Prep 5 Curriculum Brief

Spellings will continue to be based on the children’s own targets and focus on Year 5/6 spelling rules. Spelling tests will still be held on Thursdays and new spellings will be given each week.

Grammar – within our grammar work this term, we will refresh our understanding of key grammatical terms (adjectives, verbs, adverbs/ adverbial phrases etc…) and learn to identify and use new terms – hyperbole and idiom. We are going to continue looking at using devices to build cohesion within a paragraph and think about how we link ideas across paragraphs (using adverbials of time or place, tense choices, repetition of a word or phrase and grammatical connections). In our final poetry topic, we will recap poetic devices (rhyming, personification, onomatopoeia, similes/metaphors etc) whilst continuing to develop our vocabulary and try to use words that have a powerful impact on the reader.

Punctuation – we will again revise key punctuation learnt in lower KS2 whilst continuing to master the use of semi-colons, colons and brackets dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis.

Reading/ Comprehension – in our reading this term we will continue to read our own target books but also read a variety of genres and gain a deeper understanding of different writing styles and widen our vocabulary. We will continue to answer comprehension questions that get us to support answers with evidence from the text and develop our ability to infer information from fiction texts. This skill becomes harder as our texts become harder – so we will practise this skill using abridged versions of older texts (Treasure Island, Oliver Twist etc)

Creative Writing – To start the summer term, we will finish our fiction writing from last term on ‘A Word in you Ear’ by Tony Ross. After this, we will write a class book about different species of animals (linking with our science topic) – focusing on ‘Animalium’ by Jenny Broom and Katie Scott as our model text. If we have time, we will finish our year by studying the poem ‘I am a Cat’ by Jackie Morris. From this, we will create our own, complex acrostic poem.

During the summer term, Prep 5 will continue to have times tables practice and mental

maths sessions. The children will be challenged to be problem solvers throughout the topics

covered. The main areas of topic work will include the following:

Statistics: Drawing, reading and interpreting line graphs and tables.

Geometry – Shape: Using degrees; classifying, estimating and measuring angles; drawing lines and angles accurately; calculating angles around a point and on a straight line; lengths and angles in shapes; regular and irregular polygons and 3D shapes.

Geometry – Position and direction: reading and plotting coordinates; problem solving with coordinates; translation; lines of symmetry; reflection.

Decimals: adding and subtracting decimals; decimal sequences; multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000.

Negative numbers: counting through zero in ones and multiples; comparing and ordering negative numbers; finding the difference.

Measurement – Converting units: kilograms and kilometres; millimetres and millilitres; converting between metric and imperial units; converting units of time; calculate with timetables.

Measurement – Volume: cubic centimetres; comparing and estimating volume and capacity.

This term Prep 5 will be learning about Forces. They will explain that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity, identify the effects of air resistance, water resistance and friction, that act between moving surfaces, and recognise that some mechanisms, including levers, pulleys and gears, allow a smaller force to have a greater effect.

This term we will be looking at mountains in more detail. Having located the great mountains and ranges of the world, we will look in detail at the Himalayas and Mount Everest.  We will discuss the positives and negatives of climbing the world’s tallest mountain and ‘overtourism’ and its damaging effects. Who is responsible for limiting the damage overtourism can cause?  We go on to study how mountains are formed (including volcanic and plateau mountains) and their main features.

To start the Summer Term, we will finish our learning about the Benin Kingdom. Children will learn about where the ancient Kingdom of Benin was located and how it came to thrive, what the people there believed in and how they showed this in their artwork. They will also explore western attitudes towards African civilisations, comparing the achievements, oral tales and artefacts of ancient Benin to those in Europe at the same time. To finish the Summer Term, we will start a topic on ‘The Age of Explorers and Explorations’ focusing on specific explorers like Christopher Columbus, Zheng He and Vasco da Gama.

After completing Chapter 3 of Minimus, Work, work, work, we will be looking in detail at verb endings, particularly those ending in -o, -t, and -nt and revise our understanding that the ending of a Latin verb tells us who is doing the action.  We will think about what it was like to be a Celtic and Greek slave for a Roman family and look at how wealthy Roman children were educated at home.  We will also be learning numbers 1-10 in Latin and basic colours.

We shall spend the first part of the term looking at “prayer” and then lead into Pentecost.  This will bring us back to the life of ‘Peter’ and how his life changed with the power of the Holy Spirit.  We shall be thinking about how we can grow in knowing Christ and how we can tell others about Him. Towards the end of the term, we will begin to reflect on the past year and give thanks.

Once prep 5 have finished painting their brilliant mod roc figure sculptures, we will move on to looking at perspective, wacky buildings and imaginative landscapes this term. We will investigate the work of the artist Hundertwasser and architect Gaudi, and focus on the themes of bright colours, organically inspired forms and curved lines! Large, colourful and unique landscape paintings will be the target for our summer art project.

This term prep 5 will be developing their performance skills as they rehearse for the summer show.

In DT this term, we will create a model that uses hydraulic or pneumatic designs using syringes and plastic tubing to create reciprocal movement. Materials used: syringes, PVC tubing, block wood, laser plywood and modelling card.

This term the pupils will be completing work on use of tables in Excel/Word. Research and prepare a presentation on a famous astronomer – their life and work. Links to coding using SCRATCH/Microbits.

Games: Simple cricket activities, based around limited game situations. The skills involved in catching, throwing, bowling and hitting will be developed. Athletics – to include sprints, hurdles and relays. In field events simple javelin/ long jump/high jump.

Swimming: Water time will be spent on the development of correct technique and other related activities. All work based on the ASA ‘National Plan for Teaching Swimming’.

They will rehearse the school play in the summer term.  They will be learning acting and performance techniques and working with musical theatre.  They will also be learning how to create characters on stage. They will also gain an understanding of how to put a play together including lighting, props and backstage instructions.