This half term, Year 5 have become astronomers. We now know how the Earth and other planets orbit the Sun, how the Moon moves in relation to the Earth, how and why the Sun, Earth and Moon are spherical shaped and we know that the Earth rotates once on its axis every 24 hours which is why we have day and night. Throughout the unit, we used science models to explain our thinking – understanding that the phrase ‘Not to Scale’ was very important because it’s very difficult to show anything completely accurately given how huge space is and the incredible distances between everything in space! We used torches to represent the Sun, miniature globes to represent the Earth before adding in ping pong balls in another session to show the different phases of the moon. We have also really enjoyed asking our own questions about space (using Question Spinners to help) and carrying out our own secondary research using laptops and non-fiction texts to help us.
Next half term, we will studying how humans grow and develop over time – We Are Scientists challenge: Do you have any photographs of you or your family members at different stages of development: baby, toddler, child, adolescent (teenager), adult or elderly? What changes can you notice? Ask your families what your behaviour was like when you were a baby, how it changed when you were a toddler compared with what you do now. You could also find out more about what characteristics we have that make us mammals? Become the experts before next half term by carrying out your own research – remember this is not homework, it is your choice to build your own science capital.
