Blackfell Primary School

The Vicious Vikings!

Year 5's topic for the Summer term is the Vikings. We kick started our topic by sharing some of the fantastic homework we did over the holidays. We then made a human timeline of the key events during the Viking period in Britain. 

Art Gallery

We had a fantastic art gallery here at Blackfell this term. Every class created a piece of artwork which was displayed in our school hall, and could be bought and taken home. Year 5 created self portraits which we sketched in pencil, and then put on to a mosaic, repeated pattern background. I think you'll agree, they looked very professional and showed off our excellent Art and Design skills!

3D Nets

Year 5 completed a Maths investigation all about 3D shape. We completed a carousel of activities which included: making 3D shapes from paper nets; creating a wanted poster for a missing 3D shape; matching 3D shapes based on their nets; finding the fraudulent 3D net by making given nets out of polydron; and problem solving and reasoning. It was a great morning - we learnt a lot and improved our 3D shape skills and knowledge!

Friction

We have been learning all about Forces in Science, and carried out an investigation to find out if the material on the bottom of our shoes effects friction. We chose 5 different materials, attached them to a shoe and then pushed the shoe across the yard. We used tape measures to see how far they travelled. Most of us found that the rubber material had the most friction and was the best material for the sole of a shoe.

Sports Day

We had a great time competing in the KS2 sports afternoon. We completed lots of exciting (and tiring!) events including: sack race, vortex throw, football dribble, egg and spoon race, standing long jump, and sprint race. Pine were the winning house team and successfully won the cup! Well done to everyone who competed. 

Viking Figureheads

In Art, we have created Viking figureheads; they were an important feature on the front of Viking long ships. We each designed 3 figureheads, moulded out favourite design out of clay, and then when they were dry, we painted them in rich, Viking colours. I hope you'll agree, they look very authentic!

Diversity and Tall Ships Week: Sculpture 

During Diversity and Tall Ships Week, we learnt about a famous Polish sculptor called Magdalena Abakanowicz. She creates sculptures of humans out of sacks and old, recyclable materials. We took inspiration from this, and our learning around diversity, to create our own sculptures. We made a human figure out of clay, but gave them a difference e.g. glasses, hair colour, missing limb to signify that we are all different but all the same.  

Brilliant Biographies

Year 5 have been writing biographies in Literacy. To help us with this, we created an oral biography about a famous Briton who has had an influential impact on our society. These people included David Attenborough, Queen Elizabeth II, Jamie Oliver and Winston Churchill. We imagined we were presenting them with an award for their amazing achievements and wrote a short speech focusing on positive, powerful language. We then presented this to our audience.

Super Splash Heroes

We had a visit from Super Splash Heroes who came to teach Year 5 and 6 all about water. They taught us about the importance of water, how water is used in our everyday lives (more than we think!), and lots of tips on how to save water at home. In the afternoon, we did a quiz to see how much we had learned - they were very impressed with our knowledge! Finally, we took part in a workshop where we created news reports and raps about the importance of saving water. It was great fun and we learned a lot!

Air Resistance

We have been learning all about Forces in Science, and carried out an investigation to find out if the size of a parachute has an effect on air resistance. We created 3 different sized parachutes, and then tested our hypothesis by throwing them off the steps in the yard. Most of us predicted correctly: the large parachute came down the slowest because it has a bigger surface area and can therefore catch more air. 

Lifestyle and Fitness

We had a visit from the Lifestyle and Fitness (LAF) Team who came to talk to us about having a healthy, balanced diet, and how we can stay fit to ensure we stay healthy. We completed a task where we had to match statements about things that are in some of our favourite foods to images. Some of the information we learnt was really eye opening and made us think about what we actually put into our bodies. We definitely learnt a lot!

Table Angles

We have been learning about angles in Maths, and to help us practise labelling and measuring, Miss Henderson covered the table in masking tape and set us a task: using sticky notes, we had to label all of the angles as either acute, obtuse and right, and then accurately measure them using a protractor. It really helped us practise these important skills and we did an excellent job!

Diversity and Tall Ships Week: Tribes

We completed a lot of fantastic activities linked to diversity during our creative week but our favourite activity was Tribes. First, we outlined the key features of any culture e.g. laws, symbols, special buildings. We then split into groups and created an imaginative tribe with these key aspects of a culture. We considered where the tribe would be situated, what the needs of the tribe were, a map of the tribal village, and outlined laws. Unfortunately, there was an environmental disaster whilst we were working and two tribes had to move to a single island and join together. We had to work together to decide if we could live in harmony or if the tribes were incompatible. This exercise reflected the different outcomes of real cultures encountering each other: there were alliances, arguments, frustrations and triumphs!

Diversity and Tall Ships Week: Blackfell Boat Race 

Unfortunately for the British Tall Ship team, their boat sank in the harbour. We decided to help them out by designing and making a new boat for the team to compete in the Tall Ships Race. We were given a specification to follow: the boat must float on water but not take on any water for at least 3 minutes; must be able to hold 2 crew members (LEGO men!); must have sails. We created our boats using a range of materials including polystyrene, wood, and recyclable materials such as plastic bottles. Some of us even used our Science knowledge to add motors and propellers. Some of our boats were a great success and floated really well. For those that didn't, we reflected on areas for development in our evaluations. It was great fun and allowed us to put our D&T skills into action! 

Awesome Athletics

Year 5 have been working on their athletic skills in PE this term. We have practiced throwing, jumping, and running. We have done this by playing lots of fun games, developing our skills each week, and setting ourselves targets to reach and beat. We had lots of fun during the relay race and are looking forward to showing off our fantastic skills on Sports Day! 

Nissan: LEGO Robotics Event

Year 5 visited Nissan to take part in a LEGO Robotics event. Mr Ainsley, our teacher for the day, challenged us to make the fastest robot we could based on certain variables: weight, aerodynamics and size. We created our LEGO robots and programmed them ourselves using Bluetooth and iPads. We then raced our robots on a track. In the afternoon, we used a EV3 robot and help us design and make a robot without wheels. We then played a game called 'Carnage' where we modified our robot in order to destroy another groups. We had a lot of fun and learnt tons about programming, design and how LEGO technology works. We are delighted that four of us made it to the final. Fingers crossed!

Brilliant Board Games!

We have been learning about life during Viking times and created board games to test each others' knowledge. We found out about clothes, food, arts and crafts, jobs, and religion and culture. We then created a board, questions, cards, counters and instructions relating to these topics. They were excellent and it really showed how much we'd learnt!

Police Visit

We had a visit from the local police who came to talk to us about online safety and road safety. It was very informative and we were able to ask lots of questions to learn more.  

Viking Drama

In Topic, we have been learning about King Ethelred II the Unready, and the introduction of Danegeld. We read a poem by Rudyard Kipling all about his opinion on this, and then we performed a more child friendly version of the poem to the class. We acted out all of the verses using props and our terrific drama skills, retelling the important events leading up to, and after, Danegeld was introduced.

Diversity and Tall Ships Week: Polish Food

During Diversity and Tall Ships Week, we were learning about the country Poland. We tried some Polish food during the week including Polish rye bread, pickled cabbage and pickled gherkins. We also baked some Polish spice cakes called Piernik. They were delicious and it felt like Christmas in Summer!