Year 5

Welcome to the Year 5 class page

We are committed to safeguarding; if you have any concerns about the wellbeing of a child in school please contact a member of staff.

Think U Know - Keeping Safe Online

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk

Welcome back. We hope you had a lovely Christmas break and are feeling fresh and ready to start strong in 2026!

The teaching team for Year 5

Miss Walker is our full time class teacher.

Mrs Meek teaches us on a Thursday afternoon.

Mr Ferguson and Mr Seaton support us every morning and Mr Seaton is also with us for some afternoon sessions.

PE days

This half term our PE day will be Monday (indoors) and Friday (outdoors).

Please make sure your child comes to school in their PE kit on this day. When it is outdoors, please ensure clothing is suitable for the colder weather conditions. If they have long hair please ensure that it is tied back and that earrings are taken out or covered on this day.
Water bottles - Please ensure that your child brings a water bottle everyday for use in the classroom, containing water only.

Homework Expectations

CPG Weekly Workouts

In Year 5, we use the CGP "10 Minute Weekly Workout" English and Arithmetic Maths books for our homework each week. Please ensure that children have a go at all the activities in the 10-minute test and feel free to guide them, should they need some help. PLEASE CAN YOU GO THROUGH THESE WITH YOUR CHILDREN AND MARK THEM - ANSWERS ARE IN THE BACK. We will clarify any queries that the children may have ON A FRIDAY so children MUST bring them into school on a Friday morning (this will be monitored).

TTRS

This will be used as part of the homework and we expect children to be accessing this regularly to ensure they are confident and fluent with all their multiplication and division facts. Please log in and complete your weekly assigned session in your 'garage' before playing in the other areas like soundcheck, studio, gig. A minimum of 15 minutes per week.

Spellings

Spellings form part of our homework and should be practised regularly over the week. A list of the spelling patterns for this term and dates of the spelling tests can be found on the homework tab.

The children will have weekly spellings tests ON A MONDAY based on spelling patterns and a list of statutory Y5/Y6 words called 'Challenge words'.

Reading

Reading forms part of our weekly homework and the children should continue to read regularly at home. Reading books can be changed on any day of the week. Please continue to record the reading on Boom Reader. You may also want to encourage your child to start to record some of their own reading on Boom Reader too.

Full details of each week's homework can be found by clicking through to the homework section below.

British Values

There are four different British Values that we will be learning about over the year.

The focus for Spring 1 is Individual Liberty.

Upcoming Events

Monday 5th Jan - First day of term
Friday 23rd Jan - Jorvik trip
Friday 6th Feb - Year 5 Parent event 2pm - DT Doodlers
Monday 9th Feb - Friday 15th - Mental Health Week & Walk to School Week
Tuesday 10th Feb - Safer Internet Day & Road Safety Day

Year 5 Curriculum

Topic

This half term our focus will be around history and the children will focusing on the following question,

Is it accurate to call the Vikings vicious raiders?

We will learn all about the following:

KQ1: Where did the Vikings come from and why did they come to Britain?

KQ2: What were Viking raids and how did longships contribute to their success?

KQ3: How did the Vikings try to control the country and how close did they get?

KQ4: How have recent finds changed our views of the Vikings?

KQ5: What happened to the Vikings?

Key Vocabulary

invade, raid, trade, settler, longship, kingdom, longboat, Danelaw, peasantry, settlement, monastery, conflict, primary source, secondary source, period of history, concurrent

If you want to find out more and do some learning at home too the BBC Bitesize website is a great place to start and has lots of useful information and clips.

English

In English this half term, we will be using the book, 'The Firework Maker's Daughter' as the main focus of our lessons. From this we will,

Read and understand the key themes in the text.

Consider the views, thoughts and feelings of different characters.

Write an emotive letter, showing character viewpoints.

Write a missing chapter of the story.

We will also be using using a stimulus called 'Adrift' and writing a descriptive setting.

In grammar, we will recap different word classes, main and subordinate clauses and expanding noun phrases.

We will then, learn about relative clauses.

Spelling

Unit 1 - Silent letter b

Special Focus 1

Unit 2 - Words ending in 'ible'

Special Focus 2

Unit 3 - Words ending in 'able'

Special Focus 3

Maths

Multiplication and Division

Multiply 4-digits by 1-digit
Multiply 4-digits by 2-digits
Divide 4-digits by 1-digit
Divide with remainders
Solve multiplication and division problems

Fractions B

Multiply fractions by an integer
Multiply mixed numbers by integers
Calculate fractions of a quantity
Fraction of an amount
Using fractions as operators

Decimals and percentages

Decimals up to 2d.p.
Decimals as fractions (1)
Decimals as fractions (2)
Understand thousandths
Thousandths as decimals
Rounding decimals

Science

This half term, Year 5 will be learning about Biology: Animals inc Humans

Our Enquiry Question for this unit is the following: How do we change as we grow older?

Key objectives:

Key Vocabulary

Computing

This half term, we will be exploring Data Handling: Mars Rover 1

Pupils will be able to:

Identify some types of data the Mars Rover could collect (for example, photos).
Explain how the Mars Rover transmits the data back to Earth and the challenges involved.
Read any number in binary, up to eight bits.
Identify input, processing and output on the Mars Rovers.
Use a column method to add two 8-bit binary numbers.
Relate binary signals (Boolean) to a simple character-based language, ASCII

RE

Autumn 2

This half term, our focus question will be 'How do the Five Pillars enable Muslims to follow God?

To answer the question, we will consider the following 5 key questions:

* Who is Allah and how are they depicted?

* Can you describe the 5 Pillars of Islam?

* How do they 5 Pillars affect the lives of Muslims?

* What values and challenges do following the 5 Pillars of Islam bring to Muslims?

* What are the major different groups within the Muslim faith and which tradition does your nearest mosque belong to?

Vocabulary

Islam, Muslim, Allah, Five Pillars, Shahadah, Salat, Sawm, Zakat, Hajj, values, ummah, Sunni, Shi’a, Sufi, mosque, Qur’an, Prophet, Muhammad

PE

For Spr 1 - PE will take place on Mondays (indoor) and Fridays (outdoor)

Autumn 2

On a Monday we we be following REAL PE Dance - Shapes, Circles, Artistry and Partnering

On a Friday, we will be following REAL PE Unit 3 Invasion Games - Tag Ball, inc key movement and footwork skills including the ability to maintain balance under pressure, pivot, hopscotch forwards and backwards, create 3 step zig-zag patterns forwards and backwards. Children will also be developing cognitive skills to begin to recognise different criteria for judging their own and others’ performance alongside developing their understanding of tactics and strategies that will increase success for themselves and their team, including methods to outwit an opponent.

Reminder: Children should wear appropriate PE kit for the colder weather.

PSHE/ British Values

The PSHE that we will be covering this half-term is based on the following unit: RSE - Growing up and Changing

Please refer to letter/email sent to parents/carers that outlines objectives covered in this unit.

Music

This half term children will be exploring Viking Saga Songs and Alfred the Great

Art/ DT

In DT this half term, we will be looking at Doodlers

During this unit, pupils will

Identify simple circuit components (battery, bulb and switch) with a basic explanation of their function.
Explain that a series circuit is assembled in a loop to allow the electricity to flow along one path.
Describe a motor as a circuit component that changes electrical energy into movement.
Provide examples of motorised products that use movement to rotate or spin different parts.
Remove and replace different parts of a Doodler, as part of a team.
Suggest ways to switch the configuration to amend the form or function of the Doodler.
Develop design criteria with consideration for the target user, the purpose of their Doodler, a key function and the Doodler’s form and final appearance (e.g. fun, bright, soft)
Create a functional Doodler that creates scribbles on paper with or without a switch.
Identify and list each of the required materials, tools and circuit components required to build a Doodler.
Explain simply the steps to assemble a Doodler as part of a set of instructions (or storyboard).

We look forward to you joining us for our parent workshop on Friday 6th February at 2pm to help us make our designed Doodlers.