WELCOME TO YEAR 5

Each week we will be keeping you up to date with a "Wow of the Week". In addition to this, please read our half termly curriculum map to find out what will be happening in Year 5.

Important information

PE - Wednesday and Friday. Please come to school in your PE kit on these days. 

Books - You will come home with new reading books during the week. Please make sure you have read at home at least three times a week. Record any reading you have done in your reading diary. Reading diaries must always be in your book bag so that we can read with you in school. 

Spellings - New spellings given every Friday. Please see our spelling page where you can easily access the spellings every week. Spelling tests will happen every Friday.

---

Wow of the Week

Autumn 2

Week 1

In English, we launched into an exciting new writing unit focused on crafting newspaper reports about the famous Viking raid on Lindisfarne! To gather eyewitness accounts, the children mastered direct and reported speech rules before stepping into role-play – interviewing each other as terrified Anglo-Saxon monks who survived the raid to get the inside story for their articles.

Over in DT, innovation was in full swing as we crafted prototype 'wobblebots'! The children built test models to explore how motor placement and weight distribution affect movement, testing what worked and identifying areas to refine. This hands-on evaluation step has given everyone clear ideas on how to upgrade their final designs, which we are ready to build next week!

Finally, we kicked off a brand-new unit in PE: Gymnastics! Our main focus this week was control and core strength as we explored hold positions, learning how to perform both symmetrical and asymmetrical balances on different points of contact, both on mats and apparatus.

Autumn 1

Week 8

This week in DT, we became inventors as we explored the world of electronic doodlers! The children built their own drawing bots from scratch to discover how motor-driven circuits generate vibrations and movement. It wasn't just about constructing them—we also put on our engineering hats to troubleshoot, spotting faults in our circuits and fixing problems when the doodlers didn't work as expected.

Over in English, we reached the publishing stage for our Malamander character descriptions of the infamous Boathook Man! The children worked hard to elevate their writing, weaving in relative clauses for extra detail, expanded noun phrases for vivid imagery and striking similes and metaphors to create fantastic pieces of writing.

To top off a fantastic half-term, we earned our second Sheep Point reward! Thanks to everyone’s continued teamwork and great behaviour, we hit our next milestone and celebrated with a cosy class movie afternoon.

Have a wonderful, relaxing half-term break and we look forward to seeing everyone refreshed for the next half-term!

Week 7

In Geography, we stepped outside the classroom to conduct a local area walk, investigating all the different leisure activities available right on our doorstep! From parks and sports facilities to local community spaces, the children mapped out what our area has to offer. We then compared our findings to the bustling mountain hub of Innsbruck, discussing how geography, climate, and landscape influence the types of recreational activities people enjoy in different parts of the world.

Over in Maths, we launched into our exciting new unit on negative numbers. Using real-world contexts like rising and falling temperatures and sea levels, the children practised tracking positive and negative changes.

Finally, in PE, we have been building on our netball unit over the past few weeks to really refine our technique! The children have shown fantastic progress in their chest, bounce and overhead passing, as well as catching under pressure and moving into open space. We ended the week putting all our practice together, focusing on precise shooting form to boost our scoring accuracy on court!

Week 6

This week in Science, our investigation into animal life cycles took an exciting, hands-on turn as we carefully dissected eggs! The children looked closely at the internal anatomy—from the yolk and albumen to the tiny air cell—to understand the amazing structures that allow a bird embryo to grow and develop.

Over in DT, we turned our attention to electricity as we began exploring electrical circuits. We experimented with wires, batteries, switches, bulbs, and motors, mastering how electricity flows so we have all the engineering skills needed to design and build our very own motorised toys.

To top off a brilliant week, we pulled on our wellies and teamed up with our lovely Reception buddies for a special Welly Walk in Hainsworth Park! Walking through the autumn leaves together, our Year 5s were fantastic role models for their younger partners, helping raise vital funds for our school along the way.

Week 5

In English, we kicked off an exciting new writing unit centred on our class novel, Malamander! To hone our character description skills, we jumped straight into the eerie world of Eerie-on-Sea by creating detailed 'Wanted Posters' for the sinister Boathook Man. The children did a brilliant job choosing powerful adjectives and suspenseful descriptions to warn everyone about this mysterious figure!

We also had a wonderful heart-warming session as we visited our brand-new Reception buddies for the very first time. Our Year 5 pupils took their roles as role models seriously, pairing up to share some fantastic picture books and read aloud to their younger partners. It was lovely to see new friendships blossoming and to watch the older children encourage a love of reading right across the school.

Finally, our geographical explorations took us high into the Austrian Alps as we investigated the vibrant mountain city of Innsbruck. We discovered how this unique city seamlessly blends historic city life with high-altitude adventure—from riding the Nordkette cable car straight up into the clouds to skiing. Whether it's winter snowboarding or summer hiking, mountain biking, and exploring imperial palaces, the children loved discovering all the incredible activities this alpine hub has to offer!

Week 4

This week in English, the children showcased their brilliant creativity during our very first 'hot write'– a dramatic diary entry written from the perspective of a character in our class novel, Malamander. Their hard work really paid off! From neat, proud handwriting to clever punctuation and expressive vocabulary, the results are fantastic. Be sure to check out our new display outside the classroom to read some of these wonderful pieces!

In Science, our journey through the natural world continued as we explored the fascinating life cycles of animals. We dove deep into the world of mammals, learning all about the three distinct groups – placentals, marsupials, and monotremes – and how their young develop.

Over in PSHE, we shifted our focus to health and wellbeing by exploring different intensities of physical activity. We investigated what happens to our bodies during light, moderate, and vigorous exercise – from a gentle stroll that gets us moving, to heart-pumping games that leave us breathless! The children learned why balancing all three types of exercise keeps our hearts, muscles, and minds happy and healthy.

To top off a brilliant week, we earned our first Sheep Point reward! Everyone has been working tirelessly since starting Year 5 and all the positive behaviour, teamwork and effort finally pushed us past the 50 Sheep Points mark. 

Week 3

In Science, we became hands-on biologists as we explored the fascinating world of plant reproduction. We carefully dissected real flowers to inspect their internal anatomy up close, carefully identifying and labelling parts like the stamen, stigma, and ovary. Along the way, we discovered the different ways plants reproduce—comparing sexual and asexual reproduction—and investigated which plant species rely on each method to thrive.

In English, we’ve been sharpening our writing toolkits to prepare for our upcoming diary entries. Our main focus has been mastering parenthesis! We practised weaving extra detail into our sentences using brackets, dashes and commas, ensuring our punctuation is accurate while making our writing much more expressive and engaging.

Our learning also took us on a journey across Europe as we explored the dramatic landscapes of the Alps! We investigated iconic locations like Mont Blanc—Western Europe's highest peak—and the bustling mountain hub of Chamonix nestled right at its base. To top it off, we travelled further east to admire the shimmering turquoise waters of Lake Wörthersee in Austria, comparing how life and geography differ between steep alpine summits and serene mountain lakes.

Week 2

It's been another great week in Year 5!

In geography, we have begun learning about the Alps. We used maps and atlases to locate the Alps and went on to learn about lines of latitude and longitude to help us further explain how to locate the Alps.

This week we held our school council elections. There were lots of children who wanted to be class councillors and each one wrote and presented a speech about why they would be the best candidate. Every speech had been carefully thought out and the standards were exceptionally high, but after the votes were counted, Alfie and Jaxon were announced as the Year 5 school council representatives.

We had our first ukulele lesson and loved it! We were working on holding the ukuleles correctly and playing some notes. We also played some musical games and had a great time.

All homework is now available. Spelling Shed assignments are set each Friday to help learn the spellings given that week and MathsWatch assignments are set every Thursday to support current maths learning.

Logins are in the front of reading diaries and the MathsWatch link is:

https://vle.mathswatch.co.uk/vle/

Week 1

It's been a fantastic start to Year 5 with all children settling in well and showing great positivity.

We began our new text, which we will be using in both reading and writing lessons - Malamander. We enjoyed reading the first couple of chapters, which definitely left us wanting to read more! We role played the different characters in the story and found some budding actors amongst us!

On Thursday, we recapped our British values and discussed how this related to us in school. This led to how democracy works and the role of the school council. Anyone who would like to be considered for Year 5 school council now has a week to prepare their manifesto ready for a vote next Thursday.