Welcome to Year 5
Teacher : Mrs Feldman and Miss Coy
Support staff: Mrs Smith, Mr O'Connor, Mrs Stalham, Mrs Ward
Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break and are feeling well rested and ready for the spring term.
Please take a look at our class timetable, along with the KS2 long-term plan, which outlines the learning that will be covered this term.
Homework and Reading Records
Homework will continue to be given out on a Thursday and should be returned on Tuesday mornings, along with reading records. Homework will no longer be sent back home, as it will be marked and discussed as a class.
This homework is in addition to regular reading at home. Children will receive merit points if their reading record is signed at least three times each week.
PE
Swimming will continue to take place on Thursday mornings. As part of the curriculum, it provides a valuable opportunity for children to practise and develop their swimming skills. If your child is unable to take part, please speak to the class teacher or send in a note. PE will also be on a Wednesday afternoon. Please ensure your child has their PE kit in school.
English
In English this term, we will be starting a new text, Kai and the Monkey King. Throughout this unit, the children will explore different aspects of the story, with a main writing focus on creating a myth, including characters and settings. We also complete daily whole-class guided reading sessions, alongside weekly spelling and handwriting lessons.
Snack
Please remember that your child can bring in one piece of fruit to have at morning playtime. Without a snack, it can be a long time for them to go without eating.
Please refer to the long-term plan for further details about the other topics being covered this term. We have some exciting projects planned in Geography and DT and are looking forward to another fantastic term.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to pop in and speak to one of us.
Thank you for your continued support,
Mrs Feldman and Miss Coy
Year 5 Spring Timetable 2026
Reading in KS2
In KS2 children have daily whole-class reading lessons. At Monksmead, we use VIPERS from Literacy Shed Comprehension Plus to help structure the learning and ensure that all key skills are being learnt.
VIPERS is an acronym to aid the recall of the 6 reading domains as part of the UK’s reading curriculum. They are the key areas which we feel children need to know and understand in order to improve their comprehension of texts. The 6 domains focus on the comprehension aspect of reading and not the mechanics: decoding, fluency, prosody etc. As such, VIPERS is not a reading scheme but rather a method of ensuring that teachers ask, and students are familiar with, a range of questions. They allow the teacher to track the type of questions asked and the children’s responses to these which allows for targeted questioning afterwards.
To support the children in accurately answering comprehension questions, we use A.P.E. This stands for 'Answer', ' Prove it' and 'Explain it'.
Science Knowledge Organisers - Spring 2026
Knowledge organisers for the individual topic area.
