Year 5 curriculum letter

AUTUMN TERM 2011 21st September 2011 Dear Parents and children, Welcome back and I hope you all had a lovely summer. I am looking forward to a busy and exciting term in Athens Base. If you would like to see me for a chat, after school is a good time and I would be delighted to meet you.

This term our main topic is ‘All the fun of the fair’. We shall be learning about Fairgrounds and Theme Parks: finding out about the largest big wheels in the world, how rides have developed from using simple manpower to the latest technologies, making models of rides and creating our own theme parks. The topic will be used to provide exciting learning opportunities for all areas of the curriculum. For example, when the children create their own theme park they will be using mathematical skills to calculate the cost of installing different rides and they will produce a leaflet that will persuade people to come and visit the park.

Many learning opportunities in Science and Design and Technology will be explored. We have already found out how some rides work and the forces that make the ride enjoyable - for some! Watch the videos from on the website below and think of the different moving parts. http://www.funfairs.ndirect.co.uk/Videoclips/index.htm Our main Science topic for this half of term is ‘gases’. During the second half of term our theme will be ‘Space: Earth, Sun and Moon’.

Mathematics learning will include multiplication facts, number sequences and the properties of different triangles. When learning about the different operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, we will concentrate on developing mental methods. This year I am keen to develop children’s communication and reasoning skills in mathematics so whenever children have maths homework they should be encouraged to explain what they are doing.

Short PE lessons will take place every morning to help get the children ready for the day; so they need to have their PE kit every school day. One group has begun swimming lessons on Tuesday afternoon, after half term it will be the other groups turn.

I shall be setting homework on a Monday to be handed in on the following Monday. They will have a spelling test on the same day – lists should be in home learning books. Most importantly, please make sure your child is reading regularly Best wishes, Mr Nick Osborne