Reading
Our Class Text and Comprehension
In term 1 and 2, our reading comprehension lessons will be based upon our class text, “Freedom” by Catherine Johnson. The story is based around an enslaved Jamaican boy is separated from his family and taken to work in England. His owners, the Barratts, treat him cruelly, but he is determined to escape and earn the money needed to buy his family’s freedom. While in London, he attends the Zong slave ship’s court hearing and learns about the horrors that took place on board.
To find out more about this text, view our Freedom Novel Knowledge Organiser.
We will also focus on poetry during term 2. In particular analysing and evaluating the use of language, including figurative language and how it is used for effect, using technical terminology such as metaphor, simile, analogy, imagery and style. We will also explain feelings or emotions brought about by a poet’s choice of words. In addition to this, children will be encouraged to independently justify inferences from poems, using more than one piece of evidence. These poems will include, “The Bonfire at Night” by Enid Blyton, “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae, “Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore.
For further information about the reading skills we will focus upon this term, please view “Churchill’s Sequential Reading Curriculum”
Independent Reading
In class, we will continue to use the Accelerated Reader program. For further information about this, please view a Parent’s Guide to Accelerated Reader. (https://help.renlearn.co.uk/AR/ARParentGuide) If you need your child’s AR password, please contact me (Mrs Saunders).
Writing
Over the course of the autumn term, we will be writing and creating two non-chronological reports, a newspaper report, a persuasive letter, a biography, and a range of poetry including a narrative poem, a Kenning poem and an acrostic poem.
Firstly, we will create a newspaper report about the Amistad mutiny. Writing a newspaper report encourages children to write impartially in a formal style. It also challenges them to proofread their work as if it were going to print. Children could include specific details and link their information with cohesive devices. Concise noun phrases and a correctly punctuated quotation could also be included.
Having learnt about the abolition of slavery, we will then write persuasive letters to stop colonisation. Writing a persuasive letter challenges the children to use a variety of techniques to add interest and clarity when persuading the reader. Children could use a formal style that includes both facts and opinion. They could use cohesive devices to build their case and proofread their letter for accuracy of grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Over the course of the autumn term, we will write two non-chronological reports: firstly about “Africa Today” and secondly about “The Windrush scandal. Writing a non-chronological report, challenges children to research and make detailed notes about their subject matter. Children could use different sources, such as the websites, to increase their knowledge and check their facts. They could summarise the main ideas that they wish to include in their reports. The report could be written in a formal style with appropriate verb forms. A range of organisational devices could help the reader to find information quickly.
Children will choose an inspirational black Briton, research their life and achievements and create a biographical report that explains the impact that they had on life in Britain and beyond.
In addition to focusing upon poetry within our reading, we will also focus upon poetry in our writing. Throughout this, we will create an acrostic, a narrative and a Kenning poem. Writing poetry encourages children to use dictionaries and thesauri as they look for specific vocabulary. Including figurative language, particularly imagery, helps them focus on their senses as they create new and interesting descriptions. Children could assess the effectiveness of their poems, make edits and improvements, then perform them using appropriate intonation, volume and movement.
For further information about the writing skills, we will focus upon this term, please view “Churchill’s Sequential Writing Curriculum”
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling
Punctuation
This term, we will use a colon to introduce a list; discuss and use commas, semi-colons and colons to separate clauses effectively; discuss idea of ambiguity, when meaning is not clear; model and practise punctuating parenthesis, using pairs of commas, dashes or brackets; identify ellipsis in texts, edit deliberate punctuation errors revise word class, including pronouns, prepositions and determiners; strengthen and improve verbs in writing; write formal and informal sentences, selecting conjunctions and cohesive devices to suit level of formality; and compare sentences in simple past with perfect past verb form.
Grammar
This term, we will learn about types of nouns; relative clauses; modal verbs; revise four types of sentences; identify synonyms and antonyms and possessive pronouns.
Spellings
During our spelling lessons in term 1 and 2, we will revise the “i” sound spelt “y” other than at the end of words; learn words ending in -able and -ible; -ably and –ibly; add suffixes beginning with vowel letters to words ending in – “fer”; examine the use of the hyphen (to spell words); revise sound spelt “ou”; revise the letter string “ure”; revise the suffix “sion”; revise words ending “gue” and “que”; revise words with the “ei” sound spelt “ei,” “eigh,” or “ey”; spell endings spelt “cious” or “tious”; and spell homophones and other words that are often confused
For an overview of our weekly breakdown of our spellings, please view our Term 1 and Term 2 Homework Grid.
In addition to these weekly spelling rules, we will continue to learn and spell words from the Year 5 and 6 statutory spelling list. For an overview of these spellings, please view the Spelling word list for Year 5 and Year 6