Year 5 Weekly Blog wb. 15th December

Miss Jackson
6 days ago
3 min read

It's been another fantastic week of focused learning and exciting challenges in Year 5! Here is a summary of what your children have been working on across the curriculum:

The children have been working hard to master complex multiplication and division skills.

We focused on the Formal Method (long multiplication) for multiplying 2, 3, or 4-digit numbers by a 2-digit number, ensuring they can carry out these multi-step calculations accurately.
In division, we practised using Short Division (the 'bus stop' method) to divide 3 or 4-digit numbers by a single-digit number, developing their confidence in handling remainders and larger quantities.

This week, we took on advanced language features as we continue preparing for our newspaper report on Riddle of the Runes.

The children practised translating visual clues and symbolism into clear, descriptive sentences, using a variety of conjunctions and precise vocabulary.
We learned how to use modal verbs (e.g., might, could, must) and adverbs (e.g., possibly, surely, certainly) to indicate degrees of possibility in their reporting.
We explored using the passive voice strategically to control the formality and emphasis of information presentation.
A key planning focus was logical structure: creating strong topic sentences and allocating relevant evidence to each paragraph in preparation for their 'hot task' (final report) next week.

In a heartwarming activity, the children wrote beautiful Christmas letters to the elderly. They shared their own family Christmas traditions and sent warm wishes for the festive season, practising their formal letter writing skills while spreading joy in the community.

We successfully wrapped up our unit on Forces and completed an assessment to consolidate their understanding of concepts like gravity, air resistance, and friction.

The week culminated in "The Great Transport Challenge":

The children had to design a vehicle that could move easily through air OR water and effectively overcome friction on land.
They labelled and explained how their design utilised an understanding of air/water resistance and friction.
Crucially, each design had to incorporate and explain the purpose of at least one simple mechanism: a lever, pulley, or gear, linking their knowledge of forces to practical engineering.

We wanted to provide a quick and important reminder regarding the deposit for the Sealyham Activity Centre Year 6 Residential in 2027.

A reminder for the initial deposit payment will be sent out on Friday, 15th December.
Please ensure you look out for this reminder next week as this secures your child's place on what promises to be a fantastic trip!

Reminders for next week:

Mon - PE, arithmetic assessment (we have posted an example of what the test will look like, if you have spare time, please go through some of these questions with your child prior to this)

Weds - Christmas jumper and Christmas dinner day

Thurs - Inflatables, we will be celebrating the end of term with a fun Talent Show! This is a wonderful opportunity for the children to perform and share their unique talents in front of their classmates. Participation is completely voluntary. If your child would like a snack during the celebration, they are welcome to bring in one small snack for their own consumption. Important Note: Due to varying dietary requirements and allergies, please ensure the snack is not intended to be shared with peers. It should be exclusively for your child.

Fri - Christmas holidays!

A reminder, there will be no spelling test next week. The spellings for our first week back after half term are words ending in '-able' where the 'e' from the base word remains:

changeable, noticeable, microwaveable, replaceable, manageable, rechargeable, irreplaceable, knowledgeable, agreeable, salvageable

We have set Maths homework on google classroom based on multiplying a 2/3/4 digit by a 2 digit number if you would like to practise this skill at home.

A reminder the children return to school after the Christmas holidays on Tuesday 6th January 2026.