Welcome back Class 5! I hope you are prepared for another busy and exciting term!
Literacy
In Literacy this half term, we are reading Michael Morpurgo’s stunning retelling of the oldest surviving epic in British literature, ‘Beowulf’. We will be transported to fifth-century Denmark on Beowulf’s terrifying quest to destroy Grendel, the foul fiend, a hideous sea-hag and a monstrous fire-dragon. Our written work will be based around our class text, and we will be practicing key grammar skills and extending our vocabulary, concluding the unit by writing an obituary recalling Beowulf’s amazing achievements in the epic tale.
In the second half of the term we will be thinking about the incredible world we live in. Through exquisite illustrations, maps and infographics, author Rachel Ignotofsky takes us on an illustrated tour of our planet’s ecosystems both large and small, from reefs, deserts and rainforests to a single drop of water in her book “The Incredible Ecosystems of Planet Earth.” Read our information texts we write to find out about one of these fascinating ecosystems. After learning about the wonderful world we live in, we will move on to thinking about how we can best protect it, using the poetry book “Be The Change: Poems to help you save the world” to inspire us to write our very own poems encouraging others to look after the planet.
Maths
In Maths, we are excited to continue our mastery approach to our lessons, developing our reasoning and problem solving skills and gaining a deeper understanding of key mathematical concepts. We will be focusing on units of measure, including looking at volume, multiplication and division – increasing our knowledge of formal methods – as well as developing our understanding of fractions, decimals and percentages. We will constantly be revisiting our times tables we have already learnt, becoming more confident with recalling our times table facts, as they are vital to so many different areas of Maths.
Science
In Science, we will be exploring the topic of animals including humans. We will recap some key knowledge from Year 4; conducting an exciting experiment on the digestive system, learning more about our teeth and having a go at constructing food chains, before moving onto our Year 5 topic looking at human development.
After half term, our topic will change to living things, looking at the life cycles of a mammal, an amphibian, an insect and a bird.
History and Geography
In History this half term, we will look at the Romans, looking at their impact on Britain and why they left. In order to develop our chronological understanding of the time period, we will begin by placing the Romans on a timeline, considering when they happened in relation to other time periods we have studied. We are keen to become inquisitive historians, making relevant historical enquiries and considering a range of primary and secondary sources to find out about why the Romans left Britain, as well as discovering what life was like in Roman Britain, making comparisons and identifying contrasts between modern day life and other time periods we have studied.
In Geography, we will be investigating the six key biomes. We will start with physical geography, identifying what a biome is and what the six key biomes are, including where they are in the world, considering the flora and fauna of the biomes. We will then move on to think about human geography, in particular how biomes are being damaged, as well as how we can protect and preserve them. We will be improving our geographical skills, thinking about human and physical features, as well as the impact of human activity on the world around us.
Art and DT
In Art, we will be focusing on our fabric and collage skills. Our fabric work will consist of creating self portraits inspired by artist Jose Romussi, who stitches and embellishes pictures. We will develop our appreciation for art by discussing Romussi’s work and thinking about how to edit our portraits before hopefully revisiting some of the stitching and embellishment techniques we learnt in DT last term. For collage, we will create a collaborative collage using recycled materials; taking inspiration from artist Michelle Reader. This will link to the exciting environmental work we will be doing in Literacy!
In DT, we will have the opportunity to create our own electronic greetings card, following the design process; research, design, create and evaluate. We will use two different methods to do this: a flat paper project, LEDS, and a button battery and then Crumble CAD design. As part of our evaluation, we will consider which method we preferred and why. To practise our CAD design whilst at home, we will be using Lego LDD to create biomes and Roman towns linked to our previous learning.
RE
This term in RE we will be considering Humanism. We will look at where Humanist beliefs come from and what they believe, how they celebrate life events and some famous humanists. In the second half of the term, we will move on to looking at the Easter Story, focusing on the Last Supper. We will use our previous knowledge to recall the Easter Story, consider why the Last Supper was such an important event for Christians and how that is recognised through the act of Holy Communion.
French
This half term, we will continue to develop our French vocabulary, learning the French for family members, friends and pets and the adjectives we can use to describe them. To progress in our conversational French, we will be looking at how to respond to some key questions we may be asked when discussing our family. We will begin to learn some tricky grammar, thinking about adjective agreement. Did you know all words in French are either masculine or feminine? In the second half of the term, we will be looking at a French poem and have a go at writing our very own French poem. We can’t wait for you to read them!
PE
To ensure that everyone can take part in PE lessons, it is important that children come to school in their PE kits and sports trainers on a Wednesday and Thursday. Make sure you remember your water bottle.
Homework
A reminder that homework is set on a Wednesday and must be handed in on a Monday.