Year 5 News

Reading

Last week in Reading, Year 5 students explored Indigenous Studies by reading rich, meaningful texts by First Nations authors. We focused on making predictions as we read, using clues from the text, pictures, and what we already know to guess what might happen next. Some of the texts we explored were Mad Magpie and Cunning Crow by Gregg Dreise.

This week, students have been learning how to look beyond the details of a story to discover its big idea or message. This is often a big idea or message about life, people, or the world that sits underneath the details of the story. We have discussed different lessons and messages in the stories we’ve read, and reflected on what these messages mean for our own lives. “I have enjoyed predicting what's been happening in the Indigenous stories.” - Aarambha 5D“The big idea/main message in a text is what the author wants us to think about or learn.” - Chelsy 5C

Writing

In Writing, we have been busy finalising and presenting our persuasive debates! We really got into the spirit of debating by formally setting up our classrooms, with teams at the front and the rest of our peers ready to be an audience. We embraced the challenge, presented our arguments with confidence and had fun!

This week, we moved onto our new unit on biographies. Together, we identified key features of a biography and discussed what information is important when telling the story of someone’s life. We had the opportunity to choose a person of our own interest to research for our biographies. It was fun to be able to research an individual we admire or are curious about, as it made our learning more engaging and meaningful!

“I had fun rebutting the other team.” - Rylie 5D“Standing up and arguing my arguments were really fun.” - Aroosh 5D“It was fun researching our topic and writing down the facts.” - Christine 5D“I am writing a biography on my teacher, Miss. Kristina.” - Emmerson 5C

Maths

This fortnight in Maths, Year 5 students have been working hard to build our understanding of Area. We practised finding the area of rectangles and squares using the formula length × width. We also explored how to calculate the area of irregular shapes, by breaking them into smaller parts or using grid paper to help count square units accurately. We even took our learning outside by measuring real objects, using metre rulers and trundle wheels to calculate the area of larger items.

This week, we started learning about factors and multiples, and began to explore how numbers are connected and how we can find different ways to break numbers apart. We are excited to keep building on this learning in the last week of term!

“Area is fun and easy.” - Zach 5D

“I had fun using the trundle wheel to work out the area of the basketball court.” - Ivan 5D

“1, 3, 7, and 21 are factors of 21. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24 are factors of 24.” - Noah 5B

Inquiry

In Inquiry, we have been busy working in our groups to finalise our solar system dioramas before presenting them next week! We have worked extremely hard with our teams to bring our creative ideas to life, using a range of materials to represent different planets, stars, and other features in our solar system. It was fun working as a team, sharing ideas, and building something we are really proud of! Check out the photos below that capture key moments from our design process.

“I liked making the planets.” - Christine 5D

“I really like how we get to design the planets of the solar system.” - Artaaz 5C

“I have enjoyed making the solar system because I can actually see what it looks like.” - Aleisha 5C

Social and Emotional Learning

Over the past fortnight in SEL, we finished off our Personal Strengths unit. Each of us chose a personal strength (such as kindness, teamwork, creativity, or resilience), planned a performance to show in action, and worked in our small groups to film and present our video.

This week, we started our new topic on Help-Seeking and Problem-Solving. We began by discussing who we can ask for help and what types of problems we can try to solve independently. Year 5 students are learning to identify situations where they might benefit from asking peers or trusted adults for support, and when it’s appropriate to work through challenges on their own.

Special Event

Science Discovery Dome - Last week, Year 5 students had a planetarium incursion hosted by the Science Discovery Dome. Inside the dome, we laid down and transported into space through an amazing show! During the show, we explored the following: