Welcome to Poplar Class!

Mrs Southernwood is the year 5 class teacher and is supported by Mrs Emblem.

Our topic changes each half term, we use our exciting topics to explore a variety of subjects and to enhance our learning.

Our weekly timetable will also include:

PE – Thursdays and Fridays

It is important that all pupils bring the appropriate kit for PE.

Our library day is Friday but pupils will have opportunities to use the library throughout the week so it is important for them to bring their books in every day. We use ‘Accelerated Reader’ to ensure reading books are targeted to the right level of challenge for each individual. Pupils also have reading records and are encouraged to log any reading they do at home. It would be beneficial for pupils to take the opportunity to read at home to a variety of people and this should also be noted in the reading record.

Spellings are set weekly on a Monday, each pupil is provided with a sheet to practise their words. Although pupils are given time and teaching to support their learning of spelling, it is also essential that these are practised at home.

Practising times tables at home will also benefit pupils’ maths fluency and support them in their confidence completing more complicated calculations. 

Autumn Term 1

Our first topic this half term is 'Stargazers'! We are exploring and learning about space, planets and stars. We have kicked off our topic with an incredible visit from a mobile planetarium, which gave us the opportunity to look closer at the planets in our Solar System as well as learning more about stars and constellations.

Autumn Term 2

This half term our class topic is 'Traders and Raiders'! We will be learning all about the Saxons and Vikings and finding out about what life was like at this time. We will also have the opportunity to mark the Centenary of WW1 and will spend the week learning about the war and remembrance.

Spring Term 1

Our topic this half term is 'Beast Creator'. We are focusing on minibeasts and thinking about how we categorise them, their different features, habitats and life cycles. We started our topic with an exciting visit from a selection of different creatures (take a look at our photos below!) which gave us the opportunity to experience, observe and discuss some of the animals we will be learning more about in the next few weeks!

Spring Term 2

This half term we will be journeying to Alchemy Island to explore the secrets of the alchemists and search for gold hidden somewhere within the magical landscape! We began our topic with a visit from the Alchemist's apprentice who introduced the fantasy map and riddle. We will explore the geography of the landscape and scientific samples from the island to gather clues and hopefully determine the location of the gold!

Summer Term 1

Although this half term is quite short, we have lots of exciting things to fit in, including our residential trip to Hautbois House and continuing our work with the Water, Mills and Marshes Project.

Our topic this half term is 'Allotment' and we will be learning about as well as growing our own plants and vegetables. In preparation for this topic, Poplar class have already planted some seeds which Mrs Southernwood has taken home over the Easter holidays to look after.

If you want to prepare for this topic you could ask someone you know about their allotment or garden and the things they grow and how they look after their plants. Alternatively, you could look our for vegetables in the supermarket and use their labels to find out where they were grown.

Summer Term 2

To begin this half term, all classes completed a mini-topic with a focus on art. We studied art from China, exploring how it was created and experimenting with resources to create our own art in this style.

For the first part of the summer half term our topic focus is 'Peasants, Princes and Pestilence' which focuses on life in 14th century Britain and The Black Death. Pupils will be bringing home information for further home-learning ideas which will support them in this topic.