AVON HOUSE SCHOOL
Year 5
Autumn Term Curriculum Statement
ENGLISH In English, the students will begin by looking at myths and legends. They will
look at 2 or 3 Greek myths in detail, highlighting features of that genre and using appropriate
vocabulary. By the end of the unit they will have written their own Greek-style myth and
created their own monster, hero and villain. Later in the term they will be report writing, and we
will also take an extensive look at plays and poetry which will include Shakespeare. There will
be a focus on spelling and the children will be required to spell the age appropriate words set
out for their year group. There will also be an emphasis on grammar and punctuation. Pupils
will be taught to extend their range of sentences with more than one clause by using a wider
range of prepositions and conjunctions, e.g. when, if, because, although. They will learn to use
the perfect form of verbs to mark relationships of time and cause, choosing nouns or pronouns
appropriately for clarity and cohesion and to avoid repetition. We will also look at the correct
use of apostrophes and incorporate correct punctuation, particularly when using direct speech.
The children will be required to read extensively both at school and at home. We will be
reading in small groups (guided reading) at least once a week, together with one to one reading
and shared reading in class. The pupils will continue to read and discuss an increasingly wide
range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books or textbooks, reading books that
are structured in different ways and reading for a range of purposes. They will be increasing
their familiarity with a wide range of books, including myths, legends and traditional stories,
modern fiction, fiction from our literary heritage, and books from other cultures and traditions.
NUMERACY The children will work in depth on their ability to use efficient mental and
formal written methods for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. They will solve a
variety of multi-step problems, deciding which operations and methods to use and why. The
children will learn about multiples, factors and prime numbers as well as being able to
recognise and use square numbers and cube numbers. They will work on rounding numbers up
to 100 000 to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000 and rounding decimals with two places to the nearest
whole number and one place. They will read and write decimal numbers as fractions. The
children will find fractions of numbers and quantities using fractions as operators as well as
finding equivalent fractions and comparing and ordering fractions with the same denominator.
During this term the children will learn to identify 3D shapes with parallel or perpendicular
faces or edges. They will develop their knowledge on where a shape will be after a translation
on a 2D grid and be able to translate two or more shapes to make a tiling pattern on a 2D grid.
They will review how to convert between units of time and calculate time durations. Year 5 will
use their knowledge of place value, multiplication and division to convert between units of
mass (gram and kilogram).
SCIENCE As scientists this term we will be learning about properties and changes of
materials. The children will be taught to compare groups of materials together on the basis of
the property of that material and use their knowledge of solids, liquids and gases to decide how
materials can be separated. We will also look at reversible and irreversible changes which
include evaporation and condensation. Later in the term the children will study living things and
their habitats. Here they will be taught the life processes of some plants and animals and should,
by the end of the unit, be able to describe differences in the life cycles of a mammal, an
amphibian, an insect and a bird.
AVON HOUSE SCHOOL
Year 5
Autumn Term Curriculum Statement
GEOGRAPHY This term we are studying many aspects about water. It is the most precious
thing on the planet, and we look at themes such as dirty water, people who do not have access
to clean water or decent sanitation, why our water is the safest to drink, the process of how we
receive our water in the UK, ensuring that children in schools and patients in hospitals drink
enough water, general uses such as leisure, cooking, washing, the amount of litres a typical
household use daily, and irrigation and the River Nile.
HISTORY During this term, Year 5 will be studying the Victorian era. They will focus on
what life was like for children during the period. A visit to the Ragged School will open their
eyes to what school was like in Victorian times. They will learn about the jobs poor children
had to do and what working conditions were like. Year 5 will research figures such as Lord
Shaftesbury and Dr Barnardo to find out how they helped to improve the lives of poor children.
FRENCH This term the children will re-discover France and her neighbours. They will
understand and use transport/travel words and the names of countries. They will also learn to
say whether a town is in the north, south, east or west of England or France. They will be
introduced to some leisure activities. They will revise familiar vocabulary about family
members, food, colours, transport and animals plus adjectives of size. They will be able to ask
a third person where they live and understand and use words for house, garden and places. The
children will also learn how to describe the weather and use numbers up to 100. They will be
expected to perform and adapt a role-play and they will learn about Christmas in France.
DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY The children will explore a range of musical instruments.
They will look at a selection and consider the sounds they make; how they produce the sound
and what material the instruments are made from. Using a design criteria, children will create
an instrument to be used by children in the new Avon House orchestra. They will select from
and use a wider range of materials and components according to their functional properties and
aesthetic qualities. They will be expected to use a wider range of tools and equipment to
perform cutting, shaping, joining and finishing accurately.
RE/PHSE In RE, Year 5 will be exploring Islam. They will begin by discussing what prayer
means and why creating time for reflection can be beneficial. They will then look at the Qur’an
(the holy book of Islam) and its importance within the Islamic faith. Finally they will learn
about the life of the Prophet Mohammed and look at how his actions affect the way in which
Muslims live their lives today.
COMPUTING This term the children will develop their own game. They will design
characters and backgrounds, and create a working prototype. They will develop it further based
on feedback they receive from their peers.