Year 5 Spring Term
The River Nile and the Ancient Egyptians
Happy New Year! It has been a very positive start to the term with the children showing great enthusiasm for our new novel, history topic and music lessons. Here is an outline of what our teaching and learning will look like over the coming months.
ENGLISH
This term, we will begin both our Reading and Writing objectives with our next class novel, The Midnight Fox by Betsy Byars. We will be learning to put forward both sides of an argument when writing discussion texts and we will be developing our inference skills as we learn about Tom and his family at the farm.
HOME READING
Please continue to support your child’s reading by ensuring that they read at least 5 times per week and bring their reading record in daily.
SPELLING AND GRAMMAR
Spelling is continuing to be taught through ‘No Nonsense’ Spelling. There will be a discrete spelling session taught once or twice a week. Children will also learn a selection of between spellings taken from the Year 5/6 spelling list.
Grammar objectives will be taught within our writing sessions.
MATHS
Maths is taught daily. Key concepts this term will include:
SCIENCE
This term, the children will be learning about forces through investigation, testing and secondary sources. We will be focusing on gravity, air resistance, water resistance and friction. These lessons will usually be taught once every week.
FOUNDATION SUBJECTS
Through our investigation into the River Nile and Ancient Egypt, the children will be making links to geography through learning about the location of Egypt and why the Nile is of such importance. We will build on this knowledge in history, learning about the Ancient Egyptian civilisation, how they lived, what they believed and when they lived. The children will also spend time looking at the pharaoh Tutankhamun and will make shadufs with levers and pulleys in Design Technology.
During the spring term, we will also be teaching units of music based on ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ and printing and drawing in Art, linked with the artist Paul Klee.
COMPUTING
The children will learn how to create short videos, exposing them to skills including capturing images, video editing and video manipulation.
We will also be continuing to consider the importance of E-Safety.
RE
In RE, we will be working from our ‘Discovery’ RE scheme of work, focussing on:
How can Brahman be everywhere and in everything? And How significant is it for Christians to believe God intended Jesus to die?
FRENCH
In French, we will be looking at vocabulary linked with the weather in a unit called ‘Quel temps fait-il?’. We will also be creating our own weather reports on a specific region of France.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION (PE)
PE will take place on a Thursday and Friday in 5R, and Monday and Thursday in 5J. We will be learning the skills and rules of basketball and football. As BOTH of these sessions will take place outside, please ensure your child brings in appropriate PE kit with layers and a spare change of outdoor shoes. They will get muddy!
HOMEWORK
To promote fast and accurate recall, it is important that children regularly practise their times tables and Times Tables Rockstars will enable them to do this at home. Please complete a minimum of 15 minutes a week on this app. It is also important that your child continues to read at home at least 5 times a week. We will set homework each Friday which will consist of a maths or literacy-based activity. The knowledge organisers for science and history are also a useful resource for practising vocabulary and discussing learning at home.
If you have any questions or would like to speak to a member of the Year 5 team, please come and see us at the end of the day or email the school office.
Mrs Rigby and Mr Jones