Dear Parents,
I hope you have had a relaxing and festive Christmas and I would like to wish you all a very happy new year. Also, may I take this opportunity to thank you for your generous Christmas gifts. They were all very much appreciated.
The curriculum for year 5 is particularly exciting this term, hopefully this letter will provide you with a summary of what your child will be learning in school, so that you may support your child’s learning at home.
This term our first literacy unit will be play writing. This is a hugely enjoyable unit where the children will have the opportunity to act / role play scenes from selected plays or ones that they have written themselves. There will be a great deal of collaborative work and this typically enhances their enthusiasm for the unit. We will be looking at examples of scripts and their structure and the unit will culminate with the children transforming a traditional tale into a script of their own. The children will also be learning about traditional stories and fables, myths and legends, note taking and explanation texts along with non-chronological reports.
The children have all been given Literacy targets, these 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.
When reading, please encourage your children to record at least one detailed comment about what they have read each week. Please can I ask you to monitor your child’s reading and comment if necessary please. I will continue to check diaries on a Thursday.
In maths we will be continuing with calculation, measuring and understanding shape. The children have enjoyed the practical nature of these topics and there will be ample opportunity to build further upon their skills. I would however, stress that a number of children found difficulty in converting one unit of measurement into another (be it weight or length e.g. metres / millimetres) and would encourage parents to allow them to try this at any convenient opportunity. Again, if opportune moments arise please encourage them to look at examples of timetables or data that use the 24 hour clock.
Our science topic this half term is Properties and Changes of Materials. 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, please could I ask you to point out everyday examples to the children and help them become familiar with these terms.
Our History topic on the Ancient Egyptians is always a firm favourite with the children. This links with our art and design topic using clay.
P.E. will continue to be taught on Mondays and Wednesdays so please make sure your child remembers to bring their kits on the appropriate day. We will begin with Gymnastics and this will be supported through team-teaching sessions with a specialist teacher, Mark Westly. We will also be learning how to play basketball. 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 or concerns, I am always willing to discuss these so please come and see me and we can arrange a suitable time to address matters.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Heidi Lewis (Year 5 Class Teacher)