Prep | Year 5 News
Unit of Inquiry
Weeks 7-8: Sharing the Planet
Week 9: Bathurst Camp and Where We Are In Place and Time
Mathematics
Week 7: Length, Perimeter and Area
Week 8 and 9: Position
English
Writing
Weeks 7-8: Writing to persuade an audience
Week 9: Imaginative texts- Narratives
Reading
How does an author influence a reader’s perspective or viewpoint?
UOI
How does modern agriculture affect a sustainable world? Boys in Year 5 have had their learning guided by this student-led inquiry question which was inspired by our Farm Day Excursion. Through this lens, we have been exploring the farming practices used in bee, cattle, prawn, berry, cotton and chicken farms across Australia. We had to consider the perspectives of the farmers, consumers, environment and biodiversity to determine the sustainability of each industry. It was interesting to see how some industries have attempted to be sustainable, but their impact on surrounding environments will be ever present. You might like to have a conversation with a Year 5 student about modern farming practices and potential ideas you think could lead to a more sustainable world. Over the coming weeks, the boys will be utilising geographical tools for inquiry to explore the features and characteristics of places and environments and how these features influence their management.
English
In English, we have continued to develop our ability to influence a reader using persuasion. We have worked together to draft letters to Mr Wyatt, utilising persuasive devices and knowledge of the audience. Students are now planning and writing their own persuasive texts based on an issue close to them. In Shared Reading, we have continued to read ‘There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom’ by Louis Sachar. This book explores the journey the protagonist takes as he learns, with the support of a trusted adult, to deal with past trauma, to understand himself and others, and to connect positively with the people around him. The boys have been making connections and inferences about characters and are beginning to realise that how we act on the outside doesn’t always reflect how we feel on the inside. The author of this book also wrote ‘Holes’, which is another book you might like to read together at home.
Mathematics
The boys in Year 5 have been exploring the properties of two-dimensional shapes. We have been using mathematical tools to accurately draw shapes with given properties. We have quickly learned that drawing a triangle where all sides are of equal length is rather tricky. An important part of drawing accurate shapes is labelling. We have learnt how to properly label the properties of shapes, including identifying which edges of the shape are the same length and which are unique. We will further develop our understanding as the boys apply these skills to solve complex problems and identify and prove geometric rules. The boys have taken ownership over their next steps in learning and have chosen experiences that are complementary to their individual needs.
STEAM
Did someone say chickens? Exciting things are upcoming in the STEAM Lab for Year 5’s collaboration into their Unit of Inquiry “Sharing the Planet”. The farm life excursion inspired the boys to develop their own lines of inquiry. After the collection of data, we found the most popular inquiries across all the classes. These included how we can cook, garden, build models and raise chickens in the STEAM Lab. Stay tuned for more information on this inquiry soon…
Mandarin
We have started the transdisciplinary unit Sharing the Planet by looking at the traditional farming in China and its problems, as well as the innovative practices to transform Chinese agriculture and food production. Boys have been taking the ownership of learning by sharing and inquiring into personal wonderings and working with different people in pair/group work. A bank of resources was provided to support students’ learning journey, which included short articles, case studies, videos and quizzes.
At the same time, boys have been participating in online Chinese learning with Education Perfect. The units for non-heritage learners and heritage learners are “Family & Animal” and “Families & Pets” respectively.
Visual Arts
This term in Visual Arts Year 5 have been working on a subject specific inquiry into kinetic sculpture. Our central idea is ‘Sculptors can compose with form, space and motion.’ The boys have used their creative thinking skills to make connections between ideas (about kinetic sculpture) and materials (paper), constructing small scale sculptures/ objects/experiments that involved movement or motion. They have also been introduced to kinetic art through the practice of Naum Gabo, William Forsythe, Jennifer Turpin & Michaelie Crawford. This week they continued their inquiry into the kinetic sculptures of Alexander Calder and Anna-Wili Highfield. Next the boys will use their knowledge to plan and begin their own kinetic sculpture. We look forward to sharing our process with you over the coming weeks.
Christian Studies
During this term, the boys have been investigating the main characters and story from “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. Written by C.S. Lewis as a part of the Narnia Chronicles, it brings together the imaginary world of Narnia with the truths of the Gospel of Jesus. The boys have been investigating the connection between the main characters and related concepts of love, relationship, forgiveness, sin, sacrifice and prophecy. Over the next few weeks, they will be working in groups to explore further connections between the characters while making personal connections to the Gospel message in the movie. We have also been conducting Chapel outside on the new basketball court where we have begun our journey looking at covenants / agreements between God and us. We will be examining how important it is for us to understand the relationship between covenants and God’s amazing plan of salvation.
