Our Enquiry

Welcome to Year 5! This term, children will engage in an exciting enquiry-based approach to learning, developing their skills in Art, Science, and Personal, Social, Health, and Economic Education (PSHE). They will explore the theme of perception and whether seeing is truly always believing.

Enquiry-Based Learning

This term, children will study the art of illusions and how perspective can shape our understanding of reality. They will explore how different influences, techniques, and scientific principles impact the way we see and interpret the world around us.

Creative Explorations: Learning Through Art

🎨 Exploring Illusions and Perspective

• Children will study how artists use perspective to create the illusion of depth and dimension.

• They will experiment with different techniques to create 3D illusions in their own artwork.

• Sketchbooks will be used to document their ideas, mistakes, and refinements, showcasing their learning journey.

Science Explorations: More Than Meets the Eye

🔬 Investigating Materials and Perception

• Children will explore how initial perceptions of substances and materials can change based on further investigation.

• They will learn about chemical reactions and how they can alter the appearance of materials.

• Discussions will focus on how scientific discoveries can challenge what we think we know.

Understanding Influence and Perspective: PSHE

💡 Recognising the Power of Perception

• Children will explore the importance of self-respect and treating others kindly to build resilience against peer pressure and misleading online content.

• They will develop critical thinking skills to evaluate information and determine whether seeing always means believing.

• Discussions will focus on why people can be influenced by what they see and how to navigate misinformation.

Authentic Outcome: Creating a Book of Illusions

📖 Showcasing Learning Through a Published Book

• Children will create a book of drawn illusions to share with younger year groups and place in the school library.

• This will provide a tangible legacy of their learning while encouraging curiosity and creativity in others.

Social Legacy: Making an Impact

✨ Sharing Magic and Creativity

• Children will design and perform a magic trick incorporating artistic illusions for younger students, inspiring curiosity and wonder.

• They will create suggestions for the School Council to discuss, linking to their history work on the Vikings and exploring how rules and influence shape behavior.

English

A high-quality text drives each of our enquiries and the texts are used to give knowledge and purpose to the enquiry. High quality texts can only be accessed through knowledge of vocabulary in different tiers. Explicit teaching of new vocabulary and using the classroom environment to showcase key vocabulary helps us to infuse rich and sophisticated vocabulary from EYFS to Year 6. The texts are used as a stimulus for both English and cross curricular writing, ensuring high expectations of our children. Reading is interwoven into all aspects of the enquiry to encourage reading and language development and promote reading for pleasure.

Maths

In maths we follow the Power Maths programme to support children’s learning and to build a deep understanding of maths concepts. Power Maths is a curriculum mastery programme designed to spark curiosity and excitement and nurture confidence in maths. It is built around a child‑centred lesson design that models and embeds a growth mindset approach to maths.

• Decimals and Percentages

  • Understanding and converting between fractions, decimals, and percentages.
  • Comparing and ordering decimals (up to three decimal places).
  • Rounding decimals to the nearest whole number or decimal place.
  • Solving problems involving percentages (e.g., finding percentages of amounts).

• Geometry - Properties of Shapes

  • Measuring and drawing angles using a protractor.
  • Identifying and comparing different types of angles (acute, obtuse, right, and reflex).
  • Understanding and calculating angles on a straight line, around a point, and vertically opposite angles.
  • Classifying and identifying properties of 2D and 3D shapes, including regular and irregular polygons.
  • Exploring symmetry, reflection, and translation in shapes.

• Geometry - Position and Direction

  • Using coordinates in the first quadrant.
  • Plotting points and drawing polygons on a coordinate grid.
  • Describing translations of shapes on a grid.
  • Understanding symmetry, including reflecting shapes across a mirror line.

• Converting Units

  • Converting between different units of measure, including metric units (e.g., km to m, cm to mm, kg to g, l to ml).
  • Understanding and using approximate equivalences between metric and imperial units (e.g., inches and centimeters, pounds and kilograms).
  • Solving problems involving measures (e.g., length, mass, volume, and time).

• Volume

  • Understanding the concept of volume and measuring the volume of simple 3D shapes.
  • Estimating and calculating the volume of cubes and cuboids using cm³.
  • Exploring the capacity and understanding the relationship between volume and capacity.