%20.jpg)
Year 5
Welcome to Year 5
Welcome to the new academic year. We will be starting our Y5 journey straight away with a wonderful topic based on the book ‘Journey’ by Aaron Becker and our classroom displays will be showcasing your children’s work. We have our first parents evening in a few weeks’ time and a welcome top 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 six 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 / five times a week, encourage them to read a variety of genres and comment upon your child’s progress in their reading diary. The reading development pathway inside your child’s reading log will be checked every Friday morning and awards presented for the Bronze, Silver and Gold milestones. These need to be signed by a parent so please encourage reading at home.
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. The general expectation in Y5 is that children can recall all tables up to the 12th multiple of the first 12 times tables.
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 & Swimming
PE lessons will be on a Thursday and Friday afternoons each week. Please ensure your child has the correct PE kit so they can access the lessons.
Swimming lessons are on the following dates:
Sept 13th, 20th, 27th
Oct 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th
Nov 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th
Dec 6th, 13th, 20th
If you have any questions, please pop in to see us or make contact through the school office.
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 ‘killer’ challenges and problem solving tasks. We also visited Blythe Bridge Library to find out how to save a life using CPR. We hope we never have to solve that problem in reality!
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 wrote diary entries based on key events from the story.
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. We also celebrated Maths week by working in groups to complete a weekly challenge where we created a sea life centre for endangered species of marine life.
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. We are still busy preparing art and craft activities. Homework has been a great success and we have a wall full of activities on display, ranging from posters to erupting volcanoes.
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 went to see the Prince and the Pauper at the New Vic Theatre and completed a project-based week in school at the start of the term.
Whilst studying the Mayans, we used various art techniques to design and make masks and looked at Aztec patterns to complete designs on plates. In Science, we have been learning about forces, including gravity, air and water resistance. We completed many experiments over the term, but a particular favourite was the parachute egg drop which led to some messy conclusions.
In Computing, we have been learning about binary code and reading numbers in base 2. We used our computational thinking skills to crack binary codes and to write our own coded messages. We also took part in learning about staying safe online as we held an internet safety workshop for children in years 5 and 6.
Our RE topic took us on a visit to the Open Centre in Derby where we took place in many activities learning about Islam and included a trip to a Mosque.
Spring 2
Spring 2 started as a very busy term in Year 5 as we launched into our Space topic. We have completed shadow experiments in science, learnt about the different phases of the moons, completed planet descriptions and even know the names of the planets in Spanish!
Y5 took part in the annual Dance Extravaganza at the Victoria Hall. This year’s theme was 'The need to read' and we chose to continue our theme of Chocolate by dancing to music from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Our creativity has also been demonstrated through art lessons where children have had the opportunity to complete beautiful space themed pictures using mixed media. Our main Literacy focus has been non-fiction texts and we have written recounts, biographies and explanation texts based on our Space theme and have enjoyed learning facts about Space.
As we ‘launched’ ourselves into the space theme this term, we are now very excited to ‘submerge’ ourselves into next terms topic, the Titanic albeit from home!
Summer 1
An usual term for Y5 as learning has been from home. However, we have still completed some fantastic work together through daily live teaching and have shared some superb examples of writing over the half term. We have based our learning around the historical events of the Titanic and have written recounts and newspaper reports based on the disaster. We also read the book 'Kaspar, Prince of Cats', which has been the source of our guided reading sessions. In topic, children have created menus, packed suitcases as if they were a passenger on board and have looked at the scientific aspects of icebergs. In Science, children have been exploring science through practical based experiments with their families.
In Maths, we have been exploring decimals and understand how to order, add and subtract decimal numbers and can multiply and divide them by 10, 100 and 1000.
The children have enjoyed exploring new technology and have adapted brilliantly to this new way of working which has resulted in a great terms work.
Summer 2
Once again, it has been an extremely busy half term in Y5 despite the separation of our pupils through lockdown. We have been studying the past Kings and Queens of England through our topic 'Riotous Royalty'. During this topic we have found out lots of facts about the history of Great Britain and have completed beautiful artwork using mixed media.
Our English topic has been based around Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The children have thoroughly loved watching the film, completing literacy activities and artwork based on events of the story. We have made potions, created spells, designed our own thinking hats and painted a beautiful scene from the story.
We have also been outside making the most of the beautiful weather whilst developing our physical skills in PE. Our virtual sports day was a success and we got to showcase our talents in a safe way by completing various activities to achieve our personal best.
