Welcome to the wonderful world of Year 5C!!

Autumn 1 - 2026

Welcome to Upper Key Stage 2! I hope you all had a super summer holiday and enjoyed the sunshine wherever you were.

On our class page you will be able to find information about this half term's learning.

At the bottom of this page I have attached this years topic overview, homework and spelling sheets.

                                                                                              English

During our English lessons this term, we will be looking at the novel Viking Boy by Tony Bradman which links to our History topic. Our end goal is to create our own battlefield recount and also a newspaper article based on the text. We will be looking at key features (the 5Ws, direct speech and quotes) and how writing as the reader (understanding audience and purpose) has a huge impact on writing. We will be working on developing our language and vocabulary, understanding how well-chosen words can play a huge part in writing success.  We will also be focusing on sentence structures and how to use them and manipulate them for effect.

SPaG skills are embedded into all our English lessons. 

In Guided Reading, we will be looking at a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts. 

Maths

This half term in Maths, we will start with the topic of Place Value before moving on to Addition and Subtraction.  We will recap prior learning from Year 4 before moving on to our Year 5 objectives. Some of the objectives we will cover during this unit are:

• Read, write, order and compare numbers to at least 1,000,00
• Round any number up to 1,000,000 to the nearest 10, 100, 1000, 10,000 and 100,000
• Count forwards or backwards in steps of 10 for any given number up to 1,000,000
• Interpret negative numbers in context
• Calculate the area and perimeter of squares, rectangles and related irregular shapes
• Add and subtract whole numbers with more than 4 digits including using formal written methods
• Add and subtract numbers mentally

Don't forget a really easy way to practice your times tables at home is by using TT Rockstars. Knowing your times tables up to 12x12 helps with a lot of different topics in Maths.

Here are some useful websites:

https://ttrockstars.com/

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games

https://nrich.maths.org/

Topic

In our Geography topic this term, we will be looking at the Vikings and trying to answer this enquiry question: Were the Vikings ruthless invaders or resourceful settlers?  We will first look at where we would place the Vikings on a British history timeline. Then we will investigate where the Vikings came from (using maps) and where they settled. We will move on to exploring the invasion of Lindisfarne and write a newspaper article about this subject. We will understand how the Danelaw was established in Britain and discuss the role of King Alfred during the reign of the Vikings. Finally we will explore what life was like for Vikings living in Britain.

Science

Our Science topic for this half term is ‘Space and the Planets’. During this unit, we will be learning to:

• Name, order and describe the features of the planets
• Explain why we know the Earth, Sun and the Moon are spherical
• Describe the movement of the Earth and other planets
• Explain night and day and the apparent movement of the Sun across the sky
• Explain the movement of the Moon and its phases

Religion

Our Topic in RE is 'Creation and Covenant'.  We will begin by understanding what makes people happy/ After this we will describe and learn what a covenant is and recognise God's covenant with Moses. We will also think about the language  and meaning of the Ten Commandments and discuss what 'loving your neighbour' means.  Finally, we will begin to understand what virtues and habits of happiness are.

PSHE and Mindfulness

PSHE and Mindfulness

Interweaved throughout all of our topics is the importance of self-care and reflection. At home we encourage you  to use a  journal to write down our thoughts, feelings and emotions which is key to regulating how we are throughout each day like we do in class. Additionally, we will post some online meditation and yoga you can practice at home.

Homework-  Here are the Home Learning tasks that pupils should complete each week. If you need any support accessing these resources, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

1) Reading - Pupils should be reading for 10-15 minutes every night. Pupils can change their books as and when they need to in the Class Library or the KS2 Library. Year 5/6 pupils are welcome to bring in books from home. Please help your child to record their reading in their Reading Record. Listening to your child read can support their fluency, develop their comprehension skills, and help them to progress.

https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-lists-for-ks2-school-pupils/suggested-reading-list-for-year-5-pupils-ks2-age-9-10/ Here are some recommended reads - how many of these books have you read?

2. Reading Eggs – Children have a weekly comprehension assignment to complete on Reading Eggs.

Reading eggs makes learning to read interesting and engaging for kids, with great online reading games and activities. Children love the games, songs, golden eggs and other rewards which, along with feeling proud of their reading, really motivate children to keep exploring and learning.

3. My Maths  - Children have a weekly assignment to complete on MyMaths that will help them to practise the skills we have been learning in school.

Pupils can also access Mathseeds (using their Reading Eggs login) and TT Rockstars for fluency practice.

4. Spellings – practice daily

Pupils have 10 spellings to learn per week, on which they will be tested every Friday. A copy of the spellings is available below. 

5. Learning logs –  In Autumn 2 (November, December), pupils will have a home learning project to complete. At the end of the half-term, they will bring in their project to share and celebrate with their peers.

Well done on reaching the bottom of the Year 5 Class Page. 

A prize* to the first pupil who tells Mr Clare the answer to this tricky riddle: What has cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and rivers but no water?  *Disclaimer: the prize may not be of a high quality!