We are already into term 2 and have kicked things off with an entrepreneurial project called Lions Roar 2022. The children have worked in groups to design and make an invention in response to a problem they have identified in the world. These have ranged from inventions to tackle litter to designs which encourage young children to brush their teeth. The best presentation will be recorded and entered into a National final in December. 

We will then be starting our main technology unit using textiles. The children will be learning joining techniques in order to make a stuffed toy. 

Later in the term we will be exploring animals and their habitats in our science unit. We will be investigating life cycles of different plants and animals and researching significant figures who have contributed to scientific discovery including Jane Goodall and David Attenborough. 

Our key text to drive our English this term is The Nowhere Emporium by Ross MacKenzie. We will be exploring themes and conventions of the fantasy genre and using the book to inspire our own suspense narrative writing, thinking about language and sentence structure. We will then be looking at biographical writing to write a biography about a character in the book. 

Weekly Summary

Week 1

This week we have got off to an excellent start by taking part in the Lions Roar 2022 entrepreneurial project. We have worked in groups to come up with an original invention to tackle a problem in the world. We have had to build a prototype of our invention and have started to think about marketing and presenting our design. We have worked brilliantly in groups, taking on board people's ideas and coming up with innovative designs. In English we have started our new book, The Nowhere Emporium, which is full of intrigue. We have asked lots of questions about the characters and thought about what elements of the story make it a fantasy tale.

Week 2

It has been another busy week in year 5 and 6. We started the week off with our first Outdoor Learning Day, working alongside Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. As well as honing our forest school skills with den building and bug hunting, we also worked in groups to build a ‘Tip Tap’ – a simple but effective structure to wash hands. We had to lash canes together to create a structure and think about how we could tip the water container using a foot peddle. It was great fun and brilliant to see the children using different sets of skills. We also brought our LIONS ROAR project to a close by presenting our ideas to our peers. Congratulations to Lulu, Sara and Layla - the winning group, with their innovative whiteboard pen, will be presenting their idea in a National final in December.

Week 3

This week in Year 5 and 6 we have been making a start on our ‘Make do and Mend’ unit of Design and Technology. We have been taking apart existing textile products to see how they are made up of different components. We have looked at different materials and started to design our own stuffed toy or cushion for a particular target audience. We have found out about different types of stitch  for either joining or decorating, and we have practised using these. To recognise UK Parliament Week, we have explored the role of Parliament and thought about what our key priorities would be.