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

Welcome to Year 5 and 6

Welcome back to the spring term! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and we wish all our families a very Happy New Year! This term we welcome Mrs Dean who will teach the class on a Monday and Tuesday, with Mrs Gallagher continuing as normal from Wednesday to Friday. We are also lucky to have Miss Holdbrook working with us in class daily. 

Early Birds

Early Birds sessions will start the first week back at school in January. These sessions are for Year 6 children only and will start at 8:15am. Children should come to the main school reception where they will be collected by Mrs Gallagher. We will work on a range of test skills, covering reading, grammar and maths. 

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 a Friday in the spring term so please ensure that your child comes into school in their PE kit.
• Please make sure that the children are only bringing water in their bottles please. They keep these on their desks and if they spill, juice can cause damage to books and the carpets.
• 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 progress through 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.

Homework

Homework will consist of a weekly spelling assignment on Edshed related to the work the children complete in class. They have the logins for this stuck into their reading diaries. They will also need to complete thirty minutes a week on TTRockstars (logins can be found in the front of their reading records). This can be done in one session or split into daily five minute sessions. The children also have logins for Reading Plus at the back of their reading records. This is set at their specific reading level and helps them develop both their fluency and comprehension. Completing a session of this per week at home will help them to further develop their reading skills. Maths homework may also be sent home on Fridays to help the children to consolidate their learning in class. This should be returned to school by the following Wednesday.

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.

Spring Term Curriculum

English

In reading this half term, we will be exploring the book,‘The Sleeper and the Spindle’. It tells the story of a princess sleeping in a tower amid rumours of a curse placed on her and her people. A queen, on the eve of her wedding, sets out on a quest to rescue the princess and prevent the spread of sleeping sickness. All is not what it seems in this story which is both known and not known. Combining the old and the new, Neil Gaiman spins a twist on two classic fairy tales accompanied by enchanting illustrations from Chris Riddell.

In writing, we will be basing our work on the Charles Dickens classic, Oliver Twist. We will explore life during the Victorian period before writing a narrative based on a section of the book. We will also discuss some of the characters, such as Fagin and the Artful Dodger, before writing a biased discussion around whether or not they are truly villains. We will finish the unit by writing some poetry using similes. 

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 living things: classifying big and small. The children will learn to define the term ‘organism’ and name the seven life processes of all living things.They will also describe the work of Carl Linnaeus. The children will define the term ‘vertebrate’ and name the vertebrate groups, comparing their characteristics. They will also describe the characteristics of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.The children will then define the term ‘invertebrate’ and willl describe the characteristics of worms, snails, spiders and insects. The children will then learn to name the plant groups, describing the characteristics of flowering plants, ferns, mosses and conifers. The children will also define the term ‘micro-organism’ and name some examples.

Computing

In computing this term, the children will create their own video, looking at filming techniques, planning a video using a storyboard, as well as filming, importing and editing their own video. 

French

In French we will start the term by completing Unit 3, learning about the weather, the months of the year and the seasons. We will then progress onto Unit 4 which looks at the numbers up to 30, the temperature and giving weather forecasts. 

History

In history, we will be learning about the Vikings and why they came to Britain. We will look at the early Viking raids on Lindisfarne, and will learn about their lives as seafaring people. We will learn about the Great Heathen army and the role of Alfred the Great. We will also discover how the Anglo-Saxons fought back against the Vikings. 

Music

In music, lessons will continue with teachers from the Love Music Trust. The Y6 children will continue with the clarinet and the Y5s will continue with their brass instruments. Children who have returned their permission slips will continue to bring their instruments home. We ask that these are returned to school on Wednesdays to ensure that they are ready for their Thursday lesssons. Children consistently forgetting their instruments will be asked to leave them in school. 

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

PE will be taught on Fridays by the PE coach. 

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.