Year 5 – Maple Class

The children will be learning about biographies and their features. They will read various different biographies to compare and contrast them, considering the choices the author has made. They will choose a famous scientist and research about them before applying their learning to write a biography about their life. The children will be learning about why we use relative clauses and how to use them. They will learn about what are hyphens and when to use them. They will also revisit apostrophes and to know when to use them to indicate possessions and contractions.

The children will learn about timetables and answer questions using the information provided. The children will develop their reasoning skills to explain their answers. The children will learn more about prime and composite numbers. They will also further develop their existing knowledge of squared and cubed numbers. The children will be calculating area and perimeter of composite rectilinear shapes in meters and centimetres. They will also be estimating the area of irregular shapes.

The children will be looking at the question: What kind of king is Jesus? They will make connections between biblical texts and the concept of the Kingdom of God. They will consider different possible meanings for the biblical texts studied, showing awareness of different interpretations. They will make clear connections between belief in the Kingdom of God and how Christians put their beliefs into practice in different ways, including in worship and in service to the community. They will relate Christian teachings and beliefs about God’s Kingdom to the issues, problems and opportunities of their own lives and the life of their own community.

In science, we will be learning about properties and changes of materials. They will compare and group materials on the basis of their properties and look at materials that make our lives easier. They will learn that some materials will dissolve in liquid to form a solution and describe how to recover a substance from a solution through evaporation. The children will use their knowledge of solids, liquids and gases to decide how mixtures might be separated. The children will have to opportunity to work scientifically; carrying out tests to answer questions and observing and comparing changes that take place.

Children will be controlling the ball with body parts including catching and throwing. They will work on their close control, passing and receiving, striking and team attacking as well as playing defending games.

The children will consider how to respect themselves and others. They will learn to recognise that everyone should be treated equally. They will consider why it is important to listen and respond respectfully to a wide range of people, including those whose traditions, beliefs and lifestyles are different to their own. They will consider what discrimination means and different types of discrimination e.g. racism, sexism. We will discuss online bullying and discrimination of groups or individuals e.g. trolling and harassment.

In art we will be looking at portraits. We will be thinking about how to draw facial features proportionally. The children will complete self-portraits as well as drawing portraits of others.

In music, the children will be focusing on improvising in the styles of Bossa Nova and Swing. They will use body percussion such as clapping or clicking to create their own music.

The children will be practising their greetings and introductions in French. They will be able to speak about their families. The children will learn the numbers 1-12 and be able to share how old they are.

This half term we will be focusing on Cosmic by Frank Cottrell-Boyce. The children will be creating their own information texts about the planets. They will think about how to adapt their writing for different audiences by thinking about their different word choices. The children will be developing their understanding of relative clauses. The children will be thinking carefully about the thoughts and feelings of a character and use this to create a piece of drama to retell the story. We will be improving our dictionary skills to maximise the quality of our writing.

In Maths, the spring term will begin by further developing the children’s existing skills with multiplication including multiplying numbers by 2,3 and 4 digit numbers. Then the children will have the opportunity to divide with and without remainders. Next, they will learn about fractions, being able to convert numbers from proper to improper fractions. They will be adding fractions with the same denominator. They will find equivalent fractions and use this to solve problems.

We will be thinking about the question What would Jesus do? The children will identify features of Gospel texts. They will compare their ideas with ways in which Christians interpret biblical texts, showing awareness of different interpretations. The children will think about how Christians live in the Christian community and in their individual lives.

In science, we will begin by looking at why the moon appears to be different shapes. The children will be thinking about why we have night and day. They will also be able to explain the properties of the different planets in our solar system. There will also be opportunities to study famous astronauts such as Neil Armstrong and Tim Peak.

The children will be developing their communication and collaboration skills. They will learn different physical activities and sports and learn how to evaluate and recognise their own success.

The children will be considering how important it is to be respectful of others even when they are different to them. We will discuss and consider the ideas of courtesy and manners. They will think about the importance of self-respect and how this links to their own happiness.

In Art we will be focusing on improving our skills with paint. We will practise by painting 2d planets with the focus being on the details. We will then make dioramas of the planets. The children will create their own moon buggy.

Our key text is ‘Cosmic’ by Frank Cottrell Boyce. The children will be focusing on improving their writing through considering the genres of letter writing, recounts and information texts; linked to both the book and our topic. The key focus will be on developing their knowledge and application of sentences structures and building of vocabulary. They will be deepening their understanding of writing to inform through leaflets and posters. Furthermore, the children will create a non-chronological report linked to Earth and Space and will be learning how to check their work throughout the weeks to support their development.

This term we will be recapping previous topics to consolidate our learning, particularly place value and addition/ subtraction. We will be addressing gaps and applying our learning to problem style questions. We will be continuing our exploration of fractions, decimals and percentages in relation to conversions and finding amounts. After that, we will be moving on to Geometry. The children will refresh their knowledge of the properties of shapes and develop an awareness of position and direction. This will deepen the children’s understanding and ability to identify and measure angles of various shapes.

The children will be answering the key question ”what are the beliefs in Islam?’ The children will gain a greater understanding of the key values and beliefs of the religion and what we can learn from them. The children will explore the practice, meaning and significance of the five pillars of Islam and the importance of these to Muslims. Through investigation and research, the children will also learn about the festival of Ramadan. Through sharing examples of stories and teachings the children will learn about the importance of the Holy Qur’an, how it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, how it is used and cared for.

This term the children will be taking on the role of trainees in NASA’s Space Programme! The children will be investigating and exploring Earth and Space by becoming researchers, inventors and engineers. The children will gain experience with using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and precision. The children will gain skills in reporting and presenting findings from enquires, including conclusions and explanations. In addition, the children will learn about significant discoveries, missions, influential figures within the space program and explore the Earth along with other planets in the solar system.

The children will be playing cricket. Their learning will include mastering over arm bowling towards a target as well as throwing towards a target, defending and striking at the wicket, fielding as a team and the rules of quick cricket.

W will be focusing on instilling healthy lifestyle habits. Through the exploration of mental and physical health the children will learn how to recognise that habits can have both positive and negative effects on a healthy lifestyle. The children will focus on mental health and learn valuable strategies for improving concentration as well as techniques for stress relief. The children will learn about what constitutes a healthy diet; how to plan healthy meals; benefits to health and wellbeing of eating nutritionally rich foods and the risks associated with not eating a healthy diet including obesity and tooth decay.

The children will be planning, designing, making and recording their own versions of the moon landing. This will help develop their teamwork and crafting skills. In addition to this, the children will be learning about abstract art, focusing on the artist Peter Thorpe.

We will be exploring music from around the world. We will be listening and appraising a number of different styles such as; reggae, jazz, gospel and blues. The children will also develop their composition and performance skills!

We will be consolidating our learning of the French language. We consider greetings and introductions and practice these in written and oral communications. After this we will move on to introductions of family members, pets and hobbies.

The children will be reading ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’ by C.S.Lewis. They will be focusing on improving their narrative writing skills by deepening their knowledge of figurative language; such as metaphors, similes and personification. They will continue to improve their application of various sentences structures; simple, compound and complex, with a particular focus on using subordinate and embedded relative clauses to provide additional information. They will create a narrative story set in another world, allowing them to practice writing in the style of an author.

The children will be expanding their knowledge of Geometry focusing on the properties, position and direction of shapes. They will recap their knowledge of the different types of triangles and quadrilaterals and be able to recognise various types of angles; such as acute, right, obtuse and reflex. They will be given opportunities to practice their measuring skills using a protractor. They will also be able to convert units of measure. The children will refresh their knowledge of basic conversions and deepen their understanding of metric and imperial units of measure.

The children will be answering the key question, ‘what are the beliefs in Buddhism?’ The children will gain a greater understanding of the key values and beliefs of the religion and what lessons can be learned from them. The children will explore the practice and significance of the ‘Four Noble Truths’ and explain the importance of this to Buddhists. Through research and investigation the children will also learn about the festival of Wesak. Through sharing examples of stories and teachings, the children will also learn about Siddhartha Gautama and the Tipitaka.

The children will be able to describe the process of reproduction in some plants and animals. They will also be able to explain the differences in the life cycles of a mammal, an amphibian, an insect and a bird. The children will recognise how plants and animals in our local area change throughout the year. The children will know that Jane Goodall and David Attenborough have dedicated their lives to studying the natural world and communicating their findings. They will understand that there are many jobs in the world of science.

The children will be applying and developing a broad range of skills in Athletics. They will participate in solo and team races; both short and long distance. They will also engage with obstacle races, throwing and jumping in preparation for Sports Day.

They children will explore the topic around sex and relationships. Our discussions will be around body knowledge, disease prevention, changes and awareness. They will be able to identify male and female sexual parts and describe their functions. They will learn appropriate terminology for use in different situations. The children will understand that safe routines can stop the spread of viruses (including HIV) and bacteria. They will also learn how the media, families and friends can influence attitudes to their bodies. Letters will be sent home to parents before we start this topic.

The children will be learning about famous artists throughout history and have opportunities to study and appraise their work. They will focus on Vincent Van Gogh and develop their skills in drawing still life, portraits and landscapes.

The children will be exploring music from around the world. They will be expanding their knowledge of a range of musical instruments using different music styles. They will also be introduced to music theory, expanding their knowledge of notation values.

The children will be developing their understanding of the French language. They will revisit their knowledge of parts of the body before moving out to pets, hobbies and food. They will be introduced to family members, pets and hobbies.