Welcome to Year 5
2024/2025
Year 5 are taught by Miss Burfoot, Miss Corcoran and Miss Smith. They are supported by Miss Appleby, Mrs Livitt and Mrs Coombs. Should you have any questions for the Year 5 team, please email school@beaconrise.org.uk
Days to Remember
Tuesday – PE kit to be worn to school
Thursday – PE kit to be worn to school
Friday – all homework set as follows and due to be completed by the following Friday: spellings will be set weekly and sent home; Spag.com activity; Mathletics or TT Rockstars activity. Weekly spelling test takes place and new spellings issued for learning at home. Reading records required in school, with children having read a minimum of 5 times. Logins for websites are stuck in their reading records.
Year 5 Texts
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Viking Boy by Tony Bradman
Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
Wings of Icarus by Jenny Oldfield
Learning
Autumn Learning:
Download: 2024-25 Year 5 – Term 1 – Reach for the Stars
Year 5 have had a blast this term settling into the new school year.
Our main topic has been ‘Reach for the Stars’ where we have learnt about outer space and the planets and stars around us. We created our own rockets to launch at the beginning of the year and had a visit from the Explorer Dome. In English, we enjoyed creating our own space narratives which we will share with other children for them to enjoy.
Additionally, we had a training session from Little Lifesavers where we were taught more about saving people’s lives and got to practise our CPR skills. We also learned how to save someone from choking – these skills are great for supporting us in real life situations.
Another highlight of the term was our create days. We got stuck into the creative arts by creating a performance based on the changing seasons. Our performance consisted of singing, body percussion, exhibiting our origami and, most excitingly, our Thriller flashmob dance.
In art, we have explored the Modern Art and studied the Mother of Modernism, Georgia O’Keeffe. Our final pieces were influenced by her style since we used watercolour and abstract design.
In PE, we have been practising our gymnastics sequences and applying these to a various apparatus. We adapted these sequences by considering how they would be completed safely at different heights.
In music, we have been studying Egyptian song. We have learned about reading music notation and singing with accuracy. We have created our own short pieces of music using the written notation we learned previously and performed these to the class using Glockenspiels.
Finally, in computing we have been learning about how to keep safe online. In our ‘Systems’ unit, we have identified the different search engines we use often and what these consist of. When looking at how they are used, we practised searching for specific criteria online and ways of adapting our searches to make them more specific.
This term, Year 5 have had a blast learning about the Vikings and how their history has impacted our modern day lives. In particular, we have enjoyed our writing units: a non-chronological report and our own Viking sagas which were full of magic and mystery! Much of our reading lessons have been based around the book ‘Erik the Viking’ by Terry Jones.
Download: 2024-25 Year 5 Term 2 – Defenders of Britain
Our Viking topic has continued into our history lessons where we have been learning about sequencing events to create timelines, writing recounts of Vikings and comparing their lives to ours today. In P.E., we have been creating our own Viking themed dances and performing these to other classes. In games, we have been developing our hockey skills and have been demonstrating these skills through matches. In science this term, we have explored forces. We have conducted various investigations to understand and evaluate how various forces impact objects in different ways. We investigated how different surfaces create friction and how air resistance can impact on falling objects. We enjoyed getting hands-on during these lessons, learning about fair testing and practising our scientific skills.
Spring Learning:
Download: 2024-25 Year 5 – Terms 3 and 4 – BR Buccaneers
This term, Year 5 have been sailing the seven seas and exploring the famous buccaneers of Bristol! We have learned about the infamous Blackbeard (Edward Teach) and how his name came to be so famously known. We have continued this theme into our English lessons, where we have been re-telling Treasure Island – we have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the plot and characters.
In PE, in addition to gym, we have been involved in some great Outdoor Adventurous Activities (OAA) and have been using navigational language and compasses to support our orienteering skills around school. Our DT projects transformed our classrooms into our very own Sewing Bee! We built up our sewing skills to create our own multi-functional purses! We were extremely proud of our end products. Any ripped clothes? Look no further – you now have your very own seamstress. Lastly, we finished our term with Pirate Day! We teamed up with the younger crewmates in Year 1 and adventured out to crack the pirate code! We also used our previously learned navigational language to support our younger friends.
We will continue our voyage as buccaneers next term! Until then, ahoy mateys!
Download: 2024-25 Year 5 Terms 3 and 4 – BR Buccaneers
Term 4 has been a blast for Year 5 where we have built on our knowledge of pirates and delved into the history of the Golden Age of Piracy! We have learned about the life of the infamous Blackbeard, along with his devilish acts and despicable behaviour. In English, we enjoyed reporting on Blackbeard’s death and how he met his demise in a gruesome battle on the coasts of North Carolina. In art, we have been studying still life and looked at key artists such as Salvador Dali and Henri Matisse. We have opened up our minds to the concept of surrealism and reflected our subconscious thoughts in our artwork. We have developed our knowledge of Green Religion in RE and studied the concept of spiritual and religious movements of nature. In these lessons, we discussed the importance of appreciating nature and our environments and the significance of these being looked after.
Year 5 have loved learning netball this term! From learning the basics, including footwork and positioning, to creating space and marking effectively, the children’s confidence on court has flourished hugely. In addition to netball, we have been developing our tennis skills. We have demonstrated effective serving to our partner and returning the ball from various positions. In our end of term tournament, we also had the chance to score matches using the correct format.
In science, we have been exploring mixtures along with reversible and irreversible changes. We set up our own experiment to determine the effects of evaporation for separating water and salt. Music has been particularly enjoyable this term since we have been linking colour to music. We have been listening to a variety of genres in class and reflecting on what colours and feelings we would link these to. We learned how to represent music through shape and colour using graphic scores.
Summer Learning:
Download: 2024-25 Year 5 Terms 5 and 6 – Our Green Planet Word
Year 5 have been delving into the history of the Ancient Greeks this term, learning about their myths and culture. In English, we have learned about the military genius, Alexander the Great, and writing a biography about his success in building Greek civilisation. In history lessons, we have developed this knowledge by researching their gods and goddesses.
Our PE lessons have been linked to our Greek topic, too! In dance, we have been creating our own class Greek dances which have included a variety of motifs and canons – we enjoyed performing these to the other Year 5 classes on our performance day. In athletics, we have been linking our sports to those that the Greeks created for the Olympics. We have been pushing ourselves to the limits in the long jump and triple jump, along with improving our running technique and stamina. We have been able to put these techniques to the test in Sports Day!
DT day was a particular highlight for us! We spent the weeks leading up to the day learning about CAM mechanisms and how these function – from a rotary movement to a linear movement. We planned what we would like our moving toys to looks like whilst considering our design criteria. Then, we practised our focused skill of sawing. On the day, we worked in our teams to saw, drill and glue our individual pieces to create our final product! Upon checking our success criteria, we were happy with our final products and enjoyed experimenting with them!
Summer Learning:
Download:
We have enjoyed getting stuck in with using clay for our sculptures, which were inspired by the British sculptor Anthony Gormley. We used a variety of methods to mould and sculpt our personalised model and enjoyed it even though it was messy!
In cricket, we have learned the main rules of the sport and have applied our skills to a full game. Some brilliant catches have been demonstrated in the outer field! In cricket, we have learned the main rules of the sport and have applied our skills to a full game. Some brilliant catches have been demonstrated in the outer field!
One of our highlights this year was camp! We had an incredible time at Hooke Court and participated in scavenging, den-building, cooking, trying new foods, building Viking longboats and sailing these on the moat. Some of us were able to gut a fish and cook this on the fire! We enjoyed eating lots of delicious meals and spending time with our friends.
