Year 5 have had a great start to the new school year! They have settled back into the school routines really well, and have enjoyed being back with their friends again. We have begun work on our topic this term with the study of forces in science. The children showed off their already excellent knowledge of many of the forces they experience in everyday life, and could explain much of what they learnt about magnetism in year 3. Year 5 had lots of fun exploring the different forces that can be used to affect the way that objects move or to change their shape. Using objects such as toy cars, tennis balls, paper aeroplanes, magnets, plasticine and rubber bands, the children had to explore how they could make them move, speed up, slow down, change direction or change shape. In their groups, they described which forces were being applied and the effect they had on the objects. The children observed how objects can be pushed or pulled to affect the way they move. They found that some objects will roll down a ramp or fall to the ground due to the force of gravity. The paper however, floated more slowly to the ground because of air resistance acting against it. Due to magnetism being able to act at a distance and through some solid materials, the magnets provided the most fun as the children created very imaginative ways to use them to move different objects. Year 5 will continue to investigate the forces of friction, gravity, air resistance and water resistance, by describing their effects and identifying their advantages and disadvantages. There is a lot of brand knew knowledge to learn, but the children will enjoy just how practical and hands-on this topic is.
