Year 5

Year Five Team

Year 5 is made up of three classes: Hufflepuff (Mrs Farish),  Ravenclaw (Ms Butcher)  and Gryffindor (Miss Dobson).  Other adults in Year 5 include Ms Burns.  We have been inspired by characters from the book Harry Potter, the houses which are similar to our own teams.

In Year 5, our themes take us back in time and beyond the limits of our planet, stretching our imagination and minds. We are more confident learners and much more independent. 

Our learning is thematic meaning each term we focus on one theme through our reading, writing and wider curriculum.  By learning in this way, we deepen our understanding, become critical thinkers and develop both knowledge and skills in key areas.

Our themes in Year 5 are:

• Maya Masquerade 
• To Infinity and Beyond
• Treasure Island
• A River’s Journey
• The Ancient Greeks
• Guide to Greenwich

All our themes give us the opportunity to acquire new knowledge, develop our skillsets, apply our Featherby Values and develop our 6Cs: Character, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking and Citizenship. Our learning in school is built around these areas and linked in with a class read.  We love sharing what we have learnt in school but learning also happens outside the classroom and our homework and wider reading opportunities are one way this happens.  It is important to us that we are always learners whether we are in school, at home or out and about in the world.  Events we look forward to are our Big Outcomes where we welcome parents and visitors into school to share in our learning with us; this is one of the times you will see our 6Cs in action! 

Maya Masquerade

We launch the year with our first theme Maya Masquerade where we recall our learning on Anglo Saxons in Britain, from Year 4, with the Mayan empire.  Our class read is The Chocolate Tree which we use as our stimulus for writing persuasion, stories and instructions.  Our class read also helps us to interweave with our design and technology learning when we create our own chocolate treats. In art we recall the skills we learn with moulding clay as we make Mayan masks. In science we return to learning about the human body, reproduction and life cycles.   

To Infinity And Beyond

In our second theme of the year we leave planet Earth and learn about our solar system.  This theme has a science driver where we learn about our sun, moon and solar system through research and enquiries.  Interweaving between science and history we look at early space pioneers and their adventures. Our creative skills are enhanced through the use of pastels to create space scenes.  In design and technology we recall our learning from Year 4 on electricity to apply this learning and skills to create moon buggies.  Our class read this term is The Time Machine. Our writing outcomes are fantasy stories, discussion and poetry. 

Treasure Island

This term’s theme is inspired by the class read of the same name, Treasure Island, which gives us the opportunity to write stories from other cultures, diaries and reports.  Our theme returns to key learning from Year 4 with Around the World In 80 Days, looking at journeys by sea travel. Our geographical web of knowledge continues to develop from our topic on the Mayans and Journeys as we plot and plan trips to South America, recalling our knowledge and skills from previous themes.  We are creative in producing cultural art in a range of mediums and outcomes.  Our science skills development centres around forces and in particular water resistance and ship building to create our own vessels to travel to Treasure Island. 

A River’s Journey

Our subject driver for this theme is once again geography as we further our knowledge and skills on the physical world recalling learning from Year 4 on Mountains and Volcanoes.  We learn about how rivers flow and the difference in landscapes along their journeys and the effect this has on the location of settlements.  Our science learning is on changing states, solids, liquids and gases which we learn through enquiry and experiments.  In art we produce watercolour landscapes of water scenes.  Our class text this term is A Long Walk To Water where we write explanations, instructions and poetry. 

The Ancient Greeks

Our fifth theme of the year is about the Ancient Greeks where we learn about their culture, beliefs and lives.  Over our time in Featherby we learn about a number of historic periods and this gives us the opportunity to recall these and place them chronologically.  We create Grecian urns and Greek scandals in art and design and technology. Interweaving our skills and knowledge as we progress through the theme.  In science we learn about the life cycles of animals and plants through enquiry, observations and experiments.  Our class read this half term is Famous Artists supporting us with writing biographies, newspapers and stories. 

Guide To Greenwich

Our final theme of the year takes us to another Maritime town and make comparisons between Chatham and Greenwich.  It also allows us to recall learning on London and our capital city.  We look at the history of these towns and how they have developed overtime and been affected by changes in technology and industry.  In science we recall and review the learning of the year and apply this.  Our class read is Clockwork which we use to inspire recounts, reports and poetry. 

We know that this learning will continue at home too. To support learning in school, please test our knowledge by asking us questions. You can also read these books with us on our theme to extend and deepen our knowledge.