Welcome to Year 5

Class Teacher: Mrs O’Donovan 

Teaching Assistant: Miss Colquhoun (PPA Cover Thursday) 

Please check out our class page to see what we have been doing over each half term 

Year 5 Long Term Plan 

Autumn 1

English -  We started the year back by recapping the importance of 'Grammar and Punctuation'. We played games and worked in pairs to work out what makes a single clause sentence and how we can recognise one as well as write our own. 

English -  We are really enjoying reading, 'The Odyssey' so far and after hearing all about Odysseus and his men becoming trapped in the cave with the Cyclops, we use the drama technique - hot seating - to question Odysseus himself and ask him how he and his men were going to escape!

Maths -  In Maths we stared the year by recalling our multiplication facts up to x12. We enjoyed getting into the fresher completing a timetable treasure hunt in the playground. 

RE -  Our unit this term in RE is 'What journeys are special? '. This week we looked at what and how Muslims do  and feel when they visit Makkah. 

History -   Our topic this half term is the Ancient Greeks. This week we have learnt all about the modern and ancient olympics. We worked in teams to find information about both Olympic Games and sorted the information before answering our Big Debate question - What are the similarities and differences between the Modern and Ancient Olympics? 

Music - In Year 5, we are all very excited to learn the viola. Our first week began with an introduction to the instrument, how to hold it and care for it. We then played for the first time. 

PE In PE this half term, our unit is ‘Fitness’. We have been practicing our skipping techniques and showing how we demonstrate some of the five C’s - challenge, care, confidence and character. 

French - We are loving having our French lessons again with Madame Bex. So far this half term we have revisited our learning from Year 4, learnt more of our phonics singing songs and even had a European Day of Language lesson!

 Computing -  Our unit in computing this half term is, ‘Search Engines’. In this uni, we will understand how search engines work and develop searching skills to find relevant and accurate information online. 

Year 5 Information 

Class Councillors

Democracy: Our class councillors are part of our whole school council and attend regular meetings throughout the year to help decide on areas of development and ideas brought up by the children. The children completed a manifesto in class and presented them to their peers. A vote then took place in class and the children with the most votes have become our class councillors for the year. I'm sure they will do an amazing job!  

Reading in PSHE

In PSHE one of our books this half term is, "Talk like a River'. This is a stunning picture book which conveys both the challenge of speech difficulties but also the beauty of connecting with nature. The book provoked lots of discussion about how we might feel if we sometimes couldn't express our words and we thought about times that we might find speaking aloud difficult. 

Reading for Writing 

This term our writing is based on Myths and we will be reading the book, 'The Odyssey' by Gillian Cross which has been illustrated by Neil Packer. 

The Odyssey is a triumph of storytelling that has moved and fascinated people for over three thousand years. 

Odysseus, its hero, faces storm and shipwreck, terrifying monsters and the fur of the gods as he journeys home after the Trojan war. Will he ever get there - and what will he find if he does? 

 

English - We read the first chapter of, The Odyssey' and talked about how in Ancient Greek times stories were told orally and that performers often told epic tales that glorified the gods and brought terrible monsters to life. We then wrote our own proclamation to the story using the future tense and expanded noun phrases. 

Reading for Pleasure

Our class book this half term is, 'Who Let the Gods Out'. 

When a shooting star crashes to Earth, it lands Elliot smack bang in the path of Virgo - a young Zodiac goddess on a mission. But when the pair accidentally release Thanatos, a wicked death daemon imprisoned beneath Stonehenge, they've got nowhere to turn for help but to the old Olympian gods. 

Reading for Comprehension 

In our Reading lessons, we study books in more depth by looking at the front and back covers, layouts, vocabulary and genres. We work together to answer questions about the text and use inference to understand what an author might mean and predict what might happen next. 

Our first text this term, is linked to our science topic - Space - and is, 'Eyewitness Planets'.

In Art -  This term our art lessons are focused on Typography and Maps. In this unit we will be exploring how we can create typography through drawing and design, and using our skills to create personal and highly visual maps.  During our first two lessons we have looked at the artist Louise Fili and created our own cut out letters. 

DT -  Our unit in DT this half term is, ‘ Digital World: Monitoring Devices’. This unit will apply computing knowledge and understanding to program a Micro:bit animal monitoring device. Develop 3D CAD skills by learning how to navigate the Tinkercad interface and essential tools to combine multiple objects.