Birkby Junior School

Welcome to Year 5!

We hope you had a fantastic summer and are refreshed and revitalised, ready to take on Year 5. 

Year 5 is an exciting and challenging year. As you enter upper key stage 2, you are expected to take a more mature and independent approach towards your learning. 

What will we be learning?

Our English lessons this term will be focusing on a range of modern and historical fiction texts, including: Oliver Twist, Up (film narrative) and The Highwayman.  In addition to learning about the texts themselves, we will use them as a basis for writing a range of fiction and non-fiction pieces, such as persuasive texts, diaries, letters, descriptive writing, balanced arguments and report writing.  We will be focusing on being able to include the correct features of each text type within our writing, carefully considering the audience and purpose. We will also be developing our poetry reading and presentation /performance skills with some slam poetry.  Cracking Comprehension sessions will reinforce important reading comprehension strategies.

In our maths lessons we will start Year 5 by developing and mastering our understanding of place value, building on your understanding from Year 4. This will involve reading, writing, representing, ordering and comparing numbers to at least 1,000,000 and determining the value of each digit.  This understanding will also be used to round numbers.  We will then move onto addition and subtraction methods [mental and written], using the school’s calculation policy.  The aim is for you to be confident in using the methods in the school’s calculation policy.  Following this, we will build on our multiplication and division understanding, exploring factors, multiples, prime numbers, square numbers and cube numbers. After half term, the focus will be on the understanding of fractions. This will involve developing understanding of equivalent fractions, improper fractions and mixed numbers, as well as calculating with fractions.  Towards the end of the term, we will be learning about negative numbers.

We will be spending lots of time problem-solving and working on our mastery and reasoning skills, which help us to understand the important concepts in maths and make connections between them.

All children are expected to know their times tables by the end of Year 4; we will continue to practise these this year.  You must make this a personal target if you cannot recall them quickly – your teachers will help you.  If you can recall quickly and accurately, you need to extend this to knowing the related division facts.  Knowing your times tables facts, will help you in all your maths work.  Keep learning them! Remember - spending time playing on TT Rock Stars will help with your speed and accuracy.

Our history work will involve learning about the Anglo Saxon & Viking Conflict. We will continue to understand that people from other societies have been coming to Britain for a long time and learn about the tensions involved in the settlements. The role of a King as a leader will be explored through the Anglo Saxons. We will also learn that the Vikings were excellent shipbuilders which allowed them to explore and trade with other countries. 

After half term, we will learn about Early Islamic Civilisation, which builds on our learning in Autumn 1. Vikings traded with the City of Baghdad and Baghdad will be linked with other cities already studied such as York. We will learn that Baghdad was the centre of medical, mathematical and scientific advancements of the age and compare this to Saxon and Viking England.

We will be going swimming at North Huddersfield Trust School – 5AH and 5I will be going every Wednesday and 5GN will be going on Fridays, from September to February.  5B and 5H will go on Wednesdays from February to July.  Please remember to bring your correct swimming kit on the days you go swimming.

Also, to keep our bodies as fit and active as our minds, we’ll be making the most of our outdoor space, playing a range of games and developing our skills this term. You will be informed by your class teacher when you have P.E. lessons. You will need to come to school in your P.E. kit on your P.E. days.  Make sure you have suitable footwear for P.E., as we will be going outdoors.

We will start the year by developing game skills, focusing on accuracy and control skills when striking the ball with an implement. These skills will be applied in different team games! After half term, all classes will be taking part in sports hall athletics. Within this unit, you will be developing your throwing running and jumping skills, finishing with taking part in your very own class Olympics!

Classes who aren’t swimming, will also be developing their gymnastics and dance skills this term. In gymnastics, you will be learning about different symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes you can make with your bodies, exploring how to complete a simple vault, as well as learning how to perform handstands and cartwheels. You will then apply these skills to create your very own gymnastics sequences! Within dance lessons, you will be using a variety of stimuli to create your very own dance routines! These will involve different styles of dance, tempos, formations and transitions between movements.

Please see the curriculum information leaflet for more detail about other aspects of our learning.

What will I need to bring to school?

You need to remember to bring your homework diary into school every day.  Your teacher will check your diary regularly and an adult at home will need to aswell.  You also need to remember to return your home reading book and your library book regularly, so that you have the opportunity to read and enjoy as many books at home as possible.

What work will I need to do at home?

Every Wednesday, you will be given Maths and English homework.  This must be returned to school by the following Monday.

Your teacher will also share the new spellings you need to learn on Wednesdays - try to practise spellings every day and you can also use Twinkl Spellings to practice.  You will be tested on these the following Wednesday.  Bringing your homework diary to school every day, will help you to remember what work you need to do.  This is a good habit and will help you to become an independent learner. Remember to complete Mathletics activities and practise your times tables using TTRS.

In addition to this, it is important that you continue to read and discuss texts with someone at home on a regular basis, this includes your home reading book and your library book.  You will be able to visit the school library once a week, in order to select a new book and your class teacher will change your home reading book regularly.

Try and read every day, even if it’s just for 10 minutes.  It doesn’t have to be the school library book – it could be a magazine, game instructions, a recipe or any other texts you have and enjoy reading. 

We know that you will have a fantastic time in Year 5, developing as inquisitive and independent learners.  We have an exciting journey ahead of us – we can’t wait to get started!

A very excited Year 5 team!