A Better World

Year 5

A Better World is a whole school topic about making the world a better place. In Year 5, we have focussed on the rainforests.

Zoolab

We began our unit of study with a visit from Zoolab!  They brought a collection of rainforest animals for us to meet and discover.

Saving Sorya - Chang And The Sun Bear

We continued reading 'Saving Sorya - Chang and the Sun Bear' as it allowed us to understand the importance of rainforests and some the issues that have brought harm to both the habitat and animals. We were inspired by the actions of the main character and it prompted us to support the protection of rainforests. 

A Formal Letter

Features of Formal Letters

We read an example of a formal letter and looked at its features, noting things like:

Since our letters were intended to persuade someone, we also recapped persuasive features. For example:

We then researched and wrote our formal letters to a local decision-maker, Sarah Atkinson, the Community Relations Manager at Royal Docks, informing her of our concern for sustainability and a suggested solution: the Royal Docks should become a Fairtrade Community. Our letters will now be sent to Sarah Atkinson so that change can happen, and that change can happen immediately!

Here are some of the letters written by the children to Sara Atkinson.

Flowering Plants

The children learnt about the different parts of flowering plants by dissecting flowers and matching them with parts seen on a diagram.  We also observed a range of flowering plants at the front and garden of our school where various fruits and vegetables  are currently growing.

The Explorer by Katherine Rundell

Our key text for both A Better World and Explorers and Adventurers is The Explorer by Katharine Rundell.  It features four children who survive a plane crash in the Amazon and need to make their way back to safety...

School Council Elections

Elections for School Councillors took place during A Better World.  After a secret ballot, the following pupils were elected:

Taranaki: Koral and Joshua

Bazalgette: Aarushi and Riaz 

Vancouver: Posh and Sonny

Fundraising Cake Sale

We baked sustainable treats - avoiding palm oil, where possible - and sold them to raise money for a charity...

Adopting an Orangutan

Our chosen charity was WWF.  We have arranged to adopt an orangutan by making a one off payment donation. Further details will be provided here.

Eco Garden

We did our own research on plants and made some very interesting observations. 

Painting the Rainforest

We painted our own versions on the Amazon rainforest and this was a great way for the children to understand the different layers of the rainforest. 

Bird-Making

We had a lovely time using our hands to make our own version of birds that we thought we could find in the Amazon Rainforest. Did you know that there are 1300 different species of birds that can be found in the rainforest alone?