Welcome to the year group page for Cliff, Johnstone and Banksy classes.

Our big question for Summer 1 is...

Why is the rainforest a lifesaver?

For this half term's learning we will be exploring the Amazon Rainforest and the continent of South America. Over the weeks, we will be looking at different creatures to live in the Rainforest, the 4 layers of the Amazon and the effects/reasons for deforestation. In Computing, we will build a website including hyperlinks and media to inform the visitors of the site about different animals - it will also include an interactive quiz. As part of our class text for the half term, we will be reading 'The Explorer' by Katherine Rundell. Below are our WWAL and Homework Ideas for the half term. 

Our big question for Spring 2 is...

What are biomes?

As part of our learning for this half term, we will be finding out about the different biomes on Earth. We will also look at climate change and consider what life will be like across the globe in 2050. Following the success of our Climate Change All Change project last year, we will be completing an in-school project with a design and evaluation process. 

What are biomes? - BBC Bitesize

What is climate change? - KS2 - The Regenerators - BBC Bitesize

Why is Earth known as the Goldilocks planet?

During the first half term of Spring, we will be looking in-depth at the Solar System as our big question is centred around Science. In writing we will be looking at the life of Tim Peake and also the first moon landing as we write newspaper reports. Our work in art will lead us to use pastels to draw the different planets. 

Why did the Vikings attack Britain and invade Lindisfarne?

For our big question for this half term, we will be finding out why the Vikings came to Britain. We will be looking specifically at the Viking society, their beliefs, governance and legacy. We will also look at Danelaw and the life of Alfred the Great. 

Below are the homework ideas and the What We Are Learning sheets which are stuck in the children's planners.

Some of these homework tasks can be found on the assignments tab of Microsoft Teams. Any homework completed will result in the child being given 1 team point.

Our big question for Summer 2 is...

Why do we remember the Mayans?

This half term we will be looking at the fascinating civilization of the Ancient Mayans as we explore the areas of North and South America. Our topic will start with a fantastic experience day, lead by an outside provider, and the children will have the opportunity to be engaged and enthused with a first hand experience. This will involve making hot chocolate, looking at Mayan clothing and artefacts. We will also look at Ancient Mayan sports and the process involved in sacrifices for the afterlife!

For our big question for Autumn term 1, we will be answering

Were the Anglo Saxons fierce fighters or friendly farmers?

We will be looking specifically at how the Anglo Saxons settled in Britain, the story of Hengist and Horsa and also the 

important role of St Aiden and St Cuthbert. Below are the homework ideas and the What We Are Learning sheets which are stuck in the children's planners.

Some of these homework tasks can be found on the assignments tab of Microsoft Teams. Any homework completed will result in the child being given 1 team point.

During the first half of the Spring term, we started to learn about what sustainability is and the damage being done to our planet caused by human actions. We looked closely at the different spheres of the Earth, the carbon cycle & the effects of climate change. Our repertoire of vocabulary also started to increase as the children were encouraged to use language such as greenhouse gases, emissions, deforestation and sustainability. At the beginning of the half term, children started to work with a French fashion designer who now lives in our locality, Aurelie Fontan, to design an outfit which could be worn in a future climate. In groups of three, the children picked a chosen environment, created an avatar, designed their own materials and subsequently an outfit. During the design phase, the children understood the importance of resilience and perseverance as well as the need for collaboration within the group; all important transferable life skills. When the designs were complete, the children presented their ideas to a special panel of judges. The judges included the Climate Change All Change founders Lord David Lloyd Jones and Linda Lloyd Jones MBE, Aurelie Fontan, Lucy Wood (a researcher at Kings College, London) as well as German-based digital fashion designer Taskin Denis Goec. All Year 5 children were expected to contribute and they did a fantastic job in showing maturity and confidence throughout their presentations. This was also an opportunity for the children to push themselves out of the comfort zones in a very unique situation. The winning outfit will be physically created by Aurelie, which will be presented to the children in the second half of the Summer term. Before being displayed at the V&A Museum of Childhood in London. In addition, an outfit from each class has been chosen to be digitally created by Taskin, these will also be displayed as part of the overall project.

For more information, please visit the Climate Change All Change website Climate Change All Change - Empower the next generation (cc-ac.org)