Year 5
Welcome to Year 5
Year 5 are working with Miss Howells (Class Teacher), Mrs Bailey (PPA Cover and Teaching Assistant) and Mr Hunter (Teaching Assistant). The children make Year 5 an interesting and vibrant learning environment. Every day is different and we encourage the children to support one another to achieve their goals and aspirations. We believe in preparing all children thoroughly for their futures and want the children to be happy, confident and eager to learn.
Year 5 Key Information
Year 5 TimetableLong Term Planning Overview Year 5 2023-24
Classroom Routines
Reading
Reading is an essential part of the children’s learning and opens them up to new worlds and exciting adventures. It is the key that will unlock so many doors for the children. We encourage children to read regularly both in and out of school. It is so important that the children read at least three times a week at home which will be supported by the parents. Please listen to them read, share the enjoyment of reading with them by reading together or question them about what they have read. In Year 5, children can change their books when they have completed them. Please make sure you sign their reading record 3 times a week and bring this into school on a Friday to acknowledge you have enjoyed your reading session, thank you.
Homework
Homework can be given either in their homework books or online using Sumdog. This is handed out on a Friday and needs to be completed by the following Tuesday. If your child needs any help with their homework, then they can complete this on a break time with help from an adult on the Monday.
PE
We value the importance of physical education to maintain a healthy lifestyle, therefore we have 2 weekly PE lessons in year 5. We have PE sessions on a Monday and a Thursday.
We encourage children to bring in their PE kits on a Monday and take them home on a Friday so they are always prepared for a PE session.
Communication
We share learning and resources through Classdojo. Parents and children are able to post messages, photos and videos and parents can see work and send me messages too. This is a really strong way of keeping our learning up to date and staying connected with our class. If you have any difficulties accessing Classdojo, please contact the school office for further support.
Curriculum Areas
English
Throughout the year, we read various thought provoking and intriguing texts from short survival stories to modern narratives such as 'The Boy at the Back of the Class'. These inspire our writing in many different forms. Responding to the texts we create narratives, letters, non-chronological reports, poems and persuasive writing. Spelling, punctuation and grammar is focused upon during the writing process.
SPAG Tests Online - Practice Grammar & Punctuation Tests Online
Mathematics
In our school, we follow the White Rose Maths scheme of work with a focus on deepening our knowledge and understanding through the completion of daily fluency, reasoning and problem-solving activities. We also complete a daily Flashback quizzes to help us build confidence and retain our previous knowledge.
Times Tables Rock Stars – Times Tables Rock Stars (ttrockstars.com)
Science
We love science lessons and getting to learn and experiment by taking parts in a variety of fun scientific enquires.
In year 5, we concentrate our learning on the following science topics:
- Living Things and Habitats
- Properties and Changes of Materials
- Animals including Humans
- Forces
- Earth and Space
History
In the Autumn term, we learn about the Anglo Saxons and Vikings and answer the enquiry question, did the Anglo-Saxon and Viking struggle for the Kingdom of England lead to anything positive? In the Spring Term, we focus on the Ancient Maya Civilisation and compare this with the previously studied Vikings. Finally in the Summer Term, we consider the history of the local area.
Geography
In the Autumn term, we look at what shapes our world. We look at the impact that tectonic plates and water have on the physical features of the planet. In Spring, we look at the key countries and features of the world and carry out a geographical research on different regions around the world. We focus on locating places using the lines of latitude and longitude, time zones and biomes. During the Summer term, we discover where our food comes from and how it gets from the farm to our plate.
Physical Education
Throughout the year, we take part in a range of sporting activities taught by our class teacher Miss Howells, Mr Hunter, our in school sport coach Mr Graham as well as visiting sport specialists.
In year 5, we participate in:
- Basketball
- Tag Rugby
- Dance
- Gymnastics
- Yoga
- Hockey
- Football
- Cricket
- Athletics
Music
In the first half of Year 5, our class learn to play clarinets and can also choose to learn how to play violin too. Throughout the year children listen to a range of music and look at pitch, rhythm, singing and composing.
Further information about taking up musical tuition can be found at https://www.durhammusic.org.uk/sign-up
French
We have our weekly French lessons taught by Mrs Bailey. We learn to hold conversations in French, and develop new vocabulary based on classroom instructions, family and the home, in the cafe and dates. The final term is linked with our Science topic about the planets.
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PHSE and RSE
Our PSHE lessons are adaptable based on the needs of our class however, we do also take inspiration from the Jigsaw scheme of work. We also take part in six weeks of 'If You Care Share' delivered by Piece of Mind team to help us with our emotions and mental health.
Our PSHE units are:
- Being Me
- Celebrating Differences
- Dreams and Goals
- Healthy Me
- Relationships
- Changing Me
Computing
We follow the Teach Computing scheme of work to develop our computing knowledge and skills. At the start of every lesson we focus on an aspect of Online Safety to ensure we are confident in staying safe online.
Our Computing units are:
- Computing Systems & Networks - Systems and Searching
- Data & Information - Flat-file Databases
- Creating Media - Introduction to Vector Graphics
- Creating Media - Video Production
- Programming - Selection in Physical Computing
- Programming - Selection in Quizzes
Keeping children safe online | NSPCC
Art and Design
In Art we follow the Access Art scheme of work to build on our skills and knowledge. We get to use a range of art mediums and resources such as clay, paints and oil pastels to explore our creativity and create a range of individual art pieces.
Our art units are:
- Drawing & Illustrations
- Photography/Still Life
- Sculptures
Design Technology
Every other half term we undertake a DT project in which we evaluate existing designs to get inspiration, design our own before making and evaluating our final product. We focus on a range of skills throughout the year and often link our projects to other areas of the curriculum.
Our DT projects are:
- Pop-up Books
- Frame Structures
- Celebrating Cultures
Religious Education
In year 5, we focus on what Christians believe about God as well as studying religious celebrations such as Christmas and Easter. We also gain an in-depth understanding of the the Jewish Faith focusing on the synagogue and Moses. In the Summer term, we learn about why people use religious rituals today.