Welcome to Year 5
We are disappointed that we won’t get the opportunity to meet the parents as we normally would at the start of an academic year. We hope that we still get plenty of opportunities to interact and celebrate successes throughout the year.
Our classrooms
We have worked really hard on making sure our classrooms are still inviting and nurturing spaces as well as being ‘Covid Safe’. Seating arrangements will be a mix of pupil and teacher choice. Displays are updated regularly so they represent the learning that is taking place in the classes. In Year 5 we make our classrooms immersive in line with our Power of Reading book- which is ‘Shackleton’s Journey’. At the beginning of each half term, the classroom is decorated in a way that reflects our current learning. We also have a 'working wall' and interactive displays, such as:
We also have many pictures of us working and learning in school scattered around the room.
Our new Power of Reading text is Shackleton’s Journey
To celebrate Ernest Shackleton’s departure on “Endurance” across the Antarctic, star illustrator William Grill brings us a detailed visual narrative of this extraordinary and historical expedition.
Grill’s beautiful use of coloured pencils and vibrant hues place him somewhere on the artistic spectrum between Raymond Briggs and David Hockney, and his fastidious cataloguing of every single detail of the expedition is nothing short of a Blackstock collection.
Grill evokes the atmosphere and intrepid excitement that would have surrounded the expedition with his impeccably researched and detailed drawings. Children will love examining the exploded diagrams of the peculiar provision taken or the individual drawings of the sled dogs or pack horses. This book takes the academic and historical information surrounding the expedition and teams it with powerful illustration for all readers to enjoy.
Home Learning Expectations
At Dale Hall, we try to provide minimal home learning as we believe that time spent at home with loved ones is extremely valuable. However, we do have some tasks that we set in order to embed key learning concepts.
Spelling Shed- On Monday, we will introduce new words in line with the words on Spelling Shed. We will do a series of lessons based on these to help our understanding of what the words mean and how they are spelt. These words will have been set the previous Friday and will be available for 7 days until the new list is set. We recommend practising these words 2-3 times a week for 10 minutes.
This week’s words are:
|
Word
|
Definitions
|
Sentences
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| though |
CONJUNCTION although; despite the fact that CONJUNCTION if or but ADVERB however |
Dominic loved ice cream, though he hadn't had one for years. It was cold outside, though the sun was shining. It looks as though it may rain today. At least try to look as though you are working. That's the wrong answer, though |
|
| although |
CONJUNCTION even though; despite the fact that CONJUNCTION however; but |
Dinesh loved Italy, although he had never been there The team played well, althoughthey did not win. Dennis thought the plan would work, although he was worried about his team. "although the snow is deep, you still need to go to school." Although they did not make it, Tim and Jennifer still travelled far. |
|
| dough |
NOUN a mixture of flour and water that is kneaded together and used to make bread, pastry and biscuits |
Freddie rolled out the ball of doughto make his biscuits. She added too much water to the dough and it became very sticky. The pizza dough was the perfect thickness for the chef. There wasn't enough flour to make the bread dough. Although the oven was ready, the dough wasn't. |
|
| doughnut |
NOUN a sweet cake in the shape of ring that is made from fried dough |
Sana loved the look of a doughnut, though she didn't like the taste. Raj thought that the doughnut had more than enough sugar on it. After several days, the doughnutbegan to toughen up as it became stale. The hole in the middle of the doughnut was just big enough for George to stick his finger through. |
|
| rough |
ADJECTIVE uneven; bumpy; not smooth ADJECTIVE having too much force ADJECTIVE not complete or being an estimate |
It was a rough road and the car bounced up and down. The farmer pulled his plough through the rough ground. As Thomas climbed the tree, he scraped his skin on the rough bark of the bough. Carefully, she ran her hand over the rough wall of the cell. It had been a rough game of football at lunch time and several of the children where now limping. "Don't be so rough when you play with the kitten!" "I have a rough idea of how to get to the party, but I'm not totally sure." They had a rough plan of how to complete their mission. |
|
| enough |
ADJECTIVE as much of something as is needed ADJECTIVE as many things as needed |
Annabel had enough money to buy the ball. Yusef thought that he had enoughcake for his party. There weren't enough pieces to finish the puzzle. She knew she had enough time. I do not exercise enough. Dee had had enough of all the arguing. |
|
| tough |
ADJECTIVE strong and difficult to break ADJECTIVE strong and able to put up with a lot of difficulties ADJECTIVE (of food) difficult to cut up and chew ADJECTIVE difficult to do, understand or get through |
Although the wind was strong, the rope was tough and held the boat in place Motorcycle clothes are made of a tough material to protect the rider. The tests were hard but Holly was a tough person. Soldiers in the trenches had to be tough just to survive. Tough meat can ruin a meal. Kyle tried to break the bread apart but it was very tough. Although it was tough going, the team had to make it to the end. The rough plans made building the bridge tough. |
|
| plough |
NOUN a large, heavy farm tool that is pulled through the earth by a tractor or animal in order to turn over soil before planting seeds VERB to turn over soil using a heavy farm tool |
The farmer hitched his plough to the back of his tractor and set off. The plough tore through the soil like a great ocean ship. Though it was raining, Emily knew she had to go out and plough the fields. So strong was the plough, that it even went through tough ground. |
|
| bough |
NOUN a large branch of a tree |
Lightning flashed above in the storm clouds and the bough of tree crashed down on to the road. After climbing the rough trunk, Arnold edged along the bough to pick the fruit. Tweeting, the robin hopped along the bough of the tree looking for insects. |
|
| toughen |
VERB to make stronger and more able to deal with difficulties |
The team needed to toughen up more before they went on their hiking trip. The school wanted to toughen up the rules on mobile phones. |
TT Rockstars- On a weekly basis, we will go through who has been on TT Rockstars and reward those who have given it a go. We recommend that it is used daily for just 5 minutes (little and often is the key to mastery).
Reading- We encourage pupils to read a wide range of texts at home. In order to do this we are operating a reading challenge. When a pupil completes a book they earn points. Pupils can also accrue additional points by completing a 'Book Review' or a 'Reading Challenge Card'. Every time a pupil reaches a certain amount of points they move up to different levels. Each level entails a different reward. The 'Book Review' sheets and 'Reading Challenge Cards' can be found below as PDF files. You are under no obligation to print these off and pupils are welcome to complete these tasks of whatever they have to hand. Equally, if you let us know we can print off a blank version of these for the pupils to take home. Once a pupil has read a book, completed a review or a challenge card- please pop this on to their portfolio so a member of staff can log and tally their points. Pupils are welcome to take books from the classroom home, when they finish reading them we ask that they are brought back in so they can be exchanged for a new book. All books that are returned are quarantined for 3 days before being available to take home again.
Panthers Class Teacher
I am extremely excited about teaching in Year 5 again this year. We have a wonderful array of Power of Reading books which facilitate fun and engaging lessons. The topics we cover are brilliant to teach as they always captivate the children’s imagination. I will ensure children develop the process of independent thinking, learning and decision making- taking responsibility for how, when and where they learn best. My aim is to ensure pupils develop the independent thought that is key in their Year 6 learning- allowing the transition to be far less daunting.
Outside of school, my hobbies include: running, football and writing.