Year 5

Welcome

Welcome to Year 5. We have 3 classes of 30 children. Our ethos is simple: we aim high, we believe and we achieve! We aim to provide children with many engaging experiences to support their learning and enable them to be their very best.

 

Who’s Who?

Year Coordinator: Mrs Tatla

5RA - Mrs Hollingworth

5JS - Miss Elton

5ED - Mrs Tatla

Mrs Yar-Khan (HLTA)

Mrs Smith (TA)

What we will be learning this year?

Autumn 1: How do the Earth, Sun and Moon effect our lives

 

Our topic is ‘Stargazers’. During this exciting topic we are launched in to space to explore the relationships between planet Earth, the sun and the moon. We explore the phases of the moon and try to answer the question – why we have night and day, why do we experience the four seasons, we will take a closer look at the planets that make up our solar system and the order of them. As part of our topic we will visit The National Space Centre and experience the planetarium. As a big finish to our topic and to show off our Design and Technology skills, we will design, make and test a rocket at ‘Hardwick’s Intergalactic Rocket Launch Competition!’

Autumn 2: How did the Vikings affect Britain?

Our topic is for Autumn 2 is ‘Traders and Raiders!’ We will be learning all about the Victorious Vikings and when they invaded Britain. We will look closely at how they overpowered the Anglo Saxons and how they settled in many parts of Britain. During this topic we will learn about where the Vikings came from and how some Vikings came to Britain as peaceful farmers. Throughout this topic, we will also recall some of our learning from year 4, making links to the ‘Anglo Saxons’, so that children can fully understand the link between the Vikings and the Anglo Saxons and how the Viking invasions in Britain took place whilst the Anglo Saxons were also settled here. We will finish this topic with learning about the end of the Viking era: The ‘Battle of Hastings’.

Spring 1: How do materials change?

 Our topic is for Spring 1 is ‘Alchemy Island’. We begin this super topic with an exciting science investigation that always creates excitement and gets the children problem solving. This involves a task whereby the pupils have to work in teams to filter and purify the contaminated water supply at school which has taken place due to an accident. The children must work together and use their budget wisely to purchase equipment from the ‘Hardwick Hardware Store’ in order to try and produce the cleanest water sample. As part of this topic we explore the importance of materials and their properties as well as learning how to read ordnance survey maps and use grid references to find landmarks an a map.

Spring 2: Who were the Ancient Egyptians?

 

Our topic is ‘Pharaohs'. In this fascinating topic we will travel back in time to 1336BC to visit the Ancient Egyptians! We begin our topic with a trip to the Leicester Museum to explore the incredible Egyptian artefacts and meet the ancient mummies! During tis term we learn all about the Pharaohs, life during Egyptian times, mummification, the Gods and the perilous journey to the afterlife. We become archaeologists – examining ancient artefacts and learning from them, before becoming geographers and learning all about the River Nile and its importance to ancient settlers back then to modern day times. In science we explore lifecycles and habitats. We finish the topic with a fantastic Egyptian market place day were parents are invited and the children can purchase foods and goods that were typical of the time.

Summer 1: Where does our food come from?

 Our topic is ‘Allotments’. We begin our journey by visiting a local allotments and learning about where our food comes from. During this topic we learn fascinating facts about seasonal foods, where and when they can be grown and how we can reduce our carbon footprint by growing our own fruit and vegetables. We also learn about the importance of a balanced diet and nutrition. We will also look at living things and habitats in Science and learning about human growth.

Summer 2: What forces are used in a theme park?

 Our topic is ‘ Scream Machine!’ This incredibly exciting topic begins with a trip to a local park where we learn about how different forces are applied when we use playground equipment. We learn all about forces – including gravity, air resistance, centripetal force and friction – alongside how pulleys and levers are used in everyday life. We become journalists and write newspaper reports about the grand opening of a theme park ride that we design, before working in teams to design and build a marble run roller coaster with a pulley system. We develop our mapping skills by plotting a journey from school to a theme park and we explore comparisons between a village in the UK and a city in France by looking at aerial satellite images and maps. We complete our topic with a show-stopping trip to a theme park where we see and experience the rides in action.

 

Maths and English:

We will continue to develop our English and Maths skills alongside all of our themes. To help children learn we use text maps where drawings of what is happening are used instead of words so that the children can internalise the structure of the text. We immerse the pupils in a rich variety of vocabulary which we encourage them to use in their own writing. They will have lots of opportunities to write, read and perform. Some of the text types (genres) that we will be learning about are historical narratives, fantasy (portal) stories, poetry, persuasive texts, information texts and recounts. Children will be developing their reading and spelling skills in their daily Phonics sessions and SPAG sessions.

 

 

You will find our Year 5 curriculum overview below:

How to help with learning at Home

 

We value and encourage parents working alongside their children. One of the most important ways a parent can help a child is to listen to them read or encourage them to read to themselves as often as possible.

We encourage parents to support their children’s learning at home through talk, homework and reading.

Home learning websites: