Otter Class
Class teacher’s welcome
Welcome to the ‘Otterly’ Outstanding Yr5 Otter class!
Curriculum news
At a glance – Summer 1
- Maths – Working with Decimals; Geometry – Angles and Shapes
- English – Narrative Poetry (Falling Out of the Sky – Poems about Myths and Monsters); Greek Myths (Greeking Out – Epic Retellings of Classic Greek Myths)
- Science – Living Things and their Habitats (Life Processes)
- RE – Hinduism (What do Hindu people believe about God)
- History– Ancient Greece
- PSHE – Being My Best
- Art – Sculpture (Greek Vases; Artist Focus – Sam Shendi)
- Music – BBC Ten Pieces (In the Hall of the Mountain King)
- French – Where I am going; Days of the week; Time around the world
- Computing – Programming (Micro:bits)
Home Learning
All children are encouraged to complete a home learning project to build on their class learning.
Ideas for this half term….
- History – Learn the Greek alphabet! Create an alphabet chart featuring the letter symbols.
- History/Art – Paint a picture of a Greek god/goddess or a mythological monster.
- History/English – Find out about everyday sayings that are based on Ancient Greek Mythology – what does it mean to “Open Pandora’s box”, “To be caught between a rock and a hard place” or “To have an Achilles heel”?
- History/English – Write a news report of the ’12 Labours of Hercules’.
- PE – Compete in your own Ancient Olympics! Take photos and write a report for each event.
- Science – What plant and animal species are currently living in your garden? How does this change over the year? Create a scientific poster board to display the information.
These projects are designed to run alongside the learning for the half-term and should be handed in on or before Monday 19th May 2025.
Spelling
At All Saints’ Primary School, we follow the Read, Write Inc. spelling scheme in Key Stage 2. Please find the plan for the teaching of the remaining Year 5 units below; plus a link to a record of those taught already this year. You may find it helpful to practise words from the focus pattern each week.
| Week | Focus | Example Words |
| Easter Holidays | – | – |
| 21st April | Orange Words (Y5/6 National Curriculum Word List) | convenience, muscle, disastrous, neighbour, interfere |
| 28th April | Y5 Unit 11 – Words ending in shus spelt -tious | cautious, infectious, scrumptious, ambitious, nutritious, superstitious |
| 5th May | Orange Words (Y5/6 National Curriculum Word List) | average, desperate, temperature, vegetable, frequently, equipment |
| 12th May | Y5 Unit 12 – Words ending in shul spelt -cial or -tial | official, special, social, artificial, financial, essential, partial, confidential, initial |
| 19th May | Orange Words (Y5/6 National Curriculum Word List) | bruise, nuisance, recognise, criticise |
| Half-term | – | – |
| 2nd June onwards | Recap and Consolidation | All units from Year 5 |
Archive: Previous Year 5 patterns and example words
In addition, children in Y5 and Y6 are beginning to learn a specific word list (as set out in the National Curriculum, English Appendix 1) that can be found in the centre of the school reading record or accessed here.
Dates for the diary
PE days – Monday (Miss Hetherton), Thursday (Mr Megson)
Summer 1
Yorkshire Sculpture Park Visit – Wednesday 23rd April
British Sign Language Workshop – Monday 12th May
Summer 2
Y5/6 Sports Day – 17th June (pm)
Links to support learning
Reading
Please encourage your child to read daily for a minimum of 20 minutes. At least 3 reading sessions per week should be recorded in the school Reading Record. Children should all have a school reading book (that can be changed regularly) but should be encouraged to read other material as well.
Read more about English in Y5 in the National Curriculum Programmes of Study
Maths
Times Table Rock Stars (please ask if you need a reminder of your child’s login details) – all children are expected to be fluent in their tables up to 12 x 12 so regular practice is very helpful!
Written methods for addition, subtraction, short multiplication, long multiplication and short division are taught as in the pictures below.
Read more about maths in Y5 in the National Curriculum Programmes of Study
Other useful links
Wildlife Trust – facts about the European Otter!