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

Welcome to Year 5 and 6

Welcome to the new school year! It has been so wonderful to see all the children again after the summer holidays, all fresh and ready for the academic year ahead. The Year 5 & 6 pupils have settled quickly back into school life.  This year, Mrs McLoughlin will teach the class on a Monday, Tuesday & Thursday afternoon, with Mrs Gallagher taking over Wednesday to Friday. We are also lucky to have Mr Snell working with us in the mornings. 

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.

-  P.E is on Mondays so please ensure that your child comes into school in their PE kit on this day. In the autumn term, the children will swim on a Tuesday and will need to bring their swimming kits (children can wear their PE kits on this day). 

- 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 jotters). 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 jotters).

- 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

Reading and writing in the first part of the Autumn Term will focus around the book ‘Stay Where You Are and Then Leave’ by John Boyne. This historical fiction book is set in WWI and will support the work done in our history lessons.  In reading, we will continue to work on a range of skills to progress the children’s fluency and understanding. We will also use our knowledge of the book to help us in a range of writing tasks, starting with a setting description.

Maths

During the Autumn Term the pupils will be focusing on number and the four operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  Work will be based around place value, ordering, comparing and rounding numbers up to 7 & 8 digits plus solving problems.  The pupils will learn about the order of operations and algebra plus moving on to work with decimal numbers and fractions.  A focus on money and length will also take place in Autumn 2.

History

We will be finding out how the First World War affected local people and their communities. We will learn about how the war started, why so many countries became involved and where the major battles were fought. We will look at what life was like in the trenches and how soldiers communicated with home. This will lead to work on what war memorials are and how they are displayed, followed by knowing who is recognised on war memorials. The children will discover why we have Remembrance Day and will discuss where the war memorial is in our own community. We will also find out how the military used medals to reward soldiers for their bravery and service as well as how civilians contributed to the war effort. We will research what the role of women was in WWI and how the role of women changed.  Finally, we will look at how local communities contributed towards the effort made on the home front during WWI.

Geography

We will be learning about North and South America. We will learn the names of the countries of North and South America as well as how to locate these countries on a map and identify lines of latitude and longitude. We will discover how the climate varies in North and South America as well as the key physical features. We will learn about the types of biomes found in North and South America as well as where the population is distributed in the Americas (and the reasons for this). We will learn the names and location of some of the major cities of North and South America. We will discover how economic activity varies between countries and know why tourists might want to visit the Americas.

Art

During Autumn1, Art lessons will focus on drawing.  The pupils will understand and explain the term ‘Retrofuturism’ then use a range of different stimuli to create a collagraph plate.  In Autumn 2, the focus will be on craft and design.  The pupils will create a new image using a combination of others, create a photomontage, study Edward Weston’s style, portraits, draw an accurately measured grid and create a final drawing or painting.

Music

Music lessons will continue to be taught by teachers from the Love Music Trust from the week commencing 9^th September.  Forms will be sent out to parents in the coming weeks to consent to your child bringing their instrument home to practise.  This is optional, and the children are responsible for making sure their instrument is in school every Thursday for their music lesson. 

RE

We will be looking at the question – ‘Why do people have to stand up for what they believe in?’  This will involve looking at the meaning of being an atheist, agnostic and theist, protected characteristics and religious freedom.  We will then focus on ‘Why doesn’t Christianity always look the same?’  looking at influential views, leadership and authority impact on people’s worldviews and how scripture can be interpreted in different ways.

French

This year, French will be taught through the digital language programme, Languagenut. We will revise how to greet people and introduce yourself. We will learn about cities in France and how to use the alphabet to spell them. We will learn how to pronounce the sounds AN and IN. We will then learn to recognise places in a town. We will also learn how to give the location of places in a town.

Science

In Science this term, we will be developing knowledge of circuits, the effects of changing voltage and how switches contribute to different devices. We will describe the function of key electrical components and explain how the models used in the lesson represent these. We will predict if an electrical circuit works or not, explaining why using knowledge of complete loops, power sources and presence of components.  When working scientifically, pupils will learn to: draw circuit diagrams with straight lines and using standard circuit symbols; design a results table with an appropriate number of columns and headings with units; and identify the changed, measured and control variables in an enquiry to plan a method.

Computing

We will use search technologies effectively, appreciating how results are selected and ranked, and will be discerning in evaluating digital content. We will select, use, and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to design and create a range of programs, systems, and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating, and presenting data and information.

PSHE

In our PHSE lessons, we will be learning about living in a wider world; rights and responsibilities; belonging in a community; money, work and aspirations (developing enterprising skills); Digital Literacy and making decisions online; staying safe on-line; media literacy and digital resilience and decision making.   During our ‘My Happy Mind’ sessions we will be learning all about the human brain, mental well-being and how to develop positive mental well-being – this is a whole school initiative, and every class will be taking part in this programme.

Residential Visit

On Monday 16th September, until Wednesday 18^th September, the pupils will embark on their residential visit to Robinwood.  This is where lots of memories are made and friendships are formed and cemented through fun activities, facing fears and having the opportunity to do things that they have never done before.

Further information about the residential visit will be provided during the parent meeting on Thursday 12th September at 3.30pm in the Year 5 & 6 classroom