We use a “book as a hook” to support our literacy lessons. This means that our writing is inspired by, and linked to, a specific book:
Year 5 Reading Page
In Year 5 we love to Read!
In Year 5 we read daily, both at home and at school. We read together in guided reading and we read class texts that act as a “book as a hook”.
Reading links into all of our subjects. In RE we read the Bible or prayers to help us with our learning; in history and geography we use our reading skills for research and in maths we have to use our reading comprehension skills to work out what we need to do in word problems.
We use a “book as a hook” to support our literacy lessons. This means that our writing is inspired by, and linked to, a specific high quality text.
In class we read daily; in English lessons, in guided reading, 1-2-1 with an adult (as needed), and listening to an adult read a class novel. Daily reading at home is an integral part of home learning and is monitored and encouraged by staff. Art lessons also link to our class ‘Book as a Hook’ text, and children are fully immersed in the text.
Wisp: a Story of Hope by Zana Fraillon and Grahame Baker Smith
Idris lives in a refugee camp which is full of people, but where everyone is alone. There are no rivers or seas to swim in and no trees to give shade. One day, a tiny, bright wisp appears in the dirt: an insect-size glowing light that, when it finds the right person, fills them with a memory of their life before the refugee camp: a memory that gives them just a little hope once again.
One night, when the wisp settles before Idris, he waits for it to give him a memory, but none appears: he has never lived anywhere but the refugee camp, so it can’t give him a memory. Instead, it gives him something else: a promise.
Grahame Baker Smith’s haunting and immersive illustration is perfect for this heartbreaking story of hope in the darkest of places; among the deep black and blues come splashes of sunshiny forests and jewelled seas sailed by adventurous sailors. This made it a perfect book to not only base our literacy work on, but also our art.
Shackleton’s Journey by William Grill
Illustrator William Grill weaves a detailed visual narrative of Shackleton’s epic journey to Antarctica.
Grill’s beautiful use of coloured pencils and vibrant hues effortlessly evokes the adventure and excitement that surrounded the expedition. His impeccably researched drawings, rich with detail, fastidiously reproduce the minutiae of the expedition.
This book forms the basis of our literacy, geography, history and art for the half term. The children love examining the diagrams of the peculiar provisions and the individual drawings of each sled dog and packhorse. This book takes the academic and historical information behind the expedition and reinterprets it for a young audience, making it an ideal stimulus and source of information, awe and wonder.
The Explorers, by Katherine Rundell
Award winning book, the Explorers is an exciting new novel about a group of children who must survive in the Amazon after their plane crashes. Fred, Con, Lila, and Max are on their way back to England from Manaus when the plane they are on, crashes and the pilot dies upon landing. For days they survive alone, until Fred finds a map that leads them to a ruined city, and to a secret…
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
A timeless tale about the enduring power of love.
Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely.
And then, one day, he was lost…
Cloud Busting by Malorie Blackman
A touching story, written in verse, which celebrates friendship and individuality.
Despite his mum’s insistence, Sam doesn’t want to be friends with Davey. He thinks Davey is a first-class, grade A, top-of-the-dung-heap moron. But one day Davey saves Sam’s life and a bond is formed between them. Sam is still embarrassed to be seen with Davey, but little by little he has to admit that when it’s just the two of them, Davey is a lot of fun. But then something terrible happens to Davey.
Told in verse, in first person, the story of an extraordinary friendship that changes two boys’ lives forever.
Cosmic by Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Digby is so unusually tall that people think he should act like an adult, which leads him to compete against adults for a chance to go into space.
We know that reading every day supports every area of our learning, from supporting our spellings to helping us come up with ideas for our own writing in literacy. We also know that everybody is constantly reading things all of the time, without even thinking about it – posters around school, food labels so we know what we are eating, the TV guide so we know what we are going to watch, instructions on computer games, adverts, road signs, names of board games…
Words are literally EVERYWHERE!!