26 Oct 2018

Yr5 Curriculum Update – 26/10/18

Working together to achieve success for every child

Transdisciplinary Learning – It’s all connected!

Matter exists in different forms which can be changed and used for different purposes.

The lines of inquiry for this unit are:

  •  what defines matter (form)
  • changes matter can undergo (change)
  • how matter can be used to suit purposes (connection)

And

Personal, physical and emotional changes we go through.

This is a specific line of inquiry from our Who We Are unit of inquiry.

 

Unit of Inquiry

Our inquiry learning has seen the children working on their final experiment. The children enjoyed using the scientific process to plan out their own investigations and record their findings.

This week the children have been visiting their original unit of Who We Are, focusing on the physical and emotional changes that they will be experiencing. In particular, we have been looking at well being and hygiene in preparation for the up and coming camp in November that we are all looking forward to.  There are more details about this in the How you can help at home section below.

 

Literacy

Literacy has continued to support the UOI with explanation text being the writing focus.  Students have been learning to write an explanation about the experiments they carried out as part of their inquiry into states of matter. Reading has consisted of using a range of comprehension strategies during the research phase of the UOI. Skimming and scanning, questioning, and summarising are strategies that students have selected to help gain the knowledge they need for their learning.  Students have also learnt how to research using reliable websites and are becoming more confident to identify unhelpful websites quickly.

 

Maths

We are delighted to include the following piece, which has been written by our own Year 5 students:

‘This week the Year 5 students have been busy learning lots of Maths! We have been ordering decimal numbers by looking at the digits in the largest place and arranging them from smallest to biggest. We also looked at how we could order very big numbers.  After that, we practiced rounding decimal to the nearest whole number. We know that if the digit in the tenths place is 5 or greater, we round to the next whole number. If the digit is 4 or less, the whole number stays the same and the digits after the whole number are changed to zero. Next, we explored when zeros matter in Maths. So, we discussed what would happen if we took out different zeros from numbers. Finally, we reflected on our progress in understanding place value so far and then did some target setting so we can improve.’ (Written by Trevor Yung and Purvi Jain in 5S)

 

Chinese Learning

Chinese Year 5:

In the Chinese classrooms, we continue to focus on the concept of wellbeing and providing different learning opportunities for children to explore their own interests and promote agentic learning.

Here is a glimpse of some of our classrooms:

 

How you can help at home

As part of our Who We Are unit and in line with our PSE curriculum, the year 5 and 6 students will begin discussions linked with social, emotional and physical changes that occur during puberty and adolescence.

In general, puberty starts for girls between the ages of eight and 13 and boys between nine and 14 and research indicates that it is better to learn about changes they will go through before they actually go through them, which is why we begin our discussions in year 5 and continue them through to year 6.

We wanted to share with the parent community the key ideas we will be discussing, beginning this week and continuing on at various times throughout the academic year. Understanding what conversations are happening in the classroom will enable you and your child to open up conversations at home as well.

Key Ideas Addressed In Year 5:
Puberty signals changes in a person’s reproductive capability

During puberty, hygiene is important to keep one’s sexual and reproductive anatomy clean and healthyMenstruation is a normal and natural part of a girls’ physical development and should not be treated with secrecy or stigma

During puberty, adolescents may experience a variety of physical responses

There is wide variation in what people find attractive when it comes to a person’s physical appearance

Tips to help continue the conversation

Let your child know that you are aware of the curriculum they are involved in and that you’re always happy to answer any questions they have.
Try to avoid making it a formal, daunting process. Keep the conversation light and short in a relaxed, comfortable environment. A quick 10 minute chat about what happens to your body as you grow older is a good start.
Remind yourself that puberty is normal, natural, and good.  Try very hard to convey that attitude to your child while talking about this topic.  No shame, no embarrassment—it’s a natural part of life that everyone goes through.
We are always available if you have any questions or concerns so please do not hesitate to email your child’s teacher.

Key Dates for the diary

October 22-26 – Whole school wellbeing focus

October 25 – 3 Way Conference (after school)

October 29 to November 1 – School photos

November 1 – 3-Way Conference (after school)

November 27 – 30 Year 5 Camp (information meeting to be arranged)