Year 5

History

In history, we will be studying The Victorians with a focus on local history. We will be exploring the main changes that took place during this time and considering why so many people decided to move into the towns and villages and, in particular, Upper Tean. We will be finding out about the lives of children who worked in the factories and mills and will tie this in with a visit so the children can experience first-hand what it would have been like. Through looking at the census, we will find out who lived in Upper Tean at that time and the jobs that they did. We will be discussing the arrival of the railways and the impact this had on the local area and finding out what schooling was like at that time.  Our topic will culminate with a debate on the Victorian period. Was it a dark age as some historians claim or a golden age of radical change and progress? It will be up to the children to decide!

Our geography topic for the autumn term is Coasts and Deserts. We will be locating coastlines on OS maps and identifying some of the human and physical geographical features of them. We will talk about erosion and deposition and discover how headlands, caves, stacks and stumps are formed. The children will work in groups to produce models which demonstrate their understanding of this and have the opportunity to present their work. They will be able to define what a desert is and will look at maps and atlases to identify where the world’s major deserts are. We will be exploring the different types of deserts, how they are formed and how they are used by humans. The children will consider what it might be like to live in a desert. How would their lives differ from how they live now? To end our topic, we will be considering some of the long-term effects of desertification and producing posters to suggest how some of these issues might be tackled.

Design and Technology

In the first half of the autumn term our topic will be ‘Structures’. Through this unit, will be developing the children’s understanding of secure structures and introduce them to measuring, sawing and joining wood accurately. After learning about different types of bridges and exploring how the strength of structures can be affected by the shapes used, the children will create their own wooden bridge and test its durability to discover the best design.

In the second half of the autumn term, our topic will be ‘Mechanical Systems’. The children will use the knowledge and skills gained in lower KS2 about levers, linkages and moving mechanisms to create more complex mechanisms. After choosing a simple story, the children will create a pop-up story book design. They will incorporate a range of mechanisms including levers, sliders, and spacers. They will then have the opportunity to share their finished product with our new Reception children.

English

To tie in with our history unit on the Victorians/ local history, we will be beginning this term by reading and exploring the novel, ‘Street Child’ by Berlie Doherty. This tells the true story of an orphan in Victorian London whose plight inspired Dr Barnardo to set up his children’s homes. The writing genres will be covering are:

• Setting description
• Instructions
• Non chronological report
• Persuasive text

Maths

The maths units we will be covering in the autumn term are:

• Place value within 1000, 000
• Addition and subtraction- adding and subtracting whole numbers with more than 4 digits, multi -step word problems using addition and subtraction.
• Multiplication and Division- factors, prime numbers, square numbers, cube numbers, multiplying and dividing by 10, 100, 1000.
• Fractions- equivalent fractions, improper fractions, comparing factions, adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers.

Art

In art this term, we will be exploring the life and work of L.S. Lowry. We will be looking particularly closely at how he drew the human form and sketching figures for our own work in a similar style. We will explore the colour palette that he used and consider the mood that this suggested. Though experimentation in our art books, we will design a watercolour study of our own local area in the style of L.S Lowry. Our artists will then display their finished paintings in a gallery for parents to view.