Welcome to Year 5 Snow Monkeys! 

Our teacher is Mr. McKibbin 

This year in Year 5, we will be joined by our lovely teaching assistants - Miss Clarke and and Mrs Shaw which is very exciting, as both know the children very well and have a wealth of experience! Mrs Wilson will also be joining us on Thursday afternoons and Mr Strong will deliver one of our PE sessions each week. 

Enquiry

This term our enquiry question will be: "How can I make a difference?". We will be learning about the Earth's climate and vegetation zones and gaining an overview of biomes, before focusing on rainforest biomes. This will provide an opportunity for us to look closely at Brazil, comparing life there with life in the UK. We will look at changing land use and ultimately consider how humans are impacting the planet and contributing to climate change.  

Maths

Maths in the Spring term begins with work looking at fractions. We will be learning about adding and subtracting fractions, finding equivalent fractions and converting between mixed numbers and improper fractions. As we progress, we will discover how to order fractionsa nd to multiply integers by fractions. We will move on to learning about decimal numbers and percentages. We will finish the Spring term by converting various units of measure (such as millilitres to litres). It is important that we maintain fluency in times tables, and regular practise at home using Times Table Rockstars will certainly support this. 

English

This term, we will begin our Writing by creating rainforest-themed haikus - short, thoughtful poems originating from Japan. Our narrative writing will be inspired by Shaun Tan's fantastic book The Viewer. We will use the knowledge gained in out Enquiry lessons about the impact of humans on the environment to help us to write an alternative ending to the story. In addition, we will use that learning to support us as we plan, write and deliver a persuasive campaign video against deforestation in the rainforests. We will also be learning spelling rules supported by Spelling Shed, a great resource to use at home.

Science

In our Science lessons, we will start the term by learning about the life cycles of various animals and plants, understanding the different strategies adopted to continue the species. This will help us to understand more about the biomes of the world and how human impact on one part can be catastrophic for the whole. Finally, we will spend some time learning about a well-known scientist, Jane Goodall, who spent time in the forests of Africa studying chimpanzees. 

Support staff

This year we are extremely fortunate to have Miss Clarke and Mrs Shaw supporting children in the classroom, both during lessons as well as with one to one interventions. Mrs Wilson will join us on Thursday afternoons and Mr Strong will continue to deliver one of our PE sessions each week.