Dear Year 5 parents and children,

Our topic this term is Mountains high, Valleys low and we will be focusing on how mountains are formed, where there are mountains and the features of these mountains.

English

We are starting this term by focusing on punctuation and grammar. We will be embedding our understanding of key skills needed for Upper Key Stage 2 and ensuring that we know the correct terminology and where and how to use these techniques within our writing. After this, we will focus on creative writing, editing, and uplevelling previous pieces of work. In the second half of the term, we will be writing a non-chronological report.

Maths

During the first half term, we will be learning about area and perimeter, statistics, shapes, and negative numbers. In the second half, we will focus on position and direction, decimals, and measurement. The children will continue to practise their arithmetic through starters and will complete arithmetic tests during the term. We find that completing arithmetic tasks regularly helps children to understand the methods and consolidate their memory, ultimately helping them to feel more confident about maths.

Throughout all topics, we will use a mixture of concrete, visual, and written methods to help the children understand key concepts. We aim to deepen understanding by presenting the areas of maths in different ways and revisiting them throughout the year to consolidate the children’s understanding.

Science and RE

In science, our topic is ‘Animals, including Humans’ in the first half term, and in the second half, we will cover our RSE topic.

In RE, our topic is ‘Why are sacred texts and holy books so important?’, which we will focus on for the whole term.

PE – Wednesday and Friday

We are delighted that the children will continue to have PE with Mr. McGeeney on a Wednesday afternoon and will have cricket on a Friday afternoon for the first half term.

Please bring in PE bags on Monday and include jumpers, socks, and trousers, as the British weather is always unpredictable.

Additional information about all curriculum areas is in our long-term overview.

Homework

Homework will be weekly spellings, a maths task, and reading, and at various points in the year, a specific one-off Learning Log homework linked to an annual or national event such as World Book Day. It is important that all children complete their homework. Please email me, through the office, if your child is experiencing any particular difficulties with the completion of the homework.

Additional Information

Please ensure that your child brings in a clean water bottle daily, filled with water and that, when the weather improves, you provide a sunhat and a pre-school daily covering of suntan lotion.

After the May half term, years 5 and 6 will go on their residential to Derbyshire and conduct a river survey in Eythrope.

Thank you for your continued support,

Miss Holdford