Hello Fir Class, 

So, this is the final week of the half-term! It feels very strange to go halfway through a term without seeing any of you, but we have loved looking at all of the pictures and work you have sent in. From next half-term (beginning Monday 1st June) home learning will be uploaded onto the class page on Mondays, to fit with the usual school week. We know that Year 5 will not be returning to school straight away after half-term, so please continue with the amazing effort that you have been putting into your home-schooling. 

Enjoy your break!

Miss Miller and Mrs Causer

SCIENCE - Animals and humans

Firstly, before you look at the attached sheet, estimate the life expectancy of the following animals:

Human

Lizard

Salmon

Snake

Parrot

Frog

Whale

Goldfish

Now, look at the attached sheet and compare your answers. Were you close? Did you guess or did you have some previous knowledge? Were you surprised by any?

This week, I would like you to practise drawing a bar graph. You can do this on lined paper or plain paper. Or, if you prefer, I have attached some graph paper.

Let’s remind ourselves what a bar graph needs.

1. You will need a ruler to draw the axes. The X-axis is horizontal and the Y-axis is vertical. The animals will go along the horizontal line and the life expectancy will go along the vertical line. You will need eight divisions along the bottom as there are eight animals. If you are very confident at drawing bar graphs, please try to separate the bars with evenly spaced gaps (as in the attached examples). Otherwise, please draw the bars next to each other. You will need to go up to 70 on the Y-axis, so you could count up in fives or tens.
2. Draw the bars based on the data on the sheet.
3. Please colour the bars in to make each stand out.
4. Label the axes with the headings from the sheet.
5. Give your graph a title.

Please look at the attached examples to help you .

Keep your graph safe as next week you will be using it. 

GEOGRAPHY - OUTDOOR LEARNING

Create a treasure hunt for someone in your family.

First of all, you will need to choose something that a member of your family would like to find. It only needs to be something small – a sweet will do! You then need to create a treasure trail around your house and garden. Find six (minimum) locations where you can hide a clue and decide the order in which they will be found. Try to space your clues around your house and garden and hide them well so none of them will be accidentally stumbled across. In each location, place a clue which will lead the person on to the next location. Clues could take the form of a picture, riddle or poem.

The challenge is to not make it too easy or too hard. You want your family member to enjoy it, but you don’t want them to find the treasure too easily!

Good luck.

ENGLISH

This half-term we will be looking at historical fiction. We are going to start by reading three extracts and comparing them. The extracts come from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo and A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines. The three extracts are set at different time periods. Please read the three extracts and look up any words you don’t know. I suggest you read them all a couple of times to really understand them.  

Oliver Twist

Boys have generally excellent appetites. Oliver Twist and his companions suffered the tortures of slow starvation for three months. At last they got so voracious and wild with hunger, that one boy who was tall for his age, hinted darkly to his companions that unless he had another basin of gruel, he was afraid he might some night happen to eat the boy sleeping next to him, who happened to be a weakly youth of tender age. He had a wild, hungry eye and they implicitly believed him.

A council was held; lots were cast for who should walk up to the master after supper that evening and ask for more; and it fell to Oliver Twist.

The evening arrived; the boys took their places. The master, in his cook’s uniform, stationed himself at the copper; his pauper assistants ranged themselves beside him; the gruel was served out; and a long grace was said over short commons. The gruel disappeared; the boys whispered to each other and winked at Oliver; while his next neighbours nudged him. Child as he was, he was desperate with hunger, and reckless with misery. He rose from the table; and advancing to the master, basin and spoon in hand, said, somewhat alarmed at his own temerity,-

“Please, sir, I want some more.”

Private Peaceful

I am writing to Mother – I haven’t written for a while and am feeling guilty about it. My pencil keeps breaking and I am sharpening it again. Everyone else is lying asleep in the sun or is sitting about smoking and chatting. Nipper Martin is cleaning his rifle again. He’s always very particular about that.

"Gas! Gas!"

The cry goes up and is echoed all along the trench. For a moment we are frozen with panic. We have trained for this time and again, but nonetheless we fumble clumsily, feverishly with our gas masks.

"Fix bayonets!" Hanley's yelling while we're still trying frantically to pull on our gas masks. We grab our rifles and fix bayonets. We're on the firestep looking out into no-man's-land, and we see it rolling towards us, this dreaded killer cloud we have heard so much about but have never seen for ourselves until now. Its deadly tendrils are searching ahead, feeling their way forward in long yellow wisps, scenting me, searching for me. Then finding me out, the gas turns and drifts straight for me. I'm shouting inside my gas mask. "Christ! Christ!" Still the gas comes on, through our wire, swallowing everything in its path.

A Kestrel for a Knave

"I'm sick of you boys, you'll be the death of me. Not a day goes by without me having to deal with a line of boys. I can't remember a day, not one day, in all the years I've been in this school, and how long's that? ... ten years, and the school's no better now than it was on the day that it opened. I can't understand it. I can't understand it at all."

"I've taught in this city for over thirty-five years now; many of your parents were pupils under me in the old city schools before this estate was built; and I'm certain that in all those years I've never encountered a generation as difficult to handle as this one. I thought I understood young people, I should be able to with all my experience, yet there's something happening today that's frightening, that makes me feel that it's all been a waste of time. ... Like it's a waste of time standing here talking to you boys, because you won't take a bit of notice to what I'm saying. I know what you're thinking now, you're thinking, why doesn't he get on with it and let us go, instead of standing there babbling on? That's what you're thinking, isn't it? Isn't it, MacDowall?"

"No,sir."

"O yes it is. I can see it in your eyes, lad, they're glazed over.”

The teacher brought the stick round from behind his back for the boys to have a look at. He slashed the stick in front of their chests, making the air swish in its wake, then he turned round and leaned straight-armed on the mantelshelf, shaking his head. ...

"So for want of a better solution I continue using the cane, knowing full well that you'll be back time and time again for some more. Knowing that when you smokers leave this room wringing your hands, you'll carry on smoking just the same. 

"Now, get your hands out."

Task

1. Please complete the attached sheet comparing the extracts. You do not need to print it out, but can copy it onto paper if you prefer.
2. Please find a story set in a different time period to these (it can be modern). You will all have a book at home that you can use for this task. Then, find a short extract that gives the reader an idea of the time period in which it is set and copy it out.
3. Add your story to the final column of the table and fill it in.
4. If any of you have a favourite story set from a different time period, please let me know. I will do my best to include an extract from your story into one of the upcoming tasks.

Maths

I'm sorry to those of you who were unable to access the White Rose worksheets last week.

This week I would like you to choose an activity a day to complete from the homework grid attached. 

Art

Please go through the attached slideshow about Tudor Coats of Arms. Your activity for this week will be to create your own coat of arms. Consider what certain colours and images each represent and try to make one which best suits the values of yourself or your family. 

PE

I know that many of you have been exercising more than ever during lockdown, which is brilliant. For those who would like a fresh idea, Mr Tull may be the answer to your prayers. He has set you all another fun challenge this week. Watch his video for more details! Remember you can send your videos in to oakclass@manea.cambs.sch.uk if you would like to see them appear on the website. 

Guided Reading

Pick five characters from books you have read who you would like to have a tea party with. Provide one reason for inviting them and one question you would like to ask each one. 

Oracy

This week the main skill you will be focusing on is listening! Here are a couple of games you can play.

1. The List. Write a list of twenty things. They can be as ordinary or random as you like. Read your list to a partner. After you have read your list, talk to your partner for one minute about an unrelated subject. Once the minute is up, your partner needs to list as many of the twenty things as they can remember. Then swap. Whoever remembers the highest number from the list wins.

2. Sit back to back with somebody. You both need a piece of paper and something to draw with. Draw a set of shapes and patterns. You can make it as easy or as complex as you like. Then describe in detail your picture to your partner. See how closely your partner can replicate your picture, based on your instructions. Then swap around.

Mrs Wordsmith

Please complete the activities attached and revise the new summer term words for this week.