Welcome to Year 5!
In 5G, Mrs Ghaffar is the class teacher and Mrs Caswell is the teaching assistant.
In 5K, Mr Kerslake is the class teacher and Mrs Lacey and Miss East are the teaching assistants. Miss Podbury is the Year 5 and 6 phase leader.
Autumn Term Learning
English and Guided Reading
In English and Guided Reading lessons this term, the children are studying the following key texts, 'The Promise', 'There's a boy in the girl's bathroom', 'The Planetarium' and 'The Highwayman'. Pupils will continue to practise writing different genres of text and apply their grammar knowledge throughout the units. They are engaging in various drama-related tasks to support their understanding and ability to reflect on the texts. Regular spelling and handwriting lessons continue to take place, with links made to each week’s spelling pattern in other lessons too.
Maths
The focus in maths this term is place value, comparing and ordering numbers, rounding numbers, addition and subtraction. Fluency, as well as reasoning and problem-solving skills, continue to be practised. We encourage children to regularly practise their times-tables at home and frequently run Times Table Rockstars tournaments between the two classes!
Science
This term, our topics are forces and space. The children have been conducting experiments to test the effects of gravity, air resistance and water resistance. We have also been looking at which forces are pushes and which forces are pulls. Children will be also be using their scientific skills to plan and conduct experiments to test these forces.
In the second half of the Autumn term, the children will be exploring space and finding out why the earth orbits the sun, the names and properties of the planets and discussing whether the Earth is flat or spherical.
History
The children are exploring the key question, 'Were the Vikings raiders, traders or settlers?'
The children will be learning about why the Vikings came to Britain and whether they are as fierce and scary as they are so often portrayed! They will be creating their own Viking saga and looking at trade routes, discussing why these were important to Vikings and their style of life.
Geography
In the second part of the Autumn term, children will be exploring 'Are deserts a good place to live?'
They will be looking at the climate, features and uses of deserts. They will also be considering the pros and cons of living in a desert and deciding if it is somewhere they would like to live.
Art
In Art this term, we are learning about collagraphy, the process of making prints using a specially created 'printing plate' which has lots of interesting items stuck onto it. The children have also been looking at art related to space and using different materials (oil pastels, crayon, highlighter, collage) to recreate these.
DT
In DT this term, we will be learning about healthy recipes. The children create their own recipe and jar labels for spaghetti bolognese, research what nutrition is and considering how adding different ingredients will alter the taste. The children then get to prepare and cook their recipes - practising cutting, peeling and food safety skills.
PSHE
This term in PSHE lessons, the children are looking at the topic 'Families and relationships'. They are learning about what qualities make a good friend, the up and downsides of friendships, how to respect themselves, family life and stereotypes.
RE
Our topic this term is 'Pilgrimages' and we are exploring the key question, 'Why do people choose to go on pilgrimages'. We are learning about different religions and why certain pilgrimages are important to them.
Computing
In the first half term, we are looking at search engines. The children have been researching facts using different search engines and finding which ones they like best. They have also learnt that not all information online is true after researching explorers on a misleading website!
Music
In music, the children are looking firstly at Egyptian music and how symbols can represent notes. They are then moving onto the Blues and what influenced that era of music.
French
The children are learning how to speak about themselves in French, including their birthday, age, name and where they live.
PE
In PE, the children have begun to improve their football and netball skills, before moving onto tag rugby after half term.
Enrichment opportunities
In the second half of the Autumn term, the children will be able to explore the space dome, an inflatable planetarium that engrosses them into their science topic of space.
On Friday afternoon, children have access to 30 minutes of enrichment activities, with the children getting opportunities to learn chess, STEM, first aid, cross-country running, sewing and more!
Spring Term Learning
English and Guided Reading
In English and Guided Reading lessons this term, the children are studying the following key texts - 'Walk with a Wolf', 'Wolf Brother' and 'Tales from Outer Suburbia'. Pupils continue to practise writing different genres of text and apply their grammar knowledge throughout the units. This term, children will be writing and performing news broadcasts, writing instruction texts on how to be a wolf and writing narratives based on the story.
Regular spelling and handwriting lessons continue to take place, with links made to each week’s pattern in other lessons too.
Maths
The focus this term is:
- Multiplication
- Division
- Fractions, decimals and percentages
- Perimeter and Area
Fluency, as well as reasoning and problem-solving skills, continue to be practised. We encourage children to regularly practise their times-tables at home so they are secure using these, as they are essential for accuracy and speed when solving calculations.
Science:
This term, we are focussing on the life cycle of different animals and classifying them based on similarities and differences between them. Children will be comparing different types of mammal, including placentals, monotremes and marsupials. They will also be acting out the life cycle of a bird and seeing how metamorphosis impacts insects and some amphibians!
History
In History this term, the children will be focussing on 'The Tudors'. They will be exploring sources of evidence from Tudor times to decide if Henry VIII was a fair ruler or a tyrant, working out why Anne Boleyn was sent for execution and looking at what special events went on when the Queen visited for a royal progress!
Geography
We will be looking at 'oceans' during the 2nd half of Spring term and exploring why these are a crucial part of the Earth. With a closer look into the Great Barrier Reef. The children will also take part in a field trip to the local river to discover more about it and the local area.
Art
In art this term, the children are learning about mixed-media art, while looking into the art of Chila Kumari Singh Burman. The children will be making their own self-portraits and turning these into poems, as well as using different media to create artwork based on their faces.
DT
In DT, the children will be briefed with designing and creating a stuffed toy for a small child. They will improve their sewing skills and learn about the processes required to design, create and evaluate a project.
PSHE
The theme this term for PSHE is safety and the changing body. The children will look at topics including healthy meals, staying safe in the sun, online friendships and puberty.
RE
This terms RE focusses on religious freedom and different festivals involving light. The children will be talking about the Sikh festival 'Bandi Chhor Divas', looking into why the gunpowder plot was carried out and how religious freedom has changed over time.
Computing
Computing this term involves computers and how they communicate. The children will be looking into the Mars Rovers, learning how to read and write in binary and using this to send and decode computer messages. The second half-term focusses on stop-motion animation and creating their own 'Wallace and Gromit' style cartoons!
Music
Music in Spring centres around Holi – the Hindu festival of colour. Children will be creating their own graphic scores and exploring how music can show different emotions and colours. Children in Year 5 will then begin learning how to play the Djembe drums after half-term!
French
French this term is all about clothes! The children will be learning the names of different pieces of clothing and describing these to their friends.
We will also be looking into weather and how to describe the different weathers at different times in different places.
PE
PE this term involves dance, gymnastics, health-related exercise and dodgeball. Both classes have PE on a Tuesday and Thursday.
Enrichment
Children in Year 5 have 2 exciting trips planned for the Spring term. The first to the National portrait gallery in London to explore different types of art, including the exciting Tudor art gallery. They will also be completing some geography field research in our local area and looking at our rivers, how clean these are and where they eventually lead. Children in year 5 also have the opportunity to join the 2 Chiltern League sports teams for this year – Tag Rugby and Girl's Football.
Summer Term Learning
Summer Term
English
Reading:
Whole class guided reading lessons this term will focus around our English text—The Explorer. Children will have the opportunity to use their retrieval, prediction, inference and explanation skills during these lessons. The children will also be looking at Macbeth and using role play to express the changing emotions of the characters.
Writing:
In English lessons this term, the children will study key texts; The Explorer and Macbeth. Pupils will have the opportunity to create narratives, recounts, information texts, letters and poems based on these, while also practising Y5 grammar throughout the units. Regular spelling lessons will also take place, focusing on a key spelling rule each week.
Mathematics
The focus this term is on shape, decimals, position, negative numbers and volume. We will be focusing on mental arithmetic and supporting children in using the 4 operations (addition, subtraction, division and multiplication) efficiently.
Science
Our topic this term is ‘properties and changes of materials—children will be learning about how to separate mixtures, reversible and irreversible changes and will be carrying out lots of experiments involving these! We will be looking at different scientists such as Ruth Benerito and Spencer Silver.
Art and DT
In Art, the children will be learning about different types of art installations and a variety of artists who create these types of art works such as Cai Guo-Qiang. They will be working on designing and creating their own installation.
In DT, the children will be looking at bridges and what makes them such reliable structures, before creating their own bridge out of wood.
History
In the first half term in history, children will be studying the Ancient Greeks and how they lived. We will be investigating how democracy and beliefs compare to modern day Britain and explore how Gods played a vital role in the lives of Ancient Greeks.
Geography
In the second half term, the children will be focusing on mountains and carrying out field research to compare leisure in mountainous areas and our local area. We will also be visiting our local area and planning a geography enquiry.
Computing
The children will be micro bits this term, using them to code different images and patterns onto a switchboard, which will light up! They will finish the year by doing a skills showcase of different things they have learnt through Year 5.
RE
The children will be discussing what a community is and reflecting on which communities they belong to and why they are important. They will also be looking into religion in the community and sharing their thoughts and experiences about this.
PSHE
Children will be looking at laws, rights, responsibilities and pressure groups in Summer A. They will then learning about budgeting and identifying the difference between needs and wants.
Music
Children will be continuing on their learning from Spring - djembe drumming, they will also be learning songs alongside this to
PE
Children will have 2 PE lessons a week, the days are as follows:
5K – Tuesday and Thursday
5G – Tuesday and Thursday
PE in Summer will focus around tennis, rounders, cricket and athletics
Pupils should come into school in their PE kits. Please ensure children have the correct PE kit, which should be clearly named.
