Welcome to Year 5!

Meet the team:

5S - Mrs Stevens is the class teacher. Mr Kerslake is a trainee teacher. Mrs Newton and Mrs Watkins are the teaching assistants.

5M - Miss Morgan is the class teacher. Mrs Akhtar is the teaching assistant.

Mrs Stevens is the Upper School Phase Leader and Assistant Headteacher.

The Spring Term:

English and Guided Reading

This term, we are studying a number of books including:

• Walk with a wolf (a poetical picture book about the life of a wolf)
• Wolf Brother (a fantasy novel about a boy who befriends a wolf cub) 
• Tales from Outer Suburbia’ (a graphic novel containing a series of fantastical illustrated stories).

The children are producing a number of different pieces of writing including for example, diary entries, setting descriptions, an instruction text, a news broadcast, and a sense poem. Throughout these units, they are continuing to practise the spelling, punctuation and grammar skills.

Maths:

The children are studying the following topics in maths this term:

• Multiplication and division
• Fractions
• Decimals and percentages
• Perimeter and area

Within these lessons, the children rehearse skills they have already learnt and apply their growing knowledge to reasoning and problem solving questions. The children are encouraged to practise their times tables regularly.

Science 

Our topic this term is ‘Living Things’. The children are learning about the life cycle of plants, humans and other animals and are exploring what happens and why in each stage. We are very fortunate to be taking part in the Chiltern Chalk Streams Trout Project - we are looking after baby trout, feeding them and watching them grow before releasing them into the river.

History

This term, the children are learning about 'How children's lives have changed throughout time'. They will be learning to:

• identify how children’s lives have changed using a range of sources
• understand why children worked in Tudor times and what working conditions were like
• understand the types of jobs Victorian children had and their working conditions
• understand how Lord Shaftesbury changed children’s lives
• understand how and why children’s leisure time has changed
• understand which diseases children caught and how they were treated.

Art:

Pupils will be given opportunities to develop skills in creating interesting portrait drawings using words, experimenting with materials and techniques, and constructing self-portraits that represent aspects of themselves. 

DT:

The children will be designing a stuffed toy, sewing a blanket stitch, creating and adding decorations to fabric, and assembling components.

Computing:

In the first half term, the children will be learning about search engines. They will exploring the following:

• understand what a search engine is and how to use it.
• be aware that not everything online is true.
• search effectively.
• create an informative poster.
• understand how search engines work.

In the second half term, the children will be learning to program music using their coding skills.

RE:

This term the children have been focusing on Religion in the Community. They have explained what it means to be part of a community and any communities they belong to. They have also explored what Christianity, Islam and Sikhism believe about helping others. The children reflected on what holds communities together and they worked collaboratively to create a community mural.

PSHE:

The topic this term has been feelings and emotions, and healthy relationships. The children have recapped Zones of Regulation, considered what makes a healthy friendship, reflected on how to positively solve disputes, discussed how to manage peer influence, and appropriate and inappropriate physical touch. They have consolidated their knowledge of respecting others and their varying beliefs.

French:

The topics we have been studying in French this term were 'Clothing' and 'Weather'. The children have learnt key phrases and sentences to describe different types of clothes and which are appropriate for different types of weather.

PE:

This term we have been practising skills within Gymnastics, Dance, Yoga and Circuit Training.

Music:

In the first half term, the children will be learning about Tonality. They will be exploring musical notes and vocabulary, playing instruments including the glockenspiels, and singing songs. In the second half term, they will be enjoying African Drumming sessions using the Djembe drums with a specialist music teacher.

The Autumn Term:

English and Guided Reading

This term, we are studying various books within our English and Guided Reading lessons including:

• The Promise - a fiction book about poverty, desperation, promises, forgiveness, and how an environment can change people's perspectives.  
• There's a boy in the girls' bathroom - a fiction book about a boy who hates school and hates everyone in it who goes on a journey to believing in himself and making positive relationships.
• The Planetarium - a non-fiction book filled with images and information about the universe.
• The Highwayman - a classic narrative poem written in 1906 telling the story of the tragic love story between an unnamed 19^th century highwayman and Bess, a landlord’s daughter.
• Why is snot green? - a non-fiction book about scientific phenomena.

Throughout these book studies, the children will rehearse reading, writing and spoken language skills. They will analyse characters, meaning and authorial intent, as well as revisit and learn new grammatical techniques.

Maths:

The children will continue to rehearse skills across the maths curriculum, focusing first on place value, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, and fractions. They will practise mental strategies as well as written strategies, and will use a range of equipment to support their understanding. There will be a focus on building fluency within these areas, as well as applying their knowledge and skills to reasoning and problem solving activities. We will also be practising times tables regularly within lessons to continue to develop these skills. 

Maths homework is set each week on Atom Prime. It is usually based on the learning the children have been doing in recent weeks. We ask that the children practise their times tables regularly at home up to 12x12 and beyond. All pupils have a login for Times Tables Rockstars online. 

Science

The topics this term are Forces and Parachutes, and Space. The children will learn about gravity, air resistance, water resistance and friction. They will also be learning all about the planets, including the earth and moon’s movements.

On Monday 28th November, the children will have a visit from the WonderDome Space Dome company where they will observe short films and still images about space exploration! 

History

Our History topic this term is 'What was life like in Tudor England?' We will be exploring life under Henry VIII's reign, using sources to interpret information and make inferences. On the 7th - 8th November, we will be going on an overnight residential trip to Ufton Court where they will engage in activities related to the topic. 

Geography

In the second half of this term, we will be developing our geographical skills and exploring the question 'Would you like to live in the desert?' They will learn about biomes and use maps to locate the largest deserts in each continent. 

Art and DT:

This term, we will be exploring retrofuturism and the impact of the space race on art and design. We will be experimenting with different materials to create drawings and make prints using collagraphs.

Computing:

The children will further develop their understanding of current E-safety issues. They will practise skills using databases and Microsoft Word.

Religious Education:

The children’s learning will focus on pilgrimages and special journeys through different religions. They will explore the significance and impact of different pilgrimages and their importance to the people who undertake them. 

PSHE:

The children will explore healthy lifestyles, wellbeing, managing their feelings, and setting goals.

Music:

The children will be listening to, analysing and learning Tudor songs. We will be using different instruments to recreate the sounds of music from this period. 

French:

The children will continue to develop their pronunciation in French lessons and will learn vocabulary for presenting themselves.

PE:

The children will be continuing to develop their skills in the areas of Football, Netball, Tag Rugby and Basketball.