Our units of work this term are centred on two main areas of learning. In our first Topic “They Made a Difference” we will be investigating British Culture and Values and the lives of inspirational individuals who have helped to change and shape our society. We will be investigating the development of Democracy and Universal Suffrage as well as the struggle for racial and gender equality. We will also be discussing issues the children feel passionately about and what they might take a stand on. We shall then be directing our learning towards a science unit where we will investigate Evolution and Inheritance.

In Maths, our first topic will be place value as this underpins arithmetic. We will then move on to Addition and subtraction. Our work in English and Guided Reading will be based on The boy at the back of the classroom by Onjalie Rauf and The Arrival by Shaun Tan.

I have provided a link below to a place value game in which children can practise place value of numbers to one million. Activities include writing numbers in expanded form as well as recognising and matching large numbers in words and numerals. 

The link 'Place Value Chart' provides both charts and place value games for smaller numbers as well as decimals. 

WB4.9.23

Welcome back to school for our first term! We hope that you have all had a very restful and enjoyable summer despite the weather. We h ave had a brilliant start to the year and we are all very much looking forward to another busy and exciting year ahead. We will be holding a ‘Meet the Teacher’ session on Wednesday 13^th September when we hope to meet as many of you as possible

WB 11.9.23

This has been a busy week in 5/6 with lots of important elections about to take place. The children will be voting for their House Captains on Friday 15th September and for the Year 5 Youth Parliamentarian next week. It is great that we have had so many children stepping up, wanting to hold important roles in the school and wider community. In our topic lessons this week we have been learning about British Values – Democracy, Rule of Law, Mutual respect and Tolerance and Individual Liberty. We have also discussed the concept of Culture. We had our first RE day on Wednesday and investigated the question Who has made a difference because of their faith or beliefs? During the course of the day we learned about many inspirational people including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Gandhi, Malala Yusufzai as well as Sir David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg amongst others. In English, we explored how the main character in The Arrival felt at significant points his journey before writing a cold task – a letter to his cherished family. In Guided Reading, we are reading the Arrival and beginning to make inferences from the illustrations. In Maths, we are all working on place value and extending our knowledge of numbers and the number system. Again, we have been impressed by the children’s enthusiasm and engagement.

WB 18.9.23

This week in Y5/6, we have started to read ‘The boy at the back of the Class,’ by Onjalie Rauf, which tells the story of Ahmet, a refugee, his experiences and adventures. We have been very impressed with the interest and engagement the children have shown and the questions and predictions they have come up with. We are encouraging the children to answer in full sentences and to back up their opinions with evidence. In English, we have been experimenting with clauses, identifying main and subordinate clauses and honing our editing skills by correcting sentences with nonstandard English. In Topic, we have been learning about British Values and how they shape and underpin our society, just as our Paxcroft Values underpin our school Ethos. We have also learned about democracy and how people can lobby for change if they feel passionately about something. This week, too, we have elected a new year 5 Youth Parliamentarian and next week we will be electing our school class councilors.

WB 25 9. 23

This has been another busy week in Y5/6. In Topic, we have been investigating Suffragists, Suffragettes, and the timeline of how women in the UK finally gained the right to vote. We have also been looking at significant events and key individuals in the struggle for racial equality. In English, we are planning and writing our hot task, which is a diary entry, showing events from Ahmet’s perspective. In Maths, we have completed our unit of work on Place Value and will now be moving on to Arithmetic and the four operations. I have put some links to games that will help children practise and consolidate their skills with Place Value on the Term 1 subpage. Place Value is such an important concept so it really is worthwhile honing skills in this area.  Our Youth Parliamentarians attended their first meeting this week and they will be reporting to KS2 classes next week.

WB 2.10.23

In English, we have edited our hot tasks, striving to improve them  by  spotting any errors within the 'non-negotiables' and by honing word choices. We are now studying a new text type - persuasive argument. In Maths, we have completed an end of unit assessment on Place Value and are now focusing on  Arithmetic, particularly on Addition and Subtraction and the links between them. In Topic, we have reflected in Class on the individuals who have  significantly impacted others' lives and voted for the person we  considered to have had the greatest influence and impact. The children worked in groups to prepare a short presentation on the person of their choice before we held a vote. 

• recommended books for year 5

• recommended books for Year 6

• Place value to one million
  Place value to one million game

• Place value chart

• BBC Spelling games