Welcome to Year 5

                                        SUMMER TERM 2026

                 Miss McArdle, Mrs Griffin, Madame Leydon,

                                         Mr Reid and Miss Cliff 

English

Our writing this term, will centre around the book “Kensuke's Kingdom” by Michael Morpurgo.

We will follow Michael's route around the world and base our writing on his experiences.  We will be writing descriptively about events that occur on his journey, a persuasive advert, a balanced argument, a letter plus a diary entry.

Click on the picture to watch the trailer for the short film which was released last year!!

Throughout the term we will be concentrating on improving our standards of presentation, spelling and how to use a range of punctuation accurately including full-stops, commas, question marks, exclamation marks, brackets and dashes. 

Maths

This term, we will be learning about:  Adding and subtracting decimals within 1 Complements to 1 Adding and subtracting decimals Decimal sequences Multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000 Identify angles comparing and ordering angles Measuring angles Drawing lines and angles Calculating angles on a straight line and around a point Triangles Quadrilaterals Calculating length and angles in shapes Regular and irregular polygons Reasoning about 3D shapes Describing position Drawing on a grid Position in the first quadrant Translation Translation with coordinates Lines of symmetry Reflection Reflection with coordinates Kilometres, kilograms, millimetres, millilitres Imperial units

These skills will be extended and applied in forms of reasoning and problem solving. 

If you would like to support your child further with any of the units covered this term, please click on the following link which will take you to 'Workbooks for Parents' on our school website.  The relevant booklets for this term are:

                                                                                 Position and Direction

                                                                                                                                                                                             Properties of shape

                                                                                                                                                                                              Volume

                                                                                 Converting Units

                                                                               Decimals and Percentages

                                      http://www.excalibur.cheshire.sch.uk/page/maths-workbooks-for-parents/86832

In maths, mental recall, including times tables, doubling and halving numbers and number bonds is vitally important if children are going to make good progress. Using the internet, games or board games can help reinforce the maths needed for Year 5 in a fun and enjoyable way. Please click on the links below to support both written and mental maths.  Also, at the bottom of this page, you will find a document containing all the mental maths objectives for each year group so that you can support your child with their mental maths.  

Top Marks - Daily 10 

This term, we will be focusing on Living Things and their Habitats as well as Properties and Changes of Materials. We will be developing scientific skills through the application of the five types of scientific enquiry:

• Observation over time
• Pattern seeking
• Identifying, classifying and grouping                          
• Comparative and fair testing
• Research using secondary resources

During our Properties and Changes of Materials topic, we will: 

• Compare and group together everyday materials on the basis of their properties, including their hardness, solubility, transparency, conductivity (electrical and thermal), and response to magnets
• Know that some materials will dissolve in liquid to form a solution, and describe how to recover a substance from a solution
• Use knowledge of solids, liquids and gases to decide how mixtures might be separated, including through filtering, sieving and evaporating
• Give reasons, based on evidence from comparative and fair tests, for the particular uses of everyday materials, including metals, wood and plastic
• Demonstrate that dissolving, mixing and changes of state are reversible changes
• Explain that some changes result in the formation of new materials, and that this kind of change is not usually reversible, including changes associated with burning and the action of acid on bicarbonate of soda.

During our Living Things and their Habitats topic, we will:

• Describe the differences in the life cycles of a mammal, an amphibian, an insect and a bird
• Describe the life process of reproduction in some plants and animals.
• Find out about the work of naturalists and animal behaviourists, for example, David Attenborough and Jane Goodall.

Humanities

Our history focus will be Ancient Greece. Through this topic we will be asking the following questions to help us with our learning. 

*How do we know so much about the Ancient Greek

*What pottery remains tell us about everyday life in Ancient Greece

*Why Ancient Greece was able to be so strong

*Whether we would prefer to live in Athens or Sparta                 

*What their interest in the theatre and festivals like The Olympics tell us about the Ancient Greeks

*How the Ancient Greeks have influenced our lives today

We will have a geography focus for the second half term where we will learn about:

*How we use our oceans
* What the Great Barrier Reef is
* Why our oceans are suffering
* What we can do to help our oceans
* How littered our marine environment is - data collection and analysing findings

Reminders and Information

Staff in Year 5:

Mrs Griffin - Class teacher - Monday and Friday

Miss McArdle - Class teacher - Tuesday, Wednesday (am), Thursday

Mrs Bundy – Teaching Assistant - Wednesday (pm)

Mr Reid - Teaching Assistant - Wednesday (pm)

Miss Cliff - Welfare Assistant

PE

Our regular PE days for this term will be Tuesday and Wednesday. Pupils will bring their PE kits into school and change at school.  Please make sure that your child wears the correct Excalibur PE kit which does not include football kits or Nike Pro Shorts.  A list of the full PE kit is on our website.

http://www.excalibur.cheshire.sch.uk/page/school-uniform/6064

Pupils can wear their tracksuit bottoms for PE if it is ever too cold.  I would be grateful if you could make sure that long hair is tied back and that earrings are removed or covered with micro-pore or similar on PE days. 

Start and Finish Times

The school gates will be opened at 8:50 to all children and we encourage children to arrive at this time. It really does help the class to settle before we begin our day at 9 am. Any arrivals after 9 am must be reported to the office (even if the gates are still open) as the register will have been sent electronically by this point. The school day will end at 3:20 pm. 

Snacks

Please could you send your child in with a healthy snack for their midmorning break.  

Water Bottles

It is important for children to drink water throughout the day.  Therefore, children may bring in bottles of water each day so long as the bottle has a secure lid. It is also really helpful if every bottle is clearly labelled.  Please can you remind your child to take their bottle home every night for washing and refilling.  

Homework

Every Friday, your child will be set the following tasks to be completed by the following Thursday: 

• Maths - Homework will be set weekly on Mathletics (up to two pieces). Your child also has access to extra work in their student area should they wish to complete more tasks. Furthermore, should you wish to complete any extra maths with your child, please find ‘Workbooks for Parents’ for each unit of maths we cover in Year 5 on our homepage under ‘Curriculum’ then ‘Maths’ (link above in 'Maths' section).   Furthermore, we would recommend that your child spends time working on their mental maths.  They have a login for TT Rockstars plus they can visit Hit the Button which is free online. 
• Reading - questions set from a short text - to be in school by the following Thursday.
• Spellings - either a spelling rule or words from the statutory Y5/6 spelling list.  These will be tested on Thursdays.

                              Recommended homework time is half an hour per day for Years 5 and 6.

If you have any queries or questions, please do not hesitate in contacting either Miss McArdle or Mrs Griffin through our contact email address (contact@excalibur.cheshire.sch.uk) or you could send in a note to us directly.  We look forward to another fabulous term working with you and your child.