Year 5 Book Map 

Term 1 -  When the Mountain roared by Jess Butterworth

When the Mountains Roared is the second novel from Jess Butterworth after her first book, Running on the Roof of the World. It has been chosen as a class reader due to its rich descriptive text and because it explores an important theme about preservation. It is also closely linked with our geographical enquiry based on mountains. 

If you enjoy this book, here are some suggestions of other books you might like to read. 

Term 2-

‘Street Child’ by Berlie Doherty

‘Another Twist in the Tale’ by Catherine Bruton

These texts have been chosen to support our historical enquiry as they are set in Victorian times. Another Twist in the Tale has also been chosen for its rich descriptive language with a particular focus on life for women in Victorian Britain.

Term 3 - The Jamie Drake Equation by Christopher Edge

We will be reading this text this term to link with our scientific enquiry based on the theme of space. Have a look at the blurb to see what you think!

If you enjoy books and stories about space, check out this book list for other great stories to read. 

Term 4 and 5 - 'Who Let the Gods Out' by Maz Evans

Although not set in Ancient Greece, we will be reading Who Let the Gods Out as it is a chance for the Ancient Greek Gods to make an appearance in modern times. 

This is one of Mrs McKenzie's favourite modern books as it is full of humour, adventure and cliff hangers. By the time we complete this book, you will be desperate to read the rest of the series!

If you want to know more about Maz Evans, you could read this blog where she answers some key questions. 

Term 5 - Holes by Louis Sachar

When we have finished, 'Who Let the Gods out?' we will start our next Text Holes. This text has been chosen to help us understand an author's use of flashbacks.

Mrs McKenzie really enjoys this book as the more you read, the more of the mystery you uncover;  it will also keep you guessing, and solving the puzzle, right to the very end. 

Once we have read, if you enjoyed it as much as Mrs McKenzie, here is a blog of suggested reads for when you have finished the book. 

Term 1 - The Ridge

This term, we are focusing our writing based on Danny MacAskill - The Ridge. The outcomes of this topic are for the children to be able to write a re-count.  The skills the children will be learning are to use expanded noun phrases, fronted adverbials and to show how people are feeling instead of telling us. 

Spellings, we are following the Read, Write Inc Scheme which has a different focus each week. The children get to practice their new skills in these lessons and transfer them into their writing.

Term 2 - Oliver Twist

This term, our writing is centred on Charles Dickens and his book of Oliver Twist. We will be learning about life in a Victorian workhouse and how Oliver escaped and met a new friend, Jack Dawkins, or the Artful Dodger as he is better known.

Using our new knowledge, we will be writing a diary entry from the perspective of a Victorian child who is living in the workhouse. The children will be writing a setting description of the workhouse and role playing a conversation between Oliver Twist and the Artful Dodger. The children will then be using this knowledge to plan and write a narrative based on Oliver Twist meeting the Artful Dodger.

Our next outcome will be to learn more about Charles Dickens himself. Through research, the children will be writing a biography based on his life.

Term 3 - Pandora

In Term 3, we will be using a film clip based on a fictional planet called Pandora. We will be imagining that we are the first ever children to visit the planet and using this to create a VLOG, write a newspaper article, about our experience, and writing a non-chronological report about a creature from Pandora. 

Within our writing, we will be focusing on using a variety of sentence openers and structures, to help build cohesion, and we will be adding additional details using parenthesis. Within our newspaper articles, we will also be looking at direct and indirect speech and how to punctuate this correctly. 

Term 4 - Greek Myths

This term, to link with our historical enquiry about Ancient Greece, we will be using a range of Greek Myths to provide a stimulus for our writing.

We will start the term reading different versions of Pandora's box. We will then use the different versions to write our own description of Pandora. After that, we will write a formal letter of apology, from Pandora, to the world.

Following this, we will be learning about the Midas touch. We will look at different types of texts linked with this and we will use the story structure to write our own modern day myth. Within this, we will be using speech to move the story forward and we will need to ensure we use a range of punctuation accurately. 

Finally, we will be writing descriptions of Greek mythical creatures.

Within all of our written work, we will be developing our understanding of sentence structures and ensuring we use a range of accurate punctuation. 

Term 5 - "Just So Stories" by Rudyard Kipling

During Term 5, we will be studying some of the works of Rudyard Kipling. We will start the term by learning about his life and studying his poem "If". 

We will then move on to his collection of tales, "Just So Stories", with a focus on "How the Whale got its throat", "How the camel hot its hump" and "How the Rhinoceros got its skin".  We will carefully study these to help us understand his writing style, before we work towards writing our own Just So Story narrative based on a different animal. 

Using Rudyard's Kipling style, we will need to develop our understanding of addressing the audience with asides and using a range of vocabulary to develop engagement with the audience. We will also continue to develop our use of descriptive techniques and different sentence structures to engage the reader. 

Rudyard Kipling wrote these stories based on the stories he told his daughter at bedtime. Because of this, we will be writing and performing our own narratives for pupils in Key Stage One.  

Year 5 Maths Long Term Plan

Term 1- Place Value and Addition and Subtraction

The first term starts with the children learning place value of numbers up to one million. They will be able to read, write, order and compare numbers to at least a million and determine the value of each digit. Also included in this unit, we will be rounding any number up to 1 million to the nearest 10, 100, 1000, 10000 and 100000.

As the term continues, we will be moving onto addition and subtraction. In this unit, the children will be learning to add and subtract whole numbers with more than 4 digits, using formal written methods. They will be learning the skill of adding and subtracting mentally, using rounding to check answers and focusing on multi-step problems.

Our final unit for term one will be multiplying. In this unit, the children will be learning to multiply numbers up to 4 digits by a 1 digit number using formal written methods.

To help at home, the children can practice their skills by logging onto IXL and TTRockstars.

Term 2- Multiplication, Fractions and Geometry

In Term two, we will start learning about multiples, all factor pairs and common factors of two numbers. We then move onto prime numbers, where we will establish if a number up to 100 is a prime number. Our next area of learning will be recognising and using squared and cubed numbers. This will then flow nicely into multiplying and dividing whole numbers and decimals by 10, 100 and 1000. As we approach the middle of the term, we move onto fractions. In this unit, we will be learning to identify, name and write equivalent fractions and then recognising mixed numbers and improper fractions and converting them. To finish this unit, we will be comparing and ordering fractions. To finish the term, we will be learning about Geometry. We start the unit by comparing and classifying triangles and quadrilaterals and then move on to identifying, describing and representing shapes following reflection and translation.

Term 3- Multiplication and Fractions 

This term, we will be continuing with our work on multiplication and using our existing knowledge to support us with formal written methods for long multiplication. We will then be revisiting short division and learning how to interpret remainders. After this, we will be returning to our work on fractions with a focus on adding and subtracting fractions, including fractions with different denominators, and then multiplying fractions by whole numbers. 

Term 4 - Fractions, Decimals and Percentages, Geometry and Measure (Area and Perimeter)

This term, we will be starting by retrieving knowledge from Year 4 linked with decimal numbers with 2 decimal places. We will then be building on this knowledge to link our understanding of decimals with fractions. We will also be developing our accuracy when rounding numbers to the nearest whole number as well as to 1 decimal place. After this, we will start to learn the new mathematical concept- percentages. This will start with understanding what a percentage is before we link our understanding with decimals and fractions.

Our next unit, will be an opportunity to revisit our understanding of 2d and 3d shapes.

Finally, we will complete a unit of work linked with measurement; in particular area and perimeter. We will be retrieving skills from Year 4 and then building on this to calculate area and perimeter of compound shapes using different units of measure. 

Term 5 - Angles, Decimals and Statistics

We will start this term with a focus on angles. We will start by retrieving our prior learning linked with naming and describing angles. We will then move on to understanding how to measure angles and combining this knowledge to help us estimate the size of angles. We will then work on our precision to ensure we are able to accurately measure and draw different angles. We will then be applying this knowledge to help us develop our understanding of different 2d shapes. 

Following our work on angles, we will return to work linked with fractions, decimals and percentages with a focus on numbers with up to 3 decimal places. We will use this knowledge to help us compare and order decimal numbers and then accurately round decimal numbers.

We will finish the term with a focus on statistics; in particular reading and interpreting different types of table. 

Term 1: Materials

Why are certain objects made from particular materials?

This term, the children will be comparing and grouping together everyday materials on the basis of their properties, including their hardness, transparency and conductivity (electrical and thermal).

Throughout the term, the children will be carrying out their own investigations, making comparisons and carrying out fair tests through experiments and making their own decisions on how to record and present their evidence using scientific language. 

 Term 2: Forces

This term, our learning is focused on forces with the outcome to answer the big question:

‘What is a force and how can they help us?’

With many exciting experience planned, the children will be carrying out comparative and fair tests, making predictions, deciding how to record their findings (including using illustrative drawings which are labelled) and using scientific language. They will be testing Air Resistance, Water Resistance, measuring mass and weight and developing their understanding of friction.

We will also be exploring pulleys and levers and how they work. Using all of the information we have learnt, and the evidence gathered throughout the term, this will help us to answer the big question by producing an information page to detail what a force is as well as the benefits/uses of forces.

Term 3: Earth and Space

During Term 3, we will be trying to answer two big questions-

The Earth, Sun or Moon- which is the odd one out?

How do we get day and night, the seasons and climates

Through the enquiry, we will be learning the name and order of the planets and then describing their movements in relation to the sun. We will then apply our scientific understanding to help us prove the shape of the Earth, Sun and Moon. We will also use models to help us describe how we get day and night and to explain why the sun appears to move across the sky. When we have gained all of our knowledge, we will try to decide which is the odd one out- the Earth, sun or moon. 

Term 4 and 5 

Living things and their habitats

Across Term 4 and 4, we will be learning about plants and animal life cycles to help us answer the big question:

Are life cycles all the same?

We will start the unit by comparing the life cycles of flowering and non-flowering plants. We will also be growing our own plants so that we can observe the different stages of the lifecycle for ourselves. Hopefully we will be able to use some of what we grow for our Term 6 DT project linked with cooking and nutrition.

When we have compared plant lifecycles, we will move onto animal lifecycles. First, we will need to retrieve information from Year 4 to remind us of ways we can classify animals. We will then use this knowledge to look at different types of life cycle. 

Term 1 - Geography: Mountains

This term, we will be focusing out learning on Geography to enable us to answer the three big enquiry questions. The questions we will be answering are:

Where in the world?

What are the physical features of mountains?

Should we allow tourism in the mountains?

Our learning starts off with naming and locating counties of the United Kingdom. They will then be comparing and contrasting different regions on their human and physical features. The children will be applying their Atlas skills to their learning throughout the term, as they learn about locating the mountain ranges of the world.  This will lead on to writing a Non-Chronological Report about a mountain of their choice. Towards the end of the term, the children will be conducting research of our local environment to find out if humans are improving this. To help us answer one of our big questions, we will be doing fieldwork of the local area to look at the impact of humans. The children will collect, present and analyse and analyse evidence and draw conclusions. Finally, linking all of our learning, we will be finishing the term by writing a discussion text to answer the final big question.

Term 2 - History: Victorians

Our big question this term is:

‘Was the Victorian Era a dark age or golden age?’

Our learning started off with a surprise ‘Victorian Day’. Maple Class was immersed in a day of Victorian School where they learned how to do ‘Drills’, Victorian Maths (which involved money and arithmetic), Victorian handwriting and learning about the British Empire. They got to taste ‘Gruel’ and made a Victorian sponge cake which smelt delicious! Have a look at our class blog to see photos of our day. 

For the rest of the enquiry, we will be comparing sources and their reliability about Workhouse Life and what sort of jobs they did to earn their keep. We will also be learning about the different types of Victorian jobs that children did as well as what their working conditions were like. Next, we will be unpicking the reliability of different sources to understand what Victorian factories were really like for children.

We will then be introduced to famous Victorians and what inventions there were during this era. Before we answer our big question, we will be learning about the development of the railway and the impact it had for different people. They will then be debating if the railway was a positive or negative development for the people during the Victorian times.

At the end of the term, we will be consolidating our learning with a trip to Kent Life to learn about a Victorian Christmas. Finally, with all of our learning over the term, the children will be writing a discussion text to answer the big question.

Term 3: Geography

As part of our scientific enquiry, we will be developing our geographical locational knowledge to help us answer the big question:

How do we get day and night, the seasons and climates?

We will be learning how the Earth's rotation gives us day and night and how this leads to different time zones. To help us with this we will need to retrieve information, from earlier in the year, linked with longitude and latitude. We will then be learning about how the Earth's tilt leads to different seasons. 

Term 4 - History: Ancient greeks

This enquiry provides us with an opportunity to develop our understanding of Ancient Civilisations. During this enquiry, we will be answering the big question:

What can we learn about everyday life in Ancient Greece?

While answering this question, we will develop our key substantive knowledge linked with civilisation and religion (which were also key threads when learning about Ancient Egypt in Year 4). As well as, conflict and wealth and poverty. This final knowledge thread will help us develop our historical skill of comparing life for different people.

We will also be answering the big question:

What legacies did the Ancient Greeks leave behind?

This will allow us to consider key knowledge linked with progress and start our understanding of government which will be revisited in Year 6. This question will also help us to consider how historical events influence life today.

When answering both big questions, we will develop the skill of asking relevant historical questions and considering the reliability of sources when answering these questions.

Term 5 

At the end of Term 5, we will be trying to answer the Big Question:

Why do some people believe God exists?

This enquiry enables pupils to learn about why different religious and non-religious groups choose to believe in god or not. They will then be using this knowledge to consider the impact that this belief has on different peoples' lives. As part of this enquiry, we will be learning about the terms Atheist, Theist and Agnostic. to complete the unit of work, pupils will be writing a discussion text to outline the different views and show what they have learnt about different beliefs.