English:
Poetry will be the focus of our reading and writing lessons this term. Children will develop their understanding of poetry and learn a range of poetic techniques by reading and analysing a variety of poems. Children will have the opportunity to be creative and apply learnt techniques to their own poems, using the examples studied as their inspiration. Children will end the unit by learning the poem, The Sleepy Giant by Charles. E Carryl, off by heart. I am excited to share the wonders of poetry with you, Year Five!

Mathematics:

This half term, we will be taking on the challenge of decimals and percentages! Children will start by exploring what a decimal is and working with decimals with up to 2 decimal places. They will also explore equivalent fractions, decimals and percentages. Children will have the opportunity to build upon their place value knowledge by comparing, ordering and rounding decimals. After this, children will begin exploring measure, focusing on area and perimeter.

Physical Education:  

This half term, we will be continuing to attend our fantastic tennis lessons with Mr Proud every Thursday afternoon at the tennis courts. We will also be developing our gymnastics skills. Children will learn how to perform jumps, leaps and rolls, as well as how to incorporate these as part of a routine.

Science:

It's a 'Material World' that we're living in! This term, we are exploring properties and changes of materials. Children will be considering properties of materials and comparing and grouping together everyday materials based on their properties. Children will be carrying out fair tests to answer various scientific enquiries linked to changes of materials, such as dissolving and melting.

Art: Painting and mixed media: Portraits! During this unit, children will learn to combine materials for effect and will identify features of self-portraits. They will bring all of their knowledge together to create a self-portrait using mixed media.

History:

This Spring term, we are going back to the Tudors, exploring beliefs, such as Henry VIII's decision to break with the Catholic church and travel and exploration, looking further into Sir Walter Raleigh and his expeditions. We will also dive into conflict, investigating 'The War of the Roses' and the important part this played in starting the Tudor rule. Thinking about significant artefacts, we will investigate the Globe Theatre in London and what it teaches us about the Tudors. 

Geography:

We are flying across the Atlantic to North America during the Spring term where will be locating significant rivers and mountains and comparing and contrasting the physical and human diversity of areas of high and low latitude. We will be investigating the differences between metropolitan and cosmopolitan and comparing and contrasting the housing for a typical person in Mexico City and in New York City, whilst exploring the phrase 'primate city'. At the end of this unit, the children will be able to explain why pollution in a river affects more than one population, using the Rio Grande as an example.

Computing:

During our 'video editing' unit, children will learn how to create short videos by working in pairs or groups. As they progress through this unit, they will be exposed to topic-based language and develop the skills of capturing, editing, and manipulating video. Towards the end, children will have the opportunity to reflect on and assess their progress in creating a video.