Reading

After our mystery whole school book unit, we will be delving into a wonderful fictional story called 'The Wolf Wilder' by Katherine Rundell. The children will have lots of opportunities to discuss and evaluate the author's use of language, considering the impact on the reader. They will be encouraged to share their views on the story and its characters, justifying their thoughts about the text with evidence. We will have a large focus on reading aloud, focussing on expression, intonation and pace. 

There will be lots of new words for the children to discover the meanings of and begin to use in their own creative writing. Please see our vocabulary page for current vocabulary across the curriculum that the children are learning, should you wish to discuss further at home. 

Writing

Linking to our Ancient Greece history unit, we will be focusing on the well-known Greek myth: Theseus and the Minotaur. During this unit, we will be learning and identifying the features of Greek myths, making comparisons across different examples. We will also be revising and learning the various ways to use a comma. Children will be working their way towards rewriting the story, adding their own creative ideas and with their own alternative ending! Children are consistently encouraged to evaluate their own writing, ensuring that it is purposeful and has the desired impact. We are always asking ourselves: 'What effect do we want to create? Why do we want to create it and how are we going to create it?' 

Mathematics

During this half term, the children will be securing their understanding of the number system, focusing heavily on place value.  We will be representing numbers up to one million in a variety of ways, rounding numbers, interpreting negative numbers and delving deeper into Roman numerals.  Along the way the children will need to apply their learning to solve problems and challenges.

We will then move our maths learning to addition and subtraction. During this, children will be using formal methods to add and subtract increasingly larger numbers and using their problem solving skills to answer addition and subtraction multi-step problems.

Computing

This half term, the children will be learning about computer systems and networks. 

Children will develop their understanding of computer systems and how information is transferred between systems and devices. Learners  consider small-scale systems as well as large-scale systems. They explain the input, output, and process aspects of a variety of different real-world systems. Children will discover how information is found on the World Wide Web, through learning how search engines work (including how they select and rank results) and what influences searching, and through comparing different search engines.  

Physical Education 

Throughout our PE lessons, the children are going to build up their fundamental skills and understand what components contribute to a healthy lifestyle. From balance to jumping for distance, the children will be able to vocalise their areas of strength and those for improvement.

We will also be focusing on Target and Tag games. These lessons will provide the children with opportunities to practise hitting a variety of targets, defend targets and learn how to adapt their technique depending on the progress of the game. Children will have the chance to improve their throwing skills and understand the importance of positive support and feedback to others. 

Science

We are rocketing into Science with a bang as we explore 'Earth and Space'. During this topic, the children will be learning all about our solar system, focusing primarily on the Earth's movement, both in relation to the sun and how it gives rise to our seasons. We will also be investigating the phases of the moon and we will also have to opportunity to make our own sundials!

Music

This half term, we are focusing on 'Music to Dance To' through listening to Leonard Bernstein – ‘Mambo’ from Symphonic Danes from ‘West Side Story’ Children will create a group Latin-inspired rhythmic ostinato with a mambo pulse and rhythm. Children will also experiment in selecting from a range of tuned and untuned instruments, including their own and the recorder.

Art

The Power of LOVE! We have a wonderful way of starting the school year of positively by studying artists who use love as an inspiration for their artwork. The children will be exploring Gustav Klimt and Auguste Rodin and analysing their work carefully, focusing on emotion and mood through colour and shape. They will have the opportunity to create paintings that depict the immortality of love between two people such as a parent and their child, explaining their use of symbolism and colour and developing their own symbols of love. 

History

During Term 1 and 2, we are focusing on the legendary Ancient Greece. Developing the children's chronological knowledge from previous years and enhancing their understanding of how Ancient Greece has impacted life today, including modern politics, will be our core focuses. The children will also be focusing on religious beliefs of the Ancient Greeks.

RE 

In our Christianity unit, 'What does it mean if God is holy and loving?', the children will be examining what Biblical words and technical vocabulary used by believers to describe God adds to a Christian's understanding of God. With Father Graham, we consider what the architecture of St. Thomas' church and Lichfield Cathedral can add to this understanding. Year Five will weigh up how Biblical ideas about love, holiness and forgiveness relate or compare to their own views and the way in which Christians embrace opportunities in their own lives today.

PSHE

During Term 1, the children will be learning about 'Families and Relationships'. During the unit they will focus on the following:

• Describe what qualities a good friend should have and recognise which of these they have and which they could develop.
• Recognise that friendships have ups and downs and this is normal.
• Understand what marriage is and know that it is a choice people make.
• Understand that we all have a range of attributes that make us who we are and we should be proud of these.

There will also be an opportunity for the children to present a speech to the class, outlining why they would like to be on the School Council; this will be followed by a secret ballot to elect a representative for the class. 

Spanish

Children will learn to develop their intercultural understanding by being introduced to the sights of some typical Spanish speaking cities. They will also learn to describe places in a town, count to 100 and give their address in Spanish.

Geography

During the autumn term, we are practising our map skills and learning about different biomes. We will be looking at various features of different types of maps, have a go at reading and interpreting maps and even draw our own maps. We will look at four and six-figure grid references and apply our knowledge of these to locate local places. We will also be investigating ocean currents, gyres and the northern and southern hemispheres. The children will also be describing the 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' and exploring plastic pollution. 

Useful websites:

If you would like to take your learning even further, please visit the below websites:

BBC Bitesize - Ancient Greeks

Oxford Owl - Place Value Ways to Help at Home

BBC Bitesize - Earth and Space

Ancient Greek Timeline Websites:

Website 1

Website 2