It was a busy last week before our winter break, with Sports Day being the main event! Our students had an amazing time showing off their athletic skills and just having fun participating in all the events! It is always healthy to have some friendly competition, and it was nice to see students supporting one another no matter of their house team.
Students were able to gain further understanding of the size difference between the planets in our solar system using fruits brought in by Ms. Cora. We measured the distances between the fruits to be proportional with their actual distance in space, and wow, it was amazing to see just how far the planets actually are and how difficult it is to see some of them! We continued with our learning of our solar system, using songs and mnemonics to remember the order of the planets. Students used this to assemble a display of our solar system. We read ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ asking students how this is connected to space. Students were able to identify Earth as being our ‘just right’ planet that we can live on. They showed this on their displays as well. In a reading activity, students read a book called ‘Earth is Tilting!’ and answered questions about how the Earth’s tilt affects the seasons.
In Maths we have been looking at different strategies to multiply multi-digit numbers together such as box method, partial products, column strategy and lattice. Please ask your child to show you their favourite method! With practise, we hope that students can become an expert using one of the strategies and feel confident to use it when tasked to multiply larger numbers.
Looking ahead to when we return from break, students will be ready to start their own personal inquiries into an element of space using a guided inquiry journal. We will begin to practise note taking and note making. We will continue to explore science-fiction texts and look at how we can use a story mountain template to plan for writing to ensure we have included all elements of a narrative story and stay organised. In maths we will continue to practise multiplication of multi-digit numbers and move into different division strategies.
Wishing you all a safe and wonderful winter break! Looking forward to seeing you all in the New Year!
Warm Wishes, Grade 5 Team!
