Year 5
Year 5
Welcome to Year Five
Spring 1 - This term we will be studying:
RE: What do religions say when life gets hard?
Children will investigate what different religions teach about why we sometimes face difficulties in life and what we can do to overcome them. We will be reading some Bible stories about people who faced difficult choices and events and will investigate what these characters did to develop their resilience and bravery; and learn what tips we can take to help us in our lives.
Topic: What did the Ancient Greek teach us? (History)
This half term we will be studying Ancient Greece. We will use atlases to locate the Ancient Greece on a map, investigate the physical and human characteristics of the Ancient Greece and learn what life was like in the Ancient Greece.
What is Longitude and Latitude? (Geography)
In geography we will be investigating the importance of the equator and the Tropic of Cancer. This will include studying the different continents and the weather conditions found around the world.
Earth and Space: (Science)
In science we will be learning about Earth and space, in particular the planets in our galaxy, space exploration and the importance of the sun.
English:
In English, we will be studying ‘Macbeth’. In our writing we will be applying features of letters, narrative writing, newspapers, diary entries, developing scenes and writing an alternative ending.
Reading:
Guided reading will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for all groups.
It is very important your child is heard to read at home every night and their diary must be signed. This could be a novel, comic, newspaper or their school reading book. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - as part of our guided reading lessons - I will check that children’s reading records have been signed by an adult.
Home reading books and library books will be changed on a daily basis.
Maths:
In maths, we will be studying
• Mental multiplication
• Written multiplication
• Mental division
• Written division
• Fractions
• Properties of triangles
The children will also be learning their times tables up to 12X12.
Homework:
Homework plays an important part in learning in Year 5.
English homework will be given on Thursday for the following Wednesday.
Maths homework will be given out on Thursday for the following Wednesday.
Additional topic/science homework may also be given.
It is very important that all homework is completed on time and to the same standard that we expect in school, in order to make it worthwhile. We value your support with this.
Spellings:
Spellings will be given on Monday to be learnt for the following Monday. It is crucial your child learns their spellings as it accounts for 20% of their SPAG S.A.T. in year 6.
PE:
PE is on Wednesday and Friday. Please ensure your child has the correct kit. This term, as the weather may get cold, children can bring-in an outdoor PE kit. Please note: They will ONLY be allowed to wear this if they are going outdoors, which may not be every week, so they MUST also have their indoor PE kit in school AT ALL TIMES.
Spanish will be taught every Wednesday.
Should you need further information please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for your help and support.
Mrs Thornton, Mrs Mainprize
Please see website for diary dates and events and more information on the curriculum and what the children have been up to: https://www.whartonprimary.co.uk
Useful websites:
www.booksfortopics.com is a great website for recommendations (for all Year groups and topics)
www.grammar-monster.com is fantastic for all of your grammar queries! Also, BBC Bitesize has many interactive ideas to review key concepts.
Lovereading4kids.co.uk is a wonderful website for recommendations but we have a vast selection in school.
Making Our Helmets:
As part of design and technology we made Ancient Greek helmets. Please see the main website for photographs of us making them. Please read below the process for completing the helmets.
We made our helmets in the style of an Ancient Greek soldier [infantry].
Firstly, we researched Ancient Greek weaponry and armour.
Then we each designed a helmet, adding annotations and colour – this was to help us remember what we wanted the helmets to look like at the end.
Next, we inflated a balloon and tied a knot in it to stop air escaping.
We initially used small piece of mod-roc to cover the balloon, but unfortunately the mod-roc would not cling to the balloon and fell off!
The next step was to begin again!
We cut up small pieces of newspaper [approximately 5cm square pieces] and began to stick the pieces on the balloon using PVA glue. It was very messy and we were all covered in paper and glue!
This process worked! We had to build up the layers – we aimed for 7-10 layers of glued paper on each balloon. This was hard work but we managed it!
The more layers on the balloon the stronger the final product was.
Then we left the papier-mâché covered balloons to dry for 7 days, the idea is to allow the glue to dry hard – the harder the stronger the helmet!
Once the balloons were dry and the paper hardened by the glue we popped the balloon and slowly pulled it out of the papier-mâché. This left the helmet shape intact.
As a class we now returned to our original designs and cut out the shape of helmet needed and added our intricate designs.
Our final lesson focused on evaluating our designs, we thought about what went well and what could have been better. Finally, we wrote a short paragraph explaining what we would do differently if we were to attempt the process again.
Please spend some time browsing our photographs and we hope you enjoy them!