Squirrel Class (Year 5) 2026 - 2027

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the class page for Squirrel Class.

Class Staff

Teacher: Miss Hought

Teaching Assistants: Mrs Chadwick and Mrs Harrison

Here you will find all of the exciting and wonderful things that your child will be learning during their time in Year 5. If you have any questions, please use Class Dojo or speak to a member of our team at drop off/ pick up.

Thank you. 

Autumn 1

Our English text for Autumn 1 is Curiosity by Markus Motom. 

Based on the remarkable true story of the Mars rover Curiosity, this beautifully illustrated book follows the rover’s incredible journey from Earth to the surface of Mars, where it begins its mission to explore the planet and search for clues about its past. Through detailed illustrations and engaging storytelling, children will discover the challenges of space exploration, the importance of perseverance and the remarkable achievements of science and technology.

The book provides excellent opportunities for discussion, reading comprehension and creative writing, while encouraging children to explore themes of curiosity, discovery, determination and problem-solving. It also offers opportunities for children to develop their understanding of non-fiction storytelling, consider different perspectives and imagine what it would be like to explore a world beyond our own.

In reading, we will be exploring a mix of different genres, such as stories, poems, and facts, so children can explore all kinds of writing. By reading a range of texts, children not only improve their reading but also start to enjoy different types of books. This scheme helps them become more confident readers while learning about new ideas and topics.

We will be using our different VIPERS skills: Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve and Summarise to

improve our understanding of what we read.

'Reading for Pleasure' has great amounts of benefits for your child. In Year 5, we ensure your child has time to read for pleasure and we set time aside to read our class book. 

Benefits of 'reading for pleasure':

Inspires imagination and creativity.

Enrinches cultural awareness and understanding. 

Increases empathy and improves relationships with others.

Lifts well-being levels and improves mood.

Improves progress in vocabulary, spelllings and even maths.

                                             Encourages children to take a screen break.

Read with your child every day even if it is just 2 minutes- this can make all the difference. 
Record in their reading diaries to ensure that your child is receiving their stamp for their book from the vending machine, or reading buddy. 

You could ask your child about what they think might happen next in the story, how do they think the character is feeling, who is the author and what do they do. 

During Autumn Term, we will be focusing on the following: Place Value, Addition and Subtraction, Multiplication and Fractions.

We would like children to continue using Times Tables Rock Starts. Times Tables knowledge is so important! It is used in all areas of maths. If your child can rapidly recall them, this will support them when solving challenging maths fluency and problem solving questions. 

Children will have ongoing access to their TT Rockstars logins at home.Please ensure that your child is practising them at home as it is very beneficial for their learning.

If you have misplaced your child's login, please drop me a message on Class Dojo and I will resend for you.

This half term in Science, we will be learning about Space.

This term, Year 5 will be studying Space in Science. Children will explore our place in the Solar System and develop their understanding of the Sun, Moon and planets. They will learn about the movement of the Earth and other planets, as well as how the Earth’s rotation creates day and night.

Throughout the unit, pupils will investigate the relationship between the Earth, Moon and Sun and explore the apparent movement of the Sun across the sky. They will use models and practical activities to develop their understanding of how the Earth and Moon move through space and why we experience different phases of the Moon.

This exciting and thought-provoking unit encourages curiosity, questioning and scientific thinking while helping children develop an understanding of our place in the vastness of space and the forces and movements that shape our Solar System.

Your child will have a music lesson each week where they will learn to explore their musical abilities.

This term, Year 5 will be developing their understanding of composition and notation in Music. Children will explore how musicians use rhythm, melody, pitch and dynamics to create and communicate musical ideas.

Throughout the unit, pupils will compose their own pieces, experiment with different musical elements and learn how to record their ideas using appropriate musical notation. They will rehearse, perform and evaluate their compositions, working both independently and collaboratively.

This creative unit encourages experimentation, confidence and musical independence while developing children's ability to compose, notate and perform their own music.

Your child will have 2 P.E lessons each week. Please see the uniform timetable below for the days where PE kit or Forest School kit will be needed. This half term we will be having lessons in Dodgeball and Gymnastics. 

Other useful links:

Please see below links to useful websites for your child to use when they are at home. I will be adding to the list throughout the course of the year so please make sure you check for updated links.

Oxford Owl - Linked to our phonics Read, Write Inc programme https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/free-ebooks/   

Story Nory - A range of stories by classic authors as well as poems musicals and fairytales. https://www.storynory.com/archives/classic-authors 

Story Berries- Read along with audio clips. https://www.storyberries.com

Monkey Pen-  Free downloadable children’s books in PDF format. https://monkeypen.com/pages/free-childrens-books

Free Children’s Stories-  https://www.freechildrenstories.com

Keeping Safe Online-  www.esafety.gov.au/kids 

Topmarks- A great way for children to practise many of their maths skills https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=16&AgeGroup=3

Newsround is a very good outlet for your child to watch each day to gain a wider understanding of what is happening not only in our country, but the rest of the world. We will be watching newsround every afternoon in class.