Meet the Teacher Year 5/6

Spelling and Reading Journal Children must read to an adult 3x a week at home – you must record in the journal when you have heard your child read. In addition, an adult at school will also hear them three times a week: guided reading, individual reading to a teacher or TA and parent helper. (In order to help us with this, we would really appreciate parent helpers to support us in this.) Spelling rules from the journal will be taught and practised during the week. These spellings are from the national curriculum and are relevant to their age. However, if they cannot spell words from previous year group lists, they must learn these in addition to the year 5/6 list.

Spellings This year, the spelling lists the children will learn are Year 5/6 List – Year B. These are the expected spellings for their age from the National Curriculum. Spelling tests will be on a Friday. They will be tested on each spelling individually and in a dictated sentence that they will write down. They will only be marked on the spelling from the list within the sentence. You can practise these spellings using strategies such as LSCWC and writing sentences that include the spelling to practise this in context. You may need to discuss the definitions of these words as some of them are quite advanced.

Bug Club The expectation for the use of Bug Club this year is for the children to read the books they have been allocated but NOT to answer any of the ‘bug’ questions – this will be completed in school as part of our Guided Reading sessions each week.

English Writing Daily lessons will follow the expectation of the National Curriculum Handwriting and presentation – high expectations in Year 5/6 We will use a cross curricular approach when teaching so that children have more of an opportunity to write at length within a number of different subjects regularly

Handwriting and Marking Handwriting is taught and practised throughout the week. Children will receive a pen license when they are using the correct letter joins and joining all of their handwriting consistently in every piece of work. We have a whole school focus on presentation to ensure children take pride in their work. Marking - some work will be marked in detail and targets for improvement set. These will be written in green. We work on a system of pink for pride and green for growth which the class are familiar with.

Maths Daily lessons will follow the expectation of the National Curriculum Maths will continue to take place with their own class teacher, however there will be more fluidity to ensure children have access to targeted support if required. Times tables tested on Thursday as well as an arithmetic test to expose children to the style of questions and time pressure they will have in their end of year test. Please continue to ensure your children use Mathletics at home – this is a fantastic resource for children to use to practise their mathematical skills. Occasionally we will set children tasks to do on Mathletics so they will need to ensure they do these.

PE Herons: Monday (indoor) and Tuesday (outdoor) Skylarks: Monday (indoor) and Friday (outdoor) Eagles: Tuesday (outdoor) and Wednesday (indoor)

PE Please ensure that your child has the correct kit in school at all times. Kits should be taken home at the end of each half term to be washed and then returned on the first day back after each break. Children WILL NOT be allowed to participate in PE without the correct kit – they are not allowed to borrow kit from friends. During colder weather, children will be expected to wear trousers and jumpers. Therefore, girls will not need to wear tights during PE. Long hair must be tied back and earrings removed. Children will NOT be allowed to participate in PE if they cannot remove any jewellery. We are also not allowed to take earrings out for children.

Homework There will be homework set for this term: Maths – practise of times tables and use of Mathletics. English – reading to an adult every night at home and practise weekly spellings listed in the Spelling and Reading Journal (Year B). Topic – one piece of topic homework that can be handed in at anytime this term provided this is before the end of term in December.

Additional Information Our topic this term is ‘To Infinity and Beyond’ (Earth and Space – not Toy Story!) This will include coverage of many different subjects - which is explained in more detail in the termly overview leaflet. Year 6 Residential– there will be a meeting after this one to explain this more for Year 6 parents. Assessment/SATs – children are tested in Maths, Reading, Spelling and Grammar. Their writing is teacher assessed throughout the year which can be moderated by representatives from the Local Education Authority – we will be informed if we have been selected for this nearer the time.

Questions If you would like any additional resources or ideas to help your child learn their tables or spellings then please do not hesitate to ask. If you would prefer to speak to me privately, I will be available after this meeting. Anything else you would like to know?