Class 5

Welcome to Class 5

Miss O Grocott

Autumn Term 2021

I hope you have all had a fantastic summer. I am so excited to be joining the St Filumena's school community. I can already tell that Year 5 is going to be a fantastic year, full of lots of learning and fun! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me on Class Dojo.

Our Class Saint

Year 5's class saint is St Teresa of Calcutta. We celebrated her feast day (5th September) on Friday 3rd September 2021. We enjoyed learning all about her life and even applied her Catholic teachings by donating food to a local foodbank.

English

Our next English topic this term is biographies. The children will be identifying the key structure and features of biographies. For their final piece, children will be researching about Neil Armstrong and writing a biography about him, which links to our Space topic in Science.

Maths

Our next maths topic is addition and subtraction. The children will be building on their knowledge from previous years and applying this to new contexts. The children will be learning to add and subtract larger numbers using formal written methods, learn how to round to check and estimate answers, practise their mental maths skills, use inverse operations and apply all of this to problem-solving contexts. Although the children have already completed their multiplication check, times tables are the foundation of maths, so the children will need to keep practising to ensure they are fluent.

RE

Year 5's first RE unit is about creation. The will learn about and compare the two stories of Creation from the Book of Genesis. They will be able to know and explain reasons for praising God the creator of the world. They will also acknowledge and respect the image and likeness of God in others and know their responsibility to use their God given talents.

Science

In science this term, the children are exploring two topics. The first is earth and space. The children will learn all about Earth, the other planets, the sun and the moon. They will also explore how the Earth rotates and how this impacts upon night, day and shadows.

The children will also be learning about forces with Mrs Johnson. They will be investigating a range of different forces including gravity, air resistance, water resistance and friction.

PE

Year 5 will have PE on Wednesday afternoons. The children are expected to arrive in their full PE kit. Until October Half Term, the children will be swimming at Cheadle Leisure Centre. They will be accompanied by Mrs Pemberton and Mrs Mulley.

History

For our autumn history topic, we will be exploring the Victorians. In particular, the children will be learning about the rapid change that took place during this period, particularly regarding transport, including the changes that took place in our local area.

Geography

In the autumn term, we are exploring biomes. We will be exploring the different biomes that exist and where they are located on Earth. We will explore the six main types of biome in more detail: tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forest, desert, savannah and tropical rainforest. Finally, we will be exploring the impact that climate change and global warming has had on biomes.

Computing

Year 5's first computing unit is coding. The children will be using the school's new ChromeBooks to access their learning. They will be learning how to design and create a program, exploring variables, creating competitive games involving timers and creating interactive information sheets.

Art

Our Art focus this term is looking at the life and work of LS Lowry. The children will be analysing the impact that colour can have on the mood of a painting, and also learning how to draw thinking carefully about perspective and proportion. The children's final outcome is to create a Staffordshire scenery watercolour painting which has been inspired by the work of LS Lowry. 

DT

Miss Jones will be teaching the children DT. In Design and Technology, our skill focus will be circuits where we will be looking at how circuits are involved in our everyday life. We will be designing and creating an LED light up board with multiple circuits.

Music

Mrs Reardon-Davies will be teaching the children Music. They will be singing, playing different instruments, improvising and composing their own music. Their first topic explores how music brings us together. 

Vehicle

Our Vehicle for the autumn term is the Maori. The children will have so much fun learning about this fascinating tribe. In English, they will explore Maori legends and poetry. They will also look at the geography of New Zealand, the history of the Maori settlement and their religious beliefs. In art, they will create traditional Maori masks, thinking carefully about the meaning of their design. They will be exploring the Haka dance in PE and learn some of traditional Maori phrases in MFL. Additionally, in Music they will sing traditional Maori songs. By the end of the Vehicle, the children will prepare an assembly to showcase their work to the rest of the school.