Our Reading and Writing Journey

This half term in Year 5, we are exploring the important and thought-provoking topic of homelessness in both our reading and writing lessons.
In reading, we have started reading an extract about what homelessness is to help us understand the experiences and challenges faced by people who are homeless. Alongside this, we will be studying parts of two powerful texts: The Night Bus Hero and The Wrong Shoes.
The Night Bus Hero by Onjali Q. Raúf follows a boy named Hector who meets a group of homeless people and begins to see the world differently as he learns about kindness, empathy and truth. The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival tells the story of Will, a young boy whose life changes when his family loses their home, highlighting resilience and hope during difficult times.
As always, our reading and writing will go hand in hand, with our writing closely linked to the themes and ideas we explore in our reading lessons.
In writing, we will be developing our skills by learning how to choose language according to formality, extend sentences using sophisticated conjunctions, indicate degrees of possibility using adverbs and modal verbs and use parenthesis accurately.
We will be applying these skills by writing a formal letter to a politician or councillor, expressing our thoughts and concerns about homelessness and suggesting ways to support those affected.
We are looking forward to some thoughtful discussions and powerful writing this half term!