Year 5 Home Learning Statements

In Reading, students have continued to extend their comprehension strategies whilst listening to the class novel, ‘Once’. They have been working on developing  their comprehension skills when reading non-fiction texts by summarising, analysing text features and identifying cause and effect. Students will investigate a range of historical fiction texts and identify the main theme.

Students have continued to practise their literature circle roles (Visualiser, Questioner, Connector, Summariser, Passage Picker and Word Cruncher) while reading appropriately levelled texts.

To support this learning at home:

• Encourage your child to read independently or read aloud with a family member for 20-30 minutes each night.
• Engage in conversations with your child about texts that they are reading at home or school.
• Encourage your child to share a summary of the chapter they have read.
• Suggest your child visit the library or bookshop regularly and promote a wide reading choice, including both fiction and non-fiction texts.
• Encourage your child to notice non-fiction text features, such as diagrams, maps and tables. 
• Read some historical fiction with your child.

Writing

In Writing, we have been exploring various types of poetry, such as limericks and odes. We have been consolidating our understanding of word types such as adjectives and verbs, and language features such as metaphors and similes.

Later in the term, we will focus on Historical Fiction. Students will consider the structure, language features and themes relating to this genre. Students will draw upon their Australian Gold Rush learning to inform their narratives. They will be encouraged to include names, events,  tools and speech that were typical on the Australian Goldfields.

To support this learning at home:

• Visit the local library and borrow historical fiction texts to immerse your child in this genre.
• Discuss the themes, characters, settings and events within these texts.
• Interview a family member who has personal experience about an historical event (if possible).
• Watch historical fiction movies and discuss the  themes, costumes and differences in speech. 
• Encourage your child to use neat and legible handwriting.
• Use a writing prompt generator such as Pobble: https://www.pobble365.com
• Encourage writing at home for sustained periods of time. 
• Read your child’s writing and encourage them to edit their own texts with particular attention to the accurate use of capital letters, paragraphs and punctuation. 
• Discuss and collect interesting items, including event tickets, brochures and  objects from nature that can be used to generate ideas for writing.
• Develop typing skills by publishing a piece of writing.
• Encourage your child to type with both hands and multiple fingers to improve their typing speed. They could use this website to help: https://www.typingclub.com

Mathematics

In Mathematics, we are focusing on subtraction. Students have been investigating how to choose the best strategy to solve subtraction problems including; split, compensation and vertical. 

Students are now working on multiplication and this will be followed by division. Students will explore these operations through a range of tasks requiring them to choose the best strategy to solve the problem, such as arrays or the vertical method. Students will apply their understanding of these operations to solve worded problems and will be encouraged to use estimation to find reasonable answers by rounding to the nearest ten, hundred or tenth. 

In Measurement and Geometry, we are working on calculating area and perimeter and representing these with the correct unit of measurement. We will then study chance, identifying possible outcomes and representing probability using fractions and decimals.

To support this learning at home:

Students are strongly encouraged to read independently each night or read aloud with a family member for 20-30 mins. It would be beneficial to discuss the text ideas, characters, themes and plot line before, during and after reading.

In class, students have been listening to the class novel (The Boy at the Back of the Class), discussing and exploring comprehension strategies in whole class lessons. These will be independently practised during Literature Circles. These include Visualiser, Discussion Director/Questioner, Connector, Literary Luminary and Word Cruncher. You can support this learning at home by encouraging your child to engage in conversations related to these roles.

Writing

Students are currently exploring Persuasive writing, focusing on developing a strong structure, use of cohesive language, and providing evidence to support main arguments. 

We will also look at aspects of Narrative writing and how the author engages the reader. This will involve the student creating an engaging introduction, build up, climax, resolution, and ending. We will focus on our vocabulary choices to convey quality characterisation and setting descriptions.

Students will complete regular handwritten or typed ‘Big Writes’, which involve students gaining inspiration from an image, phrase/theme or topic presented. Students will aim to plan, draft, edit and revise their narrative or persuasive text within the one session.   

To support this learning at home:

• Discuss what makes a story engaging and memorable.
• Compare and contrast to other texts that you are reading. What similarities and differences do they have?
• Provide time to write for sustained periods of time (approx. 20-30 minutes of focused writing time) to create a story from beginning to end.
• Read through their writing together and identify strengths and look at ways of editing for accuracy (missing punctuation) and interest (adding adjectives, similes, metaphors, subplots, character backstories, foreshadowing)
• Draw a storyboard that matches your story narrative.
• Act out your story.
• Encourage neat and legible handwriting.
• Publish or type a written piece to work on typing skills.
• Access the writing prompt generator called Pobble.

Mathematics

In Number, students are focusing on place value. Place value is important as it helps us to understand the value and order of numbers. We work up to, and beyond hundreds of thousands and to the thousandths place value with decimal numbers. Students will be exposed to a range of strategies for addition and subtraction, including worded problems. 

Students will name 2D shapes and 3D objects and identify their properties. We will explore transformations including, flip (reflect), slide (translate) and turn (rotate).

To support this learning at home:

• Model a positive mindset about maths, by engaging in positive conversations.
• Practise working on accurate and efficient recall of multiplication facts.
• Encourage persistence and ask your child to explain their working out when problem-solving.
• Talk Numbers – the date, temperature, UV ratings, the year people were born, costs of meals, average costs of steps in a day, hours slept, and how maths is all around us.
• Ask your child to explain the different ways they can tell you the value of a number. (e.g. 873 – can be explained as 7 tens or 70 ones).
• When spotting number plates (or other numbers) ask what is the largest rearranged number you can make, as well as the smallest, and the difference between the two.
• Using four and five-digit numbers, partition the number and write the number in words (e.g. 4,213 = 4 thousands, 2 hundreds, 1 ten and 3 ones; Four thousand two hundred and thirteen.)
• Find 2D and 3D shapes and identify their features, such as how many sides, faces, and vertices.