Skylarks 2023 - 2024

Welcome to Skylarks’ Class Page 

Our class teacher is Miss Beattie and our teaching assistant is Mr Beswick. 

Mrs Campion will be teaching the Class on Mondays and Mr Ault will teach PE.

We can’t wait to go on an exciting learning journey with you this year!

Look what we learn about in Year 5:

Year 5 Pupil Voice:

"Our teachers and teaching assistants are all very nice and supportive. They make our lessons fun and help us whenever we need it."

"My favourite thing about school is the friendships that I have made. There are no outsiders in our school so I always feel welcome."

"Year 5 is my favourite year because we get to learn about the salt industry and visit the Lion Salt Works. We also get to go on a trip to Tatton to spend the day living like an Anglo-Saxon."

Flourish 

Skylarks Class have been lucky enough to welcome 'Flourish' into our classroom this year. Flourish Well-Being works in partnership with schools across Wirral and Cheshire and aims to promote and improve the positive mental health and well-being of children and young people.

They build a personalised and bespoke programme to have maximum impact. During your child’s sessions, they will be discussing and teaching strategies that will improve their confidence, emotional wellbeing, and mental health.

Phase 1 2023 (September - February Half Term)

Writing

This term we will be focusing on two lovely texts to inspire our writing. First, we will be focusing on writing a series of diary entries based on the book ‘Queen of the Falls’ by Chris Van Allsburg. During this unit of work we will be using commas after fronted adverbials and to clarify meaning, as well as organising paragraphs around a theme. 

We will then be reading ‘The Lost Happy Endings’ by Carol Ann Duffy and Jane Ray. We will use this enchanting story to help us write our own traditional tale. We will be focussing on developing characters and settings through selecting effective vocabulary and integrating speech to move the action along.

During the Spring Term we will focus on a further two texts to inspire our writing. First, we will be exploring Norse Mythology and writing our own myths based on the book 'Arthur and the Golden Rope' by Joe Todd-Stanton. This will fit in wonderfully with our learning on the Vikings in the foundation subjects. During this unit of work we will focus on using expanded noun phrases, relative clauses, paragraphs and commas to avoid ambiguity.

Maths

During the Autumn Term will be working to consolidate our maths learning from Year 4 and introduce new Year 5 concepts. We will be focusing on Place Value of numbers within 1,000,000, the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and statistics (graphs and tables).

History and Geography

During the Autumn Term we will explore our class theme ‘Identity’. We will be developing our inquiry skills by asking and answering historical questions about our local ancestors and will be completing a local history study on Lostock Gralam. We will also explore questions about who we are, where we come from and how Lostock has changed over time. We will learn about key aspects of Northwich's history including the Lion Salt Works, Anderton Boat Lift and Robert's Bakery. 

Science 

In the Autumn Term we will explore the topic 'Materials and their Properties'. We will work collaboratively to group together materials based on their properties, including their hardness, solubility, transparency, conductivity and response to magnets. We will also work scientifically to demonstrate that dissolving, mixing and changes of state are reversible changes. 

RE

In RE, we will focus on the concepts of 'Discipleship' and 'Incarnation'. In Autumn 1, we will work to answer the key question 'How does the Sermon on the Mount help Christians to follow Jesus?' In Autumn 2, we will look at the key question 'Why are the titles given to Jesus at Christmas time?'

PE

Please note that PE for your child will be on a Monday and Friday during the Autumn Term. Your child should come to school dressed in their PE kit on this day.

Homework

Maths

Children in Skylarks Class will be set a weekly maths homework to further support their understanding of the mathematical concepts we have covered in school. This homework will be set on a Friday and should be completed, marked and returned to school the following Friday. Your child will record the page number in the homework diary each week. 

If for any reason your child is unable to complete their homework at home, please encourage them to speak to Mr Beswick or I as we would be happy to set aside some time to go through this with them. 

Times Tables

Times Tables will remain a big focus for us this year. It is very important that children are fluent in their times table facts as they form the basis of many other mathematical concepts. Children will be set a specific table to learn and will be tested on a weekly basis. We encourage all children to practice their times tables at home. A fun way to do this is on Times Tables Rock Stars and Hit the Button. You will find your child’s login for TTRS stuck in their homework diary.

Reading and Spellings

Your child will bring home a lovely book from school to enjoy reading at home. When your child reads at home, either independently or with you, they should record this in their homework diary and have it signed by an adult. Children should spend 20 minutes reading each evening. 

Spellings will be stuck into homework diaries on a Friday and tested the following Friday. Please spend 5 minutes daily practicing your child’s spellings with them. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact. 

Miss Beattie x