🌳Welcome To Maple Class Webpage 🌳

On our page we will be sharing our learning experiences and providing key information to parents.

Our Class Teacher is Miss Williams.

Our Learning Support Assistants are Mrs Sadler and Mr Gill

Our P.E day is Tuesday. 

Maple's information 

In Maple class,  we are expected to complete the following homework challenges each week:

Reading: 📖

• Read independently or with an adult 5 times during the week (Friday - Friday).
• Please click the link below to find a recommended selection of Year 5 books for your child to enjoy. 

Maths: 🧮

• Complete 10 minutes daily on TTRS  to develop our fluency and application of the all of the times tables.
• Complete weekly tasks set on Mathletics.

Spellings:✍

•   Practise and complete a spelling test (Friday) based on the Year 5 / 6 spelling list. 

Key Website Links:

Our learning so far...

Autumn Term: English

During the first part of the half term, the Year 5’s English was a unit inspired by ‘The Barnabus Project’. We followed the thrilling escape of Barnabus, a "failed pet" longing for freedom. Building on the story's themes of individuality and courage, we created our own imaginative "failed creatures," each with unique quirks and backstories. Through vivid figurative language and carefully crafted fronted adverbials, we brought these creatures to life in our own escape scenes. we immersed ourselves in the challenge of blending action, emotion, and description, producing writing that was both adventurous and build tension.

Our second unit was based of the story of Zelda and the Rain Cat, which is a story that heavily focuses on suspense and tension. We dove into the setting of the story, explored how the language made the weather feel threatening and the impact that had on us as the reader. We looked at the way in which we could slowly reveal a threat by using empty words and vague description to make the reader feel uneasy. We used poetry and short burst writing to enhance and showcase our skills. Building up to our big write.

We focused on the following elements to create a story full of suspense and tension:
• Figurative language -> personification, metaphors and similes.
• Empty words to slowly reveal the threat.
• Effective verbs.
• Fronted adverbials to move the action along.
• Rhetorical questions to engage the reader.
• Sentence of 3.
• Showing emotion through action. 

Our third unit was based on ‘Why Rain Cats are extinct’, which is an explanation information text. As a part of this unit, we explored climate change and the impact it has had on animals going extinct.

We focused on the following writerly techniques to enhance our explanation text:
• Fronted adverbials to link ideas.
• Cause and effect conjunctions.
• Cause and effect sentences.
• Selecting technical vocabulary to sound like an expert.
• Rhetorical questions to engage the reader.
• Parenthesis to add extra information.
• Formal language.

Spring Term: English

During the first part of the half term, the Year 5’s English topic explored the writing media - Explanation texts. We explored what could cause the Rain Cats to go extinct and how to convince people to make a change to stop other animals from following the same fate. We took what we had learnt about explanation texts and adapted to other mythical creatures. After this, we took this further by writing an explanation text based on the Vikings.

Our next unit was based of the story of Beowulf and Grendel, which is a story that heavily focuses on action. We worked on ways we could make the action sound thrilling by using verbs that really empathised the fighting and how to move the action along effectively. We looked at how we could make the atmosphere seem dark to help build tension.

We focused on the following writing techniques:

• Fronted adverbials
• Parenthesis
• Rhetorical Questions
• Modal Verbs
• Formal Language
• Cause and effect language
• Figurative language
• Repeated -ed verbs
• Short sentences
• Sentences of 3

Autumn Term: Maths

During the Autumn term, we explored a range of new concepts as well as building upon our existing skills.

Below is a list of the key concepts we learned in the Autumn Term:

•        Place Value up to 1,000,000.
•        Rounding numbers within 1,000,000.
•        Addition.
•        Subtraction.
•        Multiplication -> Short and long methods.
•        Division -> Short method.
•        Factors, prime numbers, square numbers and cube numbers.
•        Finding equivalents to unit and non-unit fractions.
•        Converting improper fractions to mixed numbers.
•        Converting mixed numbers to improper fractions.
•        Adding and subtracting fractions.

Spring Term: Maths

During the Spring term, we explored a range of new concepts as well as building upon our existing skills.

Below is a list of the key concepts we learned in the Spring Term:

• Multiplying unit and non-unit fractions
• Calculating fractions of quantities and amounts
• Finding equivalent fractions and decimals
• Comparing and ordering decimals up to 3 decimal places.
• Rounding decimals to the nearest whole number and to 1 decimal place.
• Understanding percentages
• Percentages as fractions and decimals
• Identifying equivalent fractions, decimals and percentages
• Calculating and estimating perimeter and area of rectangles, rectilinear shapes and compound shapes
• Drawing, reading and interpreting graphs.

Autumn Term: Topic 'Vikings'

During the Autumn term we have been learning all about who the Vikings were and where they came from. Exploring why the Vikings embarked across seas in an attempt to invade and claim Britian’s land as their own. We followed their invasion patterns throughout the years and watched their invasion grow stronger. We recapped own sketching skills and are learning the delicate skill of using water colours in order to create a water colour painting.  

Meanwhile, in science, we have been doing tests, planning and conducting experiments and discussing our findings and evaluations all in aid of investigating the properties of materials.

In the other parts of the curriculum, we have also:

French -> Recapped our phonetic sounds in French. While also learned about the four seasons and the what the weather can be like during that time of the year.

Music -> We have explored the genre of music called the Blues. Singing and discussing how it makes us feel. We then learned to play chords and created a performance based on the blues scale and 12 bar blues.

Religious Education ->

·       We have been thinking like philosophers by discussing the question ‘Is believing in God reasonable?”. We explored different viewpoints and ending our learning by writing a balanced argument.

·       We have also been thinking like scientists by exploring the question ‘How has belief in Christianity and Islam impacted on music and art throughout history?’ We examined different types of artistic expression, the history and symbolism of religious art and the impacts of different cultures on art. We then ended our learning with a debate about the Hagia Sophia and its status as a museum vs a functioning mosque.

Computing -> We have explored what safe searching is and learnt tips to help keep us safe while searching online.

RSE: -> We have learnt about getting enough sleep, keeping clean and changes at puberty.

Spring Term: Topic 'Fairgrounds'

During the Spring term we have been learning all about fairgrounds. We have explored how forces like air resistance, gravity and water resistance work, using a range of experiments to investigate each force. We went to Chessington and found out how these forces are used to help fairground rides to work and stop. 

In the other parts of the curriculum, we have also:

French -> We learnt how to have basic conversations with other people. Learning how to say our names, ask others how they are and say where we live.

Music -> We explored south and western African music, learning to sing a traditional African song. We also learnt how to play different chords on the glockenspiel, this all worked up to our performance where we came together playing our instruments and singing. After, we had a go at using call and response rhythms on the drums.

Religious Education -> We have been thinking like philosophers by discussing the question ‘Why should we be good?’. Frist, we have explored and interpret Plato’s thought experiment ‘The Allegory of the Cave’. Next, we compared Karmic and Christian beliefs and how they affect moral behaviour. After, we examined the Buddhist teaching on how to live a good life.  Then we evaluated Kant’s philosophical moral behaviour. This all worked towards us composing an argument for ‘why should we be good?’ which included ideas from religious and philosophical concepts

RSE: -> We further discussed ways our bodies change at puberty. We explored how it is important sure we are eating healthy, or how to have safe friendships both online and offline. We also looked at how to keep ourselves safe on sunny days. 

Suggested Reading Books for Year 5