• English
• SPAG
• Maths
• Homework
• This week in the classroom
• Reading
• Remote learning

Welcome to Year 5 and 6

Welcome back to the autumn term! We hope you had a wonderful break over the summer. It has been lovely seeing all the children back in school, full of smiles and enthusiasm! This year, Mrs Caldwell will continue to teach the class on a Monday, Tuesday & Thursday afternoon, with Mrs Gallagher taking over Wednesday to Friday. We are also lucky to have Mr Young working with us in class daily. 

General information to know about Years 5 and 6:

- Please ensure that items of clothing are clearly named. This will ensure that if anything goes missing, it can be quickly reunited with its owner.

-  Swimming is on a Tuesday and P.E is on a Friday so please ensure that your child comes into school in their PE kit on these days.

- Please ensure that your children are reading at home, either independently or with an adult, to help develop their reading skills and nurture their love of reading. Over the last few years, the school has invested a great deal of money in new book band reading books as well as reading for pleasure texts. We have encouraged all children to take great care of these and make sure they return to school in the condition that they left. All books are signed out to children under a library system and they will be expected to return their current book before they are allowed to take another. This system was in place for the Year 6s at the end of last year and they did a fantastic job with returning and taking care of the books. I am sure that our Year 5s will be the same!

- Homework will consist of weekly spellings, related to the work the children complete in class. They will also need to complete at least thirty minutes a week on TTRockstars (logins can be found in the front of their reading records). The children also have active assignments on Languagenut that they can login to, if they would like to improve their scores (logins are also in the front of their reading records).

- Children need to bring their own water bottles into school which they can access throughout the day and they will change their water regularly. Please do not allow other drinks such as juice, fizzy drinks etc. If children bring juices, smoothies etc. they should be kept only for lunch.

- Snack will be served in the hall at break times. Children will be responsible for this money and are advised to bring it to school in a clearly labelled purse or wallet.

- As children enter Year 5 and 6, many parents wish for their children to walk home alone or with friends. If this is the case, please send a letter into school giving your permission for this. The teachers have a list of the children with letters of consent, and these are the only children who will be permitted to leave the school grounds without an adult.

Autumn Term Curriculum

English

In reading this half term, we will be exploring the KS2 picture book, ‘The Promise’ by Nicola Davies. Set on a mean street in a mean city, the story starts when a young thief tries to snatch an old woman’s bag. But she can’t have it without giving something in return, the Promise to ‘plant them all’. The thief is surprised to find that the bag is full of acorns. She sets out to keep her promise and, in doing so, changes her own life, the world and the lives of future. The combination of Davies’s lyrical text and Laura Carlin’s illustrations make this a wonderful text for teaching. The story conveys a message that every individual has the power to make a difference within them. The book explores themes of the environment, poverty and community.

Maths

In maths we will be focusing on decimal fractions. We will describe, represent and order tenths as a decimal fraction. We will also round a decimal number with tenths to the nearest whole number and calculate mentally with decimal numbers including tenths.

Science

In science we will be learning about life cycles and reproduction. The children will learn to describe the life cycle of a plant, including the reproductive stage. They will also describe the life cycle of a mammal and a bird, comparing the two. We will move on to describing the life cycle of an amphibian and the life cycle of an insect and comparing the two. We will finish by describing asexual reproduction in plants.

Computing

In computing this term, the children will develop their understanding of computer systems and how information is transferred between systems and devices. We will consider small-scale systems as well as large-scale systems. The children will explain the input, output, and process aspects of a variety of different real-world systems. We will discover how information is found on the World Wide Web, through learning how search engines work (including how they select and rank results) and what influences searching, through comparing different search engines.

French

In French we will be completing the unit, Where I live. In this Unit the children will revise the vocabulary required to introduce themselves and greet other people. This will become the starting routine for all lessons. They will also learn the words for different countries and how to describe where they live. Using the verb “to live”, the children will be taught the compass points to describe a location more precisely.

History

In history, we will be learning about Britain’s settlement by the Anglo-Saxons, considering the question, what changed after the Romans left? The children will learn about the different groups that lived in the British Isles at the end of the Roman rule in Britain. We will then move on to investigating how the Angles, Saxons and Jutes came to Britain. We will learn about the different kingdoms that made up early Anglo-Saxon Britain and find out how Christianity returned to the British Isles. This will lead into discovering how Mercia came to be the most powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom by 796CE.

Music

In music, lessons will continue with teachers from the Love Music Trust. Children will be allocated their new instruments in the second week of the school year and will spend the rest of the school year developing their skills and knowledge. Permission forms will be sent home within the first few weeks which will allow for children to bring their instruments home to practise. All instruments will need to be in school on Thursdays, ready for their lessons.

Geography

In geography, we will be learning about the coasts of England. We will learn what a coast is and how people’s lives are affected by it. We will use maps and other sources to recognize, locate and describe a range of coastal features in the UK. We will learn how coastal erosion affects people’s lives and use geographical vocabulary to describe coastal processes. We will move on to naming and describing different types of coastal protection and discuss their effectiveness. We will identify some threats to coastal habitats and explain why coastal habitats matter to wildlife. We will then use geographical enquiry and sources to research a coastal place. We will finish our unit by learning about the impacts of climate change on the coast and discuss what we can do to protect the coast for the future.

PE

In PE, we will complete circuit training exercises as well as shuttle runs to improve strength and stamina. We will also be developing our swimming skills in our weekly lessons throughout the Autumn term.

RE

In RE we will be focusing on Judaism. We will study three Jewish festivals and the stories connected to them: Rosh Hashanah, Purim and Chanukah. We will make links between the stories of Esther and Judas Maccabee and the continuing survival of Jews. We will examine diversity within these festivals.

Art

In art, we will be focusing on portraits and the creation of them using painting and mixed media. We will develop our skills in creating interesting portrait drawings using words, experimenting with materials and techniques and creating self portraits that represent aspects of ourselves.

Design Technology

We will be focusing on food and being creative with food, looking at how recipes can be adapted. We will look at changing ingredients, forming different shapes and ensuring great presentation. Food skills are further secured, with attention to health and safety.

PHSE

In PHSE we will be focusing on families and relationships. We will learn about what a friendships is and how to maintain positive friendships. We will learn about families, bullying, gender equality and stereotypes.