Welcome to Year 5
Welcome to the new academic year. It has been lovely settling back into school this week and I am glad you have all had a great summer. We will be starting learning straight away with a wonderful topic based on the book ‘Journey’ by Aaron Becker. We have our first parents evening in a few weeks’ time and a welcome to year 5 pack will also be coming home. In the meantime, I hope you find this information useful.
Homework
As of this year, homework, up to Y5, is optional. However, your child will be given 6 options to choose from each half term and return completed homework to the class teacher every two weeks. We have endeavoured to make the homework as creative as possible and we have done this to encourage parental involvement to help support your child in their work at home. We look forward to celebrating the wonderful creations that your children have done at home.
Reading
Please ensure that your child reads four times a week, encourage them to read a variety of genres and comment upon your child’s progress in their reading diary. You will notice an addition to your child’s reading journal this week which shows a reading development pathway. Each week, if your child reads at least 4 times, they will be rewarded with a mark on this pathway. At various points in the year, awards will be given for reaching key milestones so please encourage your child/ren to read as much as possible.
Times tables
At home, you can help your child to practice their times tables by asking them to recall facts quickly. It is best, when practicing a certain times table, to ask them to recall the facts out of order. Discuss strategies with your child e.g. the 5 times tables can be worked out quickly by halving the 10 times tables. This will not only help children to recall quickly but will strengthen their understanding of number relationships.
Topics
An outline of our topics for this academic year is as follows:
Autumn Term 1 Journey by Aaron Becker / Our Fragile World
Autumn Term 2 Firework Makers Daughter
Spring Term 1 Chocolate / The Mighty Mayans
Spring Term 2 Cosmic Commotion / Space
Summer Term 1 Titanic – the last voyage
Summer Term 2 Riotous Royalty / KS2 Production
P.E and Swimming
Wednesday – PE
Friday – PE (swimming information to follow as we receive more guidance)
If you have any questions, please pop in to see me or make contact through the school office.
Year 5
Autumn 1
Over this half term we have been very busy in Y5. We have been studying the topics ‘Journey’ and ‘Our Fragile World’ and have completed excellent work across a range of subjects.
In Literacy, we have used many writing techniques to improve our work from our first drafts through editing, sharing ideas, proof reading and thinking about what sentence types and word choices we could use as we completed work based around Aaron Becker’s trilogy ‘Journey, Quest and Return’. We created beautiful artwork in the style of Monet’s Waterlilies and made this the start of our character’s journey. In PSHE, we have used our Heart Smart and Mind Kind teaching to think about what we are going to do this year to make it one to remember.
During the topic ‘Our Fragile World’ we thought about the world in which we live and how we can make positive changes. We wrote excellent speeches in class and chose the most powerful to share in our class assembly.
In maths, we have been learning about the four main number operations. We certainly love a challenge in Y5 and especially enjoy the ‘chilli’ challenges and problem solving tasks.
We have been learning how to read maps, can name the main continents and oceans, understand compass points and can identify changes of landscapes over time.
Autumn 2
During Autumn 2 we have been studying the book Firework Maker’s Daughter. We have studied the main characters within the text and completed guided reading activities based on the events in the book. As the main event is centred around Lila’s desire to be a firework maker, we completed firework inspired artwork and designed our own firework inventions. The highlight of our Literacy was working in small groups to write a scripted scene from the text and performed these using puppets which we made to portray the main characters and images from the book. We used graffiti art to show how slogans can be used for advertising and write diary entries based on key events from the story. To complete the term, we reviewed the book and our learning with most children giving it a 5/5!
In Maths, we have been learning about graphs and tables. We have solved problems based on data and timetables and have really challenged our thinking. We understand the terms area and perimeter and how to calculate both accurately. We have also started to understand how we can solve multiplication questions and problems using a range of strategies.
In Science, we have been busy experimenting. We have completed a cola experiment with Mentos mints to show how gases are released from liquids and created our own water cycle. We understand the process of dissolving, melting, and separating and know materials g through reversible and irreversible changes.
We have also been having lots of fun in the run up to Christmas. We have planned and made a product for the school Christmas Fayre and have completed work related to the advertising and sales of this product.
Spring 1
Spring 1 has all been about ‘Chocolate’ in Y5 as we studied Roald Dahls text, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory whilst also learning about the Maya civilisation.
In Literacy, we have studied the characters from the book, described contrasting settings and completed some excellent pieces of written work from first to final draft. We also focused our writing on Beauty and the Beast as we completed a project-based literacy unit in school and at home.
Whilst studying the Mayans, we used various art techniques to design and make masks and have studied the history of the cocoa bean.
In Science, we have been learning about forces, including gravity, air and water resistance. We completed many experiments over the term including changing states, separation and reversible and irreversible changes.
As a school we celebrated ‘Inside outside day’ to promote mental health awareness and had a fun day dressing up with our clothes on inside out.
In PE, we have completed a dance and netball unit.
Our MFL Spanish lessons helped us to understand more about Spanish culture and the vocabulary used to describe Spanish festivals and celebrations.
Spring 2
Spring 2 has seen the return of our lovely class back safe and well into school. We have been exploring Space in Science and Topic work and have discovered lots of information about the planets, stars and space exploration.
We made galaxy pinwheels in DT and created some lovely space themed pictures in the style of space artist Peter Thorpe. This topic has also enabled to look at a variety of non-fiction texts which has supported our wiring. We have written reports, explanation texts and biographies.
During World Book Day, our visiting author Sarah Oliver delivered a lesson on writing biographies, so we were able to hear first-hand how she became famous writing and publishing books of her own.
In PE, we have completed dance and netball activities and are now enjoying returning to weekly swimming. We have been reading our class text 'Cosmic', which has been a lovely way to end our days after such a busy time working in class. We are now full of space facts and ready to embark on our next topic of the Titanic.
Summer 1
This term we have launched ourselves fully into the Titanic topic. Reading our class novel ‘Kaspar, Prince of Cats’ by Michael Morpurgo, we have learnt all about the journey of bell-boy Jonny Trott as he boards the Titanic and sets sail to New York. We have used this book for our guided reading sessions and unpicked the characters and events of the story in detail.
In English lessons, we have written emotive pieces using short and long sentences to generate suspense and tension as we retold the story of that fateful night in the viewpoint of one of the passengers. We also watched clips of the Titanic to understand the historical context of life at that time. Our artwork centred round sketching models of the ship and we created 3D replica vessels out of a variety of materials.
In Science, we have been learning all about the human body and the changes it goes through, as we get older. We created some great topic based work and researched this in more detail using books and technology. We have also been fortunate to be involved with a STEM learning project run by Keele University through which we have been exploring robotics using Potterbot kits.
Summer 2
Once again, it has been an extremely busy half term in Y5. We have been studying the past Kings and Queens of England through our topic 'Riotous Royalty' and have found out lots of facts about the history of Great Britain.
In English, we have been reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. This very popular topic has provided many opportunities to be creative and we have completed some very interesting written genres. Working in teams, we have completed a Harry Potter themed adventure park, which has given us the opportunity for many cross-curricular links.
We celebrated World Ocean’s Day and World Faith Day, which enabled us to learn more about our world and the Buddhist faith.
We have also been outside making the most of the beautiful weather whilst developing our athletic skills in PE. Sports day was a huge success and we got to showcase our talents to the whole school. In computing, we have created Potterbots ( a STEM project), which were great fun to make and operate.
