Author: Mr Freeman

Happy Half Term!

Thanks to all Year 5/6 pupils for their hard work and positive attitudes during the first half term – everyone has started off really well! Thanks also to all parents that came to the parent/teacher appointments – you were all extremely supportive and I am very grateful for that.

Moving into the next half term, I am hoping to continue the progress Year 5 and 6 have already made – well done, everyone!

Mr Freeman

Living and Learning: Protected Characteristics

Our Living and Learning statement last week was…

I respect others

Year 5 and 6 have been learning about equality and discrimination. We have looked at many scenarios where an individual (or group) was being discriminated against. We discussed what these reasons might be and what we would do to change the world if we could.

Then, we had a look at the Equality Act (2010) and our protected characteristics that we can’t be discriminated against. Pupils were mature, engaged and active in this learning, which resulted in some fantastic discussions and advice for others.

Here are the nine protected characteristics:

  • sex
  • sexual orientation
  • gender reassignment
  • disability
  • marriage and civil partnership
  • pregnancy and maternity
  • religion or belief
  • race
  • age

We will continue to focus and test ourselves on these characteristics throughout the year.

07.10.22 Spellings

Next week, we will be learning about suffixes – adding –ing and –ed to change the tense of words. Learn these words at home – maybe write some silly sentences or speed write them as many times as you can.

 

according

achieved

criticising

determined

embarrassing

developing

guaranteed

queued

 

Please practise these words ready for a spelling test on Friday 14th October.

What’s in the Box?

This week, Year 5 and 6 are writing our first piece of short, descriptive narrative. This writing is based around our class novel (Secrets of a Sun King) where Lilian, our main character, finds a mysterious package on her grandpa’s front door step.

Our aim is to engage the reader by showing them Lilian’s thoughts and feelings, instead of just telling them everything that’s happening. We can do this by leaving little clues for the reader to pick up on – this allows the reader to paint a better picture of the story in their minds.

I am so impressed with the amount of perseverance all pupils have shown with this writing – some children even started all over again because they were determined to improve!

Here are some examples of our work so far – well done, everyone!

British History Experts!

Year 5 and 6 are on a chronological learning journey through Britain!

For the last few weeks, we have learnt all about life in Britain during the New Stone Age (4,000 BC – 2,500 BC) and the Bronze Age (2,500 BC – 800 BC). Here is some of the information we’ve learnt so far!

So, what’s comes after the Bronze Age? Well, this week we’ll be adding to our timelines and learning all about the Iron Age!

16.09.22 Spellings

This week, we’ve been learning about words that contain a double consonant following a short vowel sound. Learn the following words for a test on Friday 23rd September:

 

accommodate

accompany

aggressive

apparent

appreciate

attached

correspond

embarrass

exaggerate

immediately

If you are finding these spellings difficult to practise at home, here’s an alternative list that follows the same spelling rules:

apple

cliff

glass

spell

shell

Note: There will be a spelling test for each set of words, so don’t worry about having to learn both!

A Fantastic First Week!

Hello everyone! Mr Freeman here with our first official Year 5/6 post of 2022/23. I hope you are all happy, healthy and excited for the upcoming year.

First of all, I would like to start by saying a massive thankyou to all pupils in Year 5 and 6. It’s never easy starting somewhere new – there are many emotions that both pupils and adults have to deal with. However, every single person in the classroom has made me feel so incredibly welcome. From the “Hello Mr Freeman” in the mornings, to playing zombie tag outside, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know everyone and they’ve allowed me to settle in quickly and comfortably.

On top of that, the learning this week has been outstanding! The resilience to improve our handwriting, the British history knowledge in our topic learning and the fantastic levels of engagement in our new class novel are just some examples of the excellent week we’ve had.

If you’re wanting to build on the learning at home, here’s a quick breakdown of what we’re learning in lessons:

  • Writing – capital letters, squashed sentences and basic punctuation
  • Spelling – homophones (were, where, wear, two, too, to, which, witch)
  • Handwriting – forming capital letters from the top and joining lower case letters
  • Reading – class novel (Secrets of a Sun King by Emma Carroll) and fluency
  • Maths – Roman Numerals (Year 5) and place value up to 1,000,000 (Year 6)
  • History – Stone Age to Iron Age and the Ancient Egyptians
  • Biology – classifying plants and animals (Carl Linnaeus is our featured scientist this half term)
  • Living and Learning/Christian values – I follow the school rules / perseverance
  • PE – ball skills and teamwork

Thanks again, Year 5/6 – I’m looking forward to a brilliant year together!

Mr Freeman