Year 5 English articles
14 of the best books for children for summer 2015
Make this the summer when your child journeys to ancient Rome, becomes a secret agent, takes to the high seas, finds out about England's past, solves a mystery and discovers the delights of Mr Benn... all without leaving the sofa! From kids' classics to brand-new adventures, we've got 14 brilliant books for your children to lose themselves in over the 2015 summer holiday.
Best maths story books for children
Introduce ratio, pie charts, probability and even simplifying fractions to children with these brilliant maths story books, picture-book presentations of mathematical concepts that primary-school children will love.
What is mystery text?
Mystery text explained for parents, including examples of how children might work on crime stories in KS2 and suggestions of great mystery story books for children aged 8 to 12.
Spelling in Year 5 and Year 6
Spelling is an important part of the Year 6 Grammar, punctuation and spelling test. Support your child's learning at the end of KS2 with Y5 and Y6 spelling worksheets and activities to help practise the spelling rules and patterns they're learning at school.
What is a syllable?
Syllables explained for parents, including details of how primary-school children are taught to identify syllables to help them with spelling and reading and understanding poetry.
Museums reviewed by parents: The Cartoon Museum, London
From Hogarth and Ronald Searle to Manga to favourite characters like Dennis the Menace, there’s something for all comic lovers at the Cartoon Museum in London. We visited to find out what's on offer for primary-school children and parents.
The science of school reading schemes
Following a reading scheme at school can transform children from non-readers to bookworms in a surprisingly short space of time, but how are they developed and tested to help your child progress?
What is a fable?
Fables tell us a story and teach us a lesson at the same time and we've been hearing them, retelling them and writing them for over two thousand years. We explain how primary-school children learn about fables and Aesop in our guide for parents.
What is a traditional tale?
Traditional tales like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks play an important part in early literacy. We explain how these well-known stories are used to help develop reading comprehension and early writing skills, and explain how you can help your child's learning with fairy tales at home.
What are contracted words or contractions?
Contracted words or contractions are used every day in spoken and written English. Help your child keep them straight with our parents' guide, including complete listings of the common contractions children learn to spell in Year 2 and throughout Key Stage 2.
What is a kenning?
Your child's KS2 poetry classes might include analysis of kennings, two-word phrases characteristic of Anglo-Saxon poetry. We explain what this literary device is and how your child might read and write kennings in the primary-school classroom.
What is an apostrophe?
Children are first introduced to apostrophes in Year 2. Help them practise punctuating correctly at home with our simple revision tips, covering the use of apostrophes for possession and omission.
What is a relative clause?
Relative clauses enrich sentences by offering extra information. We explain how to identify them in a sentence and offer tips to help parents support their child's grammatical understanding.
What is an embedded clause?
Understand and use embedded clauses with confidence with our plain-English parents' guide, including examples and details of how this aspect of sentence construction is taught in Key Stage 2 grammar.
What are fronted adverbials?
Fronted adverbials, words or phrases that describe the action in a sentence, are introduced to KS2 children in Year 4. Find out how to identify them and how your child will be taught to use fronted adverbials in their writing in our parents' guide to primary grammar concepts.
Best word games for children
Expand vocabulary, develop spelling skills, learn about homophones, anagrams and synonyms and compose huge numbers of silly sentences... all while having a great time. Whether your child is 3 or 13, our favourite word board games and literacy card games offer fast-paced fun for the whole family.
Best educational magazines for children
Looking for a fun- AND fact-packed publication for your child? The selection we've picked offer puzzles, original artwork, fiction, science projects to complete, history, hands-on making and more – and there isn't a plastic cover-mount in sight. Want to encourage your primary-school child to read regularly? Keep them supplied with new issues!
Museums reviewed by parents: Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
Make the most of family outings by choosing one of our parent-recommended museums. For fun, story-telling, literary inspiration and creative opportunities visit the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre.
Handwriting aids: pencil grips
Does your child struggle to hold their pencil correctly? Handwriting tutor Michelle van Rooyen explains how a pencil grip could help with their handwriting.
Handwriting aids: pens and pencils
With a return to greater emphasis on handwriting in primary schools, could a special pen or pencil help your child master the art of neat writing? Handwriting tutor Michelle van Rooyen explains what handwriting pencils and pens are available.
Video: Correct letter formation
Your child will be taught how to form the different letters of the alphabet differently, according to the ‘movement groups’ they fit into. Our explanatory video shows you how to form all letters (Long ladder, Curly caterpillar, One-armed robot and Z for Zig-zag monster) correctly, stroke by stroke.
Video: Letter formation, Zig-zag monster letter family
Help your child form each letter of the alphabet correctly with our step-by-step and stroke-by-stroke videos, with experts from the National Handwriting Association. In this video we look at the Zig-zag monster letter family: z, x, v, w, y and k.
Video: Letter formation, One-armed robot letter family
Help your child form each letter of the alphabet correctly with our step-by-step and stroke-by-stroke videos, with experts from the National Handwriting Association. In this video we look at the One-armed robot letter family: r, n, m, h, b, k and p.
Video: Letter formation, Curly caterpillar letter family
Help your child form each letter of the alphabet correctly with our step-by-step and stroke-by-stroke videos, with experts from the National Handwriting Association. Here we look at the Curly caterpillar family: c, a, d, g, q, o, e, s and f.
Video: Letter formation, Long ladder letter family
Help your child form each letter of the alphabet correctly with our stroke-by-stroke videos, with experts from the National Handwriting Association. In this video we look at the Long ladder letter family: l, i, u, t and y.
Video: Handwriting letter families
The letters of the alphabet can be divided into ‘movement groups’, based on the movement made to start writing the letter. Each group has a lead letter (L for Long ladder letters, C for Curly caterpillar letters, R for One-armed robot letters and Z for Zig-zag monster letters) and our handwriting advice video outlines the different letter families and how to practise writing them.
Video: Handwriting aids for children
Could a writing slope or an adaptive grip help improve your child's handwriting? Occupational Paediatric Therapist Catherine Elsey explains how to use commercially available handwriting aids in our handwriting advice video.
Video: Tripod grasp quick trick
Make sure your child holds their pencil correctly every time they pick it up with this quick trick, as outlined in our video by National Handwriting Association Occupational Paediatric Therapist Catherine Elsey.
Video: Handwriting posture and seating advice
A step-by-step video guide to establishing a good seating position for comfortable handwriting, with expert advice from the National Handwriting Association and an explanation of why postural stability is vital for children.
Video: Handwriting development stages explained for parents
From anti-clockwise circles to letter formation, find out about your child's handwriting journey and how you can support them at home in TheSchoolRun's video, featuring experts from the National handwriting Association.
Video: correct handwriting grip and positioning for new writers
Help your child establish great handwriting habits from Reception and KS1 with our expert advice video for the parents of new writers. From the correct pencil grip to paper positioning and posture, the National Handwriting Association's Catherine Elsey explains what to look out for and how to make immediate improvements to help your child.
Video: Pencil grasp development
From eighteen months to five years, TheSchoolRun's handwriting video explains how children's pencil grasp changes over time, how to establish good handwriting habits early on and what to expect in every stage.
Video: The dynamic tripod grasp explained
Video advice and tips to help establish a good handwriting position, including details of the dynamic tripod grasp (the ideal hand position for writing) and why it's best for children to hold their pencil in this way when they're writing.
Video: The dynamic tripod grasp for better handwriting
Children who hold their pencil or pen in the ideal handwriting position, the dynamic tripod grip, can write comfortably for longer. The National Handwriting Association's Catherine Elsey explains how to help your child establish a confident tripod grip and how it helps avoid hand pain.
Video: Correcting pencil grip
Does your child struggle to hold their pencil correctly? Our handwriting tips video offers expert advice on correcting pencil grip and establishing the ideal dynamic tripod grasp, with tips from the National Handwriting Association.
Video: Right-handed handwriting tips and expert advice
Right-handed handwriting tips and advice from the experts, with practical examples of the best way to position paper correctly and hold the pencil with a tripod grasp. Experts from the National Handwriting Association feature in TheSchoolRun's new handwriting video series.
Video: Correct wrist position for handwriting
TheSchoolRun's new handwriting videos feature experts from the National Handwriting Association offering tips to help parents improve their children's handwriting. This video offers advice to help position the wrist correctly for fluid, comfortable handwriting.
Video: Left-handed handwriting tips and expert advice
Left-handed handwriting tips and advice from the experts, with practical examples of the best way to position paper correctly and how to hold your wrist in the optimal position for writing. TheSchoolRun's new handwriting videos feature experts from the National Handwriting Association.
What are modal verbs?
Modal verbs indicate possibility, obligation or ability. Find out how your child will be taught about modal verbs in grammar lessons in KS2 and the kinds of activities they might be asked to complete in the primary-school classroom.
7 classic poems to read with primary-school children
Poems come in all shapes and sizes. Some rhyme, some don't. Some are old, some are new. Introduce your child to a world of words to whisper, savour and inspire with some classic poems, chosen for primary-school children of all ages by poet Helen Mort, editor of The Owl and the Pussycat: An anthology of poems that every child should read. Enjoy!