Geraldton (Year 5)

Miss Miles

Class Teacher

Mrs Sheppard

Teaching Partner

Mrs Ellis

Teaching Partner

Term 2

 

Early Morning Work

For the first half-an-hour of the day, Year Five focuses on developing key skills in English and maths. The children work through a daily maths task to improve their mental agility and to consolidate and recap key maths skills. They will also have a handwriting task, which usually has a spelling, grammar or punctuation focus. This is also when we listen to the children read and have some group work going on. Every child will be heard once every other week, which also includes reading comprehension and guided reading tasks. On Fridays, the children will be tested on their spellings and mental maths skills.

 

English

English is taught Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings with the aim of developing reading, writing and speaking and listening skills. English units are usually taught over a two-week period. Where possible, these units will link in a cross-curricular way with the class topic. Guided Reading as a class or in groups occurs once over each unit. During these two terms, Geraldton Class will cover the following genres:

  • Mill-on-the-Brue (2-week unit): Promotional Persuasion
  • The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (2-week unit): Narrative 
  • Ancient Greece (2-week unit): eBook
  • Winter (1-week unit): Poetry

Maths

Maths is taught daily. Maths units vary in length and are split into weekly blocks. The children build on their previous knowledge to extend their understanding of different aspects of mathematics. They also have the opportunity to apply their knowledge when solving mathematical problems and puzzles. Geraldton class will cover the following units in term two:

  • Four Operations: Division and multiplication
  • Fractions

Science

Science is taught once a week, through both practical and theoretical activities. The children will develop their skills as a scientist through investigations, practising their predicting and concluding skills and gaining an understanding of controlling variables. The children are taught, and should then apply, key scientific vocabulary in relation to their current science topic. The science topics for the following two terms are related to materials and states of matter. The children will be learning the following in terms:

  • To reason about the properties and uses of different materials
  • To record data and results using scientific diagrams and labels
  • To understand and use key scientific vocabulary
  • To understand the different states of matter
  • To plan and carry out experiments with different materials
Music

This term in music, we will be learning how to play different songs on a ukelele. We will start by thinking about the parts of a ukulele and what they are used for. In addition, we will think about the correct way to hold the ukelele and some of the basic chords. We will be performing as groups and individually and using the ukuleles to back up some traditional songs.

PE

PE is taught twice a week. During this term, PE is taught on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. On Tuesday, the children will be learning the skills of gymnastics. In gymnastics, they will learn how to complete different jumps and rolls as well as thinking about how to use these to form a routine. They will also be using different pieces of gymnastics apparatus to practice their skills.  On Wednesday, the children will have their PE lessons with Miss Berrington as part of our enrichment program.

 

PSHE

PSHE is taught each term and is often based on discussion. The children are given the opportunity to empathise with others and their emotions as well as coming to terms with and verbalising their own feelings and opinions. The theme for the following term is related to relationships, diversity and equality. Geraldton class will cover the following this term:

  • I can recognise my different relationships with others
  • I know how to develop and maintain a variety of healthy relationships with a range of social and cultural context
  • I understand what diversity and equality means 
  • I know that different ways of behaving are appropriate in different types of relationships
  • I understand what the British Values are and why they are important
RE
This term in RE our focus will be on People of God. We will be looking at the key question of 'how can following God bring freedom and justice? During RE, we will be looking at the story of Moses and the messages that can be learnt from it, understanding the concept of freedom, justice and salvation in theological terms and explaining some of the ways in which Christians put their beliefs into action.

History

Our topic for this term is Ancient Greece. During term one, the children will be focussing on the history of Ancient Greece and will be learning to:

  • Draw a timeline which shows different historical periods and key events
  • Compare historical periods, explaining some of the things that have changed and stayed the same
  • Construct questions about the period
  • Think about the reliability and validity of the sources of evidence used
  • Understand the difference between primary and secondary sources
 

Art

We will be exploring the world of abstract art in our art lessons this term. The children will learn about this form of art and how it is designed to show the emotions of the artists. They will also be having a go at different forms of abstract art and seeing where their imagination can take them. We will be focusing on the work Jackson Pollock and Wassily Kandinsky as inspiration for our abstract pieces.