Lower Wortley Primary School
This Term
Below you will find information about what the classes in Year 5 and 6 are learning about this term. You might also like to view our Homework page for ways that you can support learning at home.
Summer 2025
English
In the Summer term, Year 5 will begin with studying a non-fiction unit based on an explanation text ‘Why did dragons become extinct?’ The children will look carefully at the features of explanation texts, including the use of subordinate conjunctions and clauses, the language of explanation and parenthesis to add extra information. The unit finishes with the children writing their own explanation text about their chosen animal and why it is endangered, using the writing skills they have learnt. In the next unit, the Year 5 children will study a poem from the well-known Roald Dahl book ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’. Work will focus on preparing and performing poems to read aloud showing understanding of the audience through intonation, tone and volume. Written work will involve poetic features such as; onomatopoeia, rhyming couplets and creating a rhythmic structure in their own poem, using the structure and pattern of the poem from George’s Marvellous Medicine. This work will continue into the second half of the summer term, as it is a short first half term. Following this, the Year 5 children will then move on to the narrative ‘Beowulf’. The children will learn the text in small groups and in their writing tasks focus on using parenthesis, appropriate and effective vocabulary and a variety of sentence openers. Finally, the children will create their own story based on Beowulf using what they have learnt during the unit.
During the first part of the Summer term, the Year 6 children will continue work in groups preparing for SATS. These sessions will focus on; securing reading comprehension skills and grammar knowledge and writing in different genres using the specific targets set, and will continue until May half term. After this, the Year 6 children will consolidate their learning completing writing and reading tasks in preparation for their transition to high school.
Maths
In the Summer term, Year 5 will begin with studying a non-fiction unit based on an explanation text ‘Why did dragons become extinct?’ The children will look carefully at the features of explanation texts, including the use of subordinate conjunctions and clauses, the language of explanation and parenthesis to add extra information. The unit finishes with the children writing their own explanation text about their chosen animal and why it is endangered, using the writing skills they have learnt. In the next unit, the Year 5 children will study a poem from the well-known Roald Dahl book ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’. Work will focus on preparing and performing poems to read aloud showing understanding of the audience through intonation, tone and volume. Written work will involve poetic features such as; onomatopoeia, rhyming couplets and creating a rhythmic structure in their own poem, using the structure and pattern of the poem from George’s Marvellous Medicine. This work will continue into the second half of the summer term, as it is a short first half term. Following this, the Year 5 children will then move on to the narrative ‘Beowulf’. The children will learn the text in small groups and in their writing tasks focus on using parenthesis, appropriate and effective vocabulary and a variety of sentence openers. Finally, the children will create their own story based on Beowulf using what they have learnt during the unit.
During the first part of the Summer term, the Year 6 children will continue work in groups preparing for SATS. These sessions will focus on; securing reading comprehension skills and grammar knowledge and writing in different genres using the specific targets set, and will continue until May half term. After this, the Year 6 children will consolidate their learning completing writing and reading tasks in preparation for their transition to high school.
Science
Our Science topic for the Summer term will be Materials: Properties and changes in the first half term followed by Materials and separation in the second half term. The first unit will include the opportunity to describe a broader range of materials and their properties, including hardness, solubility, transparency, conductivity and response to magnets. The children will also learn that about reversible and irreversible changes. In the second unit, the children will work scientifically to investigate the following concepts: some substances will dissolve in a liquid to form a solution; the factors that affect the time taken to dissolve, including temperature and stirring; some liquids and solids can be separated using sieving, filtering and evaporation and to describe these processes.
History
During the first half of the summer term, the children will be learning about local history, in the context of the Industrial Revolution, answering the question: How did the Industrial Revolution change Leeds? The children will learn about life in Leeds in the 18th century, what the Industrial Revolution was and how it changed Leeds, what it was like to work in a factory and who Benjamin Gott was and the impact he had on industry in Leeds.
Geography
During the second half of the summer term, our Geography unit question will be: How is trade used in South America? The unit of work will begin with locating key human and physical features in South America on a map, followed by learning about trade and the foods produced in the UK and other countries. The children will then learn about trade in Brazil and Argentina and why fair trade is important. The unit will finish with learning about the impact trade has on the global economy and how trading has changed.
Computing
Computing lessons will use the learning platform Kapow. In the first half term, the children will learn about computer systems and networks, specificslly looking at Bletchley Park and the hisotry of computers. During this unit, children will: explain that codes can be used for a number of different reasons and decode messages; explain how to ensure a password is secure and how this works; learn about the importance of historical figures and their contribution towards computer science; present information about their historical figures in an interesting and engaging manner; develop an idea for a computer of the future and create a simple design and produce a simple audio advert with simple edits, which demonstrate an understanding of how to use the software. In the second half of the summer term, children will learn about what designing an electronic product involves, which programming software/language is best to achieve a purpose and the building blocks of computational thinking, for example, sequence, selection, repetition, variables and inputs and outputs. Children will use software to code and debug a program and design and create a website and advert.
PE
During the first half of the Summer term, the children will spend their PE lessons learning the skills needed to play tennis. They will learn how to control a tennis ball with a racquet, have an effective rally with a partner and learn the rules and scoring of a tennis match. During the second half of the term, one of the PE lessons will be athletics during which the children will develop skills in running, jumping and throwing and the other lesson will be rounders. The children will need to throw and catch a ball with skill and accuracy, use a rounders bat to effectively hit a ball and use skills learnt to play a rounders match.
RE
In R.E, we will spend the first half term continuing to learn about the question: Should we forgive others? This unit of work will continue from the Spring term and the children will learn about how forgiveness and reconciliation is shown in real life and what difference Jesus’ teaching about reconciliation might make when put into practice in a real-life situation. Following this unit of work, we will begin the unit How do Buddhists live a meaningful life? The unit of study introduces Buddhist beliefs and practices. It includes a recap of the life of Prince Siddhartha (The Buddha) and explains his journey to enlightenment. It expands and develops into learning about the four noble truths and five precepts.
Art
Learning in Art in the second half of the summer term will be focussed on architecture and architects. The children’s learning will begin by looking at different buildings and the types of architecture used when building. The children will then practise drawing with perspective and explore how this is important when drawing buildings. We will then learn about the architectural work of architect Zaha Hadid before the children then design and draw a building using inspiration taken from the architecture studied.
Design Technology
Our DT unit of work in the first half of the summer term will be: How can we design and create a strong bridge that supports weight while using a limited set of materials? The children will investigate different types of bridges and then explore how tension and compression helps to build bridges. The children will then design and make a bridge that fits the design brief. At the end of the half term, the children will evaluate how successful their bridge was.
Life Curriculum
In the first half of the term, our Life curriculum learning question will be: How can drugs common to everyday life affect health? The children will learn about different drugs common to everyday life: medicines and vaccinations and smoking, vaping and alcohol. They will then learn about legal and illegal drugs and explore the reasons why people choose to use drugs. The learning question in the second half of the term will be: What jobs would we like? The children will learn about a range of different jobs and careers, what aspirations are, about the skills, attributes, qualifications and training needed for different jobs, how they might choose a career/job for themselves when they are older, why they would choose it and what might influence their decisions.
Music
In the first half of the term the children will continue to use the ‘Sing and Strum’ program of work on Charanga to learn how to play the ukulele and in the second half we will focus on the Charanga unit of work ‘Farewell Tour.’
French
Our focus for the first half of the term will be learning vocabulary and phrases around the topic of My Town – ma ville. During the second half of the term, children will learn vocabulary related to Space Exploration – exploration spatiale. The children will be encouraged to read, write and speak in French and expand their vocabulary knowledge and understanding.