Year 5

Autumn 1

This term we are looking at the themes of rainforest and survival.

We began our topic with our very own 'I'm a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here' 'Bush-tucker Trial'!  The children had to guess what our topic was from what they felt in some covered up boxes.  In our geography lessons, we will be looking at rainforest locations and climates, discovering the make up of rainforests, and how this creates slightly different habitats.  In both geography and art, we will explore the different types of animals that live in the different sections of the rainforest, producing sketches, paintings, collages and fact files.  Finally bringing the project together with a diorama (3D scene) of key learning and our artwork.

We will be reading and writing around the book The Explorer by Katherine Rundell, a story about children who find themselves stranded in the Amazon Rainforest and trying to survive.  We will be focusing on story writing (narrative) including elements of fear and danger, and will also have a go at writing a letter home, trying to make it seem as though all is okay.

In and around the Amazon Rainforest, ruins from the Maya Civilisation are still being discovered and investigated.  The children will work like archaeologists looking at artefacts and making observations about them and the civilisation they belonged to.  Also, carrying our research on key aspects to learn about even more.  They will be able to make links to the previous civilisations they have covered in other year groups, for example the Ancient Egyptians in Year 3, and will compare to British history when we cover the Vikings in the Spring term (who were in Britain whilst the Maya were in Central America).

Home Learning

We thank you for the support you have been giving your children with their home learning so far this year.

Your child has now been sent home with an updated Google Classroom login. We will be using this platform to centralise the home learning. We are asking them to complete and also to set other tasks.

All home learning will be set on a Friday and be due in on the following Friday.

All tasks will be set on Google Classroom but might direct the children to other sites. 

The children are expected to complete to complete:

• My Maths task on My Maths                      
   
• Spelling practice on Spelling Frame

• Spelling Quiz on Google Classroom
   
• Grammar or reading task - set directly onto Google Classroom  
   
• Reading at home at least 4 times a week 
  (please can this be recorded in their reading log (either by the child or an adult) and signed off each week. The children earn a raffle ticket for every read that they record and then the winning ticket equals a brand new book to take home).

If you have any queries about the home learning, any technical issues with logging on or difficulty accessing these home learning tasks, please do not hesitate to contact your child's class teacher. 

Autumn 2

This term, in the lead up to Christmas, Year 5 will be discovering aspects all about Space.  Beginning with a fantastic visit to Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium on Tuesday 15th November 2023.

The children will be learning about the Earth, Sun and Moon; about what causes night and day, the seasons and the phases of the Moon.  The children will be encouraged to use their own enquiry skills to find out more about the planets in our solar system, stars, comets, asteroids and space exploration.  They will be analysing graphs and tables to discover patterns in the temperatures of the different planets and how many moons each has.

As part of this topic we are asking the children to complete a Moon Journal across four weeks in order to learn about the phases of Earth’s moon. (see details below in homework section) 

Your child will also be exploring the life of an astronaut. During our English lessons, we will delve into the life of an astronaut who spent a record amount of time in space, looking at letters he wrote home to his son about things he was missing.  We’ll continue to look at different types of writing involving space and astronauts to create our own narratives and autobiographies.  In DT, we will be making Space Buggies using wooden frames and a cam mechanism.  

Alongside the upcoming, whole school performances of Matilda, it will certainly be a busy term!

Moon Journal

This is a fantastic unit which encourages discussion about the characteristics of heroes and villains and asks the children to study both fictional characters and real-life heroes. The children will explore the heroes and villains of Treasure Island, which we are studying in English this half term. We will have a visit by Chris Connaughton (author and actor), who introduces us to the characters in the story and really brings it to life! 

Alongside Heroes and Villains, in history we will be studying the Anglo-Saxons. We will consider the lasting impact of the Anglo-Saxons on British history looking at a range of sources and researching in teams.

The unit offers many creative opportunities.  For example, in art, the children will be examining images of artefacts found by archeologists at the Sutton Hoo site. In particular, they will be studying the design and details on Anglo-Saxon crosses and constructing their own 3D crosses inspired by these historical artefacts. 

In music and computing, the children will be studying how hero and villain film characters are represented by their own musical effects or leitmotifs.  They will then be composing their own ‘Heroes and Villains’ piece using the GarageBand app on the iPads. Also within music, the children will be studying pitch and structure within a piece of music in our Frozen Lands unit. 

During our science lessons this term, we will be looking at the properties of material and reversible and irreversible changes.

Our RE unit looks at interpretations and meanings of God from different religions and the children will be encouraged to share their own thoughts and beliefs.  Throughout the term, we will also be using our CPSHE lessons to further the children’s social and personal development.  The themes this term will include: protecting the environment, compassion towards others and e-safety. 

This term Year 5 are learning all about space. As part of their science lessons, they will be learning about the phases of the moon. Before learning about the different names for the phases and discovering why the moon has these phases, we are asking the children to complete a moon journal. They will need to take 5 minutes each day to look at the moon, shade the circle to show the shape of the moon and record the date and time of their observation.

Every child has been sent home with a copy of this moon journal, but there is one attached below if you need another. You child's teacher will also happily print off another if needed.