Year 5 & 6 Class information page 2024 - 2025

Welcome to Years 5 and 6!

It's autumn which means that it's time to go back to school after enjoying all of the glorious summertime weather...Autumn also means starting a new year group and that means Year 5 or Year 6 in our case. We hope you're ready and excited to embark on all of the wonderful learning and opportunities that will happen this year!

In our Geography topic this term we will be learning about Britain and the Rest of the World. We will investigate the capital cities of coutries around the world and close to home. We will get to know the continents a little better, developing our understanding of what and where they are. We will learn to navigate maps using grid references and develop our understanding of the tricky business of longitude and latitude. 

In our science topic we will be investigating space! This is a very exciting and mind-expanding topic that asks us to consider some very huge questions. We will learn how to describe the movement of the earth and planets relative to the sun in our solar system and how the moon moves relative to the Earth. We will make sure that we understand that the sun, Earth and moon are approximately spherical (not round!). We will also learn why night and day occurs. 

We will begin the year by using the book Star of Fear, Star of Hope to support us in our development of writing skills and in learning some of the technical Year 5 and 6 grammar knowledge.

Set in France, during the Nazi occupation of World War II, a gentile child named Helen recalls the mounting persecution of her Jewish friend. She wonders why does her best friend, Lydia, have to wear a yellow star? Why are people in hiding and using strange names? What is Lydia afraid of?

Touching upon the Holocaust with sensitivity and poignancy, Star of Fear, Star of Hope will help readers understand this difficult event in history.

At the beginning of the term we will practise our reading skills by completing comprehension activities related to our topic and to other areas of the curriculum. We will then begin to study the wonderful novel Wonder by R.J. Palacio. 

R.J. Palacio has said that she wrote Wonder after she saw a young child with a severe facial difference when she was out with her two sons.

Palacio wondered what life might be like for that child. She wrote Wonder to encourage people to be more accepting of facial differences and to talk to people with them, rather than staring or being afraid.

In maths this term, the Year 5s will focus on their understanding of place value and number while having a little fun looking at Roman Numerals. This will lead to learning some efficient ways to add and subtract and to divide and multiply. Don't forget to support this by practising your timestables using Times Tables Rockstars to help you.

The Year 6s will also be looking at place value to begin with but will then move swiftly on to addition and subtraction and multiplication and division. They will practise formal written methods alongside sharpening up their mental maths skills. Both of these skills will help them in their SATs and their future education as they get ready to move to high school.

PE during the first half term of autumn will be on Wednesdays and Fridays. On Wednesdays the children will work on their invasion game skills with one of our sports coaches. On Fridays the Year 5 children will develop their fitness by completing circuits and running when the weather allows. Year 6 children will be swimming on Fridays. Please make sure that a correct PE kit is in school ready for these lessons. If kits are taken home to be washed (which is encouraged) please make sure they are brought back again. Our uniform list is available on this website if you are unsure as to what children should be wearing for their lessons.

Each week we will have a list of spellings to learn and some maths and English tasks to complete too. Remember homework helps you to practise the skills you learn in school. It does not have to be something to worry about. Be organised with your homework! As soon as you receive it, look at what you have to do and ask your teacher or a friend if you do not understand. Do not leave homework until last minute because that is when it becomes stressful! Your lists of spellings will be attached to this webpage, if you lose them! Don't forget to read regularly and fill in your reading record. This is important and something you should be proud of! 

Please remember to bring in a water bottle each day. Staying hydrated is healthy and helps you to learn! Remember to use a reusable water bottle as this is far better for the environment than disposable ones although please don't spend a fortune on these! You can buy a reusable water bottle cheaply from school. Also, even though we are heading into autumn and we do still get some hot sunny days so consider whether sun cream might be needed.

Things you can do at home

Don't forget that we do expect you to spend half an hour or so a week on Times Tables Rockstars. Knowing your times tables is a vital skill so get practising straight away by clicking the link below.

Here are some other websites you may find useful and informative...Click the pictures to be taken to the sites.