Cypress Tree Class 2023 - 2024
Welcome to Cypress Tree Class
Year 5 and Year 6
Class Teacher: Mrs Fairman
Our Learning:
The Way, The Truth and The Life
Our topic for this half term is 'Exploring the Mass'.
In this unit the children will learn about the different parts of the Mass, particularly the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. They will learn about the first Passover and show an understanding of the links between it and the Last Supper Jesus had with his disciples. They will reflect on the importance of the body and blood of Christ for Catholics.
English - Reading
Daily reading is a key priority in primary school and we actively encourage children to read as much as possible at home to help further develop their fluency and comprehension skills. Every child will be able to bring home a banded reading book from school. These will be assigned to children by their class teacher following a short reading assessment. These can be changed regularly in school. Every child is also encouraged to have a 'Reading for Pleasure' book.
Within our Whole Class Reading lessons, we will be exploring a variety of texts within a variety of genres. This will give children plenty of opportunities to practise their reading comprehension skills and learn about new things.
Our current class novel is 'The Last Wild' by Piers Torday.
English - Writing
Our focus text for this half term is Plastic Planet. Using our key text, the children will work towards writing an explanation about plastic and the impact it has on the environment.
Throughout the unit, children will work towards mastery the Mastery Keys outlined below.
Mastery Keys (Year 5)
Use devices to build cohesion within a paragraph.
Extend the range of sentences with more than one clause by using a wider range of conjunctions.
Use relative clauses beginning with who, which, where, when, whose, that or an omitted relative pronoun
Mastery Keys (Year 6)
Use relative clauses beginning with who, which, where, when, whose, that or an omitted relative pronoun (Y5)
Use a wider range of devices to build cohesion e.g. Conjunctions, synonyms, adverbials, punctuation
Use a colon to introduce a list and use semi-colons within lists
Maths
In Maths, we follow Power Maths. This allows children to develop their fluency, reasoning and problem solving skills.
During this half term, our topics are:
-Decimals
Throughout the week, children are given many opportunities to practise their arithmetic skills.
Science
Our Science topic for this half term is Living Things and their Habitats. Throughout this unit, children will practise using a variety of scientific skills to help them learn:
|
A key can be used to classify organisms. Micro-organisms are viruses, bacteria and fungi. Carl Linnaeus developed a classification key to show how closely related organisms are to one another. |
History
This half term, we will be exploring:
'Is everyone affected by the rule of law?'
Within this unit, the children will investigate how law has changed over time. They will focus on the Magna Carta and how this changed how King John ruled. As they develop their skills, they will be researching and analysing sources to expand their knowledge and help to draw their own conclusions.
Geography
This term, we will be exploring:
'How could we make our local area more environmentally friendly?'
Within this unit, the children will investigate how we could make our local area more environmentally friendly. The class will begin by exploring the impacts humans have on the environment (both positive and negative). The class will then research and investigate the most environmentally friendly countries within the world, make comparisons between different countries and look at how they are ranked before learning about landfills and the importance of recycling.
Art
This half term, we will explore the skill of drawing, in particular 'Painting and Mixed Media - building layers'. Throughout this topic, children will critically evaluate the work of Fiona Rae and use this to help inform their final piece.
Music
Music sessions will be delivered by Junior Jam. This half term, we will be focusing on 'Songwriting with Glockenspiels'.
Computing
Computing sessions will be delivered by Junior Jam.
PE
Our P.E. day for this half term is Monday. Children should come to school in their kit.
All kit must be clearly labelled, and appropriate footwear must be worn. Jewellery, including earrings, must not be worn during P.E. days. School hoodies and jogging bottoms can be purchased online with school uniform.
Personal Development
At St Luke's, RHE is taught using a scheme created by 'Ten:Ten'. Our first topic is Created to Love Others. Building on the understanding that we have been created out of love and for love, this module explores how we take this calling into our family, friendships and relationships, and teaches strategies for developing healthy relationships and keeping safe both online and in our daily lives. We will also be using MyHappyMind to help the children learn about emotions and how to self-regulate.
Homework
Homework will be set on Google Classroom.
Useful websites to support home learning:
We encourage all pupils to access these websites on a weekly (and sometimes daily) basis.
Please see below for our long term overviews.
Communication
Messages will mainly be sent using School Spider; please turn on notifications for the app so that you are alerted to new messages/emails. I am always happy to discuss any worries, concerns or general queries you may have. Please feel free to send an email or make an appointment through the school office.
