Biodiversity - Summer 2

In Summer 2 the whole school theme is Eco-schools. Year 5 will focus on Biodiversity. Biodiversity is the variety of life that can be found on our planet including plants, insects, animals and even micro-organisms. We will be learning what biodiversity is and how it benefits nature; how the human population can threaten the biodiversity of different areas and finding out how we can help and encourage biodiversity locally and globally. This will lead into our Year 5 project which will involve making our own solitary bee houses and bug hotels to site around our nature areas in the school grounds. We will be spending lots of time outside and being at one with nature. This will include a ‘wild afternoon tea’ for us and our insect friends. Alongside the whole school theme, in science year 5 will learn about life cycles. We will also have SRE lessons learning about the life cycle of humans; more information about this will follow.

Bustling Brazil - Summer 1

After an exciting topic launch, we are thoroughly enjoying our new topic about South America, with a focus on Brazil. Within our geography work we will continue to use our mapping skills to locate South American countries (focusing on Brazil), the equator and discuss climate zones, as well as the biomes in Brazil. We will be looking at the Amazon Rainforest in detail - finding out about the different habitats – and discussing the impact of deforestation and linking this with our English work. We will also compare the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Leeds. In DT, we will be using our sewing skills to make carnival masks and our music focus will be learning and performing Samba music… it’s going to be lots of fun

Smashing Saxons - Spring Term 2

During Spring 2, our work is based around a history theme - Britain’s settlements of the Anglo-Saxons and Scots. We look forward to finding out who the Anglo-Saxons and Scots were, and where their place was in history. We will be using primary and secondary sources to investigate where the Anglo-Saxons came from and why they came to England. We will also be using artefacts and historical enquiry to look at the discoveries at Sutton Hoo. We will compare life in Anglo-Saxon and Scot settlements to life in Ancient Greece. Within our science work we will  continue to learn about properties and changes of materials. During the whole term, we will really focus on developing our group working skills during our PSHE, PE and RE work. In computing, we will use Scratch to create our own Anglo-Saxon themed games.

Our Active Planet – Earthquakes: Spring Term 1

During Spring 1, Year 5 will be studying earthquakes in detail to develop our geographical skills. We will be researching what an earthquake is and what causes them. We will be using our map reading skills to find out where earthquakes occur; developing our understanding of grid references and co-ordinates. We will also be looking at the impact of an earthquake and what you should do to stay safe during an earthquake. This geography work will be strongly linked to our English focus on non-chronological reports. In computing, year 5 will be creating our own vector drawings using desktop publishing software. In music, we will create our own earthquake themed compositions and in Art, we will be sketching earthquake inspired art using the street artists Joe Hill, Manfred Stader and Eduardo Rolero as inspiration. In science, we will be learning about properties and changes of materials.

Groovy Greeks - Autumn Term

Our main topic in the Autumn term is ‘Groovy Greeks’, where we study Greek life and their

 achievements and their influence on the western world.

Through our History, Geography and English lessons, children will look at everyday life; they will research who the gods were that the Greeks used to worship, Greek architecture, the theatre and the Arts, famous Greeks and the Olympics. In computing, we will be improving our skills in using Microsoft Word and creating our own research files about Greek food. We will also be learning about computer systems and networks. In Science, we will be learning about forces, gravity and the effects of air resistance, water resistance and friction.

After half term, we will be continuing our Ancient Greek topic, linking this again with a variety of subjects. In Science, we will focus on finding out about the Earth, Sun and our Moon. We will also learn about our solar system and the conditions on other planets. We will rise to the challenge of designing and making our very own battery powered Mars Rovers in DT; wish us luck.