Year 5

Year 5 @ Mount Street Primary 

Welcome to the Autumn Term in Year 5!

This term History is our driver, and we will be finding out what life would have been like in living in Victorian Plymouth.  Our understanding and knowledge will be embedded not only in our History  lessons, but through DT, art and literature.  Later in the term we will be comparing our new knowledge with how life is today as we study Plymouth's Trade and Economy. We will be continuing to develop our love of reading and this term’s whole class novel will be ‘ Gaslight' by Eloise Williams. 

Mrs Foster and Miss Clement will be working together each day to teach the children with Mrs Karakuzu working to support the class in the mornings.  As ever, if you have any questions or queries, please do get in touch via Dojo or the school office.  We will always do our best to answer any questions while ensuring that your child is happy in school.

English 

In English this term, we will developing our writing skills across a range of genres including, descriptive writing,  narrative poetry,  information writing and biographies.  Complementing our creative writing will be grammar sessions looking at key tools, such as relative clauses, and expanded noun phrases.  We will develop our use of devices to build cohesion within a paragraph and consider ways that we can link ideas across paragraphs.  We will also continue to embed our use of  brackets, dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis and the use of commas to clarify meaning or avoid ambiguity.  

Maths

This term, we will start by developing our understanding of place value, ordering and comparing numbers up to 1,000,000.  We will  further develop our understanding of formal addition and subtraction methods using place value counters and place value charts to support understanding of what happens when we exchange between columns as well as looking at mental methods of division and multiplication.  We will also be learning about area and perimeter and later in the term how to read and interpret graphs and tables.

Science

This term we will learn about materials.  We will compare and group everyday materials on the basis of their properties, including their response to magnets.  We will further develop our knowledge of solids, liquids and gases to decide how mixtures might be separated, including through filtering, sieving and evaporating and learn that some materials will dissolve in liquid to form a solution.  Through experiments, we will demonstrate that dissolving, mixing and changes of states are reversible changes and develop our ability to explain that some changes result in the formation of new materials, and that this kind of change is not usually reversible.

Art

This term we will be studying the Victorian artist and designer William Morris.  We will explore printing through his artwork and learn how colour theory can be used, along with line and pattern to create images.  We will continue to develop our drawing skills as well as learning how to print two-tone patterns using linoleum . 

Computing

This term, we will be exploring what a search engine is, learning how to use key words for effective searching and knowing that everything online is not always true.  Furthermore, we will develop our understanding of 'copywrite' and 'fair use'.  Later in the term, we will be applying our programming skills to create sounds and melodies using 'Scratch'.  We will learn that a soundtrack is music for a film/video and that one way of composing these is on programming software.  We will develop our use of  loops, understanding that using loops can make the process of writing music simpler and more effective as well as using a systematic approach to debugging.

DT

This term, we will be working towards designing a Victorian themed toy for a younger child.  We will develop our understand of mechanical systems and use cams to make moving parts.  Throughout the unit, we will generate, develop, model and communicate our ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces prior to making a finished working model. 

French

This term we will be developing our vocabulary around a range of subjects including instructions, opinions, sports, locations and weather.  We will learn the word 'pour' writing and saying it in context. We will listen to stories, learn phrases and rehearse speaking and writing in French.  Later in the term, we will learn about and compare traditions linked to the Christmas holidays.

Geography

This term, we will be learning about the human geography of Plymouth.  We will consider then and now linked to our learning in History, as we consider Plymouth's past and future economy and how land use has developed to meet the needs of the population.  We will consider the distribution of natural resources and learn how the port and rail networks are integral in connecting Plymouth with the world.

Music

This term we will be continuing to learn to play the guitar.  Mr Norman will continue to develop our knowledge of chord sequences and scales as well as developing our musicianship.  We will play and sing a variety of songs which we will perform later in the term.  

PE

This term, children will learn how to perform a variety of floor and vault movements. They will learn stag jumps, split leaps, pike rolls, and round-offs while developing their understanding of the necessary flexibility, strength and control needed to perform the movements successfully. Children will have the opportunity to choreograph their own sequences and routines and perform individually and as part of a pair or group.  The children will also begin to play basketball.  They will learn how to dribble and pass the ball using a range of different techniques. Defensively, they will develop their skills of marking including man-to-man marking. Offensively, they will learn how to get free from a defender, how to shield the ball and the skill of pivoting. They will also learn some of the rules of the game and to play as part of a team in a mini-tournament.

PHSE

This term we will we will be thinking about everyone's right to learn and we will learn about the he United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.  We will create our class charter and consider the consequences to our actions. Later tin the Autumn term, we will be learning about differences and we will begin to understand how cultural differences can sometimes cause conflict.  Building on this we will learn a  range of strategies for managing feelings in bullying situations and for problem-solving when children are part of a situation.

RE

This term we will be asking the question "What does it mean for Christians to believe that God is holy and loving?"  We will identify some different types of biblical texts, using technical terms accurately and pupils will begin to explain connections between biblical texts and Christian ideas of God.  We will make clear connections between Bible texts studied and what Christians believe about God; for example, through how cathedrals are designed and show how Christians put their beliefs into practice in worship.

Useful Information

Home learning

This will be set at the following times:

Maths and English  – Monday to be handed in on Friday.

Reading – 10 minutes reading daily. We ask that an adult signs the reading diary and it is handed in at least once per week. This is a whole school focus this year!

Spellings: There will be weekly tests on Friday.

Times Tables:  TT Rock Stars daily.

Games and PE

Children will need their PE kit in school all week as children  MUST have P.E. kit to take part for health and safety reasons.

Kit:        Trainers, white shirt, blue/black shorts, football/trainer socks.

In colder weather, a plain tracksuit may be worn outdoors for games.

Please ensure that all items of clothing are named. A small named bag containing your PE kit is all that is necessary as cloakroom space is limited.  Please keep your PE kit in school and we will ensure that it is sent home each half term for washing.

E-Safety

As so many of us are spending more and more time online, it is important that the children have a secure knowledge of how to be safe.  We will discuss various issues regarding this each week.  If your child or yourself have any questions linked to their online world, then please do not hesitate to get in touch or have a look at some of the links below.

Useful Links