Over the course of the year in Year 5, we will stay a variety of subjects from across all areas of the National Curriculum. During our first two terms, we will study:

SCIENCE:

We start things off in our Science lessons studying ‘Mixtures and Separation.’ During this, we’ll look at mixtures, sieving and filtering, as well as discussing the terms ‘solution’ and ‘dissolve,’ building on the solids, liquids and gases knowledge from last year.

During the second term, the children will be looking at properties and changes of materials. In this, we will look at both reversible and irreversible changes, as well as the transparency and conductivity of materials.

HISTORY:

In History, we will be studying the Ancient Maya civilisation and how their achievements affected both them and the wider world. We will also look at the ruins of Mayan cities and make deductions about how they lived.

GEOGRAPHY:

In Geography during Term 2, we will study the Alps mountain range. We will locate the Alps on a map and study how it is different to our local area and why people choose to visit the Alps.

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY:

During the first term, we will be exploring gears and pulleys. Together, we will build different simple gears that work together and apply this knowledge to pulleys. We will explore what design creates the best gears.

After the half term, we will be studying bridges and their structures. The children will explore, what makes a strong bridge, before creating their own out of a variety of materials. We will then discuss and investigate how to make our designs stronger.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:

We will focus on two main areas in RE this term. The first is ‘Creation & Science: Conflicting or Complementary?’ The children will learn about the importance of the Creation story in the Bible for Christians, whilst also discussing some of the controversy between the accounts of creation in Genesis and contemporary scientific accounts. Our second focus will be on the question ‘How do Muslim people mark important events in life?’ where we will study different important dates in the Muslim calendar.

MUSIC:

During our music, we will be learning about Blues music. The children will learn about the history and musical aspects of Blues music, eventually composing their own Blues tune.

FRENCH:

In French this term, the unit we will be studying is ‘La Date.’ In this unit, the children will learn how to say the dates of the week, months of the year as well as the numbers to 31.

PSHE:

This term we will look at ‘Being Me In My World.’ We will be discussing what it means to be a citizen and how we are all members of a range of communities, from local to global. Additionally, we will be exploring the concept of democracy and why it is important for us to make the most of our voice and participate in discussions which involve our future. As part of our second topic, ‘Celebrating Difference,’ we will look at what it means to be ‘normal’ and how this is perceived by different people.

COMPUTING:

This term we shall be looking into search engines, understanding how they work and developing searching skills to find relevant and accurate information online. Our next term will focus on programming with music, where the children will explore commands and programming softwares in order to code a piece of music that combines a variety of structures.

PE:

Our PE days this year are Wednesdays and Thursdays. During the first term in PE, one of our PE lessons will be focusing on the skills of cricket. This will be delivered by a cricket coach who will come help develop the children’s cricket skills.

During the second term, we will be doing gymnastics, exploring different ways we can move, both on the ground and using the apparatus.

On Wednesdays until February half term, we will head to the Mere’s Leisure Centre for our swimming lessons. Please ensure your child has an appropriate swimming costume, a towel, and a swim hat. They may also wish to wear goggles. The children will need a full PE kit for all of these activities. If you child has any piercings, please take them out on our P.E. days.

Homework will include Times Tables Rock Stars once a week and six RWI spellings sent weekly. Children should make time to read their reading books or practise their times tables as much as possible.

Practising times tables is a vital life skill that will help in all areas of your child’s maths work. It is important that all children are confident and quick when recalling them. Reading is also an important skill and is relevant across all subjects within school. Regular practise really does make a huge difference to both of these, as does talking about what has been read with someone at home too. Please try to ensure your child reads or practises their times tables at home for at least 15 minutes each night and gets their home/school diary signed to indicate that this has happened.

For the first half of the year, our PE lessons will comprise one swimming lesson on a Wednesday and a Games lesson on a Thursday. During the second half of the year we will have PE lessons on a Wednesday and Games on Thursday.

PE kits are to be worn on days when PE is being delivered in school. The children will need a full PE kit for all activities comprising a white t-shirt, navy shorts and trainers (Plimsols may be left in school for times when we are unable to go outside). As well as this, it is advisable to have a navy tracksuit available as the weather becomes colder, as activities will still take place outdoors wherever possible.