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. 

Spring 2024

English

Straight after Christmas, we will be delving into some science fiction with a writing unit based around an extract all about an alien landing and 2 characters abduction. We will be focusing on our use of language to describe scene and create suspense. To do this, we will be improving our grammar and inclusion of expanded noun phrases, sentence openers and speech punctuation (using speech to move a story along as well as punctuating accurately). This unit of work will end by writing their own spaceship landing story. After this, we will be moving on to a non-fiction unit. This will be based around a formal complaint letter. We will be focusing on subjective form to make suggestions when complaining as well as improving or accuracy in using parenthesis and colons and semi colons for both lists and joining clauses. Children will be using these to write 3 formal letters in total, both complaint and complementary.

After February half term, the Year 6 children will begin work in groups preparing for SATS. This will focus on; securing reading comprehension skills, grammar knowledge and writing in different genres using the specific targets set, and will continue until May. In the second half of the term, Year 5 will study a narrow escape story ‘The Canal’ focusing on the use of speech and its’ related grammar and punctuation, using a variety of ways to open sentences and linking ideas across paragraphs. Children will produce their own story applying the genre features learnt throughout the unit. The final unit for the Spring term will be focussed on writing a poem based on The Highwayman, learning about literary devices which are used throughout the poem e.g. similes, metaphors and alliteration and using them in their own ideas.

Maths

The children will begin the term by studying a range of concepts focused on place value and number, applying their knowledge to number problems. They will then move onto revising different methods for addition and subtraction, reasoning problems, methods for multiplication and division, identifying different fractions and reading and writing decimal numbers. In addition to the number focus; children will also work on their knowledge of 2D and 3D shapes, identifying angles, converting units of measure, solving data problems and presenting data. After February half term, Year 6 will move into booster groups where the focus will be on revising key concepts and rehearsing the skills needed for answering arithmetic and reasoning questions independently.

Topic 

Over the course of the first half of Spring term our focus will be historical; we will be answering the question ‘How has crime and punishment changed through the ages?’ (see topic map) To support this at the end of the half term, we will also be joined by HMPNotforMe, a visit from the prison service. They bring along a mock prison cell for the children to look at and carry out various activities throughout the day to support our learning.

In the second half term, we will begin our fairground unit, ‘Would you visit the Lower Wortley fairground?’ This is a DT based topic where the children will be working in groups to design their own fairground. They will look at the theme they will choose by carrying out market research, design music to be played within the grounds and for marketing campaigns, design and bake tantalising goodies to sell in their fairground and finally, making a scaled down version of their fairground rides using gears or a pulley system to make a moving model. They will have to work as a team to design and develop their ideas and then create a plan to make their design. They will be using corrugated plastic for the majority of their model and will be taught how to use hand saws to cut any wood used to strengthen their models or for other elements. We purposely have a more practical unit this half term (which will follow in to Summer term), as the children will be working extremely hard on the lead up to SATs and we believe that this gives a good balance to their well-being.

Further information about this terms topics can be found on the topic pages.

Science 

The Science focus for the whole of Spring term is ‘Forces.’ Throughout the unit of work the children will learn who Isaac Newton was and what he did for science and will also explore key ‘force’ related concepts understanding that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity, that without air resistance all objects would fall at the same rate regardless of mass, define friction as a force acting between moving surfaces, understand how water resistance (force) and surface area affects how quickly objects can pass through water and use their understanding of surface area and resistance to carry as much weight as possible in water.

image

PE

During the first half of the Spring term, the children will spend one of their PE lessons working on a ‘Real PE’ gymnastics unit of work in the hall. In this unit, the children will learn, develop and apply all gym skills on the floor, through focused skill development, sequence creation and games. The other PE lesson will be a ‘Real PE’ outdoor unit focused on developing and applying their stance and footwork through focused skill development sessions, games and healthy competition. Mrs Power and Mrs Evan’s class will have a session each week with the team from Foot-tech.

During the second half of the term, the focus will be a Real PE unit giving the children opportunities to develop their balance and coordination through jumping and landing skills.

RE 

On the lead up to Easter, children will be answering the question “What do Christians believe about Jesus’ death and resurrection?” This unit explores how Christians understand the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection, considering narratives such as: Palm Sunday and the link to kingship; Maundy Thursday and the Last Supper; Good Friday and the crucifixion; Easter day and the empty tomb. We will explore stories from the Gospels around Holy Week and the Easter story, and study the celebrations of Jesus’ death and resurrection, in an attempt to explain links between scripture sources and Christian beliefs.

Music

In the first half of the term the children will use the music technology programme ‘YuStudio’ on Charanga to compose their own music linked to a spooky story. In the second half term, our music is linked to part of our Topic work. We will be exploring music used at different attractions and then using percussion to create our own short pieces of music which will be written down to perform.

French 

The unit for the first half term is 'aller au cafe' - going to the cafe. The children will learn the names of food and drink in French and will learn how to order things in a cafe. They will look at what children in France eat at home for different meals of the day.

The second half term is connected to the Fairground topic ‘Au parc d’attractions’. The children will learn the names of rides, how to say how much a ride costs and how tall you have to be to go on the ride. They will then design their own Fairground and label it in French, stating what the ride is called, how many Euros it costs and the height details. This will run through to the half term break at the end of May.

DT

In the first half of the term we will be doing a DT unit focussing on Greek food and cooking, learning about the importance of olives in ancient and modern Greek society, making a Greek salad and hummus and creating and cooking kebabs.

Art

The children will be completing a drawing unit in art in the first half term. They will use different grades of pencil and charcoal to experiment with line, texture and tone. They will learn how to create depth by using perspective drawing techniques. They will then put these skills into practise by creating some observational drawings.

Life Curriculum

To begin, we will be looking at the importance of basic First Aid. With help from the St Johns ambulance resources, children will learn what to do when casualties are suffering an asthma attack, bites and strings, bleeding, choking, head injuries and how to make a 999 call – what information should they be ready to tell the operator. They will be looking at the importance of getting help and how to assess a casualty, whether responsive or not. Following this, our Life curriculum lessons will focus on families and people who care for us, as well as Mrs Geldard leading ‘Sex and Relationship education’ sessions later in the term. Sessions linked to Mindmate Monday will also continue throughout the term.

Computing

In the first half term, the children will be creating a short, animated video using the technique of stop-motion animation. In groups, they will create a character out of modelling clay and plan what will happen to the character. They will make a simple background and decide on any props that are needed. They will take photographs using the Ipad (slightly changing something about the character each time) and then will use a movie-making program to put the photographs together. They will watch and evaluate the finished animated movies as a class.

In the second half term the children will be working through a unit of coding using Espresso coding. Year 5 will be completing the unit entitled Random numbers and simulations where they will learn how computers can generate random numbers and how these can be used in simulations. Year 6 will be completing the unit entitled Object properties where they will learn more about how computers use property values and parameters to store information about objects.

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. 

Spring 2024

English

Straight after Christmas, we will be delving into some science fiction with a writing unit based around an extract all about an alien landing and 2 characters abduction. We will be focusing on our use of language to describe scene and create suspense. To do this, we will be improving our grammar and inclusion of expanded noun phrases, sentence openers and speech punctuation (using speech to move a story along as well as punctuating accurately). This unit of work will end by writing their own spaceship landing story. After this, we will be moving on to a non-fiction unit. This will be based around a formal complaint letter. We will be focusing on subjective form to make suggestions when complaining as well as improving or accuracy in using parenthesis and colons and semi colons for both lists and joining clauses. Children will be using these to write 3 formal letters in total, both complaint and complementary.

After February half term, the Year 6 children will begin work in groups preparing for SATS. This will focus on; securing reading comprehension skills, grammar knowledge and writing in different genres using the specific targets set, and will continue until May. In the second half of the term, Year 5 will study a narrow escape story ‘The Canal’ focusing on the use of speech and its’ related grammar and punctuation, using a variety of ways to open sentences and linking ideas across paragraphs. Children will produce their own story applying the genre features learnt throughout the unit. The final unit for the Spring term will be focussed on writing a poem based on The Highwayman, learning about literary devices which are used throughout the poem e.g. similes, metaphors and alliteration and using them in their own ideas.

Maths

The children will begin the term by studying a range of concepts focused on place value and number, applying their knowledge to number problems. They will then move onto revising different methods for addition and subtraction, reasoning problems, methods for multiplication and division, identifying different fractions and reading and writing decimal numbers. In addition to the number focus; children will also work on their knowledge of 2D and 3D shapes, identifying angles, converting units of measure, solving data problems and presenting data. After February half term, Year 6 will move into booster groups where the focus will be on revising key concepts and rehearsing the skills needed for answering arithmetic and reasoning questions independently.

Topic 

Over the course of the first half of Spring term our focus will be historical; we will be answering the question ‘How has crime and punishment changed through the ages?’ (see topic map) To support this at the end of the half term, we will also be joined by HMPNotforMe, a visit from the prison service. They bring along a mock prison cell for the children to look at and carry out various activities throughout the day to support our learning.

In the second half term, we will begin our fairground unit, ‘Would you visit the Lower Wortley fairground?’ This is a DT based topic where the children will be working in groups to design their own fairground. They will look at the theme they will choose by carrying out market research, design music to be played within the grounds and for marketing campaigns, design and bake tantalising goodies to sell in their fairground and finally, making a scaled down version of their fairground rides using gears or a pulley system to make a moving model. They will have to work as a team to design and develop their ideas and then create a plan to make their design. They will be using corrugated plastic for the majority of their model and will be taught how to use hand saws to cut any wood used to strengthen their models or for other elements. We purposely have a more practical unit this half term (which will follow in to Summer term), as the children will be working extremely hard on the lead up to SATs and we believe that this gives a good balance to their well-being.

Further information about this terms topics can be found on the topic pages.

Science 

The Science focus for the whole of Spring term is ‘Forces.’ Throughout the unit of work the children will learn who Isaac Newton was and what he did for science and will also explore key ‘force’ related concepts understanding that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity, that without air resistance all objects would fall at the same rate regardless of mass, define friction as a force acting between moving surfaces, understand how water resistance (force) and surface area affects how quickly objects can pass through water and use their understanding of surface area and resistance to carry as much weight as possible in water.

image

PE

During the first half of the Spring term, the children will spend one of their PE lessons working on a ‘Real PE’ gymnastics unit of work in the hall. In this unit, the children will learn, develop and apply all gym skills on the floor, through focused skill development, sequence creation and games. The other PE lesson will be a ‘Real PE’ outdoor unit focused on developing and applying their stance and footwork through focused skill development sessions, games and healthy competition. Mrs Power and Mrs Evan’s class will have a session each week with the team from Foot-tech.

During the second half of the term, the focus will be a Real PE unit giving the children opportunities to develop their balance and coordination through jumping and landing skills.

RE 

On the lead up to Easter, children will be answering the question “What do Christians believe about Jesus’ death and resurrection?” This unit explores how Christians understand the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection, considering narratives such as: Palm Sunday and the link to kingship; Maundy Thursday and the Last Supper; Good Friday and the crucifixion; Easter day and the empty tomb. We will explore stories from the Gospels around Holy Week and the Easter story, and study the celebrations of Jesus’ death and resurrection, in an attempt to explain links between scripture sources and Christian beliefs.

Music

In the first half of the term the children will use the music technology programme ‘YuStudio’ on Charanga to compose their own music linked to a spooky story. In the second half term, our music is linked to part of our Topic work. We will be exploring music used at different attractions and then using percussion to create our own short pieces of music which will be written down to perform.

French 

The unit for the first half term is 'aller au cafe' - going to the cafe. The children will learn the names of food and drink in French and will learn how to order things in a cafe. They will look at what children in France eat at home for different meals of the day.

The second half term is connected to the Fairground topic ‘Au parc d’attractions’. The children will learn the names of rides, how to say how much a ride costs and how tall you have to be to go on the ride. They will then design their own Fairground and label it in French, stating what the ride is called, how many Euros it costs and the height details. This will run through to the half term break at the end of May.

DT

In the first half of the term we will be doing a DT unit focussing on Greek food and cooking, learning about the importance of olives in ancient and modern Greek society, making a Greek salad and hummus and creating and cooking kebabs.

Art

The children will be completing a drawing unit in art in the first half term. They will use different grades of pencil and charcoal to experiment with line, texture and tone. They will learn how to create depth by using perspective drawing techniques. They will then put these skills into practise by creating some observational drawings.

Life Curriculum

To begin, we will be looking at the importance of basic First Aid. With help from the St Johns ambulance resources, children will learn what to do when casualties are suffering an asthma attack, bites and strings, bleeding, choking, head injuries and how to make a 999 call – what information should they be ready to tell the operator. They will be looking at the importance of getting help and how to assess a casualty, whether responsive or not. Following this, our Life curriculum lessons will focus on families and people who care for us, as well as Mrs Geldard leading ‘Sex and Relationship education’ sessions later in the term. Sessions linked to Mindmate Monday will also continue throughout the term.

Computing

In the first half term, the children will be creating a short, animated video using the technique of stop-motion animation. In groups, they will create a character out of modelling clay and plan what will happen to the character. They will make a simple background and decide on any props that are needed. They will take photographs using the Ipad (slightly changing something about the character each time) and then will use a movie-making program to put the photographs together. They will watch and evaluate the finished animated movies as a class.

In the second half term the children will be working through a unit of coding using Espresso coding. Year 5 will be completing the unit entitled Random numbers and simulations where they will learn how computers can generate random numbers and how these can be used in simulations. Year 6 will be completing the unit entitled Object properties where they will learn more about how computers use property values and parameters to store information about objects.

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. 

Spring 2024

English

Straight after Christmas, we will be delving into some science fiction with a writing unit based around an extract all about an alien landing and 2 characters abduction. We will be focusing on our use of language to describe scene and create suspense. To do this, we will be improving our grammar and inclusion of expanded noun phrases, sentence openers and speech punctuation (using speech to move a story along as well as punctuating accurately). This unit of work will end by writing their own spaceship landing story. After this, we will be moving on to a non-fiction unit. This will be based around a formal complaint letter. We will be focusing on subjective form to make suggestions when complaining as well as improving or accuracy in using parenthesis and colons and semi colons for both lists and joining clauses. Children will be using these to write 3 formal letters in total, both complaint and complementary.

After February half term, the Year 6 children will begin work in groups preparing for SATS. This will focus on; securing reading comprehension skills, grammar knowledge and writing in different genres using the specific targets set, and will continue until May. In the second half of the term, Year 5 will study a narrow escape story ‘The Canal’ focusing on the use of speech and its’ related grammar and punctuation, using a variety of ways to open sentences and linking ideas across paragraphs. Children will produce their own story applying the genre features learnt throughout the unit. The final unit for the Spring term will be focussed on writing a poem based on The Highwayman, learning about literary devices which are used throughout the poem e.g. similes, metaphors and alliteration and using them in their own ideas.

Maths

The children will begin the term by studying a range of concepts focused on place value and number, applying their knowledge to number problems. They will then move onto revising different methods for addition and subtraction, reasoning problems, methods for multiplication and division, identifying different fractions and reading and writing decimal numbers. In addition to the number focus; children will also work on their knowledge of 2D and 3D shapes, identifying angles, converting units of measure, solving data problems and presenting data. After February half term, Year 6 will move into booster groups where the focus will be on revising key concepts and rehearsing the skills needed for answering arithmetic and reasoning questions independently.

Topic 

Over the course of the first half of Spring term our focus will be historical; we will be answering the question ‘How has crime and punishment changed through the ages?’ (see topic map) To support this at the end of the half term, we will also be joined by HMPNotforMe, a visit from the prison service. They bring along a mock prison cell for the children to look at and carry out various activities throughout the day to support our learning.

In the second half term, we will begin our fairground unit, ‘Would you visit the Lower Wortley fairground?’ This is a DT based topic where the children will be working in groups to design their own fairground. They will look at the theme they will choose by carrying out market research, design music to be played within the grounds and for marketing campaigns, design and bake tantalising goodies to sell in their fairground and finally, making a scaled down version of their fairground rides using gears or a pulley system to make a moving model. They will have to work as a team to design and develop their ideas and then create a plan to make their design. They will be using corrugated plastic for the majority of their model and will be taught how to use hand saws to cut any wood used to strengthen their models or for other elements. We purposely have a more practical unit this half term (which will follow in to Summer term), as the children will be working extremely hard on the lead up to SATs and we believe that this gives a good balance to their well-being.

Further information about this terms topics can be found on the topic pages.

Science 

The Science focus for the whole of Spring term is ‘Forces.’ Throughout the unit of work the children will learn who Isaac Newton was and what he did for science and will also explore key ‘force’ related concepts understanding that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity, that without air resistance all objects would fall at the same rate regardless of mass, define friction as a force acting between moving surfaces, understand how water resistance (force) and surface area affects how quickly objects can pass through water and use their understanding of surface area and resistance to carry as much weight as possible in water.

image

PE

During the first half of the Spring term, the children will spend one of their PE lessons working on a ‘Real PE’ gymnastics unit of work in the hall. In this unit, the children will learn, develop and apply all gym skills on the floor, through focused skill development, sequence creation and games. The other PE lesson will be a ‘Real PE’ outdoor unit focused on developing and applying their stance and footwork through focused skill development sessions, games and healthy competition. Mrs Power and Mrs Evan’s class will have a session each week with the team from Foot-tech.

During the second half of the term, the focus will be a Real PE unit giving the children opportunities to develop their balance and coordination through jumping and landing skills.

RE 

On the lead up to Easter, children will be answering the question “What do Christians believe about Jesus’ death and resurrection?” This unit explores how Christians understand the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection, considering narratives such as: Palm Sunday and the link to kingship; Maundy Thursday and the Last Supper; Good Friday and the crucifixion; Easter day and the empty tomb. We will explore stories from the Gospels around Holy Week and the Easter story, and study the celebrations of Jesus’ death and resurrection, in an attempt to explain links between scripture sources and Christian beliefs.

Music

In the first half of the term the children will use the music technology programme ‘YuStudio’ on Charanga to compose their own music linked to a spooky story. In the second half term, our music is linked to part of our Topic work. We will be exploring music used at different attractions and then using percussion to create our own short pieces of music which will be written down to perform.

French 

The unit for the first half term is 'aller au cafe' - going to the cafe. The children will learn the names of food and drink in French and will learn how to order things in a cafe. They will look at what children in France eat at home for different meals of the day.

The second half term is connected to the Fairground topic ‘Au parc d’attractions’. The children will learn the names of rides, how to say how much a ride costs and how tall you have to be to go on the ride. They will then design their own Fairground and label it in French, stating what the ride is called, how many Euros it costs and the height details. This will run through to the half term break at the end of May.

DT

In the first half of the term we will be doing a DT unit focussing on Greek food and cooking, learning about the importance of olives in ancient and modern Greek society, making a Greek salad and hummus and creating and cooking kebabs.

Art

The children will be completing a drawing unit in art in the first half term. They will use different grades of pencil and charcoal to experiment with line, texture and tone. They will learn how to create depth by using perspective drawing techniques. They will then put these skills into practise by creating some observational drawings.

Life Curriculum

To begin, we will be looking at the importance of basic First Aid. With help from the St Johns ambulance resources, children will learn what to do when casualties are suffering an asthma attack, bites and strings, bleeding, choking, head injuries and how to make a 999 call – what information should they be ready to tell the operator. They will be looking at the importance of getting help and how to assess a casualty, whether responsive or not. Following this, our Life curriculum lessons will focus on families and people who care for us, as well as Mrs Geldard leading ‘Sex and Relationship education’ sessions later in the term. Sessions linked to Mindmate Monday will also continue throughout the term.

Computing

In the first half term, the children will be creating a short, animated video using the technique of stop-motion animation. In groups, they will create a character out of modelling clay and plan what will happen to the character. They will make a simple background and decide on any props that are needed. They will take photographs using the Ipad (slightly changing something about the character each time) and then will use a movie-making program to put the photographs together. They will watch and evaluate the finished animated movies as a class.

In the second half term the children will be working through a unit of coding using Espresso coding. Year 5 will be completing the unit entitled Random numbers and simulations where they will learn how computers can generate random numbers and how these can be used in simulations. Year 6 will be completing the unit entitled Object properties where they will learn more about how computers use property values and parameters to store information about objects.

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. 

Spring 2024

English

Straight after Christmas, we will be delving into some science fiction with a writing unit based around an extract all about an alien landing and 2 characters abduction. We will be focusing on our use of language to describe scene and create suspense. To do this, we will be improving our grammar and inclusion of expanded noun phrases, sentence openers and speech punctuation (using speech to move a story along as well as punctuating accurately). This unit of work will end by writing their own spaceship landing story. After this, we will be moving on to a non-fiction unit. This will be based around a formal complaint letter. We will be focusing on subjective form to make suggestions when complaining as well as improving or accuracy in using parenthesis and colons and semi colons for both lists and joining clauses. Children will be using these to write 3 formal letters in total, both complaint and complementary.

After February half term, the Year 6 children will begin work in groups preparing for SATS. This will focus on; securing reading comprehension skills, grammar knowledge and writing in different genres using the specific targets set, and will continue until May. In the second half of the term, Year 5 will study a narrow escape story ‘The Canal’ focusing on the use of speech and its’ related grammar and punctuation, using a variety of ways to open sentences and linking ideas across paragraphs. Children will produce their own story applying the genre features learnt throughout the unit. The final unit for the Spring term will be focussed on writing a poem based on The Highwayman, learning about literary devices which are used throughout the poem e.g. similes, metaphors and alliteration and using them in their own ideas.

Maths

The children will begin the term by studying a range of concepts focused on place value and number, applying their knowledge to number problems. They will then move onto revising different methods for addition and subtraction, reasoning problems, methods for multiplication and division, identifying different fractions and reading and writing decimal numbers. In addition to the number focus; children will also work on their knowledge of 2D and 3D shapes, identifying angles, converting units of measure, solving data problems and presenting data. After February half term, Year 6 will move into booster groups where the focus will be on revising key concepts and rehearsing the skills needed for answering arithmetic and reasoning questions independently.

Topic 

Over the course of the first half of Spring term our focus will be historical; we will be answering the question ‘How has crime and punishment changed through the ages?’ (see topic map) To support this at the end of the half term, we will also be joined by HMPNotforMe, a visit from the prison service. They bring along a mock prison cell for the children to look at and carry out various activities throughout the day to support our learning.

In the second half term, we will begin our fairground unit, ‘Would you visit the Lower Wortley fairground?’ This is a DT based topic where the children will be working in groups to design their own fairground. They will look at the theme they will choose by carrying out market research, design music to be played within the grounds and for marketing campaigns, design and bake tantalising goodies to sell in their fairground and finally, making a scaled down version of their fairground rides using gears or a pulley system to make a moving model. They will have to work as a team to design and develop their ideas and then create a plan to make their design. They will be using corrugated plastic for the majority of their model and will be taught how to use hand saws to cut any wood used to strengthen their models or for other elements. We purposely have a more practical unit this half term (which will follow in to Summer term), as the children will be working extremely hard on the lead up to SATs and we believe that this gives a good balance to their well-being.

Further information about this terms topics can be found on the topic pages.

Science 

The Science focus for the whole of Spring term is ‘Forces.’ Throughout the unit of work the children will learn who Isaac Newton was and what he did for science and will also explore key ‘force’ related concepts understanding that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity, that without air resistance all objects would fall at the same rate regardless of mass, define friction as a force acting between moving surfaces, understand how water resistance (force) and surface area affects how quickly objects can pass through water and use their understanding of surface area and resistance to carry as much weight as possible in water.

image

PE

During the first half of the Spring term, the children will spend one of their PE lessons working on a ‘Real PE’ gymnastics unit of work in the hall. In this unit, the children will learn, develop and apply all gym skills on the floor, through focused skill development, sequence creation and games. The other PE lesson will be a ‘Real PE’ outdoor unit focused on developing and applying their stance and footwork through focused skill development sessions, games and healthy competition. Mrs Power and Mrs Evan’s class will have a session each week with the team from Foot-tech.

During the second half of the term, the focus will be a Real PE unit giving the children opportunities to develop their balance and coordination through jumping and landing skills.

RE 

On the lead up to Easter, children will be answering the question “What do Christians believe about Jesus’ death and resurrection?” This unit explores how Christians understand the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection, considering narratives such as: Palm Sunday and the link to kingship; Maundy Thursday and the Last Supper; Good Friday and the crucifixion; Easter day and the empty tomb. We will explore stories from the Gospels around Holy Week and the Easter story, and study the celebrations of Jesus’ death and resurrection, in an attempt to explain links between scripture sources and Christian beliefs.

Music

In the first half of the term the children will use the music technology programme ‘YuStudio’ on Charanga to compose their own music linked to a spooky story. In the second half term, our music is linked to part of our Topic work. We will be exploring music used at different attractions and then using percussion to create our own short pieces of music which will be written down to perform.

French 

The unit for the first half term is 'aller au cafe' - going to the cafe. The children will learn the names of food and drink in French and will learn how to order things in a cafe. They will look at what children in France eat at home for different meals of the day.

The second half term is connected to the Fairground topic ‘Au parc d’attractions’. The children will learn the names of rides, how to say how much a ride costs and how tall you have to be to go on the ride. They will then design their own Fairground and label it in French, stating what the ride is called, how many Euros it costs and the height details. This will run through to the half term break at the end of May.

DT

In the first half of the term we will be doing a DT unit focussing on Greek food and cooking, learning about the importance of olives in ancient and modern Greek society, making a Greek salad and hummus and creating and cooking kebabs.

Art

The children will be completing a drawing unit in art in the first half term. They will use different grades of pencil and charcoal to experiment with line, texture and tone. They will learn how to create depth by using perspective drawing techniques. They will then put these skills into practise by creating some observational drawings.

Life Curriculum

To begin, we will be looking at the importance of basic First Aid. With help from the St Johns ambulance resources, children will learn what to do when casualties are suffering an asthma attack, bites and strings, bleeding, choking, head injuries and how to make a 999 call – what information should they be ready to tell the operator. They will be looking at the importance of getting help and how to assess a casualty, whether responsive or not. Following this, our Life curriculum lessons will focus on families and people who care for us, as well as Mrs Geldard leading ‘Sex and Relationship education’ sessions later in the term. Sessions linked to Mindmate Monday will also continue throughout the term.

Computing

In the first half term, the children will be creating a short, animated video using the technique of stop-motion animation. In groups, they will create a character out of modelling clay and plan what will happen to the character. They will make a simple background and decide on any props that are needed. They will take photographs using the Ipad (slightly changing something about the character each time) and then will use a movie-making program to put the photographs together. They will watch and evaluate the finished animated movies as a class.

In the second half term the children will be working through a unit of coding using Espresso coding. Year 5 will be completing the unit entitled Random numbers and simulations where they will learn how computers can generate random numbers and how these can be used in simulations. Year 6 will be completing the unit entitled Object properties where they will learn more about how computers use property values and parameters to store information about objects.

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. 

Spring 2024

English

Straight after Christmas, we will be delving into some science fiction with a writing unit based around an extract all about an alien landing and 2 characters abduction. We will be focusing on our use of language to describe scene and create suspense. To do this, we will be improving our grammar and inclusion of expanded noun phrases, sentence openers and speech punctuation (using speech to move a story along as well as punctuating accurately). This unit of work will end by writing their own spaceship landing story. After this, we will be moving on to a non-fiction unit. This will be based around a formal complaint letter. We will be focusing on subjective form to make suggestions when complaining as well as improving or accuracy in using parenthesis and colons and semi colons for both lists and joining clauses. Children will be using these to write 3 formal letters in total, both complaint and complementary.

After February half term, the Year 6 children will begin work in groups preparing for SATS. This will focus on; securing reading comprehension skills, grammar knowledge and writing in different genres using the specific targets set, and will continue until May. In the second half of the term, Year 5 will study a narrow escape story ‘The Canal’ focusing on the use of speech and its’ related grammar and punctuation, using a variety of ways to open sentences and linking ideas across paragraphs. Children will produce their own story applying the genre features learnt throughout the unit. The final unit for the Spring term will be focussed on writing a poem based on The Highwayman, learning about literary devices which are used throughout the poem e.g. similes, metaphors and alliteration and using them in their own ideas.

Maths

The children will begin the term by studying a range of concepts focused on place value and number, applying their knowledge to number problems. They will then move onto revising different methods for addition and subtraction, reasoning problems, methods for multiplication and division, identifying different fractions and reading and writing decimal numbers. In addition to the number focus; children will also work on their knowledge of 2D and 3D shapes, identifying angles, converting units of measure, solving data problems and presenting data. After February half term, Year 6 will move into booster groups where the focus will be on revising key concepts and rehearsing the skills needed for answering arithmetic and reasoning questions independently.

Topic 

Over the course of the first half of Spring term our focus will be historical; we will be answering the question ‘How has crime and punishment changed through the ages?’ (see topic map) To support this at the end of the half term, we will also be joined by HMPNotforMe, a visit from the prison service. They bring along a mock prison cell for the children to look at and carry out various activities throughout the day to support our learning.

In the second half term, we will begin our fairground unit, ‘Would you visit the Lower Wortley fairground?’ This is a DT based topic where the children will be working in groups to design their own fairground. They will look at the theme they will choose by carrying out market research, design music to be played within the grounds and for marketing campaigns, design and bake tantalising goodies to sell in their fairground and finally, making a scaled down version of their fairground rides using gears or a pulley system to make a moving model. They will have to work as a team to design and develop their ideas and then create a plan to make their design. They will be using corrugated plastic for the majority of their model and will be taught how to use hand saws to cut any wood used to strengthen their models or for other elements. We purposely have a more practical unit this half term (which will follow in to Summer term), as the children will be working extremely hard on the lead up to SATs and we believe that this gives a good balance to their well-being.

Further information about this terms topics can be found on the topic pages.

Science 

The Science focus for the whole of Spring term is ‘Forces.’ Throughout the unit of work the children will learn who Isaac Newton was and what he did for science and will also explore key ‘force’ related concepts understanding that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity, that without air resistance all objects would fall at the same rate regardless of mass, define friction as a force acting between moving surfaces, understand how water resistance (force) and surface area affects how quickly objects can pass through water and use their understanding of surface area and resistance to carry as much weight as possible in water.

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PE

During the first half of the Spring term, the children will spend one of their PE lessons working on a ‘Real PE’ gymnastics unit of work in the hall. In this unit, the children will learn, develop and apply all gym skills on the floor, through focused skill development, sequence creation and games. The other PE lesson will be a ‘Real PE’ outdoor unit focused on developing and applying their stance and footwork through focused skill development sessions, games and healthy competition. Mrs Power and Mrs Evan’s class will have a session each week with the team from Foot-tech.

During the second half of the term, the focus will be a Real PE unit giving the children opportunities to develop their balance and coordination through jumping and landing skills.

RE 

On the lead up to Easter, children will be answering the question “What do Christians believe about Jesus’ death and resurrection?” This unit explores how Christians understand the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection, considering narratives such as: Palm Sunday and the link to kingship; Maundy Thursday and the Last Supper; Good Friday and the crucifixion; Easter day and the empty tomb. We will explore stories from the Gospels around Holy Week and the Easter story, and study the celebrations of Jesus’ death and resurrection, in an attempt to explain links between scripture sources and Christian beliefs.

Music

In the first half of the term the children will use the music technology programme ‘YuStudio’ on Charanga to compose their own music linked to a spooky story. In the second half term, our music is linked to part of our Topic work. We will be exploring music used at different attractions and then using percussion to create our own short pieces of music which will be written down to perform.

French 

The unit for the first half term is 'aller au cafe' - going to the cafe. The children will learn the names of food and drink in French and will learn how to order things in a cafe. They will look at what children in France eat at home for different meals of the day.

The second half term is connected to the Fairground topic ‘Au parc d’attractions’. The children will learn the names of rides, how to say how much a ride costs and how tall you have to be to go on the ride. They will then design their own Fairground and label it in French, stating what the ride is called, how many Euros it costs and the height details. This will run through to the half term break at the end of May.

DT

In the first half of the term we will be doing a DT unit focussing on Greek food and cooking, learning about the importance of olives in ancient and modern Greek society, making a Greek salad and hummus and creating and cooking kebabs.

Art

The children will be completing a drawing unit in art in the first half term. They will use different grades of pencil and charcoal to experiment with line, texture and tone. They will learn how to create depth by using perspective drawing techniques. They will then put these skills into practise by creating some observational drawings.

Life Curriculum

To begin, we will be looking at the importance of basic First Aid. With help from the St Johns ambulance resources, children will learn what to do when casualties are suffering an asthma attack, bites and strings, bleeding, choking, head injuries and how to make a 999 call – what information should they be ready to tell the operator. They will be looking at the importance of getting help and how to assess a casualty, whether responsive or not. Following this, our Life curriculum lessons will focus on families and people who care for us, as well as Mrs Geldard leading ‘Sex and Relationship education’ sessions later in the term. Sessions linked to Mindmate Monday will also continue throughout the term.

Computing

In the first half term, the children will be creating a short, animated video using the technique of stop-motion animation. In groups, they will create a character out of modelling clay and plan what will happen to the character. They will make a simple background and decide on any props that are needed. They will take photographs using the Ipad (slightly changing something about the character each time) and then will use a movie-making program to put the photographs together. They will watch and evaluate the finished animated movies as a class.

In the second half term the children will be working through a unit of coding using Espresso coding. Year 5 will be completing the unit entitled Random numbers and simulations where they will learn how computers can generate random numbers and how these can be used in simulations. Year 6 will be completing the unit entitled Object properties where they will learn more about how computers use property values and parameters to store information about objects.