze maths into every- day life check out this website for ideas Maths in real life - BBC Bitesize.
Next week is assessment week, where we will be measuring the progress made so far this year that has been achieved, short assessments will be carried out as part of this process. There are other fun activities to look forward to: PFA supporting classes in a crafting session, a Hindu workshop delivered by an outside speaker and an Eco afternoon led by Mrs Shiels and the Eco group.
