Year 5 Autumn 1 Curriculum Information

 We have an exciting half-term planned! Our class read will be based on the ‘Windrush Child’ which we have already began reading in school. Benjamin Zephaniah the author of the book describes the book as "historical, fiction, but true story" about a young boy's journey from Jamaica to England. The character in the book Leonard finds himself in complete shock when he and his Mother arrive off the ship to find themselves in Southampton port. His Father who is living in Manchester already, moved from Jamaica to better his life for him and his family, however Leonard struggles to adapt to life in England and not really knowing his Father. The book follows an exhilarating, eye opening journey which opens the eyes to the reader to all the issues people face trying to better themselves by moving country. This is a story which is extremely relatable to some members of our class who have moved from a different country. This book encourages all of our school values and links nicely to our Personal, Social and Health and Education lessons where we are looking at ‘Being Me in My World’.

In English we are following a similar kind of story to our class novel. The fascinating picture book is called ‘The Journey’, which follows a family trying to flee a conflict. This book will be the base to our English writing lessons. Our writing will follow the journey of the family fleeing the conflict area, which will then result in an independent write about a new beginning.

Year Five will also be exploring ‘The Proudest Blue’ by Ibtihaj Muhammad and S.K. Ali. An uplifting picture book with Islam at its heart, which complements our history topic: ‘Baghdad’. This is a universal story of new experiences, and the unbreakable bond shared by siblings and of being proud of who you are, from Olympic medallist and celebrated Muslim author Ibtihaj Muhammad.

We shall also be exploring our Everyone’s welcome book: ‘Little people, BIG DREAMS by Stevie Wonder. At just 8 years old, it was clear that Steveland Judkins was going to be a star. Renamed Stevie Wonder for his astonishing talent on the piano and other instruments, he wrote and performed some of the biggest hits of the 1970s. Stevie became known for his inventiveness, his soulful voice and the social commentary in his lyrics. He is a UN Messenger of Peace and remains one of the music world’s most iconic figures. This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the great musician’s life.

For Maths we will be continuing to develop our times tables knowledge. However, our main strand of Maths is a really important part to learn which is ‘Place Value’, where we will be dealing with numbers up to 1,000,000.

In Physical Education we will be focusing on Fitness and Hockey. Improving our hockey stick skills, ball controlling skills and much more!

In Music, we shall begin Clarinet music lessons and focus on Melody and Harmony in Music.

In Art, we shall be looking at art from Western Africa - Antelope headdresses of Mali, ivory carvings and bronze relief sculptures and panels. We will explore spiritual purpose and significance of many African works of art, ceremonial masks, cultural changes reflected in artwork, for example the influence of the Portuguese traders on West African art. We will use 3D mixed media to design and create relief sculptures.

In RE, Year Five will learning to compare the different ways Sikhs put their religion into practice. Thinking about our key Question: How far would a Sikh go for his/her religion?

For our Geography lessons, we are going to focus on ‘Spatial Sense’ which means the study of the locations of things, the conditions at different places, and the connections between places. Thinking about the world in spatial terms (spatial thinking) allows students to describe and analyse the spatial patterns and organisation of people, places, and environments on Earth. Particularly we will be focusing on the different hemispheres. Our BIG QUESTION: How do maps help locate places?               

In History, we are going to be focusing on our topic of Ancient Baghdad, where we will be looking at the rise of the Islam. Baghdad was the centre of learning during the golden ages in the year 900CE. Baghdad was home to the first universities, hospitals and the largest library ‘House of Wisdom’ in the world. Many scholars travelled to this amazing circular city to study. The class will also take part in some drama and look at how Baghdad was destroyed by the Mongols leaving the river Tigris completely black from the ink from the ‘House of Wisdom’.

Finally, our science lessons will be looking at ‘The Human Body’ particularly the different stages of the human body growing up. Therefore, we will be looking at adolescence, puberty, adulthood and then slowing down in later life. Throughout our learning this half-term, we will be trying to answer our BIG QUESTION: How does our body change overtime?

Please keep a look out on Class Dojo for photos of our learning, information, and updates. We have lots more exciting experiences planned for this half-term such as a farm trip, CLS learning days and much, much more!