Reading in Year 5

There are many ways in which you can help your child progress in their learning through support at home and one of the most vital is reading. Reading with your child can help them to access and explore a wider range of texts, which not only helps with their reading but also their writing and their general knowledge. As well, it helps to improve their understanding of what they read. The children are expected to read at home for a minimum of  30 minutes every day . Reading at home could include them reading to an adult or reading to themselves. This should be recorded in their Reading Record, which must go home and return to school every day.

If you are hearing your child read, ask them questions about what they have read, to develop their reading comprehension and understanding e.g.

• Try to summarise what has happened on this page.
• Describe the main character in three words - why have you chosen these?
• Why is the character feeling the way they are?
• What does the word ____ mean? Can you think of an alternative word that means the same? Why do you think the author chose this word?
• What do you think will happen next and why?
• Which fact is most interesting and why?

These discussions can then be noted when writing in the Reading Record.

Spelling in Year 5

As mentioned in the 'Welcome to Year 5' page, spelling at English Martyrs takes a mixed approach - we investigate spelling rules, look for patterns, explore phonemes (sounds) the words we are examining and delve into the origins of words. 

Please support your child to learn the spellings that they working on using the Spelling Shed online or through any method you choose. 

In addition, throughout the year, we will be learning to spell words from the Year 5/6 statutory spelling list from the National Curriculum. Regularly practising these words is another way in which you can support your child. 

Useful Websites

If you ever feel like you want your child to do more at home to support their learning in English or Maths, then here are some links to websites we have used in class.

https://nrich.maths.org/ - The Nrich website has a good range of problem solving activities- they give a guide to difficulty level, subject area and time allocation

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/ordering-and-sequencing-numbers - No log in details needed. There are lots of maths games and those that say ‘Tablet friendly’ can also be used on iPads.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/7-11-years/spelling-and-grammar - As above with English games.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/ - Go to ‘Year 5 and 6’ and find the spelling rule you want to practise. Your child can learn a new rule or play games to practise the spelling rules they have already learned.

http://www.ictgames.com/ - English and Maths games.