Oak Tree Class Blog
Oak Tree Class Blog
Week 3, ending 24 November
Mrs Amos (a.amos) on: Oak Tree Class Blog
Reader: Amelia
Special Mention: Niamh
Well done to these children!
Rock-a-billy and Rock ‘n’ Roll music have greeted us in class each morning – Elvis was by far the most commented upon artist! Lots of children said that their parents/grandparents loved listening to Elvis Presley.
We have continued to draft biographies about Thomas Barnardo, thinking carefully about crafting sentences to say exactly what we mean. As well as writing neatly in pen. And not forgetting to check for spelling and punctuation accuracy! I am looking forward to seeing each published biography next week.
Equivalent fractions have been the mainstay of maths this week – we shall be spending a little longer on this concept too, as it seems to be one that the children have found tricky. Any support you can give with this in homework would be welcomed. (Often, hearing it explained by someone else can work wonders!)
Our history skills have moved on tremendously by our topic session all about primary and secondary sources of information. What an enjoyable and informative session we had!
Finally, well done to those children who are remembering to read regularly at home! We have noticed a bit of a dip in this with our Y5 children and would just like to remind you of the importance of reading. In UKS2, the expectation is that children should still be reading at least 5 times a week (approx. 1 hour of reading combined!) and they can do this independently and fill in their own reading records or with an adult. We are always happy to provide your child with book recommendations and strongly encourage them to come and talk to us if they are not enjoying the books they have chosen.
The Reading Agency is a UK charity with a mission to empower people of all ages to read. Their research shows that:
- One in four children hasn't reached the expected level of reading by the age of 11. Many of these children will struggle to keep up at secondary school.
- Students are less able to learn other subjects if they do not develop sufficient reading skills by the middle of primary school.
- Only 35% of 10-year-olds in England report that they like reading 'very much'. This lags behind countries like Russia (46%), Ireland (46%), New Zealand (44%), and Australia (43%).
- Children who read books often at age 10 and more than once a week at age 16 gain higher results in maths, vocabulary and spelling tests at age 16 than those who read less regularly.
We greatly appreciate everything parents, carers and children do to support reading for pleasure already.
Have a fun-filled weekend - don't forget the Christmas Fayre on Saturday!
Yours,
Mrs Adrienne Amos
Week 2, ending 16 November
Mrs Amos (a.amos) on: Oak Tree Class Blog
A short week, due to our Training Day! But in this week, the children have been listening to some good old-fashioned punk or punk pop songs. Paramore’s classic number ‘Still Into You’ seemed to be one of the most popular.
In English, we have begun the process of writing a biography on Dr Thomas Barnardo. I have suggested that if children would like to do a little extra research on this significant Victorian figure, it would certainly help with the flow of their writing. The more information you have, the more interesting and informative your biography will sound.
In Maths, we have had to revisit multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000. Some misconceptions seem to be happening in arithmetic tests, so I thought it best to strike while the iron is hot – hence a similar theme in this week’s homework too. All help would be gratefully received, I am sure.
Football skills and mini games have continued in PE and, from next week, our Monday PE session will be Gymnastics.
At last, we are putting the tubes to good use and we have started our ‘Marbellous’ project in DT. (Pun completely intended). I am looking forward to seeing how our skills develop in this unit – bridges and bends included – as we learn the skills needed to build a marble run,
Have a lovely long weekend.
Yours,
Mrs Adrienne Amos
Week 1, ending 10 November
Mrs Amos (a.amos) on: Oak Tree Class Blog
Reader: Finn
Special Mention: Rumina
Well done to these children!
Welcome back to school for Autumn 2! Blues music has greeted us each morning in Oak Tree Class and the children seemed mostly to enjoy Gary Clarke Junior.
In Maths, we have finished our unit on multiplication and division by attempting some tricky problem solving activities. I have to say, the children showed true resilience in these tasks and, I am pleased to report, worked wonderfully in small groups: there was a lot of teamwork and co-operation (and also a lot of learning!)
In English, we have looked at a variety of biographies written about people we have learned about lower down the school (eg Florence Nightingale and May Seacole) and have tried hard to identify features of biographies. Over the next couple of weeks, they class will be researching information about Dr Barnardo and presenting their own biography about this significant figure from the Victorian era.
In PE, we have begun our unit on football. In RE, we started our work on Judaism by recalling information we learned about this faith in Years 3 and 4.
Next week, we begin our long-awaited DT work on structures – I look forward to telling you more next Friday!
Have a splendid weekend,
Yours,
Mrs Adrienne Amos
Week 8 (!!), ending 27 October 2023
Mrs Amos (a.amos) on: Oak Tree Class Blog
Reader: Henry M
Special Mention: Tom/Ezmae
Reading Ambassador: Daisyrose
A special well done to all these pupils this week!
And we have made it!! The past eight weeks have been a long, but rewarding half term for us in Oak Tree Class – none moreso than this past week.
Fabulous poetry has been created – using rhyme, rhythm AND onomatopoeia; tricky aspects of maths have been smashed (prime, square and cube numbers!) and an internal hockey tournament has been carried out, to celebrate the end of a very successful unit in PE.
It is clear that many of you are practising times table facts with your children and this has been so helpful in our recent maths unit. Please continue to do so, as after half term, we shall be moving onto FRACTIONS – and a secure times table knowledge makes this a much easier unit for Y5 children.
The ukulele playing has improved dramatically this week – “Lean on Me” sounded great and many children volunteered to play solos to the class! Some children are taking music home to practise over half term…
Our morning music style has been Soul – James Brown was a definite fave with this class!!
I hope you have a fab half term holiday! See you on November 6!
Yours,
Mrs Adrienne Amos
Week 7 (!), ending 20 October
Mrs Amos (a.amos) on: Oak Tree Class Blog
Reader: Amber
Special Mention: Isabel
A super well done to these pupils this week!
And the long term continues….! Just one week to go! But in the past week, we have been very busy in Oak Tree Class again.
Onomatopoeia has dominated our English sessions and we are building up nicely to producing a poem by the end of next week. It is true to say that the handwriting of this class is excellent, so the final published pieces should be awesome!
Maths has been all about multiples and factors – homework is also on this theme, so any support would be greatly appreciated.
We had our first indoor hockey lesson in PE, due to the torrential rain on Thursday, but both Sam and I are really pleased to see how the children’s hockey skills have developed over the half term.
Many children from or class represented RPPS in a Cross Country event – well done, guys! And those who stayed behind spent the afternoon learning how to draw a bridge. The results are stunning and are now proudly displayed in the Y4/5 corridor area.
After half term, we are looking at Marble Runs in DT. If you have one kicking about, that we could borrow, please do send in with your child!
It has been lovely to meet so many of you at Parents’ Evenings this past week - I hope you have a splendid weekend!.
Yours,
Mrs Adrienne Amos