Year 5
17th January 2025
Over the past two weeks, Year 5 have been immersed in a vibrant array of learning experiences that have ignited their curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking.
In Science, Year 5 dove into the fascinating topic of reversible and irreversible changes. Practical experiments were the highlight, as pupils explored the results of combining different substances. They mixed milk and vinegar to observe the creation of curds, melted chocolate to study its physical properties, and experimented with baking soda and vinegar to witness chemical reactions. Pupils demonstrated their ability to explain their findings using precise scientific vocabulary.
In D&T, Year 5 tackled the challenge of designing and constructing strong bridge structures. Using a variety of materials and techniques, they explored the principles of corrugation and reinforcing beams. Pupils worked collaboratively, testing their creations to see how much weight they could support. The process of hypothesising, building, testing, and evaluating allowed them to refine their designs and understand the importance of structural integrity.
In Literacy, pupils have been developing their descriptive writing, drawing inspiration from David Guetta's Titanium music video. They’ve explored how to create tension and atmosphere, experimented with sentence structure, and selected vivid vocabulary to bring their ideas to life. In Maths, the focus has been on angles and shapes, with children confidently identifying and measuring acute, obtuse, and reflex angles using protractors.
18th December 2024
Last week, Year 5 pupils enjoyed an exciting USA-themed day, bringing their Geography learning to life. The day was packed with activities that linked directly to their curriculum objectives, including exploring physical and human features, climate zones, and famous landmarks.
The day began with a lively game of “Who Am I?” and a team effort to recreate the USA flag using their red, white, and blue outfits. Pupils braved the chilly weather for a treasure hunt, identifying states and landmarks while reinforcing their knowledge of USA geography.
In the ICT suite, pupils explored a custom-built website filled with interactive games and resources, deepening their understanding of topics like biomes and landmarks. Later, they showcased their creativity by sculpting clay models of iconic landmarks, such as the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore.
The afternoon brought more collaborative fun, with USA-themed colouring, bingo, biscuit decorating, and hot dog making—bringing a taste of American culture into the classroom.
This immersive and engaging day was a fantastic way for pupils to connect their learning with hands-on experiences and cultural exploration. Year 5 thoroughly enjoyed their journey across the United States!
28th November 2024
Year 5 has had an exciting couple of weeks filled with hands-on learning.
In Literacy, the children have been captivated by Salvador Dalí’s surrealist painting, The Persistence of Memory. Using the artwork as inspiration, they planned and wrote atmospheric setting descriptions, exploring the feelings evoked by the unusual imagery. Maths lessons focused on fractions, as students tackled activities like identifying equivalences, ordering fractions with different denominators, and even converting improper fractions into mixed numbers.
Year 5 also benefited from some enriching extracurricular activities. They attended the Thurrock Walk Online Roadshow with Essex Police and The Two Johns, learning vital online safety skills, including how to navigate social media responsibly and the importance of critical thinking when engaging with influencers or challenges. This session was followed by a safer roads programme, where students actively participated in measuring driver speeds and promoting road safety in the local community.
These weeks have showcased Year 5’s curiosity, creativity, and eagerness to make a positive impact both in the classroom and beyond.
14th October 2024
Year 5 have come back after the half-term break with a great attitude for learning! Over the past 2 weeks, we have been using topography maps to learn more about the USA and how this compares to the UK. We have also begun to investigate what makes the USA unique in its human and physical features. In addition, we have written some brilliant Narratives based around the world-famous legend of 'Robin Hood' - using our expert knowledge of hooking a reader.
11th October 2024
And just like that, we’re reaching the end of our first half term in Year 5! The last few weeks have been packed with exciting learning experiences, especially in Science, where our journey through space has been truly out of this world.
We kicked off our space topic by exploring constellations, learning how different cultures have used them throughout history. The highlight was definitely our hands-on activity, where we recreated star patterns using spaghetti and marshmallows—fun and educational! We also had the chance to attend an astrodome workshop, which gave us a virtual tour of the night sky. The immersive experience helped bring our learning to life, and the children left with a sense of wonder. Adding to the excitement, we joined other schools for a Zoom STEM GeoBus workshop hosted by University College London, where the pupils deepened their understanding of space and even got to use 3D glasses to make the visuals pop!
In other subjects, we wrapped up our History topic on the British Empire, where the children participated in debates and reflected on the different experiences people had during that time. In English, we explored the picture novel The Island, which sparked some great discussions about the characters and themes. The children enjoyed expressing their ideas through freeze frames and descriptive writing inspired by music.
Maths lessons have seen us mastering the art of telling time on analogue and digital clocks. We practiced converting between 12-hour and 24-hour formats and even tackled some tricky word problems involving timetables.
It's been a fantastic start to the year, and we can’t wait to see what the next half term brings!
26th September 2024
This week in Year 5 has been filled with exciting and engaging activities across various subjects!
In RE, pupils had a fantastic time creating a TV news role play for ‘God News’. After reading an existing news articles, pupils planned a news report of their own by exploring different viewpoints about the existence of God through creative story reporting, complete with eyewitness accounts and expert comments. Many pupils were very excited about the scenario suggestion of the 2024PT5 meteorite hitting our school! This activity not only deepened their understanding but also honed their presentation skills.
In D&T, the classroom buzzed with creativity as pupils worked on their Mood Boards. Using a variety of materials such as felt, feathers, and card, they compiled inspiring collections that will guide their future design projects. The hands-on experience allowed them to express their ideas visually and explore different textures and colours.
In History, our budding historians delved into the life of Queen Victoria. They enjoyed a fact search activity, which was followed by in-depth research using the ICT suite. This interactive approach helped them uncover fascinating details about the queen’s life and reign, sparking lively discussions.
12th September 2024
As we kick off the new school year, our Year 5 pupils have shown remarkable enthusiasm and adaptability. They have embraced the raised expectations for their behaviour and learning, engaging in thoughtful discussions about how they wish to be treated, guided by our school policy and their three core rights: ready to learn, respect, and the right to feel safe.
In Religious Education, pupils have delved into the question, “What do Christians believe God to be like?” They created vibrant mindmaps with illustrations, sparking lively discussions. They also explored short Bible extracts and watched a short video clip of an interview with a church minister from National Geographic’s series, The Story of God.
In Science, our budding astronomers have also embarked on an exciting journey through space. Last week, they researched the key features of the eight planets, creating a rhyme to remember their order. This week, they contrasted the properties of rocky planets and gas giants in their non-chronological reports. It has been lovely to see some of their projects begin to make their way into class.
Welcome to Year 5
Year 5 is an exciting and challenging year at Benyon Primary School as we encourage the children to continue to develop their positive learning behaviours and use their growth mindset to problem solve effectively. As is the case throughout Benyon, there is a focus on working collaboratively with their class members, and all lessons across the curriculum will include a range of activities to encourage the development of these skills. In Year 5, we provide a broad and balanced curriculum and through continuous assessment, enable the children to make progress in all subjects and gain confidence.
Teachers
Miss Alabi
Mr Powell
Meet the Teacher
Reading Log Links
TIMETABLES
PE Timetable
Meet the teacher
Homework
Learn your times tables whilst having fun!
Maths, English tasks can be accessed on here. This is where weekly homework will be set.
This is an exciting spelling and maths resource for the children to explore and practice weekly spellings.
Reading
We expect the year group to read a book of choice each evening. They then add a comment or summary to the class forms - this can be found in the window of the classroom. This acts as a reading diary.
Year 5 and 6 spelling list
Useful Links
Year 5 recently went to an astronomy roadshow to support our science topic of earth and space. The children really enjoyed having a closer look at stars, moons, planets and our solar system.
Upcoming Events