Year 5:Repairing, Recycling

Science: Properties of Materials

'This half term, we have been looking at materials, their states of matter and their properties. We started with a visit to the Francis Crick Institute and we ran some tests on different substances to find which one was corn flour.' - Georgia G 5B

New and old vocabulary that was learnt or recapped.

Visit to the Francis Crick Institute on Friday 11th February 2022

On Friday the 11th of February, 5B went to the crick institute where we did cool experiments with scientist’s. There were two people who guided us; Claire and Christina. During their introduction, we put on bibs that had the letter H or O on it. H stood for hydrogen and O stood for oxygen. Then, we put on pirate hooks to link ourselves to make hydrogen peroxide.

After that, we did an experiment to find a particular substance. The substances were salt, sugar, cornstarch and baking powder. While we were looking for cornstarch, we had to do 25 tests.

Next, we had lunch and I had a tuna sandwich and a WAGON WHEEL. We went into a playground nearby and Beth went haywire on the rocking horse.

Ethan, 5B

After lunch, we checked if our answers were correct from the experiment in the morning. They were all correct. As a prize, we got to take back to school the ingredients to make our own Oobleck.

During the final part of the day, we got to play with electrical circuit sets. We were given challenges to complete to make buzzers buzz, lights turn on and make something fly.

Overall, it was a great day.

Hameed, 5B

Visit to The Francis Crick Institute

On Tuesday 8th and Friday 11th of February, Year 5 visited the Francis Crick Institute as a STUNNING START to our STEAM learning. Below are a selection of recounts from pupils in both 5S and 5B.

Visit to the Francis Crick Institute on Wednesday 9th February 2022

On Friday 11th February, we went to the Crick Institute and dressed up as scientists and wore goggles. We listened to the actual scientists and they taught us about solids, liquids and gases.

They told us about H2O (Hydrogen and Oxygen) which can make lots of different chemical, some of them are dangerous. We used Hydrogen Peroxide to make elephant's toothpaste and it was so big, it went all over the place! We did experiments with powders and used acids to discover what substance they were. We weren’t allowed to touch it though because it could burn us!

Nyah, 5S

We got split up into trios, we answered questions and, at the end of the test, my trio’s liquid was black! We went outside for break time which was fun. When we returned to the lab, we wrote our answers for the test with our trios. In the afternoon, we did tests with electricity and circuits and used batteries to power and activate electronic gadgets.

Anuar, 5S

Reversible

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Irreversible

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Reversible: Evaporation

'We put salty water in to two cups. We put cling film on top of one of the cups. This stopped the water from evaporating. At the end, the cup which wasn't covered the water level dropped and we could see salt on the sides of the cup.' - Corey, 5B

Irreversible: Burning

'All burning is irreversible. When we burnt the iron wool using the battery, the iron looked like electricity was flowing through it. Originally, the iron wool looked light grey but after it was burnt it was black. Warning: Do not try this inside a building.' - Andrew 5B

Irreversible: Bicarbonate soda and Vinegar

'We mixed together vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. They reacted and bubbled up to make high pressured air which forced its way in to the balloon. We cannot separate these materials again because they have let off gas.' - Vincent, 5B

Making alloys

'We had one starting material and we had three different ingredients. We mixed them together to see how that material was changed when it was mixed with another.' - Vincent, 5B

'When we added the sand, the plasticine became more solid, rough and when you played with it, it was falling apart.' - Corey, Ariella and William, 5B

'When we added the salt, the plasticine became more crunchy. We couldn't see the salt because it dissolved in to the plasticine.' - Zubair and Hameed, 5B

'When we added flour, the flour took a while to mix in. The flour made the plasticine crumbly.' - Jayden, 5B

Haaziq Kazi: Inspirational changemaker

Once we understood reversible and irreversible changes to materials, we wanted to look at this in real-life context. We looked at the work of Haaziq Kazi, a middle-school student from India who is raising awareness about the plastic pollution problem on our earth.

We used global data to find our approximate plastic debt and concluded that we needed to use our learning on materials to explore solutions. We understood that mixing can be a reversible process and that the mixing of plastic, and other materials such as oil and micro-plastics, in to our oceans could be undone.

We decided to create our own ocean filtration systems inspired by the the system (ERVIS) that Kaaziq developed. We used natural materials in order to ensure we would not pollute the ocean water further. Once we had planned, tested and evaluated our filtration systems, we wrote up our procedure and findings. Below, you will find examples from Year 5 pupils.

Scientific Procedure: Filtration

Introduction

Every minute, a garbage truck of plastic pollution enters the ocean. The perpetrators of this are the people of the world, who are throwing away masks and plastic. If this doesn't change by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish.

The purpose of this experiment is to fix the huge problem with plastic pollution in our oceans. The question we wanted to answer was how well do natural materials filter dirty water.

Prediction

I predict that the plastic will stay at the top of the filter because the sand will block it from coming down.

Equipment List

. Bottle (has to be 2l)

. Scissors

. 500 grams of sand

. 500g soil

. Handful of medium gravel

. Handful of large gravel

. Dirty water solution

Method

1. First, cut your bottle in half and put them together but place the top upside down.

2. Next, buy or get your materials (like sand, soil, large gravel and medium gravel) and choose what order you want them in.

3. After that, you put your masterpiece together. I suggest you put your large gravel at the bottom but you could do what you want.

4. Then, pour the dirty water solution into the filter carefully so it doesn't spill.

5. After this, observe if any dirty water gets through the filter and see if it is successful or unsuccessful.

6. Finally, if it didn't work you might want to think if you would take out some of the filtering materials or add a few new substances.

Observations and Conclusions

As we poured our dirty water into the filtration system, it meandered its way through the different substances.

Firstly, we noticed that the plastic was stopped by the first layer. This was because the plastic was too big.

Secondly, the microplastics (cinnamon), which had dissolved into the dirty sea water, didn’t separate.

Thirdly, we noticed that the oil was split. I think this was because the sand and soil stopped some of the oil, which caused it to spilt.

Finally, the salt in our dirty water was dissolved therefore it couldn't separated.

However, this is a success because half of the dirty substances in our solution were separated.

Next, we need to think about substance that we could add to the filtration system that we would separate the cinnamon from the dirty water.

Asya, 5B

4. Next, you test your system to see if it works by pouring the 'dirty water' through it. See if the plastic stays at the top and see if any little pieces go through. If any little pieces are still there at the bottom, your filtration system needs something else!

Observations and Conclusion

When they dirty water was poured thought the filter, a few different thing were noticed.

Firstly, the plastic got stuck at the top it couldn't flow through the sand like a liquid could.

Secondly, the oil traveled through the gravel very easily. However, the oil got stuck in the soil, because the soil is sticky and the oil got stuck to it. However, the oil also made our ocean water dirtier.

Thirdly, when you looked for the cinnamon, it is very hard to see if it travelled through.

We think the cinnamon got stuck in the big gravel, due to the gravel being being rough and the cinnamon attaching to it.

Finally, the salt dissolved in the water, which meant it went through very easily.

Sophia and Jahmai, 5S

Introduction

Did you know that in 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish? Did you know that when we die our wasted plastic will survive longer than us? We want to find a way to clean the ocean, like a filtration system, so we can remove plastic from the ocean to make the oceans cleaner. We need to do this because, the ocean is getting more and more plastic in it by the second.

There is so much plastic in the ocean, soon most of the ocean will be full of plastic, and soon all the animals will be gone. What could we do to get these materials out of the ocean?

Prediction

I predict that the plastic will get stuck at the top (sand), because the plastic can't flow through the sand. I predict the cinnamon will get stuck in the big gravel because the cinnamon will stick to it. I predict that the salt will get stuck in the soil because the salt will

attach itself to the soil.

Equipment List

Bottle
Salt
Gravel
Soil
Sand
Water
Scissors
Cop
Cinnamon

Method

First, pick up the bottle-which should be 2 litres in size and then slice the middle part of the bottle. Turn the top half upside down and place it the bottom half. (Don't forget to remove the lid).

Next, you pick what you're going to put in your filtration system (soil, sand, big gravel, small gravel, medium gavel) and then put it in the water bottle, picking your order wisely.

Then, you make your “ocean water”. Get some salt, put it in (because it’s the ocean), put in cinnamon (because it represents the microplastics), then add plastic (because there's plastic in the ocean) and then the oil - add something else if you want to.

Technology: Coding quizzes

Our focus in our technology lessons was quizzes. We started by creating our own Google forms to assess our local communities knowledge of recycling systems before creating Scratch knowledge quizzes with different outcomes dependent on answers.

Changemaking in our community: Google Form Questionnaires

'We went on a local walk because we wanted to help the environment. When we were out on our walk, we saw tonnes of rubbish bags overflowing with rubbish and no recycling bins.' - Tommy, 5B

'I saw lots of cans and plastic in Cantelowes Park which could have been recycled but they had been thrown on the floor.' - Zahra, 5B

Below, you will find some of Year 5's questionnaires which gather data on how well we know our local recycling systems.

Georgia D, 5B

Sophia, 5S

Denise, 5B

Caine, 5S

Zubair, 5B

Zak, 5S

Corey, 5B

Amber, 5S

Scratch Quizzes: Assessing knowledge

Exploring conditions

'We started off practicing using conditions. We needed to say what would happen if a key was pressed. This was called the condition.

In this example, if you click the space bar it will colour will change effect by 25.' - William, 5B

Selecting outcomes

'Then we looked at quizzes and we looked at what would happen if the player that is playing gets is right or wrong.

In this example, when the green flag is clicked, the game will start. If the key q is pressed, then a meow sound will play. If any other key is pressed, the sprite will move 10 steps.' - Antonio, 5S

Asking questions

Finally, we combined our learning on selecting outcomes with our STEAM knowledge by preparing recycling knowledge quizzes. We wanted to make these quizzes fun and accessible to all. We carefully selected outcomes for both the wrong and right answers, making sure that each action needed by the player was carefully explained.

Below you will find some examples of these fantastic quizzes for you to have a go at!

Hiro, 5S

Andrew, 5B

Jasper, 5B

Mason, 5B

Krenar, 5B

Isabel, 5S

Nyah, 5S

Ryan, 5S

Engineering: Repairing with recycling

Following our work on restoring the ocean using filtration systems, we then thought about how we could use our knowledge of materials to help repair damaged items within our school in a sustainable way.

Dying fabrics

'We chopped up cabbage, coffee, onions and avocado skins and we added them to vinegar. Then, we dyed the fabrics. The cabbage turned the fabric sometimes blue and sometimes purple.' - Ellena, 5S

Sewing

'We practiced how to stitch and use different types of stitch such as running stitch and cross stitch. My nan was a surgeon and she taught me how to stitch. It was difficult for some people because they didn't know how to stitch. Some of the kind children in the class helped them to stitch and they got there eventually.' - Jayden, 5B

Upcycling

'I really enjoyed creating our own patches because we got to learn how to sew. My patch design said 'Recycle' with the recycling logo and it had a bin on it. I wanted other people to imagine what the world would look like if we recycled.' - Ariella, 5B

Asya, 5B

Georgia D, 5B

Joe, 5B

Ethan, 5B

HS2 Materials Engineers

At the beginning of the term, we were visited by two engineers working on the HS2 project. They were both material engineers and explained to us about their role in the process. Firstly, they spoke about the ground that is being dug through. They explained it's properties and talked us through how the equipment was designed to work its way through the earth. Secondly, they spoke to us about the materials for the tunnel itself. We discussed how strong these materials needed to be and how the tunnel's design (length and width) meant that the materials needed to be carefully selected.

Art and Maths: Data in to detail

Following receiving the results from our Google form quizzes, we practiced our data analysis skills and created our own graphs to display it.

'We counted rubbish off the streets and with that data we made graphs. I lined it up and I put a scale and measured how much the grid was worth, for instance, the plastic was very high and I had to look at exactly where the scale was to draw the line in the right place. We had to do it exactly so the calculations weren't off.' - Aseel 5S

'This pie chart represents the amount of rubbish we saw on the streets of Camden. We added up all the rubbish we saw to find out total (88), then the plastic was 26 divided by 88, times 100 to make the percentage (29%). To find out how many degrees in the circle, each percent was 3.6 degrees. So 29% x 3.6 degrees made 104.4 degrees in the pie chart. It was difficult!' - Hiro 5S

States of Matter - Dance project with the Place

'It was scary performing on a stage and dancing in front of a million strangers. It made me feel really proud of myself and I feel much braver!' - Faisal, 5B

'I liked when we got on stage and we danced and we didn't get to see the big audience from the stage. I felt nervous.' - Isha 5S

'Before we went on stage, they were telling us what it would be like and we did a tech rehearsal and when we were on the stage we couldn't see anything and we had lights shining from the sides and I felt very scared and nervous before we went on but when we went on we were all celebrating and very happy!' - Aseel 5S

'It was really scary because you could see the front two rows staring at you and you knew you had a big part in the show so everyone was counting on you' - Bertie 5S

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5B's Performance

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5S's Performance

Music: Styling Recycling

'We were using loops in music as part of our Reuse, Recycle and Adapt STEAM theme. We took little sections from famous songs (for example, the Avengers theme tune) and repeated them whilst adding lyrics about Space which was our science topic at the time.' - Isabel, 5S

The Art of Explanation: Persuasive Speeches

Child comments x 2

'When the teacher told us about this, my mind was filled with ideas of what I could write. I wrote about plastics, the advantages and disadvantages. We were using our vocabulary to have a persuasive speech to convince the people we shouldn't use plastic and to find another resource that doesn't harm the planet. When I was looking at everyone, when I read the speech, I felt a bit shy but when I said those words out loud I felt that I was talking to the whole school about it, that we shouldn't be using plastic. After I finished, everyone was clapping all around me and I felt amazed.' - Ellena 5S

5B published speeches

5S published speeches

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Stefanie Posavec: Visualising Data

As part of our STEAM topic, we wanted to find examples of art being used to explain data. We discovered Stefanie Posavec, a London based information designer who currently has an exhibition in the Wellcome collection. Stefanie has interpreted data she has collected and assigned each type of answer a colour, shape or pattern.

We used this format to display our own findings from our Google forms, assigning each answer type a colour or shape and pulling quotes from our responses to display.

Zahra, 5B

Hamsa, 5B

Adil, 5S

Muhammed, 5S

Mini-exhibition

Year 5 were lucky enough to welcome their parents (and a Year 4 class) to our classroom to show off our STEAM learning.

We had stations set up and helpful Year 5 present at each of them to display what we had learnt and how we had applied our learning in a real life context.

Some very brave members of our year group even stood up and performed their persuasive speeches to the crowd.

As teachers, we are incredibly proud of how well Year 5 have applied themselves during this STEAM term of learning! We have no doubt they will continue to grow in to determined and active changemakers.

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