Year 5
Welcome to the Year 5 Class Page
This is our CREATE term where we will be enjoying a focus on Art and Music.
The first week back is called, 'Kickstart To The Art' and a range of exciting Art activities including a trip into Hertford town centre for some art on location have been planned. Throughout the term the children will be developing their art and painting techniques in sketch books. For a more detailed look at what's in store, please do look at the art and painting progression documents and knowledge organisers.
Following on from the success of using the Micro:bits I have hired a class set of crumble controllers (a programmable board). An expert is coming in to give us all some training, and then we'll have them for the half-term. I'm looking forward to the children getting creative as they programme them to do a variety of things. In the second half of the summer term, the children will be learning all about vector drawings - again a chance to get creative!
In science, we will be exploring about the planets, night and day and the moon. Did you see the recent total eclipse that was witnessed by many people in Mexico and America. Click here for some great footage. After this topic we will be focusing our attention on a science topic called 'Animals including humans'. Some areas that will be covered include puberty, the gestation period and life expectancy.
I always look forward to the summer term and the chance to get outside more. The children will be developing their cricket and athletic skills with Matt. Every Thursday we will be walking to Hartham for our weekly swimming lesson which starts on Thursday 25th April. I have included an updated weekly timetable so you can see what lessons are planned throughout the week - this will change from time to time.
Maths and English will continue to be taught in the mornings (except Thursday - grammar lesson in the afternoon). On a Friday morning Jane Smith will take the children through a reading comprehension and do some work on arithmetic questions. I will be putting these questions on the class webpage - under home learning - so you can see the type of arithmetic questions the children have to answer. In English, we using a beautiful book called The Promise by Nicola Davies, to stimulate a range of writing including poems and a newspaper report. In maths, we will continue to follow the White Rose Curriculum. You can find links to the different subject areas in the Create medium term plan (see below). I've also put some links that will support learning at home with maths topics - do have a look at these. Links to the maths' knowledge organisers can be found within this document.
This term is our DISCOVER term. You can see in detail what we'll be covering by clicking on the blue swirl below. I've also listed the relevant knowledge organisers that I use to help plan lessons. They are an excellent snapshot of the knowledge, learning and vocabulary covered in each topic.
Just before Christmas, I received thirty micro:bits. This term in our computing lessons the children will discover how to write code for these tiny computers. They are an excellent resource for developing children's understanding and knowledge of physical computing - programming digital devices to sense and interact with the world. The children can continue their learning at home by writing programs using Microsoft's MakeCode. They can't donwnload their programme to a micro:bit but they can see from the simulator what it would look like. Scroll down to have a look at the two introduction videos about micro:bits.
Autumn term
the EXPLORE term (with a specific focus on Geography & Science)
Spring term
the DISCOVER term (with a specific focus on History & DT)
Summer term
the CREATE term (with a specific focus on Art and Music)
We've started to practise Christmas carols for our Y4, 5 & 6 Christmas carol concert and our carol concert at Calton Court. Click on each song to help you learn the words and signs (for some of them).
Silent Night (just the first two verses)
I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas
The weekly timetable may change.
In Geography, we will be learning about extreme environments and finding answers to our inquiry question: Is climate change inevitable? As we understand extreme habitats we will look at how human activity (human geography) is impacting the environment (physical geography). In the second half of the term the children will be exploring the local area and how it is and could be improved.
In Science, the children will be exploring living things and their habitats. They will be investigating the process of reproduction in plants and animals and learning about the life cycles of mammals, amphibians, insects and birds. In the second half of the term, the focus will switch to properties and changes of materials.
In our weekly computing lessons, we will be exploring computer systems and networks. This will be followed in the second half of the term by making videos using iMovie . Each Thursday we will have an in-class assembly called, ‘Thoughtful Thursday’. This will alternate between a short discussion on an aspect of online safety and PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education).
Our core subjects of Maths and English will be taught on a daily basis. I will be following the White Rose timetable for Maths. By clicking on the link you will be able to see the topics and when we'll be studying them. For English I'll be using a CLPE (The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education) unit which uses Anthony Horowitz’s Stormbreaker story. This will be followed by a Recount unit developing the skills of writing a diary entry.
In the first half-term of our PSHE lessons the children will be developing an understanding of families, including marriage and what to do if someone feels unsafe in their family; learning that dealing issues can strengthen a friendship; exploring the impact of bullying and what influences a bully’s behaviour. In second half term we will be learning to take greater responsibility for sleep, healthy eating and managing feelings; setting goals and embracing failure; understanding the importance of rest and relaxation. I'm really looking forward to these lessons as I believe a greater understanding of relationships and well being is vital if we are to be 'successful' in today's society.
RE will alternate with PSHE and the children will be exploring the beliefs and practices of Christians and Jews.
Each week, the children will be participating in two hours of PE: an hour with me and an hour with Matt. In the first half of the autumn term they will be developing their tag rugby skills (Matt) and netball skills with me. In the second half, I will be developing their dodgeball skills and Matt will exploring a range of gymnastic skills with the children.
The children's learning has been summarised in school curriculum maps (you can find each map under each subject) which show progression across the school and knowledge organisers (KOs) which are specific to each class. Use the links below to take you to the KOs that will be being used in the EXPLORE term.
You will also find a copy of my medium term explore plan here.
Geography whole school progression map
Science whole school progression map - KNOWLEDGE
Science whole school progression map - WORKING SCIENTIFICALLY
Y5 KO - Living Things And Their Habitats
Y5 KO - Properties And Changes In Materials
Computing whole school progression map
Y5 KO - Computing Systems And Networks - Sharing Information
Y5 KO - Creating media - Video production
Italian whole school progression map
Spellings
Spellings will be given out on a Thursday and then assessed the following Wednesday.
A copy of the spellings will be uploaded to the webpage and also included in the weekly home learning.