← All years Year 5

Everything your child learns in Year 5 English.

This is the real curriculum data behind the Learn tab — not a marketing summary. 14 of 14 topics below are live online: click any of them to open the lesson.

📖 Reading

Analysing how a text is built, not just what it says.

✍️ Writing

A wider range of forms, with register and persuasive structure now central.

  • Writing for a purpose
    Skills: Writing a narrative, Writing a description, Writing an explanation, Writing a report, Writing a letter, Writing a diary entry, Writing a poem
  • Persuasive and argumentative writing
    Skills: Writing to persuade, Constructing an argument, Writing a balanced argument, Writing a speech
  • Register
    Skills: Writing formally, Writing informally

🔤 Grammar

Relative clauses and modality, plus writing with precision and control.

  • Clauses and modality
    Skills: Using a relative clause, Using modal verbs, Using parenthesis
  • Precision and register
    Skills: Using cohesive devices, Avoiding ambiguity, Matching formal or informal language to purpose, Introducing active and passive voice, Using an expanded noun phrase, Maintaining tense consistency

✒️ Punctuation

Punctuation for parenthesis, plus the first colons and semi-colons.

📚 Vocabulary

A much bigger strand this year — nuance, idiom and precise shades of meaning.

  • Word relationships
    Skills: Finding synonyms, Finding antonyms, Distinguishing homonyms, Distinguishing homophones
  • Word building
    Skills: Using prefixes, Using suffixes, Using root words, Building a word family
  • Nuance and figurative language
    Skills: Recognising figurative language, Understanding idioms, Using contextual meaning, Distinguishing shades of meaning

Want to practise this on paper? Download printable Year 5 worksheets and answer keys →
Got a child working across both subjects? See what Year 5 covers in Maths too →

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See it in the real lessons, not just a list.

Start Year 5 Practice