Year 5/6 - Senior Unit

Welcome back to Term 4!

It has been fantastic to see how quickly students have settled back into school routines after the break. Term 4 is always a busy and exciting time, with many special events ahead. In the coming weeks, our Year 5 students will begin applying for 2027 student leadership positions, while our Year 6 students look forward to graduation and their Celebration Day as they prepare for secondary school.

Literacy 

In Literacy, students have been exploring the hybrid text Dry to Dry by Pamela Freeman, which combines narrative and informative writing to explore the unique and diverse seasons of Kakadu National Park in Australia. This text connects with our Inquiry Unit on Animal Adaptation. Students have been analysing how the author uses language to create vivid imagery, while consolidating their skimming and scanning skills to locate key information efficiently.

In Writing, students have begun researching a specific Australian animal. They started by recording what they already know and identifying questions to guide their further research. Students have also been learning how to identify reliable online sources, gather relevant facts, and record information in their own words.

Numeracy 

In Maths, students have been exploring angles and how to identify, measure, and draw them accurately. They have explored different types of angles, including right, acute, obtuse, straight, and reflex, and learned how these appear in everyday environments. Using protractors, students have practised estimating, measuring, and drawing angles with correct notation, while developing benchmarks such as 45°, 90°, and 180° to support their estimates. They have also developed an understanding of the properties of angles on a straight line and on intersecting lines, and applied this to solve problems involving finding unknown angles.

Inquiry

This term, our Inquiry unit focuses on Animal Adaptations. Students are exploring how changes in habitats, including those caused by humans, can affect the survival and adaptation of animals. We began by investigating the structural features and adaptations that help living things survive in their environments. This week, students explored how animals use camouflage to blend into their surroundings, helping them avoid predators or approach prey undetected. To apply their understanding, students took part in a creative camouflage challenge, decorating animal outlines with colours, shapes and patterns to help them blend into objects within the classroom. This hands-on activity encouraged students to think carefully about how an animal’s appearance can help it survive in its habitat. 

Upcoming Events

On Friday 23rd October, we will visit Werribee Open Range Zoo, where students will engage in activities to connect their classroom learning about Animal Adaptations with real-world examples. Students will observe how animals’ structural features and behaviours help them survive in their natural habitats, including how they find food, protect themselves, and cope with environmental conditions. They will also have the opportunity to consider how habitat changes, including those caused by humans, can affect animal survival and what zoos do to support animal conservation. 

Year 5/6 Teachers

Lyndsay Adamson (56A), Sharna Ford (56F), Ann Ireland (56I) and 

Alison Meggs/Iain Sparrey (56M)