The St. Teresa Catholic Primary School
Bowes Road Dagenham Essex RM8 2XJ
Telephone : 020 8270 4757 website: www.st-teresa.co.uk
Headteacher : Mr M. Corcoran
Autumn Term Curriculum Letter 2014 – Year 5
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope you all have had a lovely summer and a restful break. We look forward to all
the wonderful things that are happening in term one.
General Information
In Year 5, we change our reading books on a Monday morning and our Library book on
a Thursday afternoon so please ensure your child has their books in their bag on
these days. In addition to this the children should have at least one of their reading
books in their bag daily. We have a spelling test every Friday morning. The children
will have an opportunity to practice their spellings every morning in school as well as
for homework. Flute lessons will begin Monday 8th September for the whole class.
Topics and Themes
Our new IPC topic for this term is based on classical civilisations in particular
Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans.
In History, we’ll be:
Finding out about the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta
Exploring the political systems in Athens and Sparta
Finding out about the Persian Wars and their impact on Greece
Learning about Athenian life by studying the Parthenon
Finding out about the origins of the Olympic Games
Planning and performing our own Greek play
Finding out about Alexander the Great
Discovering why Rome had a republic and then an emperor
Finding out about daily life in Ancient Rome
Exploring the impact of Roman invasion on another country
Understanding the cause and effect of the fall of the Roman Empire
Learning about people and culture through archaeological evidence
Performing a case-study of Britain, from Roman occupation to the Norman Conquest
In Music, we’ll be:
Learning about the role of the Greek chorus and writing our own songs
In Art, we’ll be:
Finding out about Ancient Greek and Roman art
Creating our own piece of art in a Greek or Roman style
RE
Please see the attached ‘Come and See’ newsletter for information on the autumn
term RE topics and how you can support at home.
Maths
In maths this term we will be following the Collins Connect maths plans. In The Autumn
term we will focus on place value to five digits, properties of 2d and 3d shapes,
multiplication and division by 10, 100 and 1000, fractions, measurements and time. Time
tables are essential for all of our class work and should continue to be a focus at home.
The class will all have access to Maths Whizz (an online maths tutoring programme) with
their own log in details. The children should do at least two 30 minute sessions at home
using the programme to ensure progress.
English
In English this term we will be looking at a range of narrative poetry beginning with The
HighwayMan. The class will look at aspects of effective vocabulary through a range of
classic poems. Later in the term the class will be focusing on the book War Horse. We will
work on sentence structure and extended pieces of creative writing throughout the term.
Reading
The children should be reading regularly at home, either to you, or independently. They
have a reading record which they should complete each week with any books they have
read. Reading records should also be signed or commented upon regularly by either parents
or older siblings etc. In Year 5, we change our reading books every Monday so please
ensure your child has their reading books and reading record in their bags.
Homework
Homework in Year 5 is, as usual, handed out on Monday and should be returned on Friday
morning. The children have a list of spellings to learn and most weeks this will be
accompanied by a piece of English and Maths homework. It would be helpful if you could
ensure that both homework books are covered in either sticky-backed plastic or wrapping
paper by Monday 22nd September- this will help to keep the books in a good condition over
the course of the year.
How Parents Can Help
Always talk to your child about what they have been doing each day. You will often find
that simply asking ‘what did you do today’ will get a very limited response. Try asking them
‘open’ questions such as ‘What questions did you ask today?’ ‘What was the most
challenging thing you did today in class?’ ‘What was the most interesting fact you found
out today?’ ‘What did you do today that you would like to try again?’ Make sure you
continue to make use of our local libraries as they are a great resource and really
encourage a love of reading.
Thank you for all your support and please do not hesitate to come and speak to us if you
have any questions or queries about your child.
Yours sincerely,
Miss G Hughes