In Year 5, we have some of the most fantastic topics to learn about: we'll explore the wonders of space; we'll journey along the rivers of the world; we'll travel back in time to live with the ancient Greeks; we'll fortify and defend our own castles; we'll delve into the dark history of crimes and punishments; and we'll train in the art of spying. What an exciting year we all have ahead!

Our school values are at the core of everything we do in Folkestone Class. We are courageous and try new things. We are motivated to do our best. We are responsible for our own actions. We are respectful to each other. We enjoy our learning and are happy.

Our teacher is Mr Boot and our TA is Mrs Deans.

Term 1

In term one our topic was Earth and Beyond. We learnt the planets within the solar system and their order from the Sun. We looked at the reasons we have day and night and the seasons. We investigated why the moon looks like it changes shape in the sky. We even learned about famous astronauts, including Mae Jemison, who we wrote a biography about. Additionally, we went outside and, using the scale of 1 cm equals 100,000 km, measured how far the planets would be away from each other if the playground was our solar system.

Term 2 

This term we have been learning about all things Crime and Punishment. We started off by looking how crimes were punished during the Anglo-Saxon era and how people who had committed a crime used to have to pay money to victims called a Wergild. Then we looked at how this changed during the Norman era, some laws were changed to French and the money paid wouldn’t go to the victims anymore, it would go to the Normans in charge of the area. After that, we looked at the tutor era, we looked in more detail at different punishments people would be forced to do, for example the rack. Then we looked at Victorian punishment and we even got the chance to try these out.

This term we have been learning about Crime and Punishment and we read the poem, The Highwayman. One of the things we've practiced this term is using our knowledge of The Highwayman Poem, by Alfred Noyes, to help us create pieces of art. 

      

The first thing we did in this process was look at how to draw perspectives. We focused on having a vanishing point and all lines coming from this point. So, things nearer were bigger, and things further away were smaller. 

Once we'd done this, we then moved on to looking at drawing trees using different shading techniques. We learnt about hatching and cross hatching. We drew trees and practised our skills of hatching and crosshatching to make the trees look more 3D. 

Then once we had done this, we learnt how to draw people with the correct proportions. We learnt about the ratios of people's bodies and how to accurately draw them. Next, we focused on drawing the features of a face accurately and practised drawing different facial expressions.

Finally, to finish our art this term, we combined all those skills to draw a scene from The Highwayman. This scene had to link to our English writing which involved Tim the Ostler telling the Redcoats about the Highwayman man. 

Throughout this process we learnt lots of new skills and came across several challenges. But we used our value of Courageous Cat and kept trying to practice and improve our skills. 

Term 3

In term three, we have been learning about Ancient Greece. We started the topic by reading Greek myths, which helped us understand what life and beliefs were like in Ancient Greece. We also created our own Greek theatre masks; tried Greek food; and even dressed up as people from Ancient Greece.

Then, we learned about the religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks, including their belief in many different gods. In addition, we explored the legacy of Ancient Greece and discovered what they introduced that is still used today. We mind‑mapped our ideas about different areas of life—such as mathematics, philosophy, theatre, and architecture—and thought about how the Greeks influenced each of them.

  

Finally, we wrote a short information text based on what we planned in our mind maps.