Fifth Grade

Change. Fifth grade revolves around change.

Students are taught in a middle school model to prepare them for the secondary school experience. Subjects begin to be departmentalized to help students make an easier transition to secondary school. The class is broken into halves and thirds for various subjects to help differentiate both materials and instruction.

Fifth grade students are exposed to challenging literature with complex themes. Vocabulary, writing, and research are all
emphasized, as are critical thinking and comprehension skills. Academic subjects are frequently integrated with the arts program, and Band and Choir are options for the first time. View our fifth grade curricular benchmarks below.

5th Grade Curriculum

Literature

Practice comprehension strategies including inferring, summarizing, predicting, questioning, visualizing, determining importance, and making connections
Practice listening comprehension skills
Identify themes and author’s intent
Identify elements of fiction
Practice oral fluency
Respond to literature through writing
Independently select appropriate books to read
Set independent reading goals
Practice using new words and take regular vocabulary quizzes
Read and study adaptions of three Shakespeare plays

Language Arts

Use the writing process to generate, develop, and refine multiple pieces of writing
Practice narrative writing to deepen critical thinking and sense of self, informational writing to synthesize research, and research-based argumentative writing to foster constructive skills in debate
Introduce the concepts of a literary essay
Develop and refine strategies for writing across curriculum
Reinforce a goal-setting mindset that builds strong writing habits
Form sentences using a variety of structure
Introduce the concepts of a literary essay
Understand rules for comma usage and conjunctions
Identify Latin and Greek roots in order to learn word meaning
Practice word relationships through analogies
We use Wordly Wise to support our vocabulary program

Mathematics

Multiply multi-digit numbers
Find quotients involving multi-digit dividends
Use place value models to read, write, add, and subtract numbers to 10,000,000
Convert fractions to decimals and decimals to fractions
Use ratios
Convert fractions to percents
Add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions and decimals
Find the area of triangles
Represent and analyze data in a double bar graph
Compare experimental results and theoretical probability
Use the order of operations
Simplify and solve algebraic expressions
Graph linear equations
Use calculators and technology to solve problems
Practice bar model and other problem-solving strategies

Social Studies

Science

Apply the engineering design process through LEGO robotics
Explore cells and microorganisms by using compound light microscopes
Apply the scientific method and science skills
Differentiate between the various body systems and learn about their function
Learn about chemistry through hands-on experiences including chemical and physical change experiments and Bohr models
Evaluate electricity and how it works through creating series and parallel circuits and testing conductors and insulators
(5th and 6th grade are on a two-year curriculum cycle)

French

Recognize and follow classroom commands and general directions
Discuss family members, occupations, and free time activities
Use greeting and farewell courtesies
Discuss items carried in a backpack
Recognize if a noun is masculine, feminine, or plural
Discuss food
Recognize the definite articles (le, la, and les)
Express the time and when events occurred
Recognize the partitive articles (du, de la, and des)
Discuss and apply familiar vs. formal speech
Identify school subjects and what one does in class
Acquire vocabulary and language structures needed to read a variety of French mini-novels
Recognize and use interrogatives in oral and written comprehension questions
Discuss and retell story events
Orally answer comprehension questions over reading material
Answer basic comprehension questions in written form

Physical Education

Demonstrate more independence while problem solving and communicating during team building activities
Consistently put forth effort and work efficiently during warm ups, the day’s activity, and closure
Continue to recognize the value of sharing ideas when collaborating during group activities
Foster an appreciation of nature while enjoying the outdoors during the Fifth Grade Hike
Demonstrate an understanding of game rules and implement them in more self-regulated activities
Work on more complex formations and advanced skills and strategies during units of study
Continue to put forth maximum effort during daily runs and exercises by choosing more repetitions and longer, more challenging cross country runs
Celebrate individual and group successes while participating in the 5th and 6th Grade Track Meet

Studio Art

Woodshop

Understand and demonstrate safety guidelines in the woodshop
Prepare work station
Demonstrate proper use of marking tools to lay out lines
Showcase correct use of crosscut, back, and coping saws
Use try square, gouge, mallet, sandpaper, block plane, sander grinder, surform, file, and scraper to complete projects
Analyze quality of each project and set goals for improvement
Share project with class and teachers

Music

Identify and notate various music symbols in different styles of music
Recognize and play correct notes, note values, and rests on melodic/rhythmic instruments
Create and play rhythmic/melodic passages using AB and ABA form
Aurally identify rhythm, pitch, and tempo within various pieces of music
Sing with accurate pitch and intonation
Use clear vocal enunciation and diction
Maintain melody/harmony in ensemble setting
Use correct breathing and phrasing
Identify and play notes (including sharps and flats) and rhythms correctly
Pronounce foreign languages accurately
Identify all notes on the treble clef staff
Aurally identify the works of various composers of diverse styles
Recognize and play syncopated rhythms

Drama

Demonstrate increased competency in fluency, enunciation, projection, cheating out, posture, expression, eye contact, and visualization during public speaking and performances
Use the tools of an actor to become a character and stay in character
Work cooperatively to solve problems both onstage and off
Model correct stage pictures to show focus
Translate Shakespearean texts and convey tone and emotion of character
Practice appropriate backstage and onstage etiquette
Perform Shakespeare monologues and productions of Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Romeo and Juliet

Band

Chorus

Understand and demonstrate vocal production skills
Perform music written in two- and three-part harmony
Understand and demonstrate ensemble singing skills
Perform a varied repertoire from various time periods, cultures, and styles
Define and demonstrate the concepts of pitch, rhythm, and meter, using standard notation
Demonstrate sight-reading and ear-training skills

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