Dear Parents,
We hope you have had a relaxing and festive Christmas and we would like towish you all a very happy new year. The curriculum for year 5 is especially busy this term and I would like to take this opportunity to detail a brief summary of what your child will be learning, so that you may support your child’s learning at home.
This term our first Literacy unit will examine a story by a significant author. We will serialise the novel ‘Goodnight Mr. Tom,’ within class and will look at settings, openings and the author’s written style. Ultimately, the children will be writing a scene in the style of the author.
The children have now been given a Literacy target for this half term. This will be regularly assessed against their written work. I would ask any parent to encourage their child to reflect upon these targets at any given opportunity – learning logs being a fantastic platform.
Readingrecords will continue to be used throughout this term and again I would encourage parents to monitor their childs reading and comment if necessary
In maths we will be continuing with calculation, measuring and understanding shape. We will be specifically be looking at multiplication skills and fractions in the first few weeks of term.
Our science topic this half term is ‘Gases around us’ and the children will be examining the properties of gases and how these differ from those of liquids and solids. We will be taking a more detailed examination of where gases are found and the air around us. Linked with a later unit, we shall also be exploring how a liquid might change state and become a gas. Understanding the principles of evaporation / condensation are key learning requirements of the year 5 science curriculum and as with all science, it is important for children to understand the key vocabulary. Again, I would encourage parents to point out everyday examples to their children and help them become familiar with these terms.
This year sees the introduction of a new Geography topic. The children will be looking into ‘Green Isues’that affect our world today. Climate change, recycling and sustainability will be studied.
P.E. will continue to be taught on Tuesdays and Fridays so please make sure your child remembers to bring their kits on the appropriate day. We will be learning Basket ball / gymnastics – dependant on the weather. Swimming has now finished for the year.
I hope this letter has clarified a little of what your child can expect from this half term. As always, if you do have any questions / concerns then I am always willing to discuss these so please come and see me and we can arrange asuitable time to address matters.
Yours sincerely,
Grant Jones (Year 5 Class Teacher) & Claire Traviss (Year 5 Teaching Assistant)