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:
address
greeting
complex sentences
formal synonyms
signature
Since our letters were intended to persuade someone, we also recapped persuasive features. For example:
rhetorical questions
statistics
emotional language
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?