Welcome to Year 5 and the first half of the Autumn term. 

Please find a brief overview of the children's learning below.

R.E

In our RE work we will be following the scheme 'The Way, The Truth and The Life'. Our first topic will be 'Creation'. We will study the Creation story in the Bible and the story of the Fall. We will reflect carefully on our responsibilities in looking after our world and learn from God's great helpers including St. Francis. We will think about the importance of all the gifts which God has given us all.

The children will continue to prepare their own collective worships, as well as saying more formal prayers.

English

Our English work will form a major part of the school day. We will use the classic text, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as a basis for our study. This will inspire us to write diary extracts, a report about World War 2 and a fantasy story. 

Throughout this work the children will complete various reading and writing activities in whole class and small groups. We will focus on key skills including comprehension, writing composition, spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting.

Reading

We will use the brilliant book There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar as the stimulus for our reading sessions. We will focus on:

-Vocabulary

-Inference

-Prediction

-Explanation

-Retrieval

-Summary

Mathematics

In Mathematics we will cover the topics of place value, written addition and subtraction and statistics. We will continue to focus on mental arithmetic strategies during our daily lessons. The children will carry out a range of problem solving activities in relation to these areas enabling them to apply their mathematical, knowledge, skills and understanding.

Geography

This half term the children will investigate world trade. We will learn about the distribution of natural resources and how these are used in a variety of industries across the world. The children will explore what trade is and the importance of imports and exports. We will consider how trade has developed over time and the explore what Fairtrade is. The children will also use a variety of maps to explore four figure grid references. 

Computing

The children will develop their understanding of computer systems and how information is transferred between systems and devices. We will explore the input, output, and process aspects of a variety of different real-world systems. The children will discover how information is found on the World Wide Web, through learning how search engines work (including how they select and rank results) and what influences searching, and through comparing different search engines.

Art and Design

This half term we will focus on illustration. The children will explore examples of narrative art including graphic novels. We will study the work of Marjane Satrapi and Mel Tregonning. The children will sketch a storyboard template and create a character for their story using physical and digital tools. 

Science

During Science lessons the children will complete an exciting unit of learning about Separating Mixtures.

They will cover the following learning:

•know that some materials will dissolve in liquid to form a solution and describe how to recover a substance from a solution.

•use knowledge of solids, liquids and gases to decide how mixtures might be separated, including through filtering, sieving and evaporating.

•demonstrate that dissolving, mixing and changes of state are reversible changes.

•explain that some changes result in the formation of new materials, and that this kind of change is not usually reversible, including changes associated with burning and the action of acid on bicarbonate of soda.

P.E

In P.E. lessons,  the children will complete Playground Leader training. This will enable them to support and guide our younger children during playtime. 

We will also complete an athletics unit which will cover the key disciples of running, throwing and jumping. The children will develop and refine their skills throughout the lessons. There will be opportunities to apply their learning in a variety of situations. 

Latin

The children will continue to learn Latin in school. This is an incredibly useful skill with so many languages being derived from Latin.

Music

We will complete a series of lessons based around 'Livin' on a Prayer' by Bon Jovi. This will cover a variety of skills including listening, appraising and performing. 

PSHE

During the first half term Mrs Ronson will complete Kidsafe lessons. 

Learning Log

This half term I would like the children to focus on the impact of global food miles. This will be a key theme within our geography lessons. I would like the children to research locally available ingredients. The task is to make a meal or dish with at least one locally bought ingredient and present it in their learning log. More information will be provided in class.

Please submit by Wednesday 22nd October.

I am very excited about guiding your child through Year 5. I look forward to meeting you all and thank you in advance for your support.

Mr McGrath

p.mcgrath@poulton-st-johns.lancs.sch.uk