Year 5

This term we will be working on the following topics:

English        

Our focus texts will be The Explorer and Holes and, in response to these texts, we will write predictions, character analyses, first-person accounts, narratives, adverts and balanced arguments. We will also be using co-operative improvement to edit and improve our writing.

In our whole class guided reading sessions, we will read a range of fiction and non-fiction texts. We will focus on a different type of question in each session, including retrieval, vocabulary, inference and deduction. We will have a big focus on using evidence from the text to support our answers.

Each day we will spend 10 minutes reading for pleasure. This will vary each day but will include quiet reading, sharing book reviews and teacher-led reading.

 

Maths

We will be using the Maths No Problem scheme to support our mathematical learning. We will be learning how to name and plot co-ordinates, describe translations and movements of shapes on a grid.

We shall learn how to convert units of length, mass and time.

We will also be finding the perimeter and area of shapes.

We will learn to learn about volume. This will include finding the volume of solids, finding the capacity of rectangular boxes, converting units of volume and solving word problems involving volume.

 

Science

We will be studying Properties and Changes of Materials.  This includes grouping solids, separating solids, separating solids and liquids and dissolving. This unit will include lots of exciting practical investigations. 

 

History 

Our topic this term is Maya Civilisation. We will be drawing from our previous learning about the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings and making comparisons with the Maya Civilisation, focusing on their customs and culture.

 

Art       

In our topic Craft and design: Architecture, we will focus on architecture, guiding pupils through observational drawing, printmaking, and building design. Children will explore architectural elements, analyse Hundertwasser's work, and create meaningful monuments, enhancing their understanding of composition, design, and art appreciation.  

 

Design Technology (DT)     

Our topic this term is Structures: Bridges.  Children will learn to identify stronger and weaker supporting shapes, recognise that supporting shapes can help increase the strength of a bridge so it can hold more weight and identify beam, arch and truss bridges and describe their differences. They will use triangles to create simple truss bridges that support a load (weight).

 

Music        

In Music this term, Year 5 will see modern tech sounds meet more traditional orchestral music. Using Gabriel Prokofiev’s concerto as a starting point, they will use iPad and music technology to look at electronic sounds and mix these with classroom percussion to modernise nursery rhymes, create grooves and learn to ‘juggle’ sounds and create a cadenza.

After half-term, students will listen to and reflect on Grażyna Bacewicz’s Overture and to other music that uses Morse code as a starting point. They will use chosen words in Morse code to form the basis of small group compositions. ​

 

Computing 

In our work in computing we will continue to develop our programming skills using Crumble. In this unit, the children will use physical computing to explore the concept of selection in programming through the use of the Crumble programming environment.  We will also be coding using Scratch to make quizzes. 

 

Physical Education (PE)       

This term the children will be playing netball and tennis with a focus on athletics after half-term in preparation for Sports Day. They will also be taking part in a dance workshop in preparation for a whole-school dance performance.

 

French        

We will be learning key vocabulary and phrases through the following topics: Verbs in the French week and Meet my French Family.

 

Religious Education (RE)      

This term our topic is Forgiveness. We will explore what is meant by forgiveness and the role forgiveness plays in world religions. Children will learn about Jewish beliefs about forgiveness, finding out more about Yom Kippur with a focus on the objects used and what Jewish people do at Yom Kippur. Children will also develop an understanding of Buddhist beliefs about forgiveness, reflecting on how the Eightfold Path influences Buddhists in their approach to forgiveness. They will use their knowledge of the beliefs held by Jewish people and Buddhists to help them draw comparisons regarding views on forgiveness.

 

Personal, Social, Health, Economic / Relationships & Sex Education (PSHE/RSE) 

This term our topic is Health and Wellbeing.  We will be learning to perform some yoga poses, describing how to get a good night’s sleep and explaining why this is important, describing how and why they should embrace failure and setting goals and considering how to achieve them. We will also look at healthy eating and how to keep safe in the sun.

Our second topic will be Safety and the Changing Body. Children will learn how to accurately name all the relevant parts of the body, understand the changes their own gender will go through during puberty, and we will be visited by a first aid instructor who will help the children learn some basic first aid.

 

• Your child should read every day. It is also important that an adult continues to read with your child. Please talk to your child about the book and check their understanding by asking questions about events and the characters’ actions. Please also explain new or unfamiliar vocabulary. Their reading book and reading record should come into school every day. Comments should be recorded in their reading record three times a week by an adult and weekly tasks should be completed and handed in every Monday.
• Your child needs to bring in a water bottle every day. 
• We are a Healthy School. Please do not put sweets or chocolate bars in your child’s packed lunch. Please do not send in sweets or other treats when it is your child’s birthday. If you want to celebrate your child’s birthday with their classmates, you could buy the class a book, send in a healthy snack such as boxes of raisins or buy stationery such as pencils, but due to the impact on the environment, we ask you not to send in plastic toys. 
• If your child is absent from school, please contact the school office: 020 8850 5486 and leave a message detailing why your child is absent. If your child has had an upset stomach, they can return to school when they are better. Please try to book medical appointments outside the school day and note that family holidays will not be authorised. 
• If you have any questions or wish to raise a concern, please contact the class teacher in the first instance. Please use the email addresses above. 

Please see the school calendar and weekly newsletters for information about events for Year 5.