Year 5 - “We ain’t not been doin’ nuffin, gov’ner, honest!”

Year 5 continues to focus on the Victorian era and, in English, they have been studying ‘Street Child’. The children had a wonderful time exploring standard and non-standard English. Students have been learning how to add a sense of realism to their characters by giving them a believable voice and talking in the vernacular that fits their particular personality and setting. In looking at standard English, we also thought about the appropriate levels of formality when communicating with specific audiences. The children explored the conditions in Victorian workhouses, then subsequently created incredibly persuasive letters imploring various Victorian dignitaries to take a stand and make a change. What a group of social welfare warriors we have at Gateway School - ready, willing and able to change the world!

In Maths. the topic of transformations has allowed us to engage in physical and practical work; the children have thought about translation, or a ‘slide’ in a given direction; reflection as a ‘flip’ and a rotation as a ‘turn’. It has been a valuable time to make links and connections with previous learning as the children used a four-quadrant coordinate grid to appreciate how these transformations changed the positions of shapes once they were transformed. The opportunities for visual perception and making hypotheses have been endless!

Our Computing lessons have been fantastic this term as we have continued with our coding unit. The progress the children have made in their computing skills, their problem solving and their resilience have been a wonder to behold. We have been releasing our creative sides by creating animations while learning so many ways to manipulate and control sprites. We have learnt how to get sprites to move, speak, sing, dance, sense and interact. Ask your children to show you what they have produced: you will be thoroughly impressed.