Year Five
Watch this space for some of our children's writing and artwork - COMNG SOON!
SUMMER TERM
Welcome to our Summer Term in Year 5. Following on from Spring, we have lots and lots of exciting learning to do in the forthcoming weeks linked to our school vision (John 10:10, "Live life in all its fullness’), our four virtues (perseverance, respect, courage and honesty) and our school rules (being ready, being respectful and being safe). These are at the heart of all we do.
IMPORTANT DATES:
Tuesday is our PE day – we will be doing orienteering and tennis this year (Rotherham Utd are continuing offering football club on a Monday)
Homework is due in Wednesday (ready to mark on Friday). This allows children to have a couple of reminders before we mark. If your child struggles with homework, please please PLEASE do not stress – ask them to come in and chat to me or Miss Horler about it. This is why I ask for it to be in on the Wednesday – so children aren’t coming in on Friday without it completed! I’ll always help when a child struggles. I’ll also only set homework based on work that we have been doing on class too.
Reading Diaries also due Fridays, BUT could children bring them every day as they might read with an adult and we want them to receive those certificates!
CURRICULUM. Much of what we are doing this half term is based around THE ENVIRONMENT AND POLLUTION. Our reading, writing and some afternoon lessons are based on this, along with some computing and artwork.
Reading
This term, we are looking at “The Last Wild” which tells the story of a boy named Kester who is extraordinary but he doesn’t know it yet! The story is set in a dystopian future which has been rocked by a virus, and where food, education and freedom are all controlled by one company. Linked to this, the children are reading an information book about pollution (which ties in with their writing – see below).
Children access Reading Plus daily for 20 to 30 minutes. This is a computer based reading programme in which books and questions are targeted at the child’s own reading age. It also trains the children’s eyes to skim the words as they read, building up reading speed and reducing the amount of cognitive energy needed to read the words.
In addition to this, children have their own reading books PLUS a reading book for a Friday ‘love of reading’ session in which we read in groups and get to really enjoy the books.
WRITING
We have some amazing pieces of writing planned this term and will be using this time as a basis to cement the foundations in writing (ensuring we are confidently using punctuation and grammar taught from Year 1).
Our writing this term is based upon our main topic – the environment and pollution. The children are due to write an information text, focusing solely on Landfill sites – benefits, problems and solutions.
In writing, we will be focusing on the following key skills (whilst continuing to practise skills taught previously)
*Using modal verbs to show possibility (Humans OUGHT TO NOT throw away paper. They SHOULD attempt to avoid single0use plastics).
*Using conjunctions (despite this, when, wherever, next, furthermore etc) and adverbials (as a result, beyond this) to link ideas and to build cohesion.
*Adjust writing so that it is formal, informative, persuasive (in places) and educational.
*Using brackets, dashes and commas to add extra information to sentences (called parenthesis)
MATHS
Our maths this term is predominately based making links between fractions, decimals and percentages. The children will see that the three are the same, but we interchange them depending on the context (e.g. decimals for money and percentage for test results etc).
We continue our journey into shape, co-ordinates, area and perimeter, applying some of our previously learnt material to new contexts.
We will also continue practising our arithmetic skills, ensuring that we have a solid base, ready for Year 6 and KS3.
HISTORY
Our topic this half term is The Mayans. We research all about this amazingly complex ancient civilisation. We learn about what life was like 2 thousand years ago, how society was formed around a hierarchy and how this had an impact on day to day living. We research complex buildings that still exist today such as the Jaguar Temple and El Castillo, which will hopefully spur our children to become archaeologists when they grow older! We investigate a range of artefacts to further understand life and try to decide whether Mayans are worth learning about! (YES is the answer!)
SCIENCE
We are investigating materials this half term – our science is jampacked full of scientific enquiries where we will test and investigate everyday materials – which are conductors of electricity? Which are thermal insulators? Children use these enquiry-based sessions to suggest materials that can be used for everyday objects.
RE – The story od Moses and Exodus.
This half ter, we learn about the Children of Jacob, who, after years of turmoil, settled in Egypt before being enslaved by the Egyptian Pharoah. Cue: Moses… well, baby Moses. In a basket! We explore his life by reading Bible verses, focusing on when he was a young man and spoke to God (as a burning bush) before finally leading his people free (after a few plagues!) and escaping the Pharoah by partying the Red Sea. We learn how Moses received the 10 commandments, and discuss the importance of them today, in the 21st century - which they feel are the most important.
COMPUTING
This term is focusing on coding! We learn about what an algorithm is, and how we use these to make things (such as computers) do things! We learn and use “if, then, else” statements to code MicroBut computers, making a simple Yes/No algorithm, a counter (that can be used in games), a compass (yes, an actual compass that the children code in all of the separate ranges of degrees) and a pedometer. Wowsers!
A full term of great learning, on top of MyHappyMind (in which the children learn to celebrate themselves and what makes the, THEM) and lots of other activities. Keep posted here or on Dojo for updates!
