Term 1

Countries and Cultures

Week 1:

WELCOME BACK!

First off, it has been fantastic to see all of the children back again from the summer holidays, and it has been even more fantastic to hear about all of the fun things they each got up to!

We have used this week to settle into our new routines and surroundings and get to grips with the expectations. So far we are loving our new classroom and have settled into our new life as Wiltshire Class exceptionally well. We have had the pleasure of getting to know our new TA's Deb and Mel this week, through engaging in lots of different 'get to know me' activities, including our 'likes and dislikes'. They are certainly both a great addition to the Wiltshire family, and we love having them with us to support us with our learning.

Here's a picture of us all together:

We used this week as an opportunity to set ourselves some goals for Year 5. We each thought about what we want this year to look like, and what it is that we hope to get out of it. It was great to hear so many positive ambitions for this year!

And here is a few pictures to show some of the things we have got up to this week:

Week 2:

ENGLAND

This week we have explored the country in which we live in...England! For this, we read the story 'Paddington at the Palace' and engaged in lots of fun activities around this, including:

English:

- sequencing the story

- answering a range of questions about the text

- creating our own story maps

- practicing our letter formation

- writing a set of instructions/a recipe on 'how to make a cheese sandwich' for our afternoon tea party

Topic:

- writing a fact file on England

- exploring the 'Great Fire of London' by looking at a timeline of events

- using what we have learnt about 'The Great Fire of London' to create our own timeline/sequence of events

We also explored the tradition of 'Afternoon Tea' and used this to create our very own afternoon tea party. We used the recipe's we had written to create a range of sandwiches, cut up some strawberries and spread jam and cream onto our scones. We also had a range of cakes to pick from...it was very yummy! But the best part was enjoying it all whilst wearing the royal crowns we had made in Art, and eating from our homemade placemats.

What a great week we have shared together!

Week 3:

SWEDEN

This week we travelled from England to Sweden! We read the story 'the journey home' about the effects of climate change on the environment, which led us to focus specifically on the work of Greta Thunberg. As part of our work around this we engaged in a variety of activities, including:

English:

- answering questions about the text

- describing specific characters and how they were feeling throughout the story

- predicting what will happen next and drawing the scene

Topic:

- creating a fact file with facts that we have learnt about Sweden

- exploring climate change and the negative impacts in has on our environment

- thinking about what will happen to the polar bears if the ice melts

- creating sea collages with tissue paper and rubbish

In Food Tech we made a Swedish Chocolate Cake and in Maths we focused on developing our understanding of Shape. We also developed our Life Skills around Money, and went for a lovely trip to the woodlands!

Week 4:

JAPAN

After having lots of fun learning about the environment in Sweden, we have now travelled to Japan! Whilst there, we have focused on a particular artist, 'Yayoi Kusama', who is famous for her wonderful dot work. As part of this we have done lots of fun things, such as:

English:

- read a story all about Yayoi Kusama's life and answered comprehension style questions on the text

- looked at the features of a postcard

Topic:

- made a brilliant flip book full of interesting facts we had learnt about Japan.

- wrote our names in Japanese

- made origami cats by following a set of instructions

In Food Tech, we explored popular Japanese cuisines. We learnt that egg and noodle dishes are very popular, along with sushi and dumplings. We had a go at making a stir fry ourselves, and it was very yummy!

Week 5:

JAMAICA

This week we have travelled to Jamaica, where we are learning all about the Olympics, exploring the Caribbean climate and identifying similarities and differences between the Caribbean and the UK. Activities for this included:

English:

- read the story 'Anna Carries Water' and created our own story maps

- used the information we had learnt about Usain Bolt to answer simple questions about him

- learnt about different cultures

- discussed why it is important to appreciate having clean water and answered key questions around this

Topic:

- Learnt all about Jamaica by creating a mind map of interesting facts

- compared the similarities and differences between the Caribbean and the UK by sorting and comparing pictures, and creating a Venn Diagram to represent this information

- Introduced ourselves to Usain Bolt and explored who is is and what he is famous for

- Watched Usain Bolt's winning races

- Looked at the Olympics and thought about what an Olympians diet would look like, using the Eatwell plate to support us visually

In Art we made marathon medals and in Food Tech we made some healthy fruit kebabs. It was a very fun week!

Week 7:

AMERICA

This week we have travelled to America, where we have explored lots of the different states and looked at the important history behind Black History Month. As part of this, we have:

English:

- read the story 'Mr Men the Road Trip!' and created a storyboard, including captions to match each drawing.
- discussed the work of Martin Luther King and engaged in the 'egg activity' as a way of thinking about equality and respect.

Topic

- created a fact flag with general facts we had found out about America

- located New York on the map of America, and formed two sentences about two things we had learnt about the state.

- located Washington D.C on the map of America, and formed two sentences about two things we had learnt about the state.

In Art we created our own American Flags and in Food Tech we made hotdog macaroni cheese (yummy!). Alongside all of this, we continue to work hard towards meeting our ILP targets and are really enjoying developing our understanding of Place Value in Maths!

Week 7:

MEXICO

For the the final week of our jouney, we stopped off at Mexico (just in time for Halloween!). We had a really fun time doing things like:

English:

- read the story 'Off we go to Mexico' - looking at one scene in particular and thinking about what the characters would be able to see, hear, taste, smell and feel.

- read the story 'Funny Bones' and focused on the speech bubbles used - we learnt what a speech bubble is and what they are used for in writing and created our own for the characters in the story.

Topic:

- created a fact file on the country Mexico

- explored the Day of the Dead celebrations and made our own split pin skeletons

- decorated a Mexico flag

In Art we made sugar skulls and in Food Tech made cheesy nachos and dip pots to go with them!