Badger Class

 

What we are learning this term: Year 5 Summer term pathway 20-21

This is what we learnt about in the Spring term: Year 5 Spring term pathway 20-21

This is what we learnt about in the Autumn term: Year 5 Autumn term pathway 20-21

Kingfisher Project – Day 4

Today we explored our different environments and achieved our projects. Soil group looked at how important clay is, how it is made, and then created badger setts using modelling clay. The grassland group used natural resources to make scarecrows for their flower gardens. The hedgerow group made badger puppets to create a sketch about the important of hedges. Another fantastic day.

Badger Class Sports Day

The class were amazing in their sports day this morning. The supported each other beautifully, cheered on their friends and gave 100% in every activity. They started with a carousel of activities in their own houses. These events included: howler longest throw, hit the stumps throw, obstacle course, and bean bag targets. We then moved on to the class sprint where we pitted the fasted runners in each house against each other. In our class, Quantock came first, Blackdown second, Brendon third, and Mendip fourth. There was only 4 points separating all 4 houses. We will wait and see how it turns out as a whole school. So proud of our class.

Kingfisher Project – Day 3

This week we completed day 3 and 4 of our projects. The soil group returned the worms from their wormery back into the ground and started a soil sampling assessment. We looked at 3 different soil samples across the school grounds and documented the location, environmental factors, soils description, bug matter that was found and the soil consistency. We then used magnified specimen jars to identify different insects from soil sample c, drew observational drawings, and released them to the wild. The grassland group used compost to fertilize their grass and wildflower garden, designed possible features, and cordoned off the area to stop visitors. They also wanted to protect the grass and wildflower seed so designed a scarecrow to complete next week. The hedges group used the information and pictures gathered on day 3 to create watercolour pictures of the leaves, hedges, and bugs found in their hedges.

Kingfisher Project – Day 1

his week Badger Class undertook our first Kingfisher session. We split the class into 3 groups, specialising in 3 different UK habitats: grassland/soil/hedges. Our grassland group, cleared a piece of ground in the wild area, harvesting the grass to make hay. The soil group took a layer of topsoil of a section of ground in the wild area and collected worms for our class wormery. The hedges group undertook their first ‘hedge beating’ session. They shook bushes with pieces of paper underneath to find and research what fell out: leaves, bugs, and insects.

Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm Visit

Badger class welcomed Ruth and Paula from Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm into school. We spend the afternoon meeting amazing creatures. Our first session was all about animal adaptation and exploring why creatures are designed in a particular way. We handled leopard tortoises, royal pythons, corn snakes, bearded dragons, and leopard geckos. Our second session was all about the classification of animals and creating scientific flow diagrams. We met Madagascan hissing cockroaches, sun beetles, giant land snails and giant Indian stick insects. The class were amazing and lots of them overcame their fears.

Summer 1 – RE/CW Floor Book

The children have been amazing at reflecting on their theme of ‘People of God.’ They have discussed big questions such as ‘Does God Fight for Freedom and Justice,’ ‘Is it Important to have Rules and Laws,’ and ‘How do the People of God symbolise Freedom and Justice.’ Our in depth work from the floor books has been used as a high quality example across the Trust.

Summer 1 – Topic Floor Book

Look inside our Summer term 1 floor book to find out what we have been doing and experience some of our work and ideas.

PSCO – Safer Internet Day

As part of our duty and care for all the children in the school, we invited the local police to come and talk to us about their experiences with keeping people safe and the online world. PSCO Vicky spoke to us for 45mins about her job, the law, and why it is so important to be safe and kind online. The class were fantastic in their prior knowledge, engagement, and attention.

Safer Internet Day

Badger classed focussed on the online safety aspect of ‘Trust.’ What can we trust online? Who should we trust online? What should we do if we feel uncomfortable by something online? We spent the afternoon completing activities, watching education videos, and recording our ideas in books. The class were incredibly insightful.

Balloon Debate Game – Discussion texts

We started our English lesson by having a debate. We played the Balloon debate game where a balloon with 4 people on it is crashing to the ground. Each of those people, famous people from world history, have 3 rounds to convince the class that they should be kept. In round 1 the children argued why they should be kept. Unfortunately, Martin Luther King (Archie) was thrown out. In round 2, the people had to argue why the other should be thrown out. Unfortunately, Virgil Van Dijk (Jacob) was thrown out. Finally the 2 remaining characters had to field and answer questions from the class. Leonardo Di Vinci (Harriet) was thrown out and David Attenborough (Marianna) was victorious. We discussed how the detail and eloquence of our arguments is important in how people engage and respond. We took this lesson into our English writing.

Summer 1 – Where are the hidden things?

This term we will be exploring what life was like for the ancient Mayas including: family roles, what type of jobs they did and what their diets were like. We will take a look at some of the things that still remain of the ancient Maya and discover what happened to the Maya people and explore some possible causes for their decline. We will also find out about the famous Maya ball game, discover which foods the ancient Mayas grew, learn about some of the Maya gods, and explore the life of K’inich Janaab Pakal, the longest reigning Maya king in history.

World Book Day – Whole Class Photos

World Book Day – Guess the characters?

Investigate how objects in the Solar System Move – Science

We used iPads to investigate how objects move in our Solar System. We started by looking at how the planets move around the Sun. After we completed that we zoomed into the planet Earth. We looked at how the Moon moves around the Earth and then at how the Earth rotates on its axis. We had a class discussion on how this effects the season and the night/day cycle. We created poster to show this.

Use maps, atlases and charts to create graphs – Maths/Geography

We used atlases to find population sizes in differnet countries. We then worked as a class to convert that into a bar chart. We could then compare and order the results. To develop our skills we had to find our own data, convert into a bar chart , and most importantly select the correct scale (intervals) to best show the results. This took a bit of time but we got there in the end. The final results were excellent.

Use the style and art of Kathe Kollowitz to shade a portrait

We used a range of sketching mediums (pencil, charcoal and chalk) to copy 3 pictures by a famous artist. Kathe Kollowitz focused on the hardships she saw in the world around her during the inter-war years and World War 2. The children created beautiful designs and enjoyed the reflective processes; discussing what Kathe Kollowitz was trying to portray.

SPRING TERM 2

Using the internet for a specific purpose – Lets buy Mr Dakin a car – ICT

We were set a class challenge, following a specific set of parameters, to buy Mr Dakin a used car. We looked at the Auto Trader website and used the filter system to find the car specified. We then had to compare different cars within those parameters to find the best example. Using the information gathered we then advised Mr Dakin on which one to buy. To finish we evaluated the website, was it easy to use, was there lots of choice, where else could we look. Mr Dakin wishes he could have bought the cars the classes found.

Using the lines of longitude and latitude to find countries around the world – Geography

Through watching videos, exploring atlases and discussing as a class, we investigated the lines of longitude and latitude on world maps. We found the Prime Meridian is 0 degrees and anything East or West is given a degree of latitude. We then looked at how from the Equator, all lines North and South are given degrees of longitude. We used this to find countries on the map. Then, we developed this skill to find a country and documents its grid reference.

 

Researching and exploring the material make up of planets – Science/ICT

We used grids in our Topic book to record and draw the different material make up of the planets in our Solar System. We labelled our diagrams. We used the iPads to find the information ensuring we compared different website to check the accuracy of the information we found.

Holst’s ‘Planets’ – describing difference and tone – Music

We started by listening to each of Gustav Holst’s ‘Planets’ compositions. We decided what we would call each planet based on the tone, emphasis and cadence of the music. We then described the tone and feeling the piece gave us. We were then asked to listen to the piece, ‘Mars Bringer of War.’ As we listened to it, we had to draw a line that matched the feeling of the music. We then turned that line into a Martian space ship from the planet. Finally, we had to turn our own planet drawings into a piece of abstract art. The planet had to match its name and be linked to the music we listened to. Here are some of our ideas.

Explore the techniques of Kandinsky to link art to our topic of space and music themes – Art

We looked at the Kandinsky pictures of, ‘Several Circles’ and ‘Circles in Circles.’ We looked at how the art work looks like planets. We then used a range of mediums to create the pictures discussing which planets they could be.

Using a range of colour patterns and paint mixing – Art (Kandinsky)

We looked at Kandinsky’s picture, ‘A Study in Colour.’ We used a range of paint colours to mix and create our own colour patterns modelled on the original.

Creating and presenting on ‘The Space Race’ – History

We created a presentation using common themes of this historical period: Introduction, Timeline, Soviet program, American Program, Who won the argument. We developed our presentation skills by writing our own notes, avoiding copying and pasting and not reading off the PPT slides. Here are some of the slides that were created.

Our place in space – Research project

We did a cross-curricular project for our space topic. We used our art skills to draw the Sun, planets and the moon in the correct order. We then went on iPads to research amazing facts about the Solar System. We then decorated our projects.

Our place in space – Art work

We started this week by doing self portraits using the measurements of the face. We found that our eyes are in the middle of our heads and that our ears fit between our eyebrows and the middle of our mouth. The children found it fascinating. We then developed this by creating ourselves as astronauts and then putting ourselves on the moon. Have a look at this PDF of our work.

Class examples

Our Place in Space – Spring term topic

Have a look at our display board for the coming Spring term topic. We will be looking at  ‘Our place in space.’ This will be a topic lead by the science behind our Solar System, the history of the space race, music from Gustav Holst and art projects based in watercolour and acrylic paint. Have a look at our display board.

Autumn 2 Floor Book – Topic

Celebrate our learning with us. Have a look through our class floor book. We have had so much fun with our learning.

Autumn 2 – RE/CW Floor book – Judaism

We have been looking at the beliefs, lifestyle and traditions of the Jewish faith. We have explored the Torah, Bar Mitzvah, Covenant and Rosh Hashanah. Dive into our floor book to see what the children have achieved.

Modern Foreign Languages – Where are you/he/she going?

We had loads of fun in French today. We put a Christmas spin on our learning. We set the children the challenge of writing French sentences using, Je vais… (I am going), Il va … (He is going) or Elle va … (She is going.) We then had to translate to the into the correct masculine, femanine or plural use of to the (a la.) Below were some of our practice acting out.

 

How to be a mysterious ninja

We have been looking at instruction texts in our English modules. We started the first week with, ‘How to be an international diamond thief.’ We learnt the features of this text and then put them into practice in our second week. The class chose to write an instruction text on, ‘How to be a mysterious ninja.’ We had lots of fun when a mysterious ninja came into class and kidnapped Maisie. This helped us to make interesting and high quality instructions.

Science – Exploring Light

We spent some of the afternoon exploring several key questions from our ‘Light’ science module. We asked the children to explore: what creates light, how do we see things, and how do we use the properties of light. We had fun using torches, mirrors and a blackout room to investigate. The children then wrote up their findings, created diagrams and, both independently and with support, wrote down their explanations. Here are some pictures of us creating periscopes.

History – Timelines of WW2

We started our Autumn 2 history module by looking at the major events of WW2; putting them in the correct order on a timeline. We looked at several pictures, discussing what was happening in each of them. We then matched the written events to the pictures and the dates. Finally we turned them into display posters. Have a look at what we achieved.

Geography – 4 and 6 figure grid references

We spent an afternoon working with 1:25000 Ordnance Survey Maps. We started by finding villages using 4 figure grid references and then learnt how to use a 6 figure grid reference to find individual houses, locations, and buildings. We used the map key to help us identify the different symbols. We used maps of the local area which made it very relevant to the children.

Our Autumn 1 Curriculum Floor Book

Over the course of the term, we compiled a curriculum floor book where we can celebrate all the learning that takes place over the half term. We want to share it with you. The WALT (We Are Learning To) shows the objective we are learning that lesson and next to the date we have the subject area we are covering. Enjoy!

Our Autumn 1 Religious Education and Collective Worship Floor Book

Over the course of the half term we record, photograph and celebrate our RE and CW learning each week. This book is a celebration of our response to the ‘Big Questions.’ These questions make up think about our own responses, what the religion studied says about it, and links it to theological texts. Our theme for Collective Worship this term has been ‘Perseverance.’ Very important as we come back into school after the holidays and lockdown.

Jigsaw/ICT – ESafety and Programming

We want to keep your children safe online. We spent the lesson discussing healthy behaviours online and how your body and the people around you give you clues as to when you have been online too long. We then used Scratch Jr to program a moving algorithm where 2 characters have a safer internet discussion.

Design Technology – Using K’Nex and Meccano to build a moving object (using instructions)

We used a range of complicated instructions and resources to construct a range of  motorbikes, airplanes, bikes and creatures. This DT project required your children’s engineering and robotics skills to follow instructions, work as a team and solve problems. We had a fantastic time exploring and building these models.

Jigsaw – Rules, Rewards and Consequences

We played a game where we were split into groups and given a piece of equipment. We then had to create a game with rules, rewards and consequences. In talking partners, on small white boards, the children thought of the most important rule (responsibility) they should have at their school. We shared these in an open discussion about why rules and responsibilities might be necessary in a school environment and in society.  We then had time to watch a news clip of the London riots in 2011 and asked the children which rules (laws) were being broken, why they thought people were acting in this way and would they have joined in. Our class conclusion: rules, rights, and responsibilities are necessary for groups of people to live harmoniously together and achieve their goals.

Science – Exploring Forces – Catapult Challenge

Our Science unit this term is forces. We have been looking at what forces are involved when we push, pull, throw and drop objects. Our challenge today was to build a catapult then hypothesize what forces were at work with the moving object when we fired it. We drew diagrams, wrote paragraphs with our prior knowledge and learning, and experimented. Watch this space for more experiments over the coming weeks – bottle rockets, save the egg, hovercrafts etc.

Reflections – How am I growing?

We have been reflecting as a class on how we grow physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our class reflection corner is created to allow us to write our thoughts and put them as leaves on our class tree. The children will add to it as they grow and develop over the coming term.

Meet Shelby our Class Hermit Crab

The class were incredibly excited to meet our new class pet. We had a discussion and a vote as a class as to what we should call her/him. We decided on ‘Shelby.’ We researched all about hermit crabs, especially how to tell whether they are girls or boys, however Mr Dakin wasn’t brave enough to look under its belly to find out. Miss Watts thought that as its colours were so beautiful it must be a girl; the class agreed. So for better or worse, right or wrong, Shelby is now a girl crab.

Meet the Crew

Badger Class Teamwork

During mark making week, Badger class did lots of activities to build our friendship, learn our behaviours and enjoy being back together. They particularly enjoyed this teamwork game where they had to work together to pick up a tennis ball. We did it with our strong hands, weak hands then anything other than hands. It was really fun.

Who am I? – Balloon Game

During our In Class Collective Worship, we discussed about how we grow and develop. We shared how we found lockdown and compared it to our theme of Perseverence. The class found that there were so many positive ways they grew and overcame the situation. We wrote down a way we had grown on a piece of paper and put it inside a balloon. We then blew it up, threw it round the class room and popped a different balloon colour to our own. We then had to guess who had written the statement and celebrated their resilience.

Why is measuring accurately important?

During Science today, we challenged the class to explore, identify and experiment with a huge range of measuring devices. They ranged from trundle wheels to force springs. The children discussed, worked in teams and explored the items; writing their findings in a table. They had lots of fun. What would happen if we didn’t measure our ingredients out properly or didn’t measure our room properly to add furniture? It would be chaos.

 

 

Badger Class 2019 – 2020

Badger Class 2018 – 2019

Badger Class 2017 – 2018