Year 5
Year Five is a challenging, yet rewarding year. Each child is expected to perform to the best of their ability and this is reinforced through a positive mind set approach alongside the encouragement of autonomy in preparation for their final year of primary school. We have high expectations in behaviour, manners and respect being core and essential skills which continue to be instilled in Year 5.
Below you will find useful information relating to the UK National Curriculum which is the programme of study which is followed at The Junior School. The expectations and attainment targets for Year 5 students can be found here.
English
The reading and writing exercises are linked using the Nelson scheme. Spelling and grammar are taught weekly as standalone lessons and are linked to topic themes.
In addition, Library lessons allow time for children to discover various texts of their choice and for their teachers to hear them read. Oral discussions, drama and role-play are some of the means used to facilitate and make our pupils more articulate in the use of English.
VCOP (better Vocabulary, Connectives, sentence Openers & Punctuation) is an integral part of English and will be covered throughout the week as well as during all English lessons.
Maths
We use the White Rose maths scheme as a basis for all maths teaching. In addition, Mental Arithmetic and problem-solving skills are taught.
We encourage ongoing revision of timetables at home, which should also include the 12 times table. Rapid recall of the multiplication facts and related division facts are an essential element of Maths and obviously allow our students to easily approach many areas of Maths curriculum with ease.
Maths is set according to ability in Year 5 and in Year 6. If our students feel confident in their ability then they are more likely to succeed and teachers can ensure that they are maximising their potential and of course, extending their learning in every way.
Topic
These lessons combine the teaching and learning of Science, History, Geography and Art.
This forms a cross curricular style of learning focusing on different topics or themes throughout the year.
Topics include, ‘Earth and Space’ where the children will learn about the evolution of Space and Earth’s role within the solar system. The children will be tracking the different phases of the moon in their ‘Moon watch’, and take photographs to illustrate our amazing Earth.
Throughout the year, other topics include ‘500 years ago in Cyprus’ and ‘Where in the World’ among many.
ICT (Information and Communication Technology)
Children will be introduced to the skills required to use their laplet and the apps from Office 365 effectively.
We shall be following the scheme in-line with the National Curriculum; these include a focus on programming and coding, better equipping the children for the future.
PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education)
Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) is now a statutory part of the curriculum which helps the children understand their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development as a facilitator to their cognitive development.
In Year 5, the children study a unit, among others, named ‘Changes’ which teaches the children what to expect as they approach puberty.
Greek
In Year 5, Greek is taught by specialist Greek teachers.
The main purpose of teaching the Greek language lesson is for children to acquire the language skills required, so that they can communicate in all aspects of the language, written or oral speech on the basis of the communicative approach of language in order to accomplish the following:
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the awareness and familiarisation of students with the language and its structure
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the use of the language with the ultimate goal of effective communication (written and oral) based on a communication context
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the reading and writing comprehension (coding and decoding texts)
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the writing (production of written speech with / on authentic topics and in a variety of textual genres to familiarize children with authentic written communication situations)
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the emergence, processing, comprehension, and use of grammatical elements through text processing
PE (Physical Education)
PE in the Junior School is taught by specialist PE teachers.
The Junior School PE curriculum is based on the British National Curriculum as well as Greek public-school guidelines. Students in Year 5 have two PE lessons per week, one of which is taught in Greek.
Our high-quality PE education curriculum inspires all pupils to experience, enjoy and excel in a wide range of physical activities and competitive sports. We aim to provide opportunities for our students to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness.
KS2 students learn and practice new skills across a range of activities that include games and athletics. All students have the opportunity to take part in afternoon activities as well as tournaments and competitions.
In addition, children are appointed a house team and interhouse matches take place in a range of sports across the year.
Music
Key Stage 2 music is taught twice weekly (one lesson is in Greek) in the KS2 Music Room or in the classroom. Students sing and play folk songs from the UK and Cyprus, as well as songs from countries around the world. Students deepen their understanding of the elements that make up music through the exploration and creation of sounds and pieces of their own. They also learn how to read and write music notation, to use music vocabulary and symbols, and to work together with their classmates.
Cross-curricular connections are made frequently with history, science, PSHE, literature and other topics studied in class.
In Years 3 through 6, students participate in:
- Singing a wide variety of folk, classical, and modern songs with expressiveness and good technique
- Performing in instrumental ensembles like drum circle, Orff mallet instrument orchestra, boomwhacker group, body percussion group and class rock band
- Focused listening, appraisal and movement to music
- Improvisation and Composition
- Music Technology such as GarageBand and other DAWs
- Reading and Writing music notation
In Years 5 & 6, students use their knowledge of recorders and ukuleles throughout the curriculum to enhance their learning and class performances. We explore Tudor music through Renaissance recorder pieces, the Blues through singing, chording, and improvising in the blues scale on the mallet instruments and the ukuleles and perform as a class ensemble using each student’s strengths.