Welcome to Year 5!

This term promises to be an exciting and engaging time for Year 5. On this page, you will find summaries of our learning sequences. These overviews are designed to give you a clear picture of the skills and knowledge your child will be developing, as well as the texts and questions that will inspire their learning this term.

If you have any questions about your child’s learning, please do not hesitate to contact your class teacher.

                                                                                                                                            

5PB (Mrs Ballinger) - pballinger@redhill.worcs.sch.uk                                          5AN (Miss Nelson) - anelson@redhill.worcs.sch.uk

Year 5's Summer Term 

English

Writing Text 1: Shackleton’s Journey
Purpose: To persuade, entertain and discuss
This unit explores Ernest Shackleton’s incredible Antarctic expedition. Children will write a letter of application to join the journey, create a diary entry from a crew member’s perspective, and produce a newspaper report about the expedition.
Key skills include:

• Using past and present tenses accurately
• Writing using direct and indirect speech
• Using colons to link related ideas
• Showing characters’ feelings through descriptive detail

Writing Text 2: The Island
Purpose: To entertain
Children will focus on selecting rich, precise vocabulary to develop detailed character descriptions and narrative writing from a chosen character’s perspective. They will enhance their stories by using similes, personification and “show, not tell” techniques to deepen inference.

Writing Text 3: Malala Yousafzai
Purpose: To persuade
Inspired by Malala’s Nobel Peace Prize speech, children will write their own persuasive speech. They will focus on powerful vocabulary choices and persuasive techniques, including rhetorical questions, to communicate directly and effectively with their audience.

 

Maths

Throughout the term, children will develop confidence in the following areas:

• Statistics:

Reading, interpreting and drawing tables

Learn how to draw accurate line graphs using given data.

Read, interpret and compare information presented in line graphs.

Understand and analyse data in tables, including identifying key patterns.

Use two‑way tables to organise and interpret pairs of related data.

Read and interpret timetables to extract and compare information.

 

• Shape:

Understand what degrees are and how they are used to measure angles.

Learn to classify, estimate and accurately measure different types of angles.

Practise drawing lines and angles with precision.

Calculate angles around a point and on a straight line using known angle facts.

Explore lengths and angles within shapes to deepen geometric understanding.

 

• Position and Direction:

Plotting coordinates, translation and symmetry

Read, plot and interpret coordinates on a grid.

Apply coordinate skills to solve problems and represent movement.

Understand and describe translations, including using coordinates to track changes.

Explore lines of symmetry in shapes and patterns.

Reflect shapes in horizontal and vertical lines using coordinates.

 

• Decimals:

Adding and subtracting decimals up to 3 decimal places

Use known number facts to add and subtract decimals, including finding complements to 1.

Add and subtract decimals both within 1 and across whole numbers.

Work confidently with decimals that have the same or different numbers of decimal places.

Develop accuracy when adding and subtracting a range of decimal values.

Apply efficient mental and written strategies to solve decimal calculations.

 

• Negative Numbers: Identifying, comparing and ordering negative numbers

Understand what negative numbers are and how they relate to zero.

Count forwards and backwards through zero in ones and in multiples.

Compare and order negative numbers in different contexts.

Calculate the difference between numbers, including those below zero.

Build confidence working with negative values in real‑life and mathematical situations.

• Converting Units: Converting mass, length and time

Understand and use a range of metric units, including kilograms, kilometres, millimetres and millilitres.

Convert between different units of length and explore relationships within the metric system.

Compare and convert between selected metric and imperial units.

Convert units of time accurately for real‑life contexts.

Use timetables to calculate durations, intervals and timings with confidence.

 

• Volume: Estimating, comparing and measuring volume and capacity

Understand and work with volume measured in cubic centimetres.

Compare the volume of different objects and shapes.

Estimate volume using visual cues and known measures.

Estimate capacity in everyday contexts and practical situations.

 

Guided Reading

Our texts this term are:

Shackleton’s Journey — William Grill

Shackleton’s Journey is a beautifully illustrated non‑fiction book that brings to life Ernest Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic expedition. Through vivid drawings and accessible storytelling, it introduces readers to the crew, their equipment, and the extreme challenges they faced. The book celebrates courage, teamwork, and the spirit of exploration while offering a fascinating glimpse into one of history’s most ambitious voyages.

The Unforgotten Coat — Frank Cottrell Boyce

The Unforgotten Coat is a warm, imaginative story about friendship, belonging, and the impressions people leave behind. Told through the eyes of a schoolgirl who meets two new classmates from Mongolia, as it explores cultural differences and the power of memory.

Children will read aloud, practise expression and develop key reading skills through VIPERS questioning:
V – Vocabulary
I – Inference
P – Predict
E – Explain
R – Retrieval
S – Sequence/Summarise

 

Religious Education

Summer 1 Key Question: Why is the Torah so important to Jewish people?
Children will explore Jewish beliefs about God, examine important texts and consider how Jewish people interpret these teachings.

Summer 2 Key Question: What matters most to Humanists and Christians?
Children will explore beliefs about what guides people to be good, comparing Christian and Humanist viewpoints and linking them to key sources of authority.

 

Enrichment Opportunities

Commandery – Date TBC

NWHS taster Day

BEO taster Day

NWHS Arts Day 

 

PE and Forest School – Summer 1

• Outdoor PE: Monday’s – Tennis
• Forest School: Thursday
  Please ensure children come dressed in suitable outdoor clothing and bring spare footwear or wellies in a named bag.

 

For more information about our wider curriculum, please refer to the Summer 1 Red Hill Riches.

 

Year 5 at Red Hill C of E Primary School
This year has been full of learning, creativity, and fun for Year 5! From hands-on projects and exciting lessons to special events and new challenges, our photos give a snapshot of the wonderful things we’ve been doing together at Red Hill! 

Bikeability 

                  

 

Forest School 

4Front Theatre 

Year 5 enjoyed an interactive workshop with Forefront Theatre, exploring Bible stories through drama. The children acted out key stories, thought about their messages, and worked in groups to create short performances.

The session helped pupils deepen their understanding of the Christian faith, while also developing confidence, teamwork, and creativity. It was a fun and memorable way to bring our RE learning to life.

Visit to Tudor House Worcester

Year 5 visited the Tudor House Museum in Worcester to bring our Tudor learning to life. We explored the historic building and took part in three exciting workshops.

We learned about Tudor clothing, discovering how rich and poor people dressed very differently, and handled replica garments made from silk, wool, and linen. During the building investigation, we noticed the uneven wooden beams and wattle-and-daub walls, learning how Tudor houses were built by hand. Finally, we practised writing with quills and weaving, finding out how important cloth-making was in Tudor Worcester.

Space Night

Space Night was a fun, hands-on evening for the children, where they explored the wonders of space through exciting activities and practical science. The children learned about planets, galaxies and constellations, created their own lunar module models, and took part in space-themed STEM challenges.

They also had the opportunity to look through a real telescope, spotting the Moon, bright stars and planets where possible. The evening inspired curiosity, creativity and excitement about space, making it a memorable learning experience for all. ✨

Tag Rugby Workshop

Our Year 5 children were lucky enough to take part in an exciting rugby workshop delivered by coaches and sports leaders from Blessed Edward’s. The session was energetic, engaging and full of teamwork, with pupils learning new rugby skills such as passing, movement into space and effective communication on the pitch.

 iSing Pop

We are lucky enough to haven taken part in an iSingPOP workshop thanks to the wonderful opportunity provided by our local church. Our children enjoyed many exciting sessions where they learned songs that share the big story of the Bible and promote Christian values. It was a fantastic chance for pupils to engage in a fun, uplifting experience rooted in faith and community and we cannot wait for our concert!

                                      

 

Birmingham Cental Mosque

Our class enjoyed a wonderful visit to Birmingham Central Mosque, where we were welcomed for a guided tour of this important place of worship. The children had the opportunity to ask deep and thoughtful questions to help them explore our driving RE question: “What is it like to be a Muslim in Britain today?”
It was an engaging, eye‑opening experience that helped pupils build understanding, respect, and curiosity—while also having lots of fun discovering new things about the Muslim community and its traditions.

 

                                   

                                  

                                   

Into the Labyrinth 

Year 5 had an exciting start to our new Greek myths topic today as they stepped into a mysterious labyrinth and recorded imaginative video diaries, using their fantastic acting skills to step into the shoes of someone truly lost inside the maze. Their creativity and enthusiasm brought the whole experience to life, making it a brilliant launch to our learning—and we can’t wait to continue exploring myths this term and begin writing their own innovated Greek myths!

History Man - Ancient Greece 

The History Man visited Year 5  to teach us about Ancient Greece, showing us how people lived, dressed, played, and worked thousands of years ago. We learnt that Greeks wore simple wool or linen clothing like the chiton, and children played with toys such as chariots and knucklebones. He explained how soldiers fought in formation with shields, spears, and helmets, and showed us the beautiful patterns and artwork used to decorate pottery and buildings. We also discovered how important sport was to the Greeks, especially the Olympic Games where athletes competed in running, wrestling, and chariot racing. Finally, he taught us about Greek trade across the Mediterranean, where they exchanged goods like olive oil, pottery, and wine for grain, timber, and metals, helping their civilisation grow and connect with others.