R.E.

Through our RE lessons this half term, we will be exploring the sacrament of baptism, focusing in on its initiation into God’s family. We will also explore some parables & saying of Jesus, which will help us to grow in faith. We will also follow the Liturgical year by studying Lent and Holy Week. We will study some important texts from the New Testament about Christian living and will learn about the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a Sacrament of Healing and God’s forgiveness.

English and Guided Reading

The teaching in English will be based upon a variety of text types, including persuasive writing, narrative, recount writing and explanation texts - all of which will be contextualised for the children, linking either to our vehicle, another curriculum area or book. 

We are  reading ‘A series of unfortunate events’ by Lemony Snicket as a part of our guided reading sessions as well as some reading test practise. During these sessions we continue to develop our reading skills such as inference, retrieval and making connections. We will be moving onto a new book throughout this half term ‘Oranges in No Man’s Land’ By Elizabeth Laird.

 Maths

This term will be focussing on place value and children will be extending our learning of multiplication and division, fractions as well as decimals and percentages. Following this, we will move on to measurement and graphs and tables, where we will learn to interpret and draw line graphs. The children will continue to have 'mini maths' homework, reminding them of mathematical concepts that we have covered so far, ensuring fluency.

Our K.I.R.F. (Key Instant Recall Fact) for this half term is knowing our equivalent fractions and decimals. 

0.5  = 1/2 

0.25 = 1/4

0.75 = 3/4

Geography

We are looking at Earthquakes and Volcanoes, beginning with identifying the four layers of the Earth. As we progress, we will identify, describe and understand key aspects of physical geography before the children then turn their focus to the effects of Earthquakes. We will also be investigating how governments and organisations help when natural disasters happen.

Science

In Science, we are investigating 'animals and other living things', during which children will continue to use their scientific skills to classify, research and draw conclusions. This term we will focus on how to ensure we can conduct comparative and fair tests to investigate our hypothesis.

History

Throughout the term, Year 5 will be delving into the past and will be exploring the lives and legacies of the Ancient Mayans. We will be investigating why they were able to survive for so long but ultimately conquered by the Spanish. Throughout this term we will be using lots of different skills to evaluate and understand different sources of information.

D&T

During the Spring term, we will use the knowledge and skills gained in KS1 and lower KS2 about healthy eating, active lifestyles and knowing what a healthy plate it. We will identifying what nutritional information means, before exploring what cows, pigs and chickens are reared for. The children will be using their knowledge of different equipment and work in a team to make their own design choice, resulting in a high quality final product.

Music

This term we will be learning about Exploring Key and Time Signatures, with a focus on ‘How Does Music Improve Our World?’.  We will use active listening to make connections and comparisons between own compositions and performances.

Art

For Art this term, we will be studying the famous artist Alberto Giacometti through the medium of sculptures. The children will initially research the artist to understand his most famous works, background as well as the historical context before making observational drawings using continuous lines. Then moving on to designing sculptures using manipulatives and clay to represent their own interpretations.

PE

Mrs Burrows and I will be leading PE this year in Year 5. We will focus on fundamental skills in one session and a sports focused skill with some games in the other. This will allow the children to challenge themselves to a personal best each for each skill as well as working towards their PE cogs (skills). Please encourage your children to show and practise everything we have learnt so far.