Foxes - Yr5/6

Welcome to Foxes class. This is the home of the year 5 and 6 children.

Our teacher is Miss Williams.

We are supported in class by Mr. Batty.

Autumn Term 1 2023

Our topics for the first half of the autumn term are: Baghdad 900 CE for history, the human body in science and we shall be looking at cartography in geography. We shall be reading Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. The story  tells of how a young boy named Michael mysteriously disappears the night before his twelfth birthday. The next morning, Michael finds himself washed up on a beach on a remote island with a bowl of water and some grilled fish next to him.

We shall also look at the books 'On the Origin of the Species' and 'Moth' to help support our report and poetry writing.

Home Learning

Science

Our unit this half term is ‘The Human Body’. We shall build on our knowledge and prior learning from last year to develop an even more detailed understanding of how humans develop from an embryo into a foetus inside their mother’s uterus, through all of the human growth and developmental stages to old age. In addition, we shall look at the human reproductive system, the endocrine system and glands within the human body.

English

In the first half of the autumn term, the children will be looking at narrative writing, non-chronological reports and narrative poetry.  We will continue to focus on handwriting and spelling. Our grammar focus will be on clauses. Children will read daily as part of whole class and independent reading. The focus for our reading will be the book Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. Kensuke's Kingdom is a treat for lovers of drama-filled stories. It tells of how a young boy named Michael mysteriously disappears the night before his twelfth birthday. The next morning, Michael finds himself washed up on a beach on a remote island with a bowl of water and some grilled fish next to him. 

Additionally, we will continue to focus on all aspects of spelling, punctuation and grammar. Children will read daily as part of whole class and independent reading. 

Our reading will focus on the application of Reading Reconsidered and FASE reading. The children are always encouraged to apply their inference skills in order to 'read between the lines' and look for the underlying motivations and feelings behind character actions. As ever we thoroughly appreciate and encourage any discussion you can have with your children surrounding their reading. What are they  reading? Can they describe the characters? How do they think certain characters are feeling about a certain situation?

Please can we ask that you encourage your children to read a wide range of materials including both fiction and non fiction and a range of genres, especially within fiction such as historical novels, science fiction and adventure narrative.  

Maths

For the first half of the autumn term we shall be focusing, to begin with, on number place value before moving on to the four operations.  This will be the building blocks for the foundations of our future maths learning this year.  I would be grateful if you could also encourage your children to continue to practice their times tables and related division facts up to the 12 times tables.

History

Our topic title this half term is Baghdad 900CE. As part of this topic, we shall learn all about the ‘Golden Age of Islam’, the creation of Baghdad (the city of peace) and look at the early Islamic civilisation.  We shall learn how the Islamic world was the most culturally and intellectually advanced civilisation of the time.

Geography

Our focus for this half term is on maps.  We shall be learning all about the division of maps, lines of latitude and longitude, hemispheres, scales and co-ordinates.  We shall also be looking at the different uses of maps such as relief maps.

Art and D.T.

Our focus for this half term is on ‘style’ and ‘technique’.  We shall be evaluating how a piece of art looks, discussing the period of history in which it was produced, which country and which artists produced the work and any particular techniques the artists may have used.  As part of this study, we shall be looking at Rococo design, abstract and modernist pieces of work.  For D.T. we shall be making a toy for a 4-7 year old, which moves up and down using a cams mechanism.

R.E.

We are going to be debating the question ‘when Christians need real wisdom where do they look for it?’  We shall be looking in depth at what it means to be wise.  We shall look at the stories and words of Solomon and what they teach us about wisdom. In addition, we shall investigate the impact Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount has for the wisdom of people today.

P.S.H.E

In this unit, children will participate in developing ground rules for the class and exploring what they mean in practice.  They will also take part in activities to build positive relationships within many environments and to develop their skills of co-operation.  They will explore the range of new situations they or others may find themselves in, and the emotions they or others may experience.

P.E

Our indoor PE focus this half term is on swimming.  We shall be travelling to a local swimming pool each week to learn and practice our skills in the water.

In PE games, we will be doing all of our activities outdoors so please make sure your child has the appropriate clothing for the weather.

Music

In music we shall be looking at metre (bars and beats) whilst singing songs and playing instruments.                               

Latin

The children will continue to learn using stories and myths.  They will continue to focus on adjectives, nouns, and their masculine and feminine agreements, along with common verbs, their endings and adverbs.  They will also be exposed to and learn more vocabulary in Latin.