Year 5

What happens in Year 5?

Year 5 is an exciting year for the children. In the Upper School, our children are expected to take a more mature and independent approach towards their learning.

We have high expectations for behaviour, as our children are role models to the rest of the school. Consequently, our children are given extra responsibilities, such as being a Sports Leader and, in the Summer Term, meeting and supporting their Year 2 Buddy. The children will take on a mentoring role and help to make our Year 2 children feel welcome and safe, as they begin their journey at the Junior School.

Year 5 have five brilliant Themes of Learning:

Autumn Term: The Second World War

Spring Term: The Maya and Earthquakes and Volcanoes

Summer Term: The Ancient Greeks and a European region study

Many fun and exciting things happen in Year 5 to help make our learning memorable and bring our Themes of Learning to life:

• The children take part in some immersive and historical Topic Days. In the Autumn Term, we take part in World War II Day and, in the Summer Term, we enjoy Ancient Greek Day, where we take part in an interesting workshop, enabling us to fully embrace Ancient Greek life..
• During the Summer Term, we are extremely fortunate to go on a residential to Hindleap Warren. Here the children get to put our School Values to the test and have the courage to try new and exciting activities, whilst compassionately supporting their peers. From archery to team building and even the high ropes, the children absolutely love tackling some extreme challenges whilst on a trip away with their friends.
• In the Summer Term, our Year 5 children have the opportunity to visit our local Secondary School, Winston Churchill, and take part in World Games Day – an exciting day on the calendar!

Day by Day Guide

Children need their Homework Diaries, a book, pencil cases and a water bottle in school every day.

Home Learning

Each week, in Year 5, we upload a Homework Sheet onto our Google Classroom pages. Here we provide information about our Homework, as well as a ‘Weekly Update’ on what we will be learning the following week across the curriculum. Parents will also find important reminders on the Year 5 Homework Sheet.

English

Children are expected to read at home every day and record this in their Homework Diary with the name of the book and the pages they have read. We ask an adult at home to sign their Homework Diary and these will be checked weekly by the children’s Class Teacher. The books the children read may be banded books from school, or if your child is a free reader, any suitable book of their choice.

We will be teaching spellings every day in school. However, if our families wish to continue to practise these at home, we provide a variety of Spellings within our ‘Spelling’ section on the children’s Google Classroom Pages. In this section, you will find a copy of the High Frequency Words, the Years 3-4 Statutory Spellings and the Years 5-6 Statutory Spellings.

Maths

Each week Maths homework is set using MyMaths. This is set on a Friday and should be completed by the following Friday. Times Tables Rock Stars is an online game that we use to help the children learn and practise their times tables. The children enjoy taking part in the various tournaments that are set-up.

Family Learning

Each term, the children have the opportunity to complete some ‘Family Learning’, which links to our Themes of Learning. For example, in the Autumn Term, our ‘Family Learning’ focuses on the Second World War. The children’s ‘Family Learning’ will be uploaded onto our Google Classroom pages.

Family Learning is an opportunity to explore our Themes of Learning outside of school, as a family. Over the term, the children are able choose activities that they would like to complete at home. These can focus on different themes that the children love and enjoy. For example, some children are really creative and may choose to complete a Family Learning Project from the ‘Expressive Arts’ section. Some children are mathematicians at heart and, therefore, they might complete something from the ‘Maths’ section.

When the children have completed their projects, we love to celebrate them with the class.